ABOUT THE CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES

Transcription

1 CONSEIL CANADIEN POUR LES RÉFUGIÉS CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES ABOUT THE CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES MANDATE Established in 1978, the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) 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 180 organizations involved in refugee sponsorship and protection and in newcomer settlement. The CCR serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership. The CCR has been the national voice on refugee protection and newcomer settlement in Canada for over twenty-five years, educating the public and putting issues onto the agenda of the various players in immigration and refugee law and policy in Canada, including parliamentarians, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Immigration and Refugee Board. KEY CURRENT ISSUES Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. Refugee families separated for prolonged periods Lack of appeal for refugees Delays in processing privately sponsored refugees SCOPE OF CONCERNS The CCR has a wide range of concerns relating to immigrants and refugees. These include: Trafficking in women and girls Impact of the security agenda Refugee determination system Refugee resettlement Immigration detention Integration of immigrants and refugees Newcomers access to services People without status Family reunification Rights of children Anti-racism Survivors of torture CCR CONSULTATIONS CCR members and others interested meet twice a year at consultations, held in late spring and late fall, in different locations. The consultations provide an excellent opportunity for networking and information-exchange and allow the CCR to develop its policy positions. Media representatives are welcome at the consultations. Consult the Meetings page on the CCR website at for details on upcoming consultations. See next page 6839 Drolet, #302, Montréal, QC, Canada H2S 2T1 TÉL.: FAX : (514) ccr@web.ca WEB SITE:

2 MEDIA RELEASES For a list of CCR media releases, visit our virtual Media Room at To receive our media releases send an to ccr4@web.ca CCR CONTACTS The chief spokespersons for the CCR are Elizabeth McWeeny, President, and Janet Dench, Executive Director. CONTACT INFO For information contact Colleen French, Communications and Networking Coordinator, by telephone at (514) x 1 or ccr4@web.ca 6839 Drolet, #302, Montréal, QC, Canada H2S 2T1 TÉL.: FAX : (514) ccr@web.ca WEB SITE:

3 Mission Statement The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) 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 organizations involved in the settlement, sponsorship and protection of refugees and immigrants. The Council serves the networking, information exchange and advocacy needs of its membership. Executive Committee ( ) President: Elizabeth McWeeny, Thunder Bay Past President: Nick Summers, St. John s Vice-President: Amy Casipullai, Toronto Treasurer: Ibrahim Absiye, Toronto Secretary: John Docherty, Montréal Counsellors: Jehad Aliweiwi, Toronto Julie Bédard-Mathieu, Montréal Tigist Dafla, Edmonton Gilbert Iyamuremye, Windsor Michele Millard, Toronto Eva Osorio-Nieto, Halifax Victor Porter, Vancouver Wanda Yamamoto, Winnipeg Staff Janet Dench, Executive Director Guadalupe Macias / Alec Valodine, Office Manager Roberto Jovel / Meissoon Azzaria, Settlement Policy Director Catherine Balfour / Colleen French, Communication and Networking Coordinator Karima Akli / Alejandra Morales, Office Assistant Canadian Council for Refugees 6839-A Drolet #302 Montréal, Québec, H2S 2T1 tel: (514) fax: (514) ccr@web.ca The CCR Mission Statement says that we are committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada. This year the CCR members have been challenged on all fronts to live this mission and we have responded by strengthening our efforts and broadening our strategies. One important way to meet the Canadian Council for Refugees Annual Report Message from the President, Elizabeth McWeeny challenges facing refugees is to look to the international arena. The CCR realized that refugee advocates need to work together across borders, rather than each working in our separate arena. In order to make this dream a reality, we took the ambitious step of inviting NGOs from around the world to the International Refugee Rights Conference, which was very successfully held in June in Toronto. Several generous donations and grants made attendance possible for representatives of small NGOs from various regions of the world. At the concluding plenary participants warmly endorsed the CCR s major recommendation to establish an international network on refugee rights. Since June, the CCR has been working with others to convene a steering committee to oversee the development of the network which we hope will one day become an essential player in a more just world for refugees. The June conference also provided an exciting launch for the emerging CCR Youth network. We are becoming increasingly aware of the leadership role that young people are able to bring to the CCR. They help us to deepen our understanding of the issues facing newcomer youth. They are also taking forward the struggle for refugee rights in new ways and to different parts of society. We look forward to the youth network growing increasingly active over the coming year, starting with a youth-focused consultation this fall. Meanwhile, the realities facing refugees and immigrants have made many calls on our attention over the past year. The overall number of persons arriving through Canada s humanitarian programs Youth participants at the International Refugee Rights Conference, June Credit: Taro Hashimoto is dropping due to interdiction measures such as the Safe Third Country Agreement. On the other hand, the numbers of refugees resettled remains low (despite the willingness of private groups to sponsor much larger numbers of refugees). Much of the work undertaken by CCR is supported by volunteers and I d like to give particular recognition and appreciation to the Legal Affairs Committee and the lawyers who undertake cases on behalf of CCR or with CCR support in order to achieve justice for refugees and immigrants. The amount of work put in by these skilled experts is amazing and often successful. We thank them all. Four members of our Board are ending their terms this month and I take this opportunity to thank them for their energy and commitment to the CCR. All of us have busy lives and real jobs and serving as a CCR Board member requires a lot of late nights and weekends. I certainly look forward to their continued involvement with the work of CCR we need them all. Our dedicated staff has given their all again this year. This small team headed by Janet brought us through the International Conference, produces incredible amounts of written work, speaks on our behalf and supports the Executive and Working Groups to get things done. With regret, we lost some valuable staff persons this year but gained new energy and skills in welcoming new staff members to the team and I look forward to working with them again this year. As we enter a new year I hope we can keep our commitment to rights and justice for refugees as the focus for our work and strive to put the human back into humanitarian. Thank you all,

