Evidence of meeting #127 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was countries.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Okay.
I'll give the remainder of my time to the MCC to comment on anything I've raised.
5:05 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Sure.
One of the pillars of our organization is partnering with local grassroots organizations that actually do very good documentation and awareness-raising on where there may be gaps within institutions, especially what we heard earlier today from Uganda. Having that kind of information and evidence from local partners is key to some of these processes.
For example, one of the organizations we work with in southern Mexico that I mentioned earlier, Voces Mesoamericanas, actually receives MCC funding to go to Mexican detention centres to investigate and document whether migrants receive adequate care when they end up being detained in Mexico. We can then take that information and use it to put pressure on the Mexican state. Mechanisms like that allow our local partners who have access to provide us with this information.
Rebekah, did you want to add anything?
October 23rd, 2018 / 5:05 p.m.
Rebekah Sears Policy Analyst, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Sure.
Thanks so much for the questions.
In addition, thinking of the other presentation and back to these global mechanisms, UNHCR and the global compact, there's a lack of representation of internally displaced peoples. A lot of groups you're mentioning would fall under that category, the groups from the previous session as well. UNHCR is looking after these groups as kind of a default.
I think I've heard this testimony before the committee earlier from experts on internally displaced peoples, that there's no one body in charge of that group of people, even though internally displaced peoples have been represented. Colombia has one of the highest numbers in the world. There are almost double the IDPs as there are convention refugees.
In addition, IDPs are a good early-warning system if something is going wrong in a country. Before refugees start crossing the borders, you have growing numbers of internally displaced peoples, and often minorities and other groups targeted by their own governments.
5:05 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for their presentations.
Anna, one of the issues you mentioned around internal displacements, or one of the challenges with migration issues, centres on domestic violence. We have a situation in the United States whereby we now have a president who outright says that this will not be a consideration for asylum seekers.
I'd like to hear your comments on that, and on the implications for people faced with those kinds of circumstances.
5:10 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Absolutely. Thank you for raising that.
This is a very pressing concern. With regard to domestic violence, Latin America has one of the highest levels of violence against women in the world. Often, when women are fleeing, even in this migrant caravan coming from Honduras, a number of women are fleeing domestic violence as well.
It's very important to keep that gendered lens as we look at why people are leaving, at the multiple reasons people are leaving. It could be gendered violence combined with climate change, situations of instability, corruption, or lack of access to justice mechanisms or institutions that may be weakened. It may not be possible to access protection within their own country, especially in areas where women may face higher discrimination as well, or where it's not culturally acceptable in the same way to denounce domestic violence.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
From that perspective, individuals coming from the U.S. to Canada through irregular crossings are faced with a dire situation, I would argue.
Given the circumstances we now face regarding the United States, with the current president's perspective on that, would you say that the U.S. is a safe country?
5:10 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
I can't make that statement. My organization doesn't have a stance on that, but I would say that it would be imperative to pay careful attention to those cases and carefully study and examine whether women or other members of the LGBTQI community are able to access adequate protection.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Right.
Where a person is being forced to cross over from the United States to Canada through irregular crossings as opposed to the official border entry so that they can actually make a legitimate claim—because the safe third country agreement will not allow them to do that—they're being forced to cross over in unsafe conditions.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Do you think that's the optimal situation for people who are in need of asylum or making an asylum claim?
5:10 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
I think the optimal situation for people, especially those who are fleeing violence or domestic violence, is to have as easy access as possible to channels that provide them safety and security as quickly as possible.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Right, so under those circumstances one would argue that being forced to cross over at irregular crossing locations is not the optimal option.
5:10 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Right...and situations where they have to undergo as little trauma as possible to access safety.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you.
We were talking about the UNHCR, or if you will, really the LGBTQI communities and other internally displaced individuals in their home countries. They have very little ability to access resettlement streams for a whole host of reasons. If, for example, they identify themselves to be from the LGBTQ community and it is illegal to be gay in that community, they put themselves immediately at risk, so people actually cannot do that.
Do you have any suggestions as to what Canada can do to provide supports for those individuals?
Also, is it an option, or would you recommend, that Canada work with the local community groups there on the ground in collaboration with Canadian groups to provide for a stream, and should Canada provide a special allocation for those kinds of internally displaced individuals?
5:10 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
At MCC, because we already do work with local partners on the ground, we can see the value in partnering with local people who—as mentioned earlier in the testimony—are fully aware of the situation and can speak with personal experience and are very knowledgeably and also have access to other people who are also facing the same types of oppression or situations. I think that would be imperative.
We also listed that as a recommendation, to encourage Canada to engage in partnerships with a diverse group of people and across sectors.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
When we do that, do you think that should be a special measure, so above and beyond our regular refugee stream in terms of resettlement?
I know that part of the problem the UNHCR identified in Uganda was that there are so many people in need of resettlement support, and they have so few spots, it is really difficult for them to make those decisions to determine who is a priority and who is not. It seems that literally millions of people are a priority.
Given that set of circumstances, if we're going to really target a group of individuals who are faced with imminent danger, who are being actively persecuted, and their very existence indicates that they are in violation of the law and subject to punishment, should Canada, then, establish a special measure for resettlement for those kinds of individuals?
5:15 p.m.
Director, Ottawa Office, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
I believe this is something the committee probably has more expertise in than I do, but I think it also goes back to my response about domestic violence as well. What are we looking at—and maybe that is special measures—for people who need the most protection in the least traumatic and the least life-threatening manner possible, and how can we provide that?
5:15 p.m.
Policy Analyst, Mennonite Central Committee Canada
I know we've said this many times, but I would just emphasize the connection with the local communities that have access to these minority communities. I am just thinking of MCC's work. In the Middle East, we are connected to majority populations but also to minority populations that are at risk, so it's having that connection and finding out what the communities would like to do as well.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
The reason I raised this special measure issue is this. There are only so many—7,600—government-assisted refugees at the moment. If you take, for example, the Yazidis, who we had resettled, those numbers were supposed to be a special measure, but they didn't come out of a special measure in terms of additional numbers from the government-assisted refugees. They came out of the regularized government-assisted refugee pool.
That means that all those other people who are in great need, individuals who the UNHCR and others are desperate to resettle, have lost out on those numbers.
When we have a dire group as such, really, should we not recognize that dire situation—as in the case of the genocide of the Yazidis—and do that as a special measure and therefore not take space out of the government-assisted refugees?
Maybe I can turn to Mr. Clayton on that question, for just a quick answer, because I am getting a stare from the chair.
5:15 p.m.
Director of Programs and Projects, Samaritan's Purse Canada
I don't know all the different policies in terms of those allotments or the different aspects of how people can be assisted, but if that 1,200 was supposed to have been a special allotment for the Yazidis, I don't think it should have affected that total number.
I don't have anything else to contribute.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Yes, except that it wasn't. It was taken out of the regular government-assisted refugee numbers.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
