Refugees in Canada

Executive Summary

This paper discusses the scope and purpose of the programs in place for adult and child refugees in Canada, including the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, the In-Canada Asylum Program, and several programs that directly support child refugees.

Introduction

Approximately 34,000 people worldwide are forced to leave their homes every day because of conflict or violence.[1] Many of these people eventually become internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees. As defined by the United Nations (UN) Refugee Convention of 1951, refugees are persons with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion.”[2] As of June 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a global refugee population of 25.4 million people, half of which are children.[3]  This translates into one in every 200 children being a refugee.[4]

Despite the Refugee Convention, many countries are hesitant to host large refugee populations due to economic and security concerns. States have established complex systems to assess refugee status and process asylum claims.[5] Between January 2020 and June 2020, Canada accepted 7,588 asylum claimants.[6] As of December 2020, 79,753 claims are pending in Canada.[7]

Canada’s refugee system has two main components. The first component is the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, which is for persons in need of protection against persecution and who are located outside Canada.[8] The second component is the In-Canada Asylum Program. This program is for persons making an asylum claim from within Canada.[9] Both programs are listed in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2001.

Determining Refugee Status in Canada

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) governs refugee eligibility in Canada.  The IRPA outlines the two components for determining refugee status: The Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the In-Canada Asylum Program.

The Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program

The Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program (RHRP) oversees the welfare and resettlement of persons located outside of Canada and who qualify for “convention refugee” status.  As defined by the IRPA, a convention refugee is someone who is forced to relocate “outside their home country or the country they normally live in” and is unable to return “because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or being part of a social group.”[10] The two federal government agencies primarily responsible for determining an individual’s status as a convention refugee are the Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.

The initial determination of a refugee’s eligibility for the RHRP depends mainly on the UNHCR or various private sponsors, who identify refugees for resettlement.[11] Once refugees are identified, their applications can be processed.[12] Eligible refugees are primarily resettled under the sponsorship of either the UNHCR or a private sponsor.[13]

Private sponsors are individuals who have signed an agreement with the Government of Canada to help resettle refugees, and they are known as “Sponsorship Agreement Holders.”[14] The RHRP also allows groups of five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents to help resettle refugees, and they are known as “G5” sponsors. G5 sponsors can only sponsor people who are already recognized as refugees by UNHCR or another country. They must have refugee status before the G5 can sponsor them for resettlement in Canada.[15]

The RHRP also administers the blended visa office-referred program (BVOR). This program helps match UNHCR identified refugees with private sponsors.[16] While there are other ways of sponsoring refugees, they are rarely used.

The In-Canada Asylum Program

The In-Canada Asylum Program enables individuals within Canada to apply for refugee status. Unlike resettled refugees whose status is established overseas and who are issued a visa before entering Canadian territory, in-Canada asylum seekers make their claim at a port of entry, at a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), or an Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office.[17] Refugee status and associated rights and protections are only conferred after Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board determines that an applicant meets the criteria of a “convention refugee” or a “person in need of protection,” as listed in section 97(1) of the IRPA.[18]

It is important to note that not everyone has the right to claim asylum in Canada. Persons previously convicted of a serious criminal offence and those who had their asylum claim previously denied by Canada are ineligible to make an asylum claim.[19]  Additionally, while the IRPA legislates refugee eligibility in Canada, Canada’s asylum claims are also party to international treaties that Canada has ratified, such as the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.[20]

Resettlement Assistance for Refugees in Canada 

After an individual is granted refugee status, either through the RHRP or the In-Canada Asylum Program, various government programs assist refugees when in Canada. One of the key programs is the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) for government-assisted refugees, which the IRCC administers.[21]

The RAP provides refugees with support services within the first six weeks of arriving in Canada and income support for up to one year or until they can support themselves financially.[22] The RAP also assists refugees by welcoming them at their port of entry, helping them find temporary and permanent residences, assessing needs and providing relevant information, and referring them to other federal and provincial programs.[23]

Like permanent residents, resettled refugees can work legally in Canada and access healthcare, education, and other public services.[24] Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) provides federal employment and training programs for refugees, such as labour market programs, job banks, and job match tools.