4 Mandate The Canadian Council for Refugees fulfils its mission by: Providing opportunities for networking and professional development through consultations, working groups, publications and meetings; Working in cooperation with other networks to strengthen the defense of refugee rights; Advancing policy analysis and information-exchange on refugee and related issues; Advocating for the rights of refugees and immigrants through media relations, government relations, research and public education. The mandate of the CCR is rooted in the belief that: Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 14.1); Refugees, refugee claimants, displaced persons and immigrants have the right to a dignified life and the rights and protections laid out in national and international agreements and conventions concerning human rights; Canada and Canadians have responsibilities for the protection and resettlement of refugees from around the world; Settlement services to refugees and immigrants are fundamental to participation in Canadian life; National and international refugee and immigration policies must accord special consideration to the experience of refugee and immigrant women and children and to the effect of racism. The CCR s organizational principles are: The membership of the Canadian Council for Refugees reflects the diversity of those concerned with refugee and settlement issues and includes refugees and other interested people in all regions of Canada; The work of the Council is democratic and collaborative; Our work is national and international in scope. INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING ON REFUGEE RIGHTS In order to increase our effectiveness in achieving rights for refugees, the CCR has invested heavily in promoting cross-border networking among refugee advocates. Our very successful June 2006 International Refugee Rights Conference brought together NGOs from a wide variety of countries, including Malaysia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Australia, Iran, South Africa and Bulgaria, to name just a few. The conference expressed overwhelming support for the development of an international network, which is now a CCR priority. LIVES ON HOLD As part of broad calls for the regularization of people without status, the CCR has been actively supporting efforts by nationals of moratorium countries to win permanent residence. In May a delegation of people in limbo travelled to Ottawa to explain their situation to parliamentarians and ask for a solution. Following suggestions by the Minister and others that people in limbo can always ask for humanitarian consideration, the CCR participated in an analysis of negative humanitarian decisions, to demonstrate the need for a more comprehensive solution. PROFESSIONALIZATION TASK FORCE In course of the year, the CCR pursued the development of the project focusing on the professionalization of the settlement sector. Other organizations have signed on to support this effort to achieve better recognition of the contribution of settlement workers. PRIVATE SPONSORSHIP OF REFUGEES The CCR continued to collaborate with and support the work of the elected representatives of the Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) in seeking to respond to the many challenges facing the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Chief among these are the huge backlog of undertakings overseas leading to unbearably long delays and the low acceptance rates. The CCR highlighted these concerns and proposed some solutions in our first meeting with Minister Solberg Highlights GENDER-BASED APPROACH TO SETTLEMENT Through a specific project involving research and regional consultations, the CCR explored the application of a genderbased analysis to settlement work. A toolkit is being developed and will be ready in November. US-CANADA SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT On the first anniversary of the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement, the Canadian Council for Refugees launched a legal challenge, along with Amnesty International, the Canadian Council of Churches and a Colombian asylum seeker in the US. We are arguing that the US is not a safe country for all refugees, and that by denying asylum seekers the right to make a claim at the US-Canada border, Canada is violating its international obligations to protect refugees from refoulement and denying them their rights under the Charter. The Federal Court has granted leave; the hearing is expected to take place in February The CCR also published a report on the first year of implementation, highlighting the devastating consequences for refugees. SECURITY ISSUES The predominance of the security agenda continued to be a major concern. The CCR participated actively in an intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada in the security certificate cases heard in June (the decision is pending). The CCR also provided comments to the Immigration and Refugee Board on their draft policy on the use of secret hearings. A longstanding problem of long security-related delays in refugees permanent residence applications was highlighted by the lawsuit launched by Suleyman Goven, with the support of the CCR. Recently Mr Goven became a permanent residence, thirteen years after he applied! TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS We continued to work to raise awareness of the realities of trafficking in Canada and to advocate for protection for trafficked persons. An important step was taken in May 2006, when the government issued guidelines for Temporary Residence Permits for trafficked persons.

