Fitting Response to Government Attacks on Asylum Seekers from Those Working on the Ground with Them
On January 19, two days after Quebec Premier François Legault's letter to his federal counterpart blaming refugees for lack of housing and social services, the Roundtable for Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants (TCRI) issued a press release reminding the Quebec and federal governments of their "responsibilities and duties" in protecting and welcoming refugees. The communiqué of this group of 151 organizations who work with refugees, immigrants and people without status, was also aimed at shedding light "on the reality on the ground in relation to settlement and integration services for asylum seekers."
"Canada," it stated, "has international obligations towards people seeking protection. Forcibly displaced persons flee situations of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events disrupting public order (UNHCR 2023). These people have the right to seek asylum and start a new life in dignified conditions, without being stigmatized because of their life history.
"This right is recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees also establishes the obligation of non-refoulement. As a signatory to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Canada has an obligation to offer protection to asylum seekers who request it. In June 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) already counted 110 million forcibly displaced people in the world. This alarming figure does not take into account recent phenomena such as the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, and will continue to grow in the context of unprecedented humanitarian crises there and in Sudan, Congo, Mozambique and Ukraine in particular."
The TCRI's press release also emphasizes that "community organizations are calling on the federal government to expand its program for the reception of Palestinian refugees affected by the crisis." Further, it deplores "Quebec's refusal to participate in the special programs announced by the federal government for nationals of Haiti, Colombia and Venezuela, as well as the public interest policy aimed at nationals of Sudan.
"Using asylum seekers to explain the crisis in public services or announcing a 'breaking point' is tantamount to ignoring the multiple roots of this crisis," grounded "in decades of under-investment. The discourse presented speaks of the arrival of asylum seekers as a phenomenon at the heart of several structural problems in Quebec and the rest of Canada, problems that were widely decried by public sector employees last autumn."
The current situation, the TCRI suggests, "is more than ever an opportunity to put in place solutions that will benefit the entire population, including those newly arrived in Quebec. Community organizations are urging politicians to be extremely cautious about linking the presence of asylum seekers to the state of public services."
"Solutions exist," it declares. "Federal and provincial authorities repeatedly state that Canada and Quebec are already doing their part to welcome and settle people seeking refuge," however "[c]ommunity organizations reject this assertion. Despite refugee resettlement programs, more can and must be done to respond to asylum requests. Not only Canada, but also Quebec, must take note of the unprecedented global situation, and put in place sustainable solutions to meet their international responsibilities and obligations. These solutions include support adapted to the needs of community organizations." It adds that both governments "need to work together more effectively, particularly in the area of accommodation."
The TCRI also states, "Quebec is on the wrong track by proposing to transport asylum seekers to other provinces. Temporary accommodation infrastructures are not enough. The community setting plays a key role in welcoming and integrating these people, and Quebec has expertise not found in all the other provinces. Furthermore, there are still a number of barriers to the integration of asylum seekers, most of whom are recognized as refugees by the Immigration and Refugee Board, and who therefore settle permanently in Quebec.
"The Quebec government could do more to support their integration by giving them access to employability services, subsidized childcare or allowances for francization courses, for example. We need to stop seeing refugees and asylum seekers as a burden on Quebec society, when in fact they contribute to it in so many ways.
"At a time when international crises are multiplying -- crises to which the actions of states in the Global North and multinational corporations are no strangers -- this is not the time to close borders for people fleeing persecution and violence in all its forms."
With over 40 years of expertise, the TCRI's mission is aimed at the defence of the rights and protection of refugees and immigrants in Quebec along their path towards immigration, settlement and integration on Quebec territory, in terms of aid, support, critical thinking and solidarity. It describes its vision as "community action for the welcoming of immigrants."
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 14 - February 28, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54149.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca