Canada's Response To Syrian Refugees

Justin Trudeau’s liberal party made the moral and accurate decision to admit the Syrian refugees into Canada. This decision was based on the morals to provide safety towards innocent victims of war. This decision should be seen as morally justified by all Canadians. Although there are some practice issues that must be resolved in order to give them an equal and equitable life in Canada.

Canada is well known for its size. It has the same size as China, yet it has about thirty times as less people. Inviting the refugees to Canada helps increase the country’s population and fill the empty space in the northern territories and the maritime provinces. Furthermore, the elderly population has been increasing dramatically in Canada, which means more retirements have been occurring. Thus, refugees will also help to fill empty workplaces, as Daniel Tencer states “Atlantic Canada has been facing low population growth and an aging workforce for years, and some business leaders there are pushing to make sure the region

Other countries such as the United States of America has welcomed refugees with open arms, with this they had an outbreak of refugee industries. They had employed 3000 workers, however, Canada was not welcoming to refugees especially the Jews, because they thought they had nothing to offer which was not true because many refugees brought work and new customers. In an editorial, The Globe and Mail, June 19, 1939, it states,

For various reasons, it may become necessary to leave one's home country. Many people are attracted to Canada. Some people do not leave their countries because of choice, but because of unjust persecution. Such persons are referred to as refugees. There exists an administrative body that addresses the needs and rights of refugees seeking relocation and settlement in Canada; this administrative body is called the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Refugees very often are in desperate situations that called for cultural sensitivity and processing through legal avenues. The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada handles these duties. This paper will briefly examine this board, its decision-making process, and evaluate the efficacy of the board.

The Canadian refugee plan that Trudeau had promised has been a controversial one. Would it really endanger Canadian citizens if 25,000 refugees are let into Canada. Most Canadians do not oppose trudeau’s plan, however more than 70% of Canadians think that his aim is too high. The current reality is that more than 25,000 Syrian refugees have already been brought into Canada. In fact as of April 3rd 2015 the number of Syrian refugees that have been brought into Canada since november 4th 2015 is 26,213. So the argument that 25,000 is too high isn’t valid right now, because more than 25,000 have already came in and most Canadians didn’t even notice. Although the Canadian public and government don’t have the same opinion on letting refugees in the

Canada has always been recognized as an accepting and “go-to” country in crisis. However, in recent years, there have been changes. Refugee legislation has become extremely strict, qualifications for refugees have become unfair, and limitations regarding what Canada offers refugees have been set.

In 1962, many new regulations were created that removed most limits on who can and cannot come to Canada. Though Canada’s government preferred British and European immigrants because they could adapt easier, in 1967, Canada’s legislation became “colour-blind”- and did’t use the colour, ethnicity, or cultural background as factors to determine the immigrant’s status on becoming Canadian or not. Instead they used a point-system that was based on one’s education and employment prospects. For that reason, only certain amount of training for specific skills and tasks would have to take place for them. On the other hand, refugees were constantly coming to Canada- such as the 11,000 refugees that came in 1968 after the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia.

In Margaret Wente’s article, “Syrian refugees: the romance and the reality” (Oct 1, 2016), she argues that Canadians must stop looking at the refugee crisis through rose coloured glasses and realize that there is far more to helping those living through this crisis then simply taking them out of the battleground. Wente backs her argument using data and facts as well as personal anecdotes from those providing social assistant to those in need. She hopes to bring attention to the problems Canada is facing regarding immigration and realize that simply bringing Syrians to Canada isn’t enough. While people have left the warzone coming to Canada without the ability to speak the language or support themselves will put the same pressure

Has United States or Canada been more effective with implementing and abiding by refugee rules and laws? Before discussing and comparing which of these countries had been more successful, the historical context of refugees needs to be explored. Although refugees have existed throughout the course of history, the definitions of what a refuge is had shifted and evolved over time. The League of Nations in the 1920s defined refugees “by categories, specifically in relation to their country of origin.” Up until 1950s, the League of Nations, which later became the United Nations, “established and dismantled several international institutions devoted to refugees in Europe.” After World War II, creating and facilitating solutions for refugees were of high importance internationally. This is evident in the first session of United Nations General Assembly in 1946 when it adopted the principle that no refugee who had “expressed valid objections to returning to their countries [sic] of origin ... shall be compelled to return.”

