CCR CALLS ATTENTION TO REFUGEE YOUTH IN CANADA

19 June 2003

Montreal. The Canadian Council for Refugees invites Canadians to celebrate World Refugee Day (June 20) by remembering the contributions of those who came to Canada as refugee children and youth.

"Adapting to life in Canada is not easy for newly arrived young refugees," said Kemi Jacobs, President. "But they are survivors: they have probably already lived through more horrors than most Canadians experience in a lifetime."

Refugee children have fled armed conflict and human rights abuses and they may have lost close family members as well as their home. In flight, refugee children often miss out on schooling and some are victims of sexual abuse and forced conscription.

Those who have come to Canada as refugee children have shown that they can more than repay their new country as contributing members of society. They include Canada's Governor-General, Adrienne Clarkson, who came to Canada as a refugee during the Second World War.

Each year, Canada offers security and a new home to thousands of refugee children. However, there remain some areas where Canada falls short in its treatment of refugee children and youth.

• Separated children. An increasing number of refugee claimants arriving in Canada are children separated from their parents. Canada has no national policy for responding to these vulnerable children. Treatment is inconsistent across the country and some children end up falling between the cracks, with no authority looking after their interests. The government should without delay implement in the recommendations in the Best Practice Statement: Separated Children in Canada.
  


• Access to student loans. Refugee youth in Canada who are waiting for their permanent residence have been unable to access student loans in order to continue their studies. The good news is that the federal government announced in the February budget that student loans would be made available to refugees. This change still remains to be operationalized and extended to the Québec program.


• Creating a welcoming environment. It is hard for refugee children to feel at home when they hear comments unfairly blaming refugees for terrorism and other problems. Since September 11, Arab and Muslim children particularly have faced prejudice and hostility.

For more information, please contact:

Kemi Jacobs, President (416) 588-6288 (ext. 202)

Janet Dench, Executive Director (514) 277-7223

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The Canadian Council for Refugees is a non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada. The membership is made up of over 175 organizations involved in refugee sponsorship and protection and in newcomer settlement. The CCR serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership.

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