Senator Mobina Jaffer
In a recent meeting and debate of the Canadian Senate on the subject of Bill C-31 that addresses changes to the IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT, BALANCED REFUGEE REFORM ACT, MARINE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ACT and DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION ACT.
Senator Mobina Jaffer, led this discussion and commented as follows:
Exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I became homeless. We lost all of our possessions and the right to live in our country. The world came to the rescue of Ugandan Asians. The United States, Europe, Australia and Canada came to our aid. In fact, Denmark went the extra mile. They offered to give asylum to all people suffering from disabilities. Ugandan Asians were very lucky. Today, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the countries, especially
Canada, for granting us asylum. Thank you very much for giving us asylum and helping us to become a part of your countries. You came to our rescue, when our own country abandoned us, by welcoming us into yours. I often think of what would have happened to my family if we had not been granted asylum. I can tell you that, from what we were being told by Idi Amin Dada, we would have suffered a terrible fate if we had not been given asylum. My greatest fear is that one day Canadians, who are very fair-minded people, will close their door to refugees if they feel that the refugee system is being abused. Therefore, I will be the first one to state that there must be a fair, consistent, efficient system in our country. I want the refugee system to have integrity as I never want the door to be slammed in the face of deserving refugees, refugees who need Canada’s help when they are fleeing persecution. Bill C-31 represents our government’s attempt at protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system by helping to ensure that it is fair, consistent and efficient.
Today there are about 15 million refugees around the world. In 2010, the UNHCR issued 108,000 applications for refugee settlement. Of those, 100,000 were resettled, and 12,000of those came to Canada. Resettled refugees represent 0.1 percent of the world’s refugees. The average waiting time in camps is 17 years. I want to highly commend Minister Kenney for increasing, by 20 per cent, the number of resettled refugees. I have always advocated that we need to accept more refugees who have been identified in camps as refugees.
Minister Kenney stated: I am pleased to say our government is increasing by 20% the number of resettled refugees, UN convention refugees
who are living in camps in deplorable circumstances around the world. We will now accept them and give them a new life and a new beginning here in Canada. We are also increasing by some 20% the refugee assistance program to assist with the initial integration costs of government assisted refugees who arrive here. I also believe that if we increase the number of refugees from camps, we create hope for them, and they do not have to further endanger their lives my main concern with this bill is that in the event that it passes, our Canada will become very different.
Senator Jaffer went on to state that Bill C-31 will change the face of Canada as we know it, tarnishing a reputation that has taken decades to build.
A vote to pass Bill C-31 would be a vote against tolerance acceptance, compassion and justice, all of which are principles that our great country prides itself on.
A vote to pass Bill C-31 is a vote to create a two-tiered refugee system, one that does not provide all refugee claimants with a fair hearing based on the facts of the individual cases and one that discriminates against refugees based on their old country of origin.
A vote to pass Bill C-31 is a vote in favour of treating refugees who have been victims of torture, abuse, persecution and gender based violence as criminals, rather than as victims.
A vote to pass Bill C-31 is a vote to pass a piece of legislation that directly violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and directly contradicts a number of Canada’s international obligations.
Finally, a vote to pass Bill C-31 will be a vote in favour of sending 16-year-old children, who have come to our country desperately seeking refuge, to jail-like detention centres for a minimum of six months.
This is not the Canada that I know. This is not the Canada that 40 years ago welcomed my family when we desperately sought refugee status. As a woman who once sought refuge, I understand what courage and sacrifice it takes to leave the only country you have known and start a new life in a foreign and unknown land. Several factors lead one to seek refuge or to emigrate to a new country.
Over the past several decades, political upheavals, conflict, persecution, climate change, food and economic crises have motivated individuals from all walks of life to immigrate to Canada, a country full of opportunity and promise. Not only does Bill C-31 fail to recognize the dangerous and life threatening circumstances that many men, women and children are confronted with, it also makes these individuals feel unwelcome and treats them as though they were criminals rather than victims.
Does this sound like the Canada we know? Does the Canada we know turn its back on those who desperately need assistance, denying them having their cases heard in a fair trial? Does the Canada we know allow the cries of mothers who are desperately looking to protect their children fall upon deaf ears?
Canada’s immigration system should be improved, but not at the expense of children’s rights.
Now we as a country have an obligation to honour that commitment and do everything we can to protect the world’s most vulnerable population: its children.
