Address by Minister Dion at a round table on human security for refugees, migrants and host communities on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly

Tools and approaches for collective action

September 18 – New York, New York State

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

We are facing a crisis of epic proportions: a tide of people fleeing their homes on a scale unseen since the Second World War.

And we know already that refugees ultimately stay, on average, for a generation.

More and more people are in camps for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years.

Children are born and raised in camps. Families play out the chapters of their own lives in the confines of the camp as refugees.

Of course, the priority of our efforts here should be returns, but the fact is that this is not always a realistic option in the short term.

Of course, we should welcome more refugees into our countries and we are very proud that Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has welcomed many more refugees than in recent years—now [approaching] 45,000 refugees in 2016—and will continue to do so.

But with close to 21 million refugees still in need, we know that the camps will remain.

Therefore, Canada believes a focus of the international community should be a coordinated approach to education that goes from primary  to secondary [schools] and beyond, creating options for young people and their families to build on and use their skills.

Our government chooses this priority maybe partly because the Prime Minister is a teacher by profession, and so is our minister of immigration, and I am too.

One of the cruel realities is the lack of employment for refugees. Because of that many young refugees are discouraged from studying. We need to fight this problem head on.

A child born in a camp today needs to know that his or her life can get better, that he or she can dream of becoming something other than a refugee. That young girl or boy can become a doctor, a lawyer—even better, a teacher.

Education creates aspirations, and aspirations lead to real options.

Education also creates conditions for improved health, particularly for women and girls. Education delays marriage, limits forced marriage and postpones the birth of the first child.

Canada encourages the international community to be unafraid of new partnerships in education: with NGOs, local communities and the private sector.

A last point in conclusion: we will not succeed without a huge dose of political leadership. When Prime Minister Trudeau decided to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada from Syria, he was told by many experts that it was impossible. But we did it. Mr. Trudeau’s leadership made it happen. We need this kind of leadership to improve the conditions of people in camps.

It can be done, and Canada will be there as the UN negotiates the global compact on refugees and migrants. And we will insist that education is to be at the core of what we do.

Contacts

Chantal Gagnon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
chantal.gagnon@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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