Refugees, an introduction• The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
currently* assists more than 22 million refugees/displaced people world wide.– Estimated, in 1990, there were more that 125 million people living outside of
their countries of birth• Refugee numbers continues to increase due to shorter travel times, low
transportation costs, and the ease with which information is exchanged across continents– Increases are fuelled by both forced and chosen relocation
• Refugee: person who has left their country for fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.– They are referred to as asylum seekers
» Economic Migrant is someone who has chosen to relocate due to economic situation
• *based on 2006 when book published
Refugees in Canada• 2001 – CAN admitted 28,000 refugees (45,000 refugee claims were
made)– 47% of claims were given “legitimate status”
• Countries of origin included:– Hungary, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, China, Mexico, Columbia, Turkey, India, Argentina,
and Congo-Kinshasa
• Background in Canada:• UN Convention on Refugees, 1951 – Signed by Canada (aka Geneva
Convention), this was a convention that granted refugees the right to seek asylum, but did not force countries to accept them
• Immigration Act, 1976 – incorporated principals of Geneva Convention into domestic law. – Refugees seeking asylum based on economic criteria was removed;
refugees were considered on the basis of their ability to adapt, not their need for protection.• Done to lessen backlog and fraudulent claims – did not solve problem…
Refugees in Canada II• Changes to Canadian Refugee Law, 1989 – further changes were made
to curb the issues faced with the refugee process in Canada, including:– Oral hearings were to occur within days of the refugee claim– Those who brought undocumented persons into Canada could be punished– Fraudulent claimants also could be punished
• New laws imposed harsh penalties on convicted smugglers, and severe fines placed on companies who brought in undocumented persons– Also, those who came to Canada illegally, could be detained– Those who did things the “right way” could expect a quicker processing
time than before• Did not necessarily work, see Chinese Boatpeople example, p. 155 in text
Refugees in Canada III• Immigration and Refuge Protection Act, 2001 – IRPA replaced all prior
immigration and refugee legislation, made significant changes to asylum procedures, includes:– Placed time frame on processing an asylum seeker (3 days)– Consideration for asylum can be suspended if “government alleges that the
person is inadmissible based on security or criminal grounds or for violating human rights”• A hearing will be held to discuss this, admissibility still may occur
– Also, someone with a criminal record pending in Canada, will be deemed inadmissible until judicial system has dealt with them
• Illegal Migrants – many who claim refugee status never make it to their hearings– Cross in USA, disappear into CAN cities – approx. 4,000 per year
• There is a backlog of these cases (30,000)
– Solutions: Better screening/documentation by transportation carriers & immigration officers placed around the globe to intercept illegal migrants before they reach Canada (2000, UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime)
Canadian Accomplishments• Terry Fox:• Born: Winnipeg, MB; Raised: Port Coquitlam, BC• 1977, 18 years old, diagnosed with bone cancer, forced to have
his right leg amputated– As a means to make a difference for all of the other cancer patients –
especially children – he met during his treatment, he decided to run across Canada
• Marathon of Hope: Trained for 18 months, running 5,000 km to prepare for the marathon.– April 12, 1980 he started in St. John’s NFLD
• Running 42 km/day through Atlantic Provinces, Quebec & Ontario, Terry raised money along the way.
• September 1, following 143 days, he was forced to stop outside of Thunder Bay, ONT because the cancer had reappeared in his lungs
• June 28, 1981 Terry Fox passed away.
– To this date*, in Terry’s legacy, there has been $600 million raised for cancer research through the Terry Fox run worldwide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09mypXm_ZRM
Canadian accomplishments II
• Rick Hansen: • Born: Port Alberni, BC; Raised in Williams Lake, BC• Was in a car accident when 15 yrs old, causing him to become
paralyzed from the waste down.• Very athletic individual, before and after accident. Competed in
international wheelchair marathons, and for Canada in 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. – 1985, decided to wheel around the world to raise awareness and funds for
spinal cord injury• Man in Motion World Tour – 2 years & 40,000 kms Rick returned to
Vancouver raising $26 million. • Currently the CEO of the ‘Rick Hansen Man in Motion Foundation
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEi-ZhDeWLk
Canadian accomplishments iiI• Craig Kielburger:• Born: 1982, Thornhill, ONT• Spokesperson for children’s rights, 1995 – 12 years old
– Following an article he read concerning a young boy from Pakistan, Craig and a group of friends founded the organization known as Free the Children
• International network of children helping children, at the local, national, and international level through leadership and action– Primary Goal: Free children from poverty & exploitation, and also free children from
the idea that they are powerless to bring about social change• Free the Children is a worldwide organization, in 35 countries, and has 100s of
1000s of members.– Accomplishments include: construction of 375 primary schools in developing nations
providing 30,000+ children with access to education. Also, 125,000 school kits, and excess of $5 million in medical supplies to needing families.
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afClM91uQFU
Ok, that’s all…
• Please work on your worksheets (3 pages)…
• Be sure to sign up for re-test should you desire…
• 9:00 Presentation U of Calgary… Library… – All allowed to attend (should you want to)