A new report says Canada needs to change its federal visa policy to speed up the acceptance of Ukrainian refugees, which has largely slowed down.

The study conducted by the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, released Thursday, says that compared to other countries, Canada has received a small number of the millions of Ukrainians displaced since Russia's invasion of countries in Eastern Europe in February.

Author Robert Falconer said, “Applications from Ukrainians have started to far exceed the number granted by the Canadian government, and we don't even have a clear picture of how many Ukrainians are coming to the country.”

Statistics indicate that the Canadian Ukrainian Emergency Travel Authorization Program (CUAET), which speeds up obtaining visas and temporary residence permits for Ukrainians and their families, is insufficient, he said.

As of June 22, there were nearly 190,000 Ukrainians with pending applications to come to Canada, up from about 140,000 a month ago.

Falconer said the program, which requires arrivals to obtain visas, is responsible for Canada lagging behind other countries – especially Ireland, which waived the visa requirement.

He said, “One objection inside the parliamentary committee was if we allow Ukrainians to enter, Russian spies will use it to infiltrate the system.”

“Russian espionage already exists, but the refugee channel is one of the ineffective ways to try to smuggle a Russian spy into the country.”

Falconer said federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, with the proper resources, would be able to manage the security risks involved in the visa process.

He recommends Canada adopt the Irish model or another option to conduct visa checks once people arrive. “If we don't do the Irish model, I would say we do what's called the upon-arrival model, which many countries do.”