The devastating Syria civil war is one of the worst humanitarian crisis in society. This war caused half of Syria’s population to die or forced to flee to another country. Families are struggling to survive or live in neighboring countries. Certain people are risking their lives over a trip to Europe hoping to find acceptance and opportunity. Since winter is coming soon, refugees in settlements have less resources than ever before. They need adequate food, warm clothes, shoes, blankets, heaters and fuel. As you can see, Syria’s economy is completely shattered, yet some Syrians are repudiating Canada’s amazing, one-time offer to living a completely better condition? Omaymas al-Kasem is a brave, forthright

The growing number of displaced persons arising out of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 has become a significant humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with several countries granting asylum to a number of those effected. On the 9th of September 2015, the Australian Government announced that it will make an extra 12,000 humanitarian places available in response to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, granting them a permanent visa. Australia has been largely criticised by the international community regarding its “special humanitarian" stream identifying those most appropriate for resettlement, but necessarily the most vulnerable people. The approach taken by the Australian Government, alongside the continued sharing of news articles portraying migrants as ‘rapists’ is demonstrative of this heightened sense of popular nationalism identified in contemporary society, stemming from fear tactics, as well as the an increased the sharing of information and opinion via new

The resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada has been a heavily politicised issue since the last federal election. While the media spotlight has moved on, the integration of these refugees into the Canadian economy and society is an ongoing effort. Previous research on refugees resettled in Canada has found that proficiency in one of Canada’s official languages is one of the most important determining factors of a refugee’s ability to obtain employment and achieve higher levels of economic integration (Sherrell et al. 2005: 83). Historically, refugees resettled in Canada have frequently reported significant difficulties accessing appropriate language training services, especially in terms of the under capacity, underfunding, and lack of flexibility

Last year, when Syrian refugees were resettling in Canada was when I recognized my first issue of human rights; discrimination. We received two Syrian refugee families in my small village. Instantly, there was this whole negative stigma within my community and all over social media around them and their impact on our economy. Recognizing this, my Student Council and I worked endlessly to plan an informative Refugee assembly. We encouraged the attendance of the community. I feel we were successful in resolving the stigmas within my community since those with speculations stayed for a mature question period. On social media, you should be able to report discriminatory or prejudiced statements or posts you see. Then Facebook, Instagram, etc.

By making different decisions may drive Canada to a different future, as well as the Canadian citizens. Canada always has a strong sense of helping those in need around the world. Tracing back to the 1950s Hungarian refugees to Ismaili Muslim refugees in the 1970s. Canada always offers helps to different countries in the past, why are we not welcoming Syrian refugees now? In the Refugee Crisis video that Mary Jo Leddy interviewed on Context, she talked about Canada is not compassionate enough to refugees. Because of bogus refugees, several governments do not want to accept any refugees and Leddy thinks that it has blinded us, due to the fact that we are children of God, so they are our brothers and sisters. “If we imagine that God is just like us, we are missing a chance to learn that God is much more than someone just like us,” said Leddy. From “Charity: The virtue of Friendship with God” by Paul Wadell, he mentioned that how charity brings likeness to God; “To love God in charity is to become like God in goodness.” (Wadell, 74-75) We will never be the same as God, but we can become like God in goodness. By accepting and showing of care to refugees in Canada, the gift that they bring to us is the great and new hope to our country. From the hope that they placed on us summoned us to become a better people. Let Canada become the refugees’ home as well, make them feels

However, concurrent to those accepting declarations, claimsmaking activities by the Canadian government, especially by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews contributed to the social construction of a negative portrayal of the Tamil refugees, shaping their image as illegal migrants who are trying to take advantage of a generous nation like Canada. Declarations by Toews and other government spokesmen that the country’s laws will have to be stricter to prevent boatloads of desperate people fleeing persecution and poverty from seeking refuge in Canada constructed a public image that these Tamil refugees were illegitimate and thus not qualified to get support from Canada (Jones, 2010). They also repeatedly said that the boat’s voyage to Canada was likely organized by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam with the aim of infiltrating terrorists into Canada and raising funds. These bold statements further guided the public to believe that the refugees were closely linked to terrorist organizations and that accepting them could become a national security predicament (CBC News, 2010). Government spokesmen continued to frame the arrival of refugees as a risk, a practice that was continually repeated and strengthened through media reporting.