If a refugee is privately sponsored, the private sponsors are responsible for providing financial and social assistance for the duration of sponsorship or until the sponsored refugee or refugee family can support themselves.[25] A private sponsor’s support extends to housing, clothing, and food for up to one year. In some cases, this support can be extended for up to three years.[26]

Refugees are also eligible for settlement services. Settlement services include childcare, transportation, translation and interpretation services, and resources for persons with disabilities.[27]  Because many refugees have experienced violence, persecution, and other traumatic conditions, psychological counselling and similar support services are also available. Survivors of torture and women at risk are often resettled to centers with related available supports.[28] Refugees with high needs may also be eligible for additional financial assistance to cover their travel expenses.[29]

Refugee and Asylum Process for Children

While the programs mentioned above and services are extended to all refugees in Canada, child refugees often have needs that differ from adults. Unaccompanied minors may not have the necessary knowledge to claim asylum, so there are policies to specifically support child refugees in Canada.

A principal objective of the IRPA is to keep families together, and, in cases where this is not feasible, to reunite family members as soon as possible in Canada.[30]  If a family member cannot be located, a “one-year window” clause enables other family members to resettle under the same class as the principal application within one year.[31] This means that the family member will not need a family class sponsorship to resettle in Canada.[32] However, for the “one-year window” to take effect, the principal applicant must have identified all immediate family members on their application and before the principal applicant arrived in Canada.[33]

If an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum has extended family in Canada, they are eligible for refugee status as a government-assisted refugee, a privately sponsored refugee, or a refugee sponsored under Canada’s Family Class Program.[34] Under the Family Class Program, a child can also be sponsored by their extended family members to resettle in Canada.

Canada was the first country to develop particular guidelines for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum and refugee status.[35] In coordination with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, provincial governments must assign each unaccompanied child a legal counsel and a designated representative. They are responsible for filing a child’s application and accompanying them to hearings.[36] Provincial offices, such as the Ministry of Social Services in Quebec and the Ministry of Children and Family Development in British Columbia, are responsible for providing social support services such as health, housing and, education.[37] These policies and procedures vary across Canada as each province has different mechanisms of supporting unaccompanied minors.

In addition to these provincial mechanisms, the Government of Canada also operates a Missing Children Program. This program aims to reunify unaccompanied, missing, and abducted children with their parents or legal guardians.[38] Four federal government departments administer this program: Global Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Department of Justice. Unaccompanied children who arrive at a port-of-entry without both parents, a sole custodial parent, or a legal guardian are frequently referred to the Missing Children Program. Because child refugees are particularly vulnerable targets for human traffickers, the Canadian government also implements measures to ensure that a child refugee’s relationship to their sole custodial parent or legal guardian can be verified.[39] If the relationship cannot be verified, the local child protection authority must be contacted.[40]

Although Canadian law does not establish a minimum age for refugee claimants, Canada generally does not accept unaccompanied children under 18 unless they have extended family in Canada.[41] This applies both to children outside of Canada making a claim for asylum and those who arrive in Canada to make an asylum claim. In coordination with local offices, the minor’s relatives in Canada would be contacted to determine whether they are willing and able to act as guardians. If an unaccompanied minor has no family in Canada willing to act as their guardian, the minor will not typically be accepted for resettlement. [42]

If an application is denied, the child (like any adult refugee) must either leave Canada within 30 days, file for a review with the federal court system, or appeal the decision and request a humanitarian and compassionate review.[43] If all reviews fail or a child does not file for review, they are deported. Before deporting children, Canadian authorities must ensure that the child will be received by a family member, relevant government department, or a child welfare agency at their country of origin.[44]

Resettlement Assistance for Child Refugees in Canada

Like their adult counterparts, child refugees and asylum-seekers commonly arrive in Canada from war-torn and poverty-stricken countries, and they may have suffered and survived intense conditions of deprivation and violence. Physical and psychological trauma is an unfortunate reality for many refugees of all ages, including children. As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Government of Canada has an obligation to “accord to such persons all appropriate assistance for their psychological recovery and their social reintegration.”[45]

Due to their age, child refugees also face an additional and distinct set of issues that require specialized programs. Child refugees have often involuntarily foregone years of formal schooling, placing their education level well behind their peers when they arrive in Canada.[46] Language barriers and culture shock further compound the challenge of socializing, educating, and integrating child refugees.

In 2013, the Canadian government launched a Settlement Program administered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to help address these needs. This program assists with child refugee integration by funding special services in both elementary and secondary schools.[47] According to a UNHCR report, the program also creates awareness about settlement challenges and helps build capacity for institutional change. [48]

Conclusion

The In-Canada Asylum Program and the Refugee, Humanitarian Resettlement Program and Canada’s Family Class Program aim to help refugees resettle in Canada. If a refugee’s claim for asylum is accepted, they are granted permanent resident status, giving them the right to education, healthcare, and to work in Canada. This is supplemented by government support programs such as the Resettlement Assistance Program and the Settlement Program for child refugees to support the broader and more specific needs of refugees arriving in Canada.