5 Highlights (continued) INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTIONS Canada was examined by the UN on its compliance with the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The CCR made submissions on both of these, highlighting areas where Canada does not live up to its international human rights obligations. The CCR also participated at a hearing in October 2005 before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, on the complaint we made against Canada for its use of direct backs to return asylum seekers to the US without consideration of their need for protection. CCR PUBLICATIONS International Refugee Rights Conference: Report of the conference sessions, September 2006, report International Refugee Rights Conference: International networking report from the concluding plenary, September 2006, report Lives on Hold The Limits of H&C, September 2006, report Lives on Hold Vies en suspens, May 2006, DVD The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program: Current challenges and opportunities, April 2006, report Non-Citizens in Canada: Equally human, equally entitled to rights, March 2006, report and backgrounder Closing the Front Door on Refugees: Report on the first year of the Safe Third Country Agreement, December 2005, report Annual Status Report on Canada s Refugee and Immigration Policies, November 2005, factsheet and appendix Family Separation: Who pays the cost?, October 2005, factsheet Refugees and Non-Citizens in Canada: Key concerns regarding Canada s compliance with the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), September 2005, report Anti-Terrorism Act Review, Brief to the House of Common Subcommittee on Public Safety and National Security, September 2005, report CCR WEBSITE Visit the CCR website ( for these and many other documents. ADVOCATING FOR REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS The CCR was active through the year in addressing a wide range of other issues affecting refugees and immigrants, bringing them to the attention of government, Parliament, the courts and the public. There have been successes (for example, the government adopted a new policy to end enforcement action in schools); other campaigns are ongoing (for example, for the right of appeal for refugees). Over the past year, the CCR has developed issue specific web pages to highlight information and calls for action (for example, CCR in Print CCR NEWS RELEASES (selected) Government Appointment Failures Hurt Refugees, 21 September 2006 No Refugee Appeal Means No Government Accountability, 28 June 2006 International Detention Coalition Launch Marks World Refugee Day, 20 June 2006 CCR Welcomes Emergency Protection Measure for Trafficked Persons, 11 May 2006 Call for Solution for Nationals of Moratoria Countries Living in Limbo, 9 May 2006 Safe Third Country Agreement Shown to Violate Refugee Rights, 29 March 2006 CCR Criticizes Canada s Treatment of Non- Citizens in Report to United Nations Committee, 21 March 2006 Groups Launch Legal Challenge of Safe Third Country Agreement, 29 December 2005 CCR Denounces Unfair Security Inadmissibility Provisions, 8 November 2005 Rights Groups Remind Government of Broken Promises on Refugee Appeal, 14 October 2005 CCR CHRONICLE Sign up for the CCR Chronicle, a monthly electronic digest keeping you up-to-date on refugee and immigrant rights advocacy in Canada. To subscribe, send an with the subject subscribe Chronicle to ccr4@web.ca CCR LISTSERVE Stay in touch with the CCR through our online activist network. To subscribe, send your name, organization and address to ccr3@web.ca Did you know? THE CCR YOUTH NETWORK was launched in June 2006 and has set up an online discussion group at: Working Groups and Core Groups The working groups are the forum in which CCR members exchange information, network and develop strategies and policy positions in particular areas of concern. They are responsible for preparing resolutions and planning workshops at the consultations, as well as for advising the Executive on policy. Working groups meet four times a year. Working Group on Immigration & Settlement This working group examines issues relating to immigration and to refugee and immigrant settlement in Canada. The settlement core group is made up of representatives of provincial, regional and national organizations. Co-chairs: Debbie Douglas & Sherman Chan. Working Group on Inland Protection This working group is concerned for the protection of refugee claimants in Canada or seeking to come to Canada. Co-chairs: Deborah Isaacs & Francisco Rico-Martinez. Working Group on Overseas Protection & Sponsorship This working group looks at issues relating to the selection of refugees from overseas and the programs for them here in Canada, as well as protection issues for refugees around the world. Co-chairs: Paulette Johnson & Solomon Olu-Cole. Core Groups Core groups ensure that certain issues receive a high profile within working groups and the CCR as a whole. They are made up of representatives of the three working groups. Loly Rico & Tigist Dafla chaired the Core Group on Gender Issues; Gideon Kpotsi chaired the Anti- Racism Core Group, and Jehad Aliweiwi & Jennifer Jeanes chaired the Communications Core Group.

6 Report on Fundraising from Jehad Aliweiwi, CCR Executive Member The CCR is an established agency with a respected role in refugee protection in Canada. Our organization s track record of excellence is resulting in an increased demand on our support and advocacy work on behalf of refugees and the refugee and immigrants serving agencies across the country. The CCR plays a critically important role in responding to emerging needs in refugee protection, negative perceptions of refugees and changing political realities in Ottawa. We warmly thank Friends of the CCR, donors and regular supporters for contributing to this work. For CCR to continue to be an effective voice, we must address fiscal challenges and resource limitations facing the organization today. We need to be able to ensure sustainability and viability. To meet this challenge, the CCR is in the process of developing a comprehensive long term financial and resource development plan. The goal is to build a plan that will ensure sustainable core funding, diversified and stable program funding sources, and an expanded donor base. For the plan to succeed, CCR needs the creative contribution of all its members and supporters. The goal is to raise one million dollars by the end of How you can stand up for human rights for refugees Welcome refugees to your community Promote positive attitudes towards refugees and other newcomers among your friends and neighbours Encourage your organization to join the Canadian Council for Refugees Join the CCR as an associate member if you are not part of an organization Volunteer at our national headquarters or with a member group in your community Attend the CCR consultations Make a charitable donation (you will receive a receipt for tax purposes) The Canadian Council for Refugees is a non-profit charitable organization. Business number: RR Donations are tax-deductible. Canadian Council for Refugees Statement of operations year ended August 31, 2006 Revenue $ $ Donations 70,186 75,274 Grants Government 148,841 61,252 Others 69,767 62,651 Events 2,088 3,112 Conference registrations 63,680 42,650 Membership fees 42,070 48,435 Publications Interest 1,504 2, , ,221 Expenses Staffing expenses 221, ,145 Administration expenses 34,602 35,364 Conference expenses 81,832 20,616 Executive Committee 22,793 28,799 Working Group expenses 30,185 8,724 Fundraising 2,392 1, , ,089 Excess of revenues over expenses 5,524 (9,868) Balance Sheet as at August 31, Assets Current Assets Cash ,732 Term deposit (note 3) 36, Accounts receivable (note 4) 61,407 8,924 Prepaid expenses 1,488 2,617 99, ,500 Investments (note 3) 10,200 20, , ,868 Liabilities Current liabilities Excess of outstanding cheques over cash 12,167 - Accounts payable (note 6) 4,635 4,256 Deferred contributions (note 7) 8,162 45,467 24,964 49,723 Assets Restricted for stabilization fund 10,000 10,000 Unrestricted 74,669 69,145 84,669 79, , ,868 Copies of audited statements, including notes which are an integral part of the financial statements, are available from the CCR office.

