An overview of refugee policies Canadian Council for Refugees

2 Discrimination against Jews  In the 1930s and 40s thousands of European Jews tried to flee Nazi Germany.  Motivated by anti-semitism, the Canadian government used its discretion to exclude Jews.

Canadian Council for Refugees3 The SS St. Louis  Left Germany on May 13, 1939 with over 937 Jewish refugees onboard  Each refugee carried valid papers to enter Cuba  When the ship arrived, the Cuban government declared the papers invalid  The U.S. refused entry as well  Canada was the last hope for these refugees

Canadian Council for Refugees4 The SS St. Louis  Canada also refused entry to the Ss St. Louis  With declining food supplies, the ship had no choice but to return to Europe with all of its passengers  While some were able to negotiate ways into other ports (Great Britain, Belgium, etc.) these refugees were sent East when the war broke out and the countries began to send troops.

Canadian Council for Refugees5 International treaty to recognize refugees  1951: The Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees defined who was a refugee and their right to legal protection and assistance from those states who signed.

Canadian Council for Refugees6 According to the Geneva convention… A refugee is a person who experiences a well-founded fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality; or because he or she belongs to a certain social group; or because of his or her political opinion and is outside of the country of his or her origin and owing to such fear is unwilling to return to country of his or her origin.”

Canadian Council for Refugees7 ASYLUM Asylum is the protection offered to someone fleeing persecution in another country. An asylum-seeker is a person who has crossed an international border and applies for protection as a refugee in another country

Canadian Council for Refugees8 Cold War " enemies "  Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, Canada readily granted refuge to people fleeing communist regimes.  There were two designated classes, East European Self-Exiled Persons and Indochinese Designated Class, for such people.

Canadian Council for Refugees New Canadian Immigration Act  1978 was the first time an Immigration Act included a humanitarian category for refugees needing protection and resettlement.  It also established the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program which allowed Canadians to be involved in the resettlement of refugees.

Canadian Council for Refugees10 Singh Decision 1985  Known as the Singh decision, this Supreme Court decision declared that refugee claimants are entitled to basic standards of rights protection.  1988 Immigration and Refugee Board created to hear refugee claims.  April 4, date of Singh decision, is annually commemorated by Canadian refugee supporters as “Refugee Rights Day”.

Canadian Council for Refugees11 The Global Refugee Problem Rising numbers: 1970s – 3 million refugees 1980s – 8 million refugees 1995 – 27 million refugees 2005 – 22 million + 30 million internally displaced persons 1 out of every 280 people is a refugee

Canadian Council for Refugees12 Where are refugees today? Statistics from UNHCR Statistical Yearbook

Canadian Council for Refugees13 Global cooling toward refugees Many states in the industrialized world are becoming less welcoming to refugees by:  making it harder for refugees to reach their territory  enacting measures that make it less likely that those who arrive get a fair hearing.

Canadian Council for Refugees14 Officials are stationed at airports to stop anyone, including refugees, without proper documentation from embarking planes for Western countries. U.S. intercepts and detains Cuban and Haitian asylum-seekers trying to reach it by boat, and mandatorily detains certain categories of asylum-seekers who arrive in the U.S. Making it hard for refugees…

Canadian Council for Refugees15 Making it hard for refugees… 2001 Australian Government turned back Iraqi and Afghan asylum-seekers trying to reach its shores and later tried to discredit them by accusing them of throwing their children overboard.

Canadian Council for Refugees16 Issues for Canada: Sponsored refugees wait for years As of 2009, more than 12,000 refugees overseas are waiting for a decision:  Refugees sponsored in 2009 may not even be interviewed until  Private sponsors in Canada lose hope.

Canadian Council for Refugees17 Issues for Canada: Families wait to be reunited Some refugees in Canada wait years for their spouses/children to be allowed to join them:  Barriers in processing (e.g. DNA testing) and scarce resources in Canadian visa posts cause delays.  Lives of family members overseas can be at risk.

Canadian Council for Refugees18 Issues for Canada: Anti-refugee discourse Some Canadian media and experts carry simplistic messages that dangerously present one group of refugees as more deserving than another:  Refugees in camps are presented as "good" refugees who wait patiently overseas.  Refugees who come to Canada to claim refugee status are presented as "bad", accused of jumping an imaginary queue.

Canadian Council for Refugees19 Temporary Refugee Protection  Limited length of stay in a nation  Limited working hours  Limited access to the country’s social and cultural services

Canadian Council for Refugees20 Refugee Case Studies

Canadian Council for Refugees21 Written Response In your opinion, what should a country’s policy regarding refugees look like? What factors would you consider to be most important when determining who would be allowed entry and who would not be? Would you look at those at your border differently than those waiting at displaced persons camps or temporary refugee camps? Would you favour temporary asylum or permanent migration?

Canadian Council for Refugees22 OPTIONS FOR REFUGEES 1. Voluntary Repatriation 2. Local Integration 3. Third-Country Resettlement But what do they do while they wait….

Canadian Council for Refugees23 Experiencing a displaced persons/refugee camp