Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity and for inviting Canada Without Poverty to appear at these very important hearings.
I would like to provide some context as to why I am speaking on behalf of Canada Without Poverty today. CWP is a federally incorporated charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada. Since our inception in 1971 as the National Anti-Poverty Organization we have been governed and guided by people with a direct, lived experience of poverty, whether in childhood or as adults.
Our constituents, our directors, and our supporters have all informed us that clauses 172 and 173 of Bill C-43 are of grave concern to them.
Our first concern is with respect to the role of the provinces. Clauses 172 and 173 of Bill C-43 erode a key national standard. They open the door for provinces to impose a minimum residency requirement before refugees can apply for social assistance, without any penalty on that province's CST payment.
The government has suggested that this is being done at the behest of the provinces, but quite frankly we know this to be false. For example, an Ontario government spokesperson told a reporter that they did not want the provisions in clauses 172 and 173 and were concerned that “a waiting period could impact people with legitimate refugee claims who are truly in need” and that these concerns had been communicated to the federal government.
The government has also suggested that this arrangement would allow the provinces more flexibility in the administration of social assistance. The erosion of a national standard that protects the basic needs of a vulnerable group is unnecessary to grant the provinces flexibility. Provincial governments currently have the ability to administer social assistance in whatever way they see fit, as long as it remains available to vulnerable groups. It is our view that the government is hiding behind the provinces. What is in fact going on here is that the federal government is offering a financial incentive to provinces as a means of having provinces implement the government's ideologically driven policies towards refugees.
Our second concern is with the impact these clauses will have on a particularly vulnerable group. I encourage the members of this committee to stand in the shoes of a refugee.
Imagine you are a woman who has left her home in Africa—say, for example, in Sudan—after enduring persecution in the form of physical violence because of a perceived political affiliation. Imagine that you arrive in Canada, a baby in tow, your friends and family thousands of kilometres away. You make your refugee claim, and then what? You're suffering trauma. You're afraid. You're alone. You know little about Canadian society. You have no means to access basic necessities: food, housing, personal necessities. How are you expected to survive?
Women, children, and men who have sought the safety of a stable democracy will be forced to rely on already overburdened social services, such as emergency shelters, food banks, and churches, and will be forced to live on the street, all of which is equally if not more costly to provinces and municipalities. The provisions in this bill are overreaching and do not distinguish between non-legitimate refugee claims and refugees who are fleeing real persecution, like the woman I just mentioned.
Lastly and most importantly, if adopted, these provisions will contravene Canada's international human rights obligation to refrain from taking retrogressive measures. In other words, it is a violation of international human rights law for Canada to undermine the social protections that guarantee human rights. In this case, access for refugees is currently protected. By passing these provisions and taking away that standard, the federal government is permitting provinces to undermine that standard and deny social assistance on a discriminatory basis.
For these reasons we ask the committee to recommend that clauses 172 and 173 be struck from Bill C-43.
Canada Without Poverty is not alone in this call. I have with me an open letter signed by a coalition of 160 organizations that also assert that these provisions are a violation of human rights and must not be passed. I have attached this letter to my written comments.
I encourage members to reflect on how history will see this moment. Canadians pride themselves on our international reputation as a safe haven for refugees who are fleeing persecution, a community of compassionate individuals.
Let's not change that.
Thank you.