7 Canadian Council for Refugees Talking About Refugees and Immigrants: A Glossary Of Terms Many different terms are used to describe refugees and immigrants, some with particular legal meanings, some with offensive associations. Using terms properly is an important way of treating people with respect and advancing an informed debate on the issues. REFUGEE TERMS Refugee a person who is forced to flee from persecution. Convention refugee a person who meets the refugee definition in the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. This definition is used in Canadian law and is widely accepted internationally. To meet the definition, a person must be outside their country of origin and have a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Asylum-seeker a person who is seeking asylum. Until a determination is made, it is impossible to say whether the asylum-seeker is a refugee or not. Refugee claimant a person who has made a claim for protection as a refugee. This term is more or less equivalent to asylum-seeker and is standard in Canada, while asylum-seeker is the term more often used internationally. Resettled refugee a refugee who has been offered a permanent home in a country while still outside that country. Refugees resettled to Canada are determined to be refugees by the Canadian government before they arrive in Canada (whereas refugee claimants receive a determination in Canada). Protected person according to Canada s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a person who has been determined by Canada to be either (a) a Convention Refugee or (b) a person in need of protection (i.e. a person who may not meet the Convention definition but is in a refugee-like situation defined in Canadian law as deserving of protection, for example because they are in danger of being tortured. Internally displaced person a person who has been forcibly displaced but is still within the borders of their home country. Stateless person a person who is not recognized as a citizen by any state. Some refugees may be stateless but not all are, and similarly not all stateless people are refugees. You may also hear Political refugee and Economic refugee these terms have no meaning in law, and can be confusing as they incorrectly suggest that there are different categories of refugees.

8 TERMS FOR IMMIGRANTS Immigrant a person who has settled permanently in another country. Immigrants choose to move, whereas refugees are forced to flee. Permanent resident a person who has been granted permanent resident status in Canada. The person may have come to Canada as an immigrant or as a refugee. Permanent residents who become Canadian citizens are no longer permanent residents. Landed immigrant this term, still sometimes used, has officially been replaced by the term permanent resident. Other terms for people outside their home country Foreign national - a person who is neither a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident (according to Canada s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act). Temporary resident a person who has permission to remain in Canada on a temporary basis (the main categories are students, temporary workers and visitors). Migrant a person who is outside their country of origin. Occasionally this term is used to cover everyone outside their country of birth (including people who have been Canadian citizens for decades). More often, it is used for people currently on the move or people with temporary status or no status at all in the country where they live. It tends to be applied to people at the bottom of the economic ladder. For example, we don t often hear of migrant businessmen. Economic migrant a person who moves countries in order to take up a job or seek a better economic future. The term is correctly used for people whose motivations are entirely economic. However, migrants motivations are often complex and may not be immediately obvious, so it is dangerous to apply the economic label too quickly to an individual or group of migrants. Person without status/ Undocumented a person who has not been granted permission to stay in the country, or has overstayed their visa. The term can cover a person who falls between the cracks of the system, such as a refugee claimant who is refused refugee status but not removed from Canada because of a situation of generalized risk in the country of origin. The term undocumented can be confusing, because it is also used in Canada to refer to refugees who lack identity documents from their country of origin. YOU MAY ALSO HEAR: Illegal migrant/illegal immigrant these terms are considered problematic because they criminalize the person, rather than the act of entering or remaining irregularly in a country. Using the term can also have the disadvantage of prejudging the status of the person. If a person is fleeing as a refugee, international law recognizes that they may need to enter a country without authorization and it would therefore be misleading to describe them as an illegal migrant. Similarly, a person irregularly in the country may have been coerced by traffickers: such a person should be recognized as a victim of crime, not a wrong-doer. Illegal this term is similarly problematic, because it transfers the illegality from the status to the person. Its use has provoked as a response the slogan no one is illegal. Alien this term is used in some countries, notably the US, to designate non-citizens. Many people find the term dehumanizing. Worth thinking about Refugees and migrants seem to attract water imagery. We hear of refugee flows, floods of migrants, pools of refugees What impact do these images have on our attitudes to the people under discussion? For more information or to arrange for a media interview, please contact: CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES 6839 Drolet #302, Montréal, QC, H2S 2T1 Tel Fax ccr@web.ca Web site:

