Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much for this time that I can share with you.
My name, as you noted, is Ida Kaastra-Mutoigo. I work with World Renew as an executive director in Canada. For your interest, that is an agency that has been a sponsorship agreement holder for refugees for over 40 years.
I'm also a daughter of immigrant parents who left Holland after the Second World War, and I married somebody who is an immigrant from Uganda and have a daughter who is an immigrant from Uganda.
I'm very glad to speak on behalf of the Action by Churches Together, ACT Alliance, where I serve on the governing board and executive committee. ACT is an international alliance of about 150 churches and faith-based organizations, including World Renew, working together in over 125 countries.
Why did ACT Alliance get involved in the global compact initiative? Global alliance, like ACT, has a strategy that prioritizes using resources and sharing expertise to effectively address the issues of migration and displacement, especially as these impact human rights, poverty levels and resilience to disasters. That's why ACT Alliance's global secretariat office has been involved at every single stage of the process of developing the global compact. We have also consulted membership around the world working with migrants and host communities.
Why do we feel that the global compact is important? Creating this agreement, as was mentioned, among UN member states, enables migration to be more predictable and manageable, while also protecting the rights of vulnerable migrants from the point of their departure from one country to the arrival of another, including their resettlement.
It addresses the root causes or drivers of the unsustainable migration that can be experienced. It increases the availability of protection for people who are suffering rights violations. It ensures better access to basic services. It prevents human trafficking and smuggling. It fosters collaborative relationships in its implementation.
As was noted very well by Stéphane, as much as these global compacts address the flow of migrants and refugees, it is imperative that we also identify and address the current root causes of displacement, of conflict, ecological disasters, climate change and poverty. Sponsorship and resettlement are important things to do in this crisis, but the deeper justice work of addressing these root causes is critical.
Will the global compacts present a threat to the Government of Canada, especially in their ability to ensure rights and well-being of Canadians or to have sovereignty? No. The global compacts have been an entirely state-led process. Civil society and other stakeholders have had a seat at the table. They were not the drivers behind it, and neither was the UN. I think that's very important to note.
The global compact on migration also reaffirms the sovereign right of states in paragraph 15. You can read that for further study. It will not be an international agreement nor a treaty, and will have no legal effect on national legal systems, as was emphasized by Michele.
The global compact on migration reinforces and clarifies what states have already committed themselves to doing in other international treaties and laws, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the sustainable development goals.
The global compact on migration fosters more effective whole-of-government approaches to migration by encouraging states to model interdepartmental co-operation to achieve its objectives. This supports something that Canada is quite good at and has been at the forefront of, which is reinforcing a whole-of-society kind of approach.
Will the global compact on migration add a financial burden to the Government of Canada and its citizens? No. There are multiple stakeholders that are already well equipped, including civil society organizations like ours, which provide strong support services for new immigrants and refugees.
It does not present a financial burden either, since the Government of Canada continues to set its own requirements for approving and ensuring that immigrants follow its assessments for economic viability.
Canada has always been a country of migrants and multi-stakeholder support for refugees and has encouraged the achievement of several key outstanding objectives. For example, if you compare government-sponsored refugees to the general population of Canadians, you will find they receive roughly the same amount of welfare. Privately sponsored refugees do not receive any government support over the 12-month sponsorship period. Over time, refugees have had the same levels of economic success in household income and home ownership as other Canadians.
I want to share a great example of this. A decade after arriving in Canada, Vietnamese refugees had a lower unemployment rate and relied on less social assistance than the Canadian average. One in five had started their own business. They are paying taxes, creating jobs and making Canada better. I have some documentation that I could share with your staff later.
What are the potential costs for Canada not supporting the global compact on migration? It's worth noting that the isolated and vastly different approaches of governments to migrants can potentially cause harm to their neighbouring states, so while some states might opt out of the global compact for reasons they cite as threats to sovereignty, peace, order and good governance, their lack of coordinated efforts with neighbouring states around migration is likely to lead to increased incidence of disorder, protests and distressed migrants.
Another cost is a lost opportunity for Canada to do longer-term projections of labour needs and then have planned migrations for meeting these needs. Canada's economic health depends on this predictability for permanent and temporary migration.
Another loss from not joining this global compact would be to Canada's international reputation in leading the dialogue around issues of shared concern, such as as international migration and human rights, as well as addressing these concerns in a healthy balance with national interests.
Finally, it's worth mentioning here that our immigration points system provides important contributions to our social and economic fabric. However, in the crisis of displacement that we're experiencing in the world today, which is probably deepening, we have a commitment to humanitarian and compassionate settlement as a critical role for Canada. We love to be self-congratulatory about refugee resettlement and sponsorship, but if we look at the statistics, it gives us pause to check whether our collective self-image is really accurate. Our statistics of settlement for those forced to flee are markedly lower than our welcome of voluntary migrants, who are often highly skilled and wealthy.
Is there a better balance, particularly in the current displacement crisis of 68 million people around the world? That is our sincere hope as charities and faith communities like ACT Alliance. We work on the front lines and we hear people's pain-filled and traumatic experiences. I pray God may have mercy and inspire the generous spirit of Canadians.
Thank you very much.