In the summer of 2010, close to 500 Tamil refugee claimants arrived on the West Coast aboard the MV Sun Sea. Although this mass arrival presented practical and logistical challenges, the numbers were still small in terms of claims made in Canada (less than 2% of claims per year) or the 15,000 Burmese refugees that fled into Thailand in one week in November.
Regrettably, instead of affirming the need to respect international obligations towards refugees, the Canadian government’s public comments on the boat arrivals focused on suspicions of associations with terrorism and smuggling, thus encouraging negative public opinion.
This was followed up in October by the tabling of Bill C-49, a bill that was presented as being anti-smuggling. In fact, however, most of the provisions of the bill would punish refugees. Legal experts strongly condemned the bill as contrary to the Charter and international law.
More and more Canadians are becoming aware of the problems created by the recent increase in the numbers of workers admitted to Canada with only temporary status. Temporary Foreign Workers are vulnerable to exploitation and there have been numerous reports of abuse.
As feared, recent changes to the Citizenship Act have led to children of Canadian citizens being born stateless.
Unlike the overseas refugee process, the in-Canada process has historically received significant public attention. This was particularly true in 2010. During the year, Parliament adopted significant changes to the process – changes that will only come into effect late in 2011.
In 2010, Nairobi continued to be one of Canada’s slowest visa offices, particularly for refugee families. Privately sponsored refugees wait on average over 3 years; family members of refugees, including children, wait on average 2 years and 4 months.
Refugees overseas applying for resettlement to Canada are interviewed by a Canadian visa officer who decides whether they in fact meet the refugee definition. That decision-making process needs to be fair: refugees’ safety and future lives depend on the decision.