Introduction to Refugees and Canada

When people think of Canada, the first thing to come to mind is typically the stereotypes of our massive country; hippies wearing flannel shirts saying “eh”, maple syrup, igloos, snow and ice (and of course with ice comes hockey!), polite speaking bilinguals and Tim Hortons (“Timmies” for true Canadians of course). Aside from all of these clichés, Canada is known for many more things- Canada is an extremely progressive country, home to legalized same-sex marriage, as well as allowing same-sex couples to adopt, free health care and education, democracy and maternity and paternity leave, while still being,

according to Forbes magazine, the best country in the world to do business. If Canada is such a progressive country, however, how come so few refugee applications are accepted? Canada needs workers both because of an aging population and because women are having fewer children. Canada is also already home to a very multicultural group of citizens, with lots of access to language and translation centres, along with plenty of resources, both naturally and socially. Besides- we hardly lack the space…

Canadian Flag

According to settlement.org, there exist two kinds of refugees: convention refugees and persons in need of protection. Convention refugees are people with a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country because of; race, religion, political opinion, nationality or because they are a member of a specific social group (for example women, LGBTQ, etc…). A person in need of protection, on the other hand, is someone who faces the following dangers if they go back to their country of origin; torture, risk to their life* or risk of cruel and unusual treatment/punishment. The Canadian government explains refugees in the following fashion: “ Refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of widespread persecution, and who are unable to return home. Many refugees come from war-torn countries and have seen unthinkable horrors. A refugee is different from an immigrant, in that an immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country. Refugees are forced to flee.” A person may claim refugee status when arriving by land, sea or air and can also make a refugee claim outside of Canada if sponsored by the government or by private group.

Refugee applications vs. acceptances

When researching, I found it incredibly hard to believe how low some of the statistics actually were for refugees. In 2011, 16, 122 refugees were rejected status in Canada, whereas only 12, 983 were accepted. 1, 756 people’s applications were simply abandoned and 3, 396 applications were withdrawn. These numbers are significantly worse off than in the past. Ten years prior, 19, 577 refugees were accepted into Canada, and 7, 646 refugees were rejected. 648 people’s applications were rejected and 724 were withdrawn. These statistics are still not great, however, they are much better than the more current ones. I thought that nation’s were supposed to progress and improve over time, not go backwards.

As the statistics states above imply, becoming a Canadian refugee is no easy task. According to the government of Canada website, “Not everyone is eligible to seek asylum. For example, people convicted of serious criminal offences and people who have had previous refugee claims denied by Canada are not accepted.” To be considered a refugee, it must be proven that you will be in serious danger if you return to your country of origin, and that this danger is without legitimate reason (you are not, for example, a murderer trying to escape persecution). Proving that you are legitimately in danger is quite challenging. There are times when it is simpler, like if, for example, if you are trying to escape a country that is known to be experiencing huge, war-torn conflict, however, proving true refugee status and the danger that you are trying to escape is never easy.

Therefore, because of the extremely low numbers of refugees accepted and the high criteria required to be accepted into Canada, the Canadian refugee policy is far too harsh.

*Canada does not accept refugees facing the death penalty in their own countries for legitimate reasons, even though Canada does not have capital punishment. If, for example, an American prisoner is facing execution for murder, he or she will not be accepted to Canada as a refugee despite their life being at risk.