Canadian policy on refugees
Canadian policy on refugees is shaped by a commitment to provide sanctuary to individuals fleeing persecution and crises, distinguishing refugees from immigrants who choose to move for various reasons. Historically, Canada has faced challenges regarding refugee acceptance, influenced by concerns over racial prejudice, economic impacts, and fraudulent claims. The Canadian Immigration Act of 1952 established a formal process for recognizing convention refugees, which was further refined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of 2001. This process is overseen by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), comprising several divisions that handle claims from both prospective entrants and those already in the country.
Annually, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) processes thousands of claims, ensuring that decisions adhere to national justice standards and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Successful claimants are granted refugee status, enabling them to seek permanent residency and citizenship. Over recent years, Canada has seen significant numbers of refugees from various origins, including a notable influx of Syrian refugees and, more recently, Ukrainians following the crisis in Ukraine. As of 2022, Mexicans represented the largest group of claimants, highlighting the evolving landscape of refugee demographics in Canada.
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Canadian policy on refugees
In contemporary usage, refugee is a term for a person who fled their homeland in search of refuge due to natural or human-made disaster. Generally, refugees differed from immigrants in that they do not wish to leave their own country but are forced to do so.
Recognizing that the refugee problem was a universal one, Canada once preferred to provide assistance abroad via a coordinated international effort rather than attempting to accept massive numbers of refugees. The nation also had a long history of unofficial and official opposition to refugees based partly on racial prejudice, partly on fear of adverse economic consequences, and partly on resentment toward pseudo-refugees or would-be immigrants who used fraudulent claims of persecution in order to bypass the lengthy immigration process. However, the Canadian Immigration Act of 1952 accepted convention refugees, or people who qualified as refugees according to a 1951 United Nations convention. This agreement referred claimants to an elaborate process administered by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), the largest independent tribunal in Canada, whose chief executive officer, the chairperson, reports to Parliament through the minister of citizenship and immigration. The IRB was governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of 2001 and has refugee claims referred to it by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
The IRB had four divisions: the Immigration Division (ID), the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), the Refugee Protection Division (RPD), and the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD). The first two divisions dealt with people seeking entry to Canada. The second two divisions dealt exclusively with claims from people already residing in Canada. The RPD finalized about seventeen thousand refugee claims per year on average in 2016. Each claim was decided in accordance with the rules of national justice and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and refugee status is decided by reference to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugeesincorporated into Canada’s Immigration Act of 1976and the 1967 protocol to the convention. An RPD panel held non-adversarial hearings, usually in private, and claimants had a right to counsel and an interpreter. When successful, a claimant was granted refugee status, which enabled the claimant to apply for permanent residence and ultimately Canadian citizenship.
If noneligible, a claimant was ordered deported but had the right to appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), which had the powers of a superior court of record. Appeals could be inordinately lengthy and distressing to those already in economic and social misery. RAD hearings were adversarial in nature with appellants having the right to counsel. The minister responsible for the Immigration Act was represented, but proceedings were open to the general public, although measures could be taken to protect confidentiality if there was a serious threat to the life, liberty, or security of any individual.
Prior to 2021, almost 61,000 Syrian refugees came to Canada in the preceding five years, accounting for more than a quarter of all refugees. During their first year in Canada, refugees earned an average income of $20,000. Nearly two-thirds of settled refugee families live in their own homes and were reported to be skilled laborers. Those that qualified under referral by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could receive financial assistance for up to a year.
In 2022, Mexicans were the largest nationality in Canada claiming refugee status with over 16,400 cases. Haiti was second with 11,400 refugees, followed by Turkey at 9,370. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In the period between March 2022-January 2024, the Canadian government issued almost 1 million temporary emergency visas to Ukrainians.
Bibliography
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Bush, Olivia. "Refugee Statistics in Canada." Made in CA, 11 June 2024, madeinca.ca/refugee-statistics-canada. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
"How Canada’s Refugee System Works." Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 3 Apr. 2017, . Accessed 10 Apr. 2017.
Knowles, Valerie. Strangers at Our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1550–2015. 4th ed. Dundurn, 2016.
"Leading Origin Countries of Persons Claiming Refugee Status in Canada in 2022." Statista, 4 July 2024, www.statista.com/statistics/54966/top-10-origin-countries-of-refugee-claimants-in-canada. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
Osman, Laura. "Tens of Thousands of Ukrainians Expected to Come to Canada in the Next Few Months. CBC News, 18 Jan. 2024, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ukranians-canada-visas-1.7088030. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
Picot, Garnett, and Arthur Sweetman. "Making It in Canada: Immigration Outcomes and Policies." IRPP, 2012.