9 Right of permanent residence fee halved Increased investment in settlement Direct backs Temporary protection measures for trafficked persons New humanitarian directives Response to war in Lebanon Front-end security checks Enforcement in schools Better communication with sponsors Canadian Council for Refugees Annual Status Report 2006 On the Plus Side Effective 2 May 2006, the government halved the Right of Permanent Residence fee for new immigrants from $975 to $490. The fee was imposed in 1995 on all adult refugees and immigrants becoming permanent residents. In 2000, refugees were exempted from the fee. Refugees in Canada, like immigrants, must still pay a processing fee for permanent residence ($550 per adult, $150 per child). The May 2006 budget confirmed the commitment, made by the previous government to provide additional resources for settlement and integration ($307 million over two years). Effective 31 August 2006, the government put an end to the use of direct backs for refugee claimants, an administrative practice by which asylum seekers at the US-Canada border are returned to the US with an appointment to return later. If detained by the US, the asylum seekers may be denied the right to pursue their claim in Canada. While the end to the routine use of direct backs is welcome, the new guidelines still provide for their use in exceptional circumstances. On 11 May 2006, the government announced new guidelines providing for Temporary Resident Permits for trafficked persons. This marked a first step towards treating trafficked persons, often women and children, as victims of a crime, rather than as people who should be detained and deported. Further work will be needed to address some problematic aspects of the guidelines and to provide for long-term solutions for trafficked persons. In June 2006, responding to a recommendation made by the CCR and others, Citizenship and Immigration Canada issued new guidelines providing greater flexibility in responding to the particular situations of persons applying for humanitarian and compassionate consideration. The Canadian government responded efficiently and effectively to Canadians caught up in the war in Lebanon, including urgent processing of family members of Canadians. However, it would have been preferable to offer the same evacuation services to permanent residents as to citizens. The Immigration and Refugee Board issued new instructions in February 2006 to prevent refugee claimants being forced to wait indefinitely for a hearing if security checks are delayed. A refugee hearing is now scheduled after one year. The Canada Border Services Agency issued a new policy in May 2006 stopping enforcement officers from entering schools to arrest children. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has improved information flow to private sponsors of refugees, allowing them to know more about how the refugees they sponsor are bring processed. *This status report gives an overview of how the Canadian federal government addressed refugee and immigration issues over the past year, from the perspective of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR). The report covers the period from November 2005 to October To read more about the issues covered, see References (also available on the What s new page of the CCR website,

10 Canadian Council for Refugees Annual Status Report 2006 On the Minus Side Safe third country Security certificates Return to torture Refugee appeal Private sponsorship of refugees Family reunification People without status Lack of IRB appointments Arming border officials Government funding cuts H&C refusals The Safe Third Country Agreement, implemented in December 2004, has been having a devastating impact on refugees. With Canada s land border largely closed to refugees, there were fewer refugee claims made in Canada in 2005 than in any year since the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, the human rights situation in the US deteriorated, particularly with respect to compliance with the Convention against Torture, making the US less safe than ever. Five Muslim men continued to be subjected to security certificates, unable to defend themselves fairly because they are not allowed to know the evidence against them. While Mohamed Harkat was released (subject to extraordinarily restrictive conditions), three others remain in detention (all of them have now spent more than 5 years in jail). In June 2006 the Supreme Court heard challenges of the rights violations inherent in the security certificate process: a decision is awaited. The Canadian government has maintained the position that it will deport people to torture, despite the fact that this is clearly prohibited by the Convention against Torture. In June 2006, the Canadian government flouted a request by the UN Committee against Torture to stay the removal of Bachan Singh Sogi in order to allow the Committee to study his request. The new Conservative government has refused to implement the right to an appeal for refugee claimants, as provided for in the law passed by Parliament. As a result, wrong refugee decisions continue to go uncorrected. Privately sponsored refugees continued to wait overseas in growing backlogs, with processing routinely taking years. Despite the backlogs of applicants waiting, the government failed in 2005 to meet even the bottom end of the projected range for privately sponsored refugees. The government s preoccupation with economic immigration has meant little attention has been paid to resolving the problems facing families trying to reunite. These problems include long processing times, the narrow definition of family and procedural obstacles such as requests for DNA testing. The government has failed to address the situation of large numbers of people without status in Canada. Despite the fact that they contribute in essential ways to Canada s economy and social fabric, they are left vulnerable to exploitation by their lack of status. The government has failed to make timely appointments of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. As a result of the shortage of decision-makers, refugee claimants and others appearing before the Board face growing waiting times. In August 2006, the Prime Minister announced the arming of the Canada Border Services Agency. Armed border officials will send a message of hostility and suspicion to people arriving in Canada and may be particularly traumatizing for refugees who come seeking Canada s protection. In September 2006, the government announced funding cuts that will have negative impacts for immigrants and refugees. Many of the cuts involved relatively small amounts of money but will seriously undermine efforts to achieve equality within Canadian society. Many nationals of moratorium countries received disturbing negative decisions in their humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications, even though they are well established in Canada and have been living here for years. This highlights the need for a mechanism with clear criteria to provide permanent residence to people who cannot be removed because of generalized insecurity in their country of origin.

