Evidence of meeting #22 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 unhcr.
A video is available from Parliament.
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Not simply because they're Yazidis exclusively, no. That's my understanding.
2:25 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Casasola, for coming to the committee.
On the question around vulnerable groups, we just had a discussion with government officials about their inability to track various vulnerable groups. Does the UNHCR track vulnerable groups in your processing?
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Certainly, we do identify vulnerabilities. One of the reasons that Canada was able to resettle a large number of Syrians was that we specifically identified vulnerabilities of individuals, such as women at risk, and I just mentioned examples of survivors of violence and torture. We track that information, which helps us identify among a large population whom we should be responding to.
2:25 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Let me ask this specific question, because our government has identified specific vulnerable groups as well. For example, the LGBTI community is one specific group it has identified, and we have no ability, it appears, to know how successful we are in addressing this vulnerable community.
Does the UNHCR identify the LGBTI community as a vulnerable group, as part of your vulnerability indices?
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Again, it would be similar to the situation of the Yazidis in the sense that just because someone is LGBTI.... It would still depend on what context they're in, right? Do they have a legal or physical protection need? Are they in a safe environment or a non-safe environment? That would determine whether they're to be referred for resettlement.
We don't publish information and I think we might have some difficulties tracking the number of LGBTI cases we refer. What I can tell you, only because I referred earlier to emergency resettlement referrals and to Canada having an urgent protection program to respond to it—and I think you referred already to a cap of 100—is that so far this year Canada has received about 23 cases. These are the highest-risk cases and over a third of them have been LGBTI cases. I only know that because I'm copied on all such submissions because they're given such importance.
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
They're from a number of different countries.
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Again, to ensure privacy and such....
2:25 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
We talked about the inability to access various locations because of security issues—and then, of course, the UNHCR has people in various locations as well. For example, we don't have a processing centre in northern Iraq to process applications. Even though applications have been identified and approved by the UNHCR, we have no ability to do the processing there because we don't have a centre there.
Is that something the UNHCR can help us with, recognizing, of course, that there are security issues. Is it something that your office could help us with to expedite or to process these applications that you have already identified and approved through your office?
2:25 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Certainly, we've been talking with countries about options such as video conferencing. It's one way that we keep hoping will work, and Canada was very successful in using it in Syria. When the conflict began in Syria, Canada actually developed a system with which it was able to continue to resettle a large number of Iraqis still inside Syria.
I don't know specifically whether the technology is there. I'm not a computer person, but sometimes there are, of course, issues with privacy and such, whether for example a computer system for telecommunications in one place matches another with enough discretion in terms of information and privacy.
Certainly, that's something we've talked to them about and we've talked to them about other locations, not just in north Iraq, but Yemen, other places of conflict, including the Dadaab camp, where we've had violence. This is part of our regular discussions.
2:30 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
More specifically, in the fall—I think in September—the government was saying that officials would travel to northern Iraq, hopefully to see about processing there. Then officials advised us that that in the event they are not successful, they would be looking at perhaps other alternatives.
I guess my question is this. If the government approached the UNHCR now and authorized the latter to help process these cases in locations where we don't have processing centres, could your office accommodate that?
2:30 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Of course, again, if we're talking about a refugee population....
2:30 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Forgive me, because it's a bit hypothetical. We would have to know specifically, but certainly that's what we try to do. That's what we try to do routinely.
2:30 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
I would imagine that the challenges other jurisdictions might face are similar to Canada's in terms of processing and accessing applicants and so on.
Is there a set of best practices from the international community on what's being done that Canada can learn from?
2:30 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
There are other options.
Certainly Canada's policy is to interview refugees, and some countries will actually waive the interview. Some of the Nordic countries pick smaller numbers. Where they are convinced by the totality of the evidence we have provided on the case, they'll accept it.
One of Canada's best practices—started by Mr. Alexander—which has helped facilitate the movement of the Syrians in large numbers has been to recognize all refugees on a prima facie basis. It has required less work, as there has already been conceptual acceptance, and I believe that the current minister has accepted this same approach.
There are different techniques that we try to promote. Certainly one of the other ways we're trying to promote is simplification of our processes. Referral for resettlement can be quite dense in terms of the information required for refugee status determination. Other possible solutions, etc., relate to registration information. If we can streamline that down with all resettlement countries, that would free up our resources to be able to do more.
2:30 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
In the case of northern Iraq—I'm focused on that at the moment—I have a number of constituents who are waiting for their sponsored families, but they can't get the Canadian government to process their cases on the other end because they have no processing centres there.
Would you recommend for our government to take such action, which is to waive the processing from Canada and to accept on the prima facie cases that these applications have been vetted by the UNHCR and therefore are deemed to be valid and legitimate for Canada to process?
2:30 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
I would have to specifically know the circumstances. I'm cautious, because I don't want to suggest a strategy that might be different from what is being proposed in the region.
We have a lot of discussions with Canada in the region. Canada is actually the chair of the Syria Core Group. The core group is a group of states, basically all the key resettlement countries and the UNHCR, who get together to work out things operationally. I know they're struggling with some of these same questions about how we....
Really, it's an operational question that you're getting at. How do we actually get that person out? If we accept that the person needs the protection, then how do we ensure that you've been able to interview them to your satisfaction and you don't feel there's a security risk, as well as us feeling that they would not be put in more danger?
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Wrzesnewskyj. We share something in common: a difficult last name.
Thank you very much for appearing today, Mr. Casasola.
You have great experience in this area, and I don't need to tell you that vulnerable people flee, whether they're refugees or IDPs. They flee in irregular and unpredictable ways. They could arrive by boat, as Tamil migrants did a number of years back.
I want to ask you about a 2012 policy. The irregular arrivals policy that the government at the time put in place treated arrivals in a particular way. For instance, the full implications of this were and are that irregular arrivals are banned from applying for permanent residency, even if they are accepted as refugees. They are banned from sponsoring family members, including spouses. They are subject to mandatory detention and investigation, and there is no appeal process permitted.
Given the very grave situation facing the world right now with so many displaced peoples—we're talking about record numbers, 60 million plus people—what would the implications be if other states put that measure in place in their laws? Is that a way to move forward in a meaningful fashion with vulnerable peoples?
2:35 p.m.
Officer in Charge in Canada, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Concerning the question of designated foreign nationals, our views were stated before this committee at the time, and they are for the record. That's not my area of expertise. I'm more on the resettlement side; that's more the asylum side. Certainly we are looking to examples, to countries, like what Canada has done. There was a meeting on March 30 in Geneva, and Mr. McCallum was there. Canada was actually showcased because it had responded so generously to the Syrian situation. We need that good example. I would turn it this way and say we're looking much more for those positive examples we can cite with a view to encouraging other countries to act the same way.
2:35 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
I don't want to put you on the spot, because I understand you're a diplomat and I'm asking you to comment on policy, but from what I'm hearing, that's not an example that ought to be replicated by other states, given that this is an international problem.
