Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2024

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

There are children imprisoned in the United States right now.

[Christina Clark-Kazak]

That's right. Children are also detained, either with their parents or separately from them.

It should also be said that it's the same here in Canada.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

In any case, unaccompanied children must still be able to present themselves at the border crossing, in order to be exempted and apply in Canada.

[Christina Clark-Kazak]

They have to know that they are exempt, and that they have the right to make this request.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you.

Mr. Johns, you have the floor for two minutes.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

How do you think rising anti-immigration sentiment is impacting refugee policy globally?

[Christina Clark-Kazak]

There's definitely rising anti-immigration sentiment here in Canada and around the world. This has had an impact on all immigration categories, particularly refugees. The problem is that the public opinion of refugees is that they're a drain on the public purse. This is not empirically true, but it is the public perception.

When you have a rise in anti-immigration sentiment, you also have a backlash against these humanitarian programs. It's hugely problematic and can turn violent. We saw this in the U.K. during the summer. There were riots against immigrant communities that were very violent.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

What recommendations would you make to politicians to combat anti-immigration sentiment when it comes to refugee policies and, of course, the disinformation being spread?

[Christina Clark-Kazak]

First of all, we have to be very careful about the words we use. For example, there is widespread use of the term “illegal immigrant”. That is empirically not true. There might be an administrative law infracted if people cross a border informally, but there's no such thing as an “illegal immigrant”. This kind of discourse criminalizes people. It then gives the public an idea that in fact there's a problem here.

The other thing is this, and I know this because of work done by colleagues at Université Laval: You, as MPs, work very hard in your constituencies to solve immigration issues. This needs to continue to be done. You need to talk to everyday people about the fact that immigrants are human beings and that they're also protected by the charter. In Canada, everyone is protected by the charter, including non-citizens.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

I agree 100%.

How much time do I have, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

It's over. Thank you.

We deeply thank you, Professor, for your presence with us and for your answers. They enlightened all members of the committee. Now, with regret, we wish you all the best.

I will now suspend the meeting so that we can move on to the second part of our meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

We're back in session.

I'd like to welcome our next witnesses.

We welcome Mr. Michael Casasola, senior resettlement and complementary pathways officer, from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Ms. Azadeh Tamjeedi, senior legal officer.

You will be given a maximum of five minutes for your statements, after which we will proceed to a round of questions.

Welcome, Mr. Casasola and Ms. Tamjeedi. Please make your opening statement. You have five minutes.

Mr. Casasola, you have the floor.

[Michael Casasola, Senior Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for inviting us.

I'm here on behalf of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or the UN Refugee Agency. We work to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution in more than 130 countries.

Let me begin by setting the scene.

As of the end of June, protracted and emerging crises have driven global displacement to a staggering 122.6 million people worldwide. That's three times the population of Canada. The numbers have almost doubled since a decade ago, and show no signs of slowing down.

These figures do not capture the hundreds of thousands of people who have been recently displaced in Lebanon, nor the further 400,000 people who crossed into Syria from Lebanon or the thousands of displaced Israelis.

At the same time, away from the headlines, we are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history in Sudan. Conflict has displaced more than eight million people inside the country. We're also approaching three million refugees in neighbouring states.

The situations in Lebanon and Sudan are just two examples of the current challenges we're facing. Two-thirds of forcibly displaced people originate from just 10 countries, including Ukraine, Myanmar, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Venezuela.

The statistics are staggering, but behind the numbers are people—moms, dads, students, toddlers and seniors—ordinary folks whose lives have been torn apart, yet the world's response remains deeply unequal.

Most refugees remain in neighbouring countries, many of which are low- or middle-income nations already facing their own challenges.

The effects of climate change have further compounded the crisis, with 70% of refugees in 2022 coming from climate-vulnerable countries, an increase from 56% 10 years earlier.

As displacement rises, the resources available to respond have not kept up. This year, our operations are only 45% funded, creating a critical shortfall that severally impacts our ability to respond to an increasing number of emergencies. Cutting essential services has been inevitable. Those who depend on us for life-saving support are suffering the most.

Despite this sombre picture, the right policies, attitudes and supports can bring positive change. This is where we turn to you.

For decades, the UN Refugee Agency has relied on Canada for leadership and support in meeting these global challenges. Canada continues to be a top donor to the UN Refugee Agency. It's a partnership we value and that we hope to grow to keep up with needs.

Canada has also been a leading resettlement country and a model in pioneering new legal pathways for refugees. Both globally and in Canada, we're witnessing a rise in the number of people seeking asylum. Canada has established itself as a global leader in asylum by maintaining a fair, efficient and robust system for many years.

At the same time, we'd like to thank Canada for its support to countries in the Americas to strengthen their asylum systems. Canada regularly shares best practices and provides financial support to strengthen asylum systems in countries such as Mexico and Costa Rica.

In closing, we would like to thank the committee for your interest in how Canada can best respond to the rise of forced displacement. It is a shared global responsibility, and addressing it is only possible through a global solidarity translated into action.

This requires determined political will and financial support. It includes addressing the root causes of conflict, creating conditions for refugees to return home in safety and dignity, helping them integrate into their countries of refuge and expanding access to third country solutions. This will not be easy, but Canada has proven that it has the fortitude and commitment to make a real difference for people forced to flee worldwide.

We look forward to your questions and your continued support.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you, Mr. Casasola.

I would now like to invite Ms. Tamjeedi to take the floor for five minutes.

