Ministers Hussen, Freeland and Monsef mark World Refugee Day

Ottawa, June 20, 2019—The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, today issued the following statement:

“Canada’s support for refugees is a longstanding, unwavering commitment supported by communities across the country. Canadians have continually supported Canada’s international humanitarian response to refugee crises around the world.

This tradition of humanitarian support demonstrates to the world that we have a shared responsibility to help those who are displaced, persecuted and most in need of protection. We also recognize the particular, intersectional vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls, children, LGBTQ2 persons, and all others belonging to marginalized and targeted groups.

This year we celebrate Canada’s 40th anniversary of Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. We thank the more than two million Canadians who have helped sponsor more than 327,000 refugees and have made the program a model around the world. Canada is sharing this expertise by helping other countries set up refugee sponsorship programs.

On World Refugee Day, we acknowledge the struggles faced by refugees and we highlight their courage and resilience. We also commend all the compassionate Canadians who helped out others in need.

As a recognized leader in humanitarian assistance, Canada is working hard globally to change the way humanitarian assistance is designed and delivered so that women and girls are not left behind.

Canada is an open and diverse country. For refugees fleeing danger, intolerance and chaos, these qualities are a source of hope, and provide a safe haven for the world’s most vulnerable people. This is the tradition we commemorate on World Refugee Day.”