Canadian Council for Refugees E-Chronicle Vol. 4 #5, 1 September 2009 |
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Canadian Council for Refugees E-Chronicle Vol. 4 #5, 1 September 2009 Printer-friendly version Send to friendCONTENTS:
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The Canadian refugee system does need improvements, but its core elements, considered a model internationally, need to be safeguarded. Among those core elements is a commitment to treating claimants with dignity and to providing a fair process to determine whether they need protection.
Canadians who care about refugees need to protest this closing of the door on refugees. You can help this effort by: 1. Broadening opposition to the anti-refugee measures by having allies speak out. We need to hear from all sectors of Canadian society. Urge everyone to take a public stand in favour of refugee protection, by sending open letters or publishing comments in mainstream or community media, for example. Contact your MP to protest the closing of the door on refugees. We have prepared a one-pager to share with MPs, available at: For more information on the need for fair refugee determination in Canada, see:
Mexico and the Czech Republic join the numerous other countries from which Canada uses visas to block people trying to save their lives by fleeing to Canada. For example, when human rights abuses increased dramatically in Zimbabwe in 2001, Canada imposed a visa requirement, closing the door on Zimbabweans seeking safety. The CCR is also deeply concerned at the government’s attempt to undermine the legitimacy of claimants fleeing persecution in Mexico or the Czech Republic. It is not appropriate for a Minister to comment on whether refugee claims are founded or not. Such comments may constitute political interference in the refugee determination process. Under Canadian law, the Immigration and Refugee Board, a quasi-judicial tribunal, is responsible for determining who is a refugee. Significant numbers of Mexican claimants have well-founded fears of persecution, as a result of the high levels of violence linked to organized crime and government corruption. Others are fleeing serious threats of private violence (such as domestic violence) from which the state is unwilling or unable to protect them. Comments from the Canadian government questioning the motives of Roma claimants send the wrong message to the Czech Republic, which should instead be encouraged to act more firmly to protect the rights of its Roma citizens. The CCR has long been aware that some claimants from Mexico are not fleeing persecution, but have been misled by unscrupulous agents. The CCR has urged the government to take more vigorous action to address fraud against Mexicans. It is unfair for the government to blame claimants for creating delays in the refugee determination system. The current large backlog of claims is mainly caused by the government’s failure to appoint sufficient Board members to make decisions. As a result, the government has created an incentive for people to make a claim in Canada in order to work here for a few years, even if they expect that their claim will eventually be refused. For more information, see Lives in the Balance, http://www.ccrweb.ca/livesinthebalance.htm
Despite the CCR’s concerns that applying for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&C) is not an adequate solution for everyone affected by this change, the Canadian government is inviting people affected by these changes to submit H&C applications before 23 January 2010. To clarify questions about the changes and what to do, a new factsheet is available for Burundians, Rwandans and Liberians affected by the lifting of the moratorium on removals on 23 July, see: http://www.ccrweb.ca/documents/infosheetmoratoria2009.pdf The CCR has also revised its factsheet for the remaining moratoria countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq and Zimbabwe at: http://www.ccrweb.ca/documents/infosheetmoratoria.pdf To learn about the reality of people in limbo and why H&C applications are not an adequate solution, see:
The Canadian Council for Refugees and allies have been urging the government for many years to create a regulatory class that provides permanent residence to all persons from countries to which Canada does not remove who have been in Canada for three or more years. For more information on the Lives on Hold campaign, see: http://www.ccrweb.ca/livesonhold.htm
This change means that significant numbers of refugees will be denied protection because of shortcomings in the US asylum system. This new measure, combined with the imposition of visas on Mexicans and Czechs, drastically reduces the number of refugees who can seek asylum in Canada. Of refugee claims made in 2008, more than 40% would have been excluded by these measures. To understand the rules to date for claims made at the US border, see: Safe Third Country Agreement: impact on refugee claimants, http://www.ccrweb.ca/s3cFAQ.html
Now available: Postcards depicting the effects of transportation loans on refugees in Canada. Encourage participants at your next event to send them to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and their own Member of Parliament. Order copies from the CCR office using the order form at: www.ccrweb.ca/documents/publicationsorderform.pdf For other ideas to support the transportation loans campaign to end the burden of transportation loans, see: www.ccrweb.ca/transportationloans.htm And join the transportation loan campaign Facebook group at: http://tinyurl.com/msq8dt Do you want to be part of efforts to promote rights for refugees? Want to participate in in-depth discussions on pressing issues affecting refugees and immigrants in Canada? Looking to share information and strategies with others from across Canada? Come to the CCR Summer Working Group meetings in Montreal! Moving forward on issues, Getting involved: The Working Group meetings are a chance to:
Networking, Learning: The Working Group meetings provide an excellent opportunity to:
When: 11-12 September 2008, 9:30am - 5 pm For more information and for a copy of the Working Group promotional pamphlet, see: http://www.ccrweb.ca/eng/about/meetings.htm There are many unsung heroes and heroines in the CCR. We would like to recognize some of them. In each issue of the CCR Chronicle we will include a short profile of an individual involved with the Canadian Council for Refugees and their efforts to uphold the rights of refugees and immigrants in Canada. If there is someone – a work colleague, a volunteer or a client with your organization that should be profiled as a ‘Face of the CCR’ please send us your suggestions by email to Colleen French at cfrench@ccrweb.ca
On 23 July 2009, the Government of Canada lifted the temporary suspension of removals for
Interested in consulting stories about refugees and immigrants in the mainstream media? Looking for an article on a particular theme? A dynamic database of recent media articles on refugee and immigrant issues in Canada is now available at: http://www.ccrweb.ca/en/medialinks
Recent government actions represent a dramatic attack on the principle of refugee protection. Canadians who care about refugees need to protest this closing of the door on refugees. Call on fellow Canadians to stand up for refugees. Share this one-page call for fairness in Canada’s refugee determination system with your Member of Parliament, with other decision-makers in your area and with members of the general public. Stand Up for Refugees, available at: http://ccrweb.ca/files/standupforrefugees.pdf
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney has recently stated that he plans to introduce changes to the refugee determination system and that he is looking to the system in the United Kingdom for models. The points in The challenges of fair and effective refugee determination respond to the Minister’s proposals. Use these talking points to respond to public commentary on Canada’s refugee determination system in the local media and in the street. The challenges of fair and effective refugee determination, available at: http://www.ccrweb.ca/fairdetermination.htm
There’s now a new way to stay informed about refugee and immigration issues in Canada and a new way to share ideas and actions with others: follow the CCR on Twitter and Facebook! If you already use these social networking applications, simply:
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Over the summer, we have seen dramatic attacks on refugees, and on the notion that Canada should have strong refugee protection policies. A number of restrictive measures have already been implemented, and more are promised. Government discourse seems designed to provoke a public backlash against refugees and the refugee protection system.
The CCR condemned the Canadian government’s announcement of visa requirements for visitors from the Czech Republic and Mexico. This action has effectively closed the door on refugees from the two countries.
On 23 July 2009, the Canadian government lifted the moratoria on removals to Burundi, Rwanda and Liberia.
The same day as the Canadian government lifted its moratoria on removals to Burundi, Liberia and Rwanda, it also closed the door on nationals of all moratoria countries at the Canada-US border. There is no longer an exemption from the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement for moratoria country nationals.
A few months ago we asked you to join a letter-writing campaign asking the government to absorb the costs of transportation loans for refugees.