11 References for: Annual Status Report 2006 On the Plus Side Right of Permanent Residence Fee Halved The Budget Speech 2006, The Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance, 2 May 2006, available at speech/speeche.htm: Effective immediately, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee is reduced by 50 per cent from $975 to $490. For the CCR s concerns about the fee, see CCR, Impact of the Right of Landing Fee, February 1997, Increased investment in settlement The Budget Speech 2006, The Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance, 2 May 2006, available at speech/speeche.htm: We are increasing immigration settlement funding by $307 million. See also CIC news release, Canada s New Government Delivers on $307 Million in Settlement Funding, 10 November 2006, For CCR recommendation to increase funding, see Comments on settlement and integration to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, 16 April 2003, Direct backs For the government s account of the decision to end direct backs, see the report on the first year of implementation of the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, A Partnership for Protection Year One Review, November 2006, index.html. For the UNHCR concerns, see the UNHCR Monitoring report, available at For information about a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, contesting the use of direct backs, see CCR Release: Rights Groups Urge OAS to Declare Canadian Refugee Policy a Rights Abuse, 1 April 2004, On 27 October 2006, the petition, John Doe et Al. Canada, was found admissible by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Report No 121/06) Temporary protection measures for trafficked persons CIC news release, Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking, 11 May 2006, CCR media release: CCR welcomes emergency protection measure for trafficked persons, 11 May 2006, release11may06traff.htm. New humanitarian directives For the recommendation, see CCR, Issues for Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) roundtable, March 2006, H&CMarch2006.html. Barriers to landing for those accepted in principle point A, 10. The new policy is contained in Interim instructions to CIC officers concerning the examination of H&C applications (in Canada), issued 7 June These state: CIC officers assessing applications for humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) consideration must consider exempting any applicable criteria or obligation of the Act, including inadmissibilities, when the foreign national has specifically requested such an exemption, or it is clear from the material that the foreign national is seeking such an exemption. Response to war in Lebanon See CIC news release, Immigration measures to help reunite families affected by Lebanon conflict, 27 July 2006, press/06/0606-e.html. Front-end security checks See IRB, Instructions Governing the Management of Refugee Protection Claims Awaiting Front-end Security Screening, 15 February Enforcement in schools Following incidents in April 2006 when children were arrested in schools by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the CCR wrote to CBSA to complain. CBSA responded with a copy of an operational bulletin, CBSA officers attending schools for the purpose of apprehending parents of school age children, issued in May According to the bulletin, Officers are not to enter schools or access school information for the purpose of enforcing the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), except in extraordinary circumstances. Better communication with sponsors Initiatives to improve communication with private sponsors of refugees include monthly conference calls of the NGO-government subcommittee and a quarterly newsletter from CIC Resettlement Division. CCR = Canadian Council for Refugees CIC = Citizenship and Immigration Canada IRB = Immigration and Refugee Board UNHCR = United Nations High Commission for Refugees

12 References for: Annual Status Report 2006 On the Minus Side Safe third country See CCR report, Closing the Front Door on Refugees: Report on the First Year of the Safe Third Country Agreement, 29 December 2005, Also CCR media releases, Groups launch legal challenge of Safe Third Country Agreement, 29 December 2005, and Safe Third Country Agreement Shown to Violate Refugee Rights, 29 March 2006, Security certificates See CCR Chronicle Vol. 1, Issue 4, 4 July 2006, item g) CCR appears before the Supreme Court in Security Certificate case, Return to torture See CCR Media release, CCR calls for stay of removal while threat of torture examined, 29 June 2006, Refugee appeal See Letter regarding non-implementation of the Refugee Appeal Division (joint CCR, AI, KAIROS letter to all Members of Parliament), November 2005, For CIC position, see CIC, The Refugee Appeal Division: Backgrounder, 3 November 2005, Private sponsorship of refugees See CIC, Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, 2006, 31 October 2006, Table 3 shows that 2,976 privately sponsored refugees were admitted in 2005, below the lower end of the target range (3,000-4,000). See also CCR, The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program: Current Challenges and Opportunities, April 2006, Family reunification See CCR, Manifesto on Family Reunification, April 2006, available at See also CCR Media Release, CCR Criticizes Canada s Treatment of Non-citizens in Report to United Nations Committee, 21 March 2006, and Report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Non-Citizens in Canada: Equally Human, Equally Entitled to Rights, March 2006, People without status See CCR, Proposal for the regularization of individuals and families without status, adopted June 2006, Lack of IRB appointments See CCR Media release, Government Appointment Failures Hurt Refugees, 21 September 2006, Arming border officials Office of the Prime Minister, News Release, Prime Minister Harper announces initiatives to improve Canada s border security, 31 August 2006, See CCR, Letter to the Prime Minister opposing the arming of CBSA, 26 October 2006, Government funding cuts Finance Canada, News release, Canada s New Government cuts wasteful programs, refocuses spending on priorities, achieves major debt reduction as promised, 25 September 2006, CCR Media release, Government cuts will hurt refugees and immigrants, 11 October 2006, CCR Statement on the federal budget cuts and their impact on refugees and immigrants, 31 October 2006, H&C refusals Lives on Hold Coalition Media release, Lives on hold: The limits of humanitarian and compassionate applications, 26 September 2006, Lives on Hold Coalition report, Lives on hold: The limits of H&C, September 2006, CCR = Canadian Council for Refugees CIC = Citizenship and Immigration Canada IRB = Immigration and Refugee Board UNHCR = United Nations High Commission for Refugees

