Refugees A person who seeks refuge in another country because of danger or persecution in their home country. Refuge - Protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship Persecution - To oppress or harass with ill- treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs.

Canada’s Policy toward Refugees - Background Canada signed the U.N. Convention relating to the status of refugees 1951 During the 50’s and 60’s, Canada offered to shelter refugees in response to specific world crisis. In 1976, Canada made refugees one of its immigration categories. Canada now accepted refugees steadily. Immigration and Refugee Protections Act - 2002

The Singh decision April 4th is known as Refugee Rights Day, following a 1985 Supreme Court decision known as the Singh decision. Singh came to Canada from India seeking refugee status. Canada rejected his case under the Immigration Act of1976, which did not allow Singh to state his case in person or to appeal the governments decision. The Supreme Court said this violated section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof ………” The supreme Court said everyone in the charter means everyone – every person physically present in Canada.

The Result of the Singh decision People claiming refugee status in Canada have the right to a hearing, which they attend in person. Canada established the Immigration and Refugee Board to provide quick and fair hearings Canada’s government provides people seeking refugee status with the necessities of life while they wait for a hearing. The individual rights in the Charter protect every person in Canada, whether they are a citizen or not (except democratic rights). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDSZHPZWgaE

Objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2002 Save lives and offer protection to people who are displaced and persecuted. Fulfill and affirm Canada’s international commitment to protect refugees. Grant fair consideration to people who claim to be persecuted – Humanitarian ideals. Offer refuge to people facing persecution, and to people who face torture, or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

Causes Many events and issues in the world can result in more people applying as immigrants to Canada, such as: Natural disasters – IE. Haiti War – IE. Afghanistan Poverty – IE. Ethiopia Population Pressures – IE. China

Refugee problem around the world How many refugees are there world wide? 15.2 million (2009) What percentage of Refugees are women and children? 80% How long has the average refugee been in exile? 17 years

Where do refugees come from? Afghanistan: 2.9 million Iraq: 1.8 million Somalia: 678,300 DR Congo: 455,900 Myanmar: 406,700 http://www.scribd.com/doc/33026764/UNHC R-refugee-statistics-2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHvpgi0U YM

Refugee Statistics The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are 50 million uprooted people in the world. There are 1.7 million refugees in Central Africa. Around 1 million people are displaced in Angola. In a 30-month period, 1.7 million refugees from Mozambique in southeastern Africa walked or used ferries, cars, trains, and planes to go back home. There are 1.2 million refugees and displaced persons still waiting to return to their homes in Bosnia. While 4 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan, 2.6 million Afghan refugees are still in Pakistan and Iran.

Statistics More than 100,000 Burmese refugees live in 14 camps along Myanmar's border with Thailand. Between 500,000 and 1 million people have been internally displaced in Colombia by years of civil conflict. The United States deported 300,000 undocumented immigrants in the last two years- -more than twice the number sent back in the previous two years. About 16,000 asylum seekers are in detention in the United States. More than 3000 are being detained indefinitely, with little chance to be released.

Internally displaced people Internally displaced people (IDPs) have been forced to leave their homes as a result of armed conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations, but unlike refugees they have not crossed an international border. Although internally displaced people outnumber refugees by more than two to one, no single UN or other international agency has responsibility for responding to internal displacement. In 2009, there were an estimated 27.1 million people displaced internally by conflict. The largest populations of internally displaced people are found in: Sudan: 4.9 million Colombia: more than 3.3 million Iraq: 2.8 million DR Congo: 1.98 million Somalia: 1.6 million

Canada and Refugees Canada protects refugees in two ways: the domestic refugee protection system for persons making refugee protection claims from within Canada Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program for people seeking protection from outside Canada. Through both these programs, Canada generally accepts more than 25,000 refugees a year.

Detailed Explanation Through the domestic asylum system, Canada offers protection to people in Canada who are afraid of returning to their home country. A claim for refugee protection can be made at a port of entry or at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) office in Canada. Once an officer decides that a refugee protection claimant is eligible to be referred, the claim is sent to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) for a decision on it. Canada provides protection if the IRB determines that the claimant is a Convention refugee (i.e., someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality or habitual residence because of a well-founded fear of persecution) or a person in need of protection (i.e., someone whose removal to their country of nationality or former habitual residence would subject them to the probability of torture, risk to life, or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment). These “protected persons” may apply for permanent residence within Canada. In order to facilitate family reunification, applications for permanent residence for the family members are processed concurrently with the application of the protected person in Canada. Through the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, Canada works closely with international partners, including the UNHCR, to assist refugees worldwide and to help them resettle in Canada, when appropriate. This includes resettling refugees found to be disproportionately more at risk than the general refugee population.  The government’s efforts are supplemented by private sponsorships where organizations and groups of individuals also assist refugees and other people in similar circumstances in rebuilding their lives in Canada.  In selecting refugees under this program, Canada relies on the UNHCR and other referral organizations and private sponsoring groups to identify and refer refugees for resettlement.  In exceptional circumstances, refugees from specific countries may apply directly for resettlement to Canada. Refugees are persons who have been forcibly displaced from their homeland as a result of having suffered severe persecution, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, forced labour or ethnic cleansing. Before accepting a person as a refugee, CIC will make sure that person does not have another resettlement option, cannot go home or cannot stay in the country where they initially sought asylum. Once selected, individuals undergo medical, security and criminality screening.

More on Canada’s help Over the past five years, Canada has granted permanent residence to more than 147,000 refugees. Canada has provided protection to more than 800,000 displaced persons and refugees since World War II.    http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/multimedia/vid eo/fatima/fatima.asp

Canada and Refugees In 2006, the top 10 source countries for refugees selected under Canada’s resettlement program were: Afghanistan Colombia Ethiopia Burma Sudan Democratic Republic of the Congo Somalia Iran Eritrea Iraq Citizenship and Immigration Canada www.cic.gc.ca

What languages do Immigrants to Canada speak?

Perspectives on Refugees See page 182 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010 /01/27/nigerian-haitian-refugee.html

1st Nations Perspective Assembly of First Nations*, Resolution 49 Subject: Immigration Entering Canada vs. Addressing Third World Conditions in First Nations Communities Canada is known as one of the world’s richest countries, yet fails to address the needs of First Nations communities, such as…… Canada fails to consult with the Assembly of First Nations leadership on immigration policies and legislation Therefore……. The AFN call on the federal government to freeze all immigration coming to Canada until the federal government addresses, commits, and delivers resource to First Nations to improve housing conditions, education, health, and employment…. * AFN represent many, but not all, First Nations in Canada.

Critical Challenge There are many cases where people claim refugee status only to have the government reject their claim. At times these people take drastic action to avoid removal from Canada. Research one of the following people and determine whether you think they should be granted refugee status. Base your answer in what you have learned. Hassan Raza, Amir Kazemian, Alvaro Orozco, Alexi Portnoy, Ololade Labiyi. Express your opinion in paragraph format. Explain the background to the case, and then provide your opinion. Don’t forget to support your opinion.

Where Immigrants settle in Canada, 2007.

How are provincial governments able to influence and implement immigration policies?

How is the implementation of immigration policies in Quebec an attempt to strengthen the French language in North America?