FACING FORWARD VIEW POINT
By The Afro News Vancouver
In view of the landscape of our countries future and our current development and after speaking to and conducting interviews with citizens we have come to the realization that our newly arrived educated, skilled and experienced Intellectual community are having trouble to integrate in our country socially and economically. In most cases this vulnerable community is suffering and breaks into a deeper depression as they are unable to live a sustained lifestyle in Canada.
As this is the community that is going to play a tremendous roll in our country’s future whether good or bad, what is your comment and point of view on this issue?
Is there hope for better integration into the Canadian economy and social interaction?
MP Libby Davies of Vancouver
MP Libby Davies : In my riding of Vancouver East, we see many immigrants and refugees. They struggle mightily to settle into our community. Many are sponsoring families from overseas and wait sometimes several years to be reunited. All the while, they work two, sometimes three, jobs to earn enough to pay for basics like food and rent in an increasingly unaffordable city, plus to send money to support their loved ones overseas. It is a long, difficult, and lonely haul.
I think that government policy can do more to help integrate immigrants and refugees into our community, as ultimately we all benefit from their contributions.
I am therefore in support of an increase in resources to reduce the huge and unacceptable backlogs in processing immigration applications, with an emphasis on speeding up family reunification. When families are together in Canada, they support and sustain each other in the settlement process, for it can be challenging and take many years.
Despite this hardship, they press on, always diligently and in good faith. I am constantly moved and inspired by their hope, their unwavering spirit, and their commitment to make a better life in Canada.
Further, many have high levels of education and experience, and we need to create opportunities to harness their skills, ingenuity, and work ethic.
For example, government must act more quickly to recognize the foreign credentials of internationally trained professionals. If not, it not only hurt newcomers, but also leads to systemic underemployment and costs Canada billions of dollars a year. We need a better system to accelerate and streamline the recognition of foreign credentials, overseas degrees, and previous employment experience. We know all too well of qualified professionals in our community who have struggled and fallen behind. They want to help build and strengthen communities – but there are too many obstacles in the way.
Our society needs people who have education, knowledge, and experience – these represent important values in a modern economy. There is no wealth without it.
Senator Yonah Martin
Senator Yonah Martin : The health and wealth of the future will be determined by what we do in the present to bridge the gaps that naturally exist in a geographically, politically, economically, socially and culturally diverse country as Canada, to prevent as few people as possible to fall through the cracks. We did not get here by chance, but by the sacrifices and tireless efforts of the pioneers, leaders and immigrants of the past. I am the direct beneficiary of Canadians and others who defended the Republic of Korea, and love and sacrifices of my immigrant parents, who arrived in Canada with just over $200 in their pockets. They arrived on the shores of British Columbia with dreams of a brighter future for me and my siblings. The same dream that every immigrant brings with him/her to Canada.
My father did not live to see me appointed to the Senate, and my mother is in care, the role of mother-daughter reversed for the past few years. As a parent of a 17-year-old teen who is in her final year of high school, my husband and I understand with even more clarity what it means to dream for a bright future for our child. The same Canadian dream that my parents had for me.
As a Canadian Senator who sits at the table of the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science & Technology (a committee that oversees all bills and studies related to Immigration, Education, Health, Housing, Homelessness, other social issues and more), I have had the privilege to hear from witnesses, experts, gurus, advisors and leading thinkers from a broad spectrum of fields and from every region of our vast country. I can say with confidence that Governments of all levels, communities, non-profit and charitable organizations and many individuals are working hard to identify and bridge gaps by meeting the needs of their constituents. Governments have a specific role, but cannot be everywhere nor be expected to provide for a society’s every need. They have a specific role – be it developing good policies that will provide good governance at a certain level. Therefore civil society can and must create a strong social economy to be where Governments cannot be and fill as many gaps as possible. Above all, a healthy robust economy supports initiatives of both government and civil society.
Canada is not a perfect society, and vulnerable people may fall through some of the existing gaps. There are potential gaps when ethnic or new immigrant communities remain insular or disenfranchised from mainstream society. Conversely, these new or vulnerable communities may become silo-ed for various reasons, in spite of best efforts by Governments or service organizations. The “silo” effect is a common and systemic phenomenon in all sectors and regions of Canada.
In my role and work as Senator, I have seen genuine effort to break down the silos – through various programs, partnerships, and strategic planning among other efforts. I am honoured to be a part of this on-going effort and assure the readers of TAN that our Prime Minister and the Government of Canada and my Senate colleagues are working hard on your behalf.
