IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2023: Refugee Resettlement

Context

Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program is a Longstanding Humanitarian Tradition Grounded in the 1951 Refugee Convention and Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Refugees

According to the Refugee Convention, refugees are those who have a well-founded fear of persecution based on:

• Race
• Religion
• Nationality
• Political opinion
• Membership in a particular social group

This definition is included in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), and is the foundation for refugee status determination. According to the Regulations, refugees who are eligible for resettlement may also include those who have been and continue to be affected by civil war, armed conflict, or massive violations of human rights.

Durable solutions

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) promotes three durable solutions for refugees as part of its core mandate, in order of preference:

• Voluntary repatriation
• Local integration in the country of asylum
• Resettlement to a third country

The first two durable solutions are the focus of the international community. First, to resolve the conditions that are leading to displacement (e.g. war/violence, repression against certain groups), and second, to ensure that displaced individuals can live in the new communities where they have sought refuge, because the goodwill of the international community will never be enough to resettle all refugees globally.

Resettlement is used when refugees do not have a durable solution in their first country of asylum, and cannot be voluntarily repatriated – it is typically used by the UNHCR as the last solution. Once resettled to Canada, refugees receive protected person and permanent resident status and may not be returned to a country of persecution (concept of “non-refoulement”).

Impacts

• According to the UNHCR, the number of people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order grew by 21 per cent in 2022, representing an estimated 108.4 million people globally. This includes:
  • 35.3 million refugees, including 29.4 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate and 5.9 million Palestine refugees
  • 62.5 million internally displaced people
  • 5.4 million asylum-seekers
  • 5.2 million other people in need of international protection, including stateless persons (4.4 million).
• Refugees are people who have fled persecution, war, or violence and have crossed an international border to find safety. They have been determined to meet the legal definition of a refugee by either the UNHCR or their country of asylum.
• Internally displaced persons are forced to flee their homes, often for the same reasons as refugees, but have not crossed a border to find safety. Unlike refugees, they are on the run in their country of nationality or habitual residence.
• Asylum seekers are people who have fled their home country to seek international protection in another country, but whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed.
• ‘Other people in need of international protection’ includes other persons of concern who have been forcibly displaced across international borders and / or require international protection (e.g. stateless individuals).

Current Program

Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program

Refugees are selected overseas for resettlement and provided with supports upon arrival:

• Government-assisted refugees are identified primarily by the UNHCR as well as other referral partners. The Government provides settlement services and income support for one year.
• Privately sponsored refugees are identified by Canadians, mostly on the basis of family and/or cultural connections of other recently arrived refugees. Sponsors provide income and settlement support for one year.
• Refugees referred by the UNHCR are sometimes identified as cases that could be matched with a private sponsor, who provides settlement support and 6 months of income support, while the Government provides the remaining 6 months of income support (Blended Visa Office-Referred Program).
• Canada has also begun experimenting with complementary pathways for refugees and other displaced persons, which create other ways for individuals to find durable solutions outside of traditional resettlement programs. This includes Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, designed to help skilled refugees and other displaced persons immigrate to Canada through existing economic programs.
• Given Canada’s leadership in resettlement and complementary pathways, the Department leads state efforts in international engagement fora, including:
  • Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI): The GRSI brings together Canada with the UNHCR, University of Ottawa’s Refugee Hub, and a number of philanthropic organizations, to encourage state and civil society partners around the globe to develop and expand community sponsorship of refugees programs.
  • Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility (GTF): Canada is the Chair of the GTF, until March 2024, of a multi-sectoral, global initiative which aims to advocate for and promote labour mobility pathways for refugees and displaced people, drawing on Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot. Membership in the Task Force encompasses governments, private sector/employers as well as non-governmental partners.

The Resettlement Program is Reliant on Key Partners

Overseas

• The UNHCR is a key humanitarian partner for Canada, by supporting the delivery of Canada’s resettlement program as well as global efforts to assist and find solutions for refugees and other forcibly-displaced persons.
• The UNHCR is Canada’s primary referral partner for Government-Assisted refugees to Canada. The Department also works with civil society organizations to identify and refer refugees that may be out of UNHCR’s reach; for example, Rainbow Railroad refers LGBTQI+ refugees, and Frontline Defenders and Protectdefenders.eu refer human rights defenders.
• The International Organization for Migration also provides critical logistical support (i.e. interpretation, transportation to and from interviews, orientations, form filling, and transportation to Canada).

In Canada

• For Government-Assisted refugees, resettlement service providers provide income support and services to refugees upon arrival (e.g. temporary housing, orientation, links to integration services such as language training) on behalf of the Government of Canada.
• Private sponsors refer cases for resettlement and provide settlement and financial supports to refugees that have been approved.
• Communities in provinces and territories receive refugees based on settlement capacity, family connections, the availability of medical services, and other factors.
• The Province of Quebec operates its own resettlement program under the Canada-Quebec Accord.
• The Department also engages regularly with refugee advocacy and sponsorship groups such as the Canadian Council for Refugees, Rainbow Coalition for Refugees, and the Sponsorship Agreement Holder Council.

Recent Developments

• Human Rights Defenders: In 2021, IRCC addressed a mandate letter commitment by adding 250 Government-Assisted resettlement spaces per year dedicated to human rights defenders. In 2023, IRCC grew this stream to 500 spaces per year and deepened its partnership with leading human rights defender protection organizations including Front Line Defenders and Protect Defenders as direct referral partners, along with UNHCR [Redacted].

Uyghurs: Private Member’s Motion 62 calls on the Government to resettle 10,000 vulnerable Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim that have fled to third countries from China and lack a durable solution. The motion is to be implemented over two years, starting in 2024, and is above regular resettlement levels.  An implementation plan must be tabled in Parliament by November 1, 2023. [Redacted].

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• Private sponsorship intake and processing: To address growing inventories and long wait times in the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program, the Budget Implementation Act (2023) included an amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to clarify that the Minister may give instructions regarding processing applications in the PSR Program. Work is underway to leverage the new legislative authorities to develop and implement application intake controls that will address backlog challenges.
• Private sponsorship regulations. The Department recently introduced a Program Integrity Framework for the PSR program to ensure that sponsors are meeting program requirements and that sponsored refugees are receiving the support required to succeed [Redacted]
• International engagements: Canada has long supported the Global Compact on Refugees, which provides a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing among states and other actors involved in refugee protection. The Department is currently preparing for the Ministerial-level Global Refugee Forum taking place December 12-15, 2023 in Geneva, where Canada will join with like-minded countries in making public pledges related to refugee protection and resettlement, and participate in high level events, including potentially a Ministerial-level event on refugee labour mobility.

Upcoming Milestones

• Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program continues a long-standing humanitarian tradition and commitment to international law, grounded in the 1951 Refugee Convention and Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• Globally, migration and refugee needs are at all-time highs. UNHCR estimates that in 2022, 1,473,156 individuals will be in need of resettlement as a durable solution. In 2021, only 39,300 refugees were resettled globally.
• In 2022, Canada continued to be a global leader in refugee resettlement, resettling 46,532 refugees, including 23,912 government-assisted refugees, 22,520 privately sponsored refugees, and 100 blended visa-office referred refugees.
• Canada will continue to be a global leader in refugee resettlement, with plans to resettle 144,170 refugees between 2023-2025, working with UNHCR, IOM and civil society organizations overseas and in Canada to do so.
• Through its role in international fora – including the GRSI, the GTF and upcoming Global Refugee Forum – Canada demonstrates its leadership in both traditional refugee resettlement and in innovating in the area of complementary pathways.