13 Confronting myths CONFRONTING MYTHS ABOUT REFUGEES Wouldn t it be better to direct money to refugees in camps overseas rather than spending it on a refugee claimant system here in Canada? As a signatory to the Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture, Canada has a legal duty not to send people back to persecution or torture and therefore must determine whether someone is at risk before deporting them. In addition to our legal obligation towards people on Canadian territory, we have a moral obligation towards refugees in need overseas. Refugees who come to Canada help us meet that obligation by working and paying taxes here. They also often send money to help family members survive in camps overseas. Aren t refugees in the camps more deserving than people who make refugee claims here? All human beings deserve equally to have their basic rights respected. Canada has specific legal obligations towards refugees who are here in Canada, but we can and ought to act in favour of refugees elsewhere. Refugees in camps and refugees in Canada are not two classes of people: in fact, a refugee in Canada might have been in a camp somewhere else just a few weeks ago. People who care about refugees overseas should encourage the government to speed up processing for refugees who have been privately sponsored by groups in Canada: these refugees regularly wait years for the Canadian government to study their case. Aren t most refugee claimants bogus? Many claimants are refugees in need of protection and many others are people who have left behind situations of violence, injustice or deprivation, but are not recognized as refugees because the definition is very narrow. For example, a person can be fleeing a vicious war and still not qualify as a refugee. Whatever their reasons, those who make claims are people with few options, since no one who has power and privilege would want to be a refugee claimant. To call them bogus is to victimize the weak. Doesn t the Canadian Charter give refugee claimants too many rights and make it impossible to have a functioning refugee system? The Canadian Charter guarantees only those basic rights and freedoms that Parliament considered fundamental to all human beings. They reflect very closely the human rights recognized in international conventions. Far from preventing us from having a functioning refugee system, the Charter helps to show what a refugee system needs in order to do its proper job which is to ensure that refugees are protected. The real challenges that any refugee system faces are 1) that refugee determination is inherently difficult and therefore needs to be given adequate time and attention, and 2) that the system (1 of 3) :18:42

14 Confronting myths will backlog if the resources are not increased to match an increase in claims. Don t we need to reform the refugee determination system to make it faster? The basic elements of Canada s refugee determination system are sound and don t need reform. The main cause of slow processing in recent years was that the number of claimants increased but the government delayed increasing the number of decision-makers. However, with the recent drop in numbers of claims and the increased processing rate at the Immigration and Refugee Board, it looks like they will soon run out of claimants to hear. Meanwhile, the real crisis is overseas, where family members of refugees wait in a backlog that, at current rates will take a year and half to process, while privately sponsored refugees wait in a backlog that represents more than two years of processing. Doesn t Canada accept too high a percentage of claimants? There is no right acceptance rate. Canada has been accepting a lower and lower percentage of claimants since the Immigration and Refugee Board began doing refugee determination in 1989, although it remains higher than other countries (in 2004 the Canadian acceptance rate was 40%). Generally speaking Canada s rate reflects a more coherent and just approach than seen in many other countries, where the refugee definition is interpreted so narrowly that many people in need of protection are rejected. For example, some countries do not recognize women fleeing gender-based persecution, or refugees fleeing persecution from rebel groups. Others have a cut-off date after which a person can no longer claim refugee status. It is important to note that of those countries, especially in Europe, that accept only a tiny percentage of claimants as refugees, many provide some other form of protection, such as humanitarian status or deferred removal. Don t we need to restrict the rights of refugees in order to protect our own security? Full protection of refugee rights is completely compatible with protecting our security. Refugees entering the country are subject to security screening. Experience shows that the overwhelming majority of refugee claimants raise no security concerns. In 2004, only one claimant was found inadmissible on security grounds, out of over 25,000 claimants. Refugees come in search of security: their rights should no more be sacrificed for security than should anyone else s. Doesn t Canada s refugee system make the U.S. vulnerable to terrorism? Promoting rights and respect for all is one of the best ways of ensuring security for all. Treating refugees right does not threaten the U.S. All refugees and all refugee claimants are subjected to a security screening. Isn t it true that once a person makes a refugee claim in Canada they are almost never deported? Every year the Canadian government deports thousands of refugee claimants. In addition, many claimants leave Canada on their own. Aren t there too many appeals for refugee claimants? (2 of 3) :18:42

15 Confronting myths Refugee claimants have no appeal on the merits from a negative decision on their refugee claim, even though a wrong decision might lead to them being deported to persecution, torture or even death. Refused claimants can apply to the Federal Court for judicial review, but they must get permission from the Court first and the Court may only look at narrow, technical errors, so that a decision that is wrong but arrived at in a legally correct way will not be overturned by the Federal Court. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as passed by Parliament gives refugee claimants access to an appeal but the government has not implemented it. Isn t it necessary to detain refugee claimants who don t have identity documents until we know who they are? Dangerous people who are trying to hide their identity are most unlikely to make a refugee claim, because of the intensive screening that refugee claimants are subjected to. They are much more likely to have good quality false documents. The people who end up in detention because of lack of identity documents tend to be the poorest and the most vulnerable, including refugees who can t acquire or travel with documents because they are being persecuted based on their identity. Aren t most refugee claimants coming to Canada to seek a better economic standard of living? People forced to flee as refugees are looking for a safe place for themselves and their families. In a world that has become increasingly hostile towards refugees, there are few such places. For many refugees, coming to Canada actually means a drop in standard of living: people with professional careers in their home countries often end up working menial jobs in Canada. If some claimants are coming to escape grinding poverty, the problem is not with them or with the refugee system, but with economic inequalities that give them so little opportunity at home, and with Canadian immigration policies that offer so few possibilities for the less privileged who are trying to make a living for themselves and their families. (3 of 3) :18:42