[Azadeh Tamjeedi, Senior Legal Officer, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]

I have no further comments. That would be the entirety of our comments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Fayçal El-Khoury]

Thank you for your declaration.

I would like now to open the floor for questions.

I would like to start with Madame Pam Damoff.

You have the floor for seven minutes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses for being here.

Thank you to our previous witness as well for the work you're doing on this really important issue.

I was in Costa Rica this summer and went to a migrant shelter, and one of the things that came up while I was there was the changing demographics of migrants. It used to be single adults, and it's now largely families who are escaping and becoming migrants. Just the challenges.... I was quite taken aback to see young children who had travelled with their families.

I wonder if you could talk a little about the demographics and how those have changed in terms of migration.

[Michael Casasola]

Thank you.

Thank you for drawing attention to the situation in the Americas, because often it's overlooked in terms of human displacement. I'll refer you in a moment to my colleague Azadeh Tamjeedi, who's been working in this area.

I just want to highlight that in addition to the reality of the makeup of families and the components, there has also been the element of extraregional movements. In addition to people coming, for example, to Costa Rica from Nicaragua and from neighbouring countries, we're also seeing a large number of movement up through South America, up through the Darien Gap, making their way north. It's created in itself a whole slew of human rights challenges, but I'll refer to my colleague.

[Azadeh Tamjeedi]

Thank you for the question.

Costa Rica is definitely an important country in that it is receiving quite a few asylum seekers, and its system is now looking at how to deal with the increasing numbers.

It is true that there are more children and unaccompanied children who are now arriving in countries like Costa Rica, but the Americas traditionally have seen quite a significant number of children moving on their own throughout the region and making their way up to Mexico and then to the United States and sometimes, in some cases, to Canada.

The importance for countries like Costa Rica and other countries along the routes is to provide child-friendly protection services in terms of ensuring that those children have access to asylum and assistance as well. Increasingly we are seeing that children are undertaking much more dangerous routes on their own now, and part of the reason is that parents are unable to fund the travel of the whole family. We're seeing a lot more parents making the very difficult decision to send their children to safer areas. That perilous and dangerous journey up north is with the help of smugglers and sometimes with the help of traffickers.

Now UNHCR is responding, with the help of states and governments like Costa Rica's, to try to address these issues and is ensuring that the rights of those children along the route are respected and that they have access to services and assistance throughout the legal process they have to go through.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I also want to follow up on a question from the previous panel that my colleague Mr. Johns asked about climate refugees. It was about 20 years ago that a Canadian author named Gwynne Dyer wrote a book called Climate Wars. At the time, it was very prophetic in terms of how people would be displaced because of climate and the huge issues it would cause for urban centres and for conflict.

I wonder if you could comment a little on the impact that climate is having on migration.

[Azadeh Tamjeedi]

In terms of climate, what we're seeing in the majority of situations is that it is exacerbating situations of displacement. We're not seeing a huge number of people, at the moment, crossing borders and making asylum applications because of a climate event, but it makes individuals who are already in a displacement situation more vulnerable. We're not seeing it as a huge cause of displacement across borders. It's more of a situation of internal displacement at the moment.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

What about Bangladesh?

[Azadeh Tamjeedi]

In some situations, you do see it impacting cross-border movements, but a large majority of the situations due to climate change, for now, are persons internally displaced in the country.

I recognize the question that was in the previous panel about the refugee definition and whether it would apply to those who are fleeing a climate disaster or event. We believe the refugee definition is sufficient as is. It does recognize certain situations in which a climate event would exacerbate a refugee movement, so a climate event could potentially see someone looked at and accepted as a refugee. For example, if someone is being discriminated against or persecuted in the distribution of humanitarian assistance because of their gender or their minority social group in the response to a climate event, they could qualify as a refugee if they end up crossing a border and making an asylum claim.

We believe states should look at larger solutions, such as other forms of complementary protection when they're looking at temporary protection or definitions that are broader than the refugee definition. The refugee definition should be kept the way it is and the law should be applied for the refugee status the way it is right now. States should look at broader solutions for those displaced by climate.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I have just over a minute left.

I wonder if we could talk a little bit about terminology that's used, because that often drives public opinion. We're seeing in Canada a rising push-back on immigration and refugees.

I remember that several years ago we had a gentleman testify who had walked across the border at Emerson, Manitoba. He was going to be outed as gay by his coach. He chose to walk to Canada and ended up being found frozen in a field. There was a lot of political gamesmanship being done at the time around that language.

I'm wondering if you could talk briefly about how language impacts perception of these people who are fleeing for very valid reasons.

[Azadeh Tamjeedi]

It definitely has an impact when these types of conversations happen in a politicized environment. Often when the language increases in terms of saying, “Let's keep certain people out” and “Are they real refugees, are they not real refugees or are they migrants?”, we see an increase in policies that are more negative, and countries start to close doors a little bit more. That's something that's definitely happening on a more prevalent basis globally. It's not just in places like Canada; it's global.

I think the way politicians and public servants talk about refugee issues and asylum issues is really important, because it sets the narrative and the public discourse. Often we see a lot of disinformation about who is coming and why—who they actually are and what rights they have. I think taking a more rights-based approach is very important, especially in the public discourse, as is being very mindful of the language that is used.

I echo our previous speaker's remarks on that as well. We definitely agree that it's important, when looking at who you're defining and how you're talking about these types of populations, that you look at their rights and you focus on the fact that they're human beings, because it will eventually have an impact on public opinion at large.