16 CONSEIL CANADIEN POUR LES RÉFUGIÉS CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES PUBLICATIONS LIST / LISTE DES PUBLICATIONS November / novembre 2006 Most CCR publications can be found in PDF format on the CCR web site at La plupart des publications du CCR sont disponibles en format pdf sur notre site web: *Also available in hard copy and can be ordered from the CCR office (for the price listed + postage) * Peut également être obtenu sur commande adressée au bureau du CCR (au prix indiqué + frais d envoi) REPORTS/BOOKS - RAPPORTS/LIVRES ANNUAL STATUS REPORT ON REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS / RAPPORT DE SITUATION ANNUEL SUR LES RÉFUGIÉS ET LES IMMIGRANTS LIVES ON HOLD THE LIMITS OF H&C / DES VIES EN SUSPENS LES LIMITES DES CONSIDÉRATIONS HUMANITAIRES INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE RIGHTS CONFERENCE: REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE SESSIONS / COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL SUR LES DROITS DES RÉFUGIÉS : RAPPORT DES SESSIONS DU COLLOQUE THE PRIVATE SPONSORSHIP OF REFUGEES PROGRAM : CURRENT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES / PROGRAMME DES RÉFUGIÉS PARRAINÉS PAR LE SECTEUR PRIVÉ : DÉFIS ET POSSIBILITÉS DE L HEURE REPORT TO THE UN COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS on Canada s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Non- Citizens in Canada: Equally Human, Equally Entitled to Rights + backgrounder (anglais) CLOSING THE FRONT DOOR ON REFUGEES : REPORT ON THE FIRST YEAR OF THE SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT / LES PORTES SE FERMENT POUR LES RÉFUGIÉS : RAPPORT SUR LA PREMIÈRE ANNÉE DE L ACCORD SUR LES TIERS PAYS SÛRS (texte intégral en anglais, résumé en français seulement) LIVES ON HOLD: NATIONALS OF MORATORIA COUNTRIES LIVING IN LIMBO / DES VIES EN SUSPENS : DES RESSORTISSANTS DES PAYS MORATOIRE SE TROUVENT DANS UN VIDE JURIDIQUE THE REFUGEE APPEAL: IS NO ONE LISTENING / L APPEL DES RÉFUGIÉS : MAIS EST-CE QUE PERSONNE N ÉCOUTE? IMPACTS ON CHILDREN OF THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT / LES IMPACTS SUR LES ÉNFANTS DE LA LOI SUR L IMMIGRATION ET LA PROTECTION DES RÉFUGIÉS MORE THAN A NIGHTMARE: DELAYS IN REFUGEE FAMILY REUNIFICATION / PLUS QU UN CAUCHEMAR : LES RETARDS DANS LA RÉUNIFICATION DE RÉFUGIÉS NO FASTER WAY: PRIVATE SPONSORSHIP DELAYS /Y A-T-IL UN MOYEN PLUS RAPIDE? PARRAINAGE PRIVÉ DE RÉFUGIÉS: RETARDS DE TRAITEMENT DES DEMANDES À L ÉTRANGER REFUGEE DETERMINATION SYSTEM: CCR ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES / SYSTÈME DE DÉTERMINATION DU STATUT DE RÉFUGIÉ : PRINCIPES ESSENTIELS DU CCR * TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND GIRLS: REPORT OF MEETINGS / LA TRAITE DES FEMMES ET DES FILLES: RAPPORT DES RENCONTRES Proceedings of regional and national meetings and recommendations / Le compte-rendu des rencontres régionales et nationales, incluant les recommandations INTERDICTION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION: BRIDGING THE GAP, PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP (en anglais seulement) * INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REFUGEE WOMEN FLEEING GENDER-BASED PERSECUTION: CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS - Conference proceedings including summaries of workshops and papers / Compte-rendu de la conférence (principalement en anglais) * BEST SETTLEMENT PRACTICES / LES MEILLEURES PRATIQUES EN MATIÈRE D ÉTABLISSEMENT - An overview of settlement services in Canada, including guidelines for best practices as well as examples of programs worth emulating. / Un aperçu des services d établissement au Canada, incluant des principes régissant les meilleures pratiques ainsi que des exemples de programmes qui méritent d être imités. * RESOLUTIONS BOOK / LIVRE DE RÉSOLUTIONS (anglais) Resolutions adopted by the CCR and follow up / Des résumés des résolutions adoptées par le CCR et de leur suivi. Nov / nov 2006 Sept / sept 2006 Sept / sept 2006 Apr / avr 2006 Mar / mars 2006 Dec / déc 2005 July / juil 2005 Mar / mars 2005 Nov / nov 2004 Nov / nov 2004 Oct / oct 2004 June / juin 2004 fall / automne 2003 $4 May / mai 2003 May / mai 2001 $10 Feb / fév 1998 $8 June / juin 2006 $ Drolet #302 Montréal QC Canada H2S 2T1 TÉL: FAX: ccr@web.ca WEB: