CIMM Committee Report

Supplementary Report of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition

the Conservative Party of Canada

Briefing on Resettlement Issues Related to Yezidi Women and Girls

Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon – Souris

Michelle Rempel, Member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill

David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon

I want you all just for one moment—one moment—to be able to get out of those suits and think for one moment of the pain and struggle Yazidis are going through. Right now, as we speak, there is a girl screaming for our help. As a proud Canadian, I beg you to open your hearts and your doors to the Yazidis.[1]

To the credit of the government, the resettlement of Yazidis required a new way of thinking and a new way of doing things. In order to identify Yazidis, the government had to overcome the technical problem of resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs); this is something that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) does not normally do. This posed a problem, as Canada primarily relies on the UNHCR for our refugee resettlement lists. Overcoming this obstacle was the first step that needed to take place.

Yet, the government gave the impression that they were developing a specialized program for Yazidis to deal with their specific and extensive trauma once they arrived in Canada. The State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, which was the first jurisdiction to develop such a program, shared their best practices with the Canadian government in 2016.[2] When questioned at committee, officials from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship could not explain how their settlement plan for Yazidis differed in any way from other refugee groups.[3] This is perplexing given the acknowledgement in the same meeting that Yazidis have suffered immensely, as Sean Boyd, Executive Director, Middle East Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, stated:

The Yazidis have suffered horrendous atrocities at the hands of Daesh. The United Nations' Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic has found that these acts of violence constitute genocide. Members of the Yazidi community have told us that they do not feel safe and that they continue to fear Daesh sleeper cells and other forms of religious extremism.[4]

The committee’s meetings regarding the resettlement of Yazidis were an opportunity to identify the successes and failures of the initiative, to develop an understanding of best practices, and to improve the ongoing issues Yazidis are having. However, the committee’s report failed to adequately do this. We hope that this supplementary report will fill those gaps.

Interpretation

The committee heard that the availability and accessibility of interpretation services was an issue for resettled Yazidis. COSTI Immigrant Services told the committee that of the Yazidis they worked with in Toronto, “two-thirds of the group speak varying levels of Arabic, however prefer to communicate in Kurmanji. The remaining one-third speak Kurmanji only.”[5] COSTI has attempted to identify new Kurmanji interpreters to assist in the resettlement, but they still do not have enough to meet the demand. This has detrimental implications for a newcomer’s ability to integrate. COSTI noted that there are no Kurmanji-speaking mental health professionals in the GTA, and that there are waitlists for Arabic services.[6] Without access to these vital services, Canada is failing the Yazidi people in their process of resettlement.

It is also necessary to be sensitive to the trauma of Yazidis in the provision of interpretation, specifically; it cannot be assumed that Yazidis are willing or able to communicate in Arabic. The committee heard that for some Yazidis, meeting with Arabic speaking government translators in Canada added to their confusion and fear. Some even “thought they were back in the hands of ISIS,” because this was the language of their former captors.[7]

It should also be highlighted that interpreters must be certified as there have been concerns raised privately that interpreters many not be translating the desires of the individual accurately.

Mental Health Support

Yazidis survivors of genocide have suffered unimaginable trauma. Many of the refugees settled in Canada have witnessed the murder of their immediate family members, have endured rape and torture and, have been the subject of discrimination and dehumanization. COSTI noted that once a refugee’s funding under the Interim Federal Health Program expires, they are put on a waitlist for social assistance to access mental health services.[8] This is problematic because the mental health needs of the community are long-term and ongoing.

The Conservatives were further concerned because we heard that the department cut funding that was earmarked for the provision of services to Yazidis. Dawn Edlund, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Department of Citizenship and Immigration, informed the committee that although Budget 2017 set out $27.7 million for the initiative, they later cut this funding by several million.[9] We were concerned by this because the federal government only provided individualized counselling to 5 of the Yazidis.[10]

Best Practices

The resettlement of Yazidis required innovative thinking and the development of new processes and programs. IRCC, as well as settlement organizations and private sponsors had to respond to this community’s needs that differed from other refugee populations. This newly formed institutional knowledge could be useful to future resettlement initiatives. Therefore, knowledge transfer would be highly valuable for the development and maintenance of best practices. The London Cross Cultural Learner Centre recommended that settlement workers receive training to better understand how to deal with the level of trauma that Yazidis have and for best practices to be shared.[11] They noted that capacity and education needs to be built in host communities, with a special focus on the provision of mental health care. They stated: “It’s important host communities understand current cultural profiles, experiences and complexities of newly migrating communities. We have had recent requests for education and training on this migration and commitment to resettlement.”[12]

In a briefing submitted to the committee, COSTI gave an example of a particularly effective approach to language instruction that they were able to offer some families in Toronto. The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) teaches newcomer mothers basic literacy in order to support the education needs of their children. This was uniquely placed to support the needs of Yazidi mothers. However, they noted that access to this program is only available in the City of Toronto and is not available for clients living in the York Region.[13] It would be helpful for the government to empower organizations like COSTI to be able to share their success with other settlement organizations and to expand its reach.

Developing best practices is also helpful for the transportability of services and so that conflict between community organizations do not emerge. We have heard that there may be strife between organizations in Winnipeg who have different approaches in their settlement practices.

Family Reunification

We heard that since there are many survivors of the Yazidi genocide and newly rescued sex slaves that are only now able to leave the Islamic State, it is necessary to recognize the exceptional nature of their situation.[14] Many already have family in Canada now, and others are unable to return home to Northern Iraq due to instability in the region, with no local durable solutions.[15] They should be prioritized in Canada’s refugee resettlement along with the prolonged ability for Yazidis to sponsor family to Canada.

Family reunification is a key area of concern for all refugees resettled in Canada, but we heard that Yazidi families have unique issues when trying to sponsor family. For example, family members are often undeclared on documentation given to IRCC because they were presumed dead or have disappeared.[16] Under current regulations, those family members cannot be included under the One Year Window provisions even if they are located within their first year in Canada. COSTI stated:

It is not unusual for missing family members to be located after the One Year Window provision has passed, leaving few avenues for resettlement other than submitting a Humanitarian and Compassionate claim, which not only costs money to apply but also requires a lawyer to complete the application. Lastly, for extended family members still living in their home country (such as Iraq and Syria), there exists no mechanism to resettle refugees who are internally displaced, other than family class sponsorship, which has inherent barriers for refugees. UNHCR and the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) have confirmed that without official refugee documents, it is not possible to recommend Yezidi extended family members for resettlement in Canada. Needless to say, the stress of being disconnected from family overseas, especially when those family members continue to be in precarious situations, contributes to poorer health and settlement outcomes and makes it much more difficult for refugee newcomers to focus on the task of integrating into Canadian society.[17]

Operation Ezra echoed these comments.[18] This challenge in terms of reunification of Yazidi families should be addressed immediately by the government.

Privately Sponsored Refugees

The committee heard that organizations have the resources necessary to sponsor additional Yazidis, but they are stymied by the cap on Sponsorship Agreement Holders. Lorne Weiss, Operation Ezra, told the committee that “one of our problems in terms of logistics is that we spend a lot of time looking for sponsorship agreement holders who have available quota to allow us to sponsor private families. That is a bigger challenge to us than raising the required funds to provide them with the year's support that's necessary.”[19] He further stated that the cap on sponsorship for Yazidis should be lifted because “the cap will be self-monitoring in essence because of the ability to raise funds.”[20] This way, the only limit on the number of refugees that could be sponsored would be on the ability for sponsors to pay for them.

Dalal Abdallah echoed this, “At this point, I think we should lift the cap entirely. I mean, we haven't done enough for the Yazidis, and we need to do that. This is the time.”[21] Taking such measures would capitalize generosity of Canadians who want to help this vulnerable group, with very little cost to the taxpayer.

Government Assisted Refugees

Hadji Hesso expressed his disappointment with the number of Yazidis that have been resettled in Canada:

In February of this year, the Government of Canada promised to bring in 1,200 people. That's when it started, and up to today we've seen 650 people. Now we are almost two months away from the end of this year, and I don't know if we are going to reach that number. A couple of years back, when we had the Syrian civil war, they brought 25,000 Syrians to Canada. We cannot reach the 1,200 number of Yazidi people by the end of the year, when entire religious and minority groups such as Yazidis and Christians have been through all these massacres, raping, and killing. The United Nations has acknowledged that it's a genocide against humanity.[22]

Most witnesses expressed their belief that Canada can and should do more, especially in light of the fact that the Government missed their target of resettling 1200 survivors of Daesh by the end of 2017.

The Yazidi Genocide

Speaking on behalf of a Yazidi refugee, Dalal Abdallah stated:

When I asked her what she wanted from the Canadian government, she said exactly what she wanted from Canada, and that is to keep the doors open and bring more survivors to Canada, to protect the ones who do not want to leave Shingal to be able to live a peaceful life, and lastly, to help provide any necessary aid to the families who are still in Iraq. The last thing she shared with me is that a lot of the refugees who come to Canada have been separated from their families back in Iraq. We would like a program for the Yazidis to reconnect with family members left in Iraq to have them come and join them here in Canada.[23]

The Conservative Party echoes these desires for the Yazidi community. It should also be noted that on October 25, 2016 the House of Commons unanimously voted in favour of a motion to respond to the Yazidi genocide. This included the acceptance of recommendations 210, 212, and 213 in the 2016 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights  entitled “They Came To Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against Yazidis.” Matthew Barber and a number of other witnesses recommended that the government provide a response to Parliament on its efforts to meet and take actions on those recommendations.[24]

Recommendations

1.  That IRCC examine the possibility of developing a nimble response network for the provision of transportation and interpretation services to connect government contracted settlement service organizations and refugees with non-profit organizations that have those resources available.
2.  That IRCC lift the sponsorship cap on Iraq and Syria for Sponsorship Agreement Holders for one year.
3.  That IRCC continue to prioritize genocide survivors in future government assisted refugee cohorts.
4.  That IRCC allow Yazidis to sponsor extended family members beyond the one year window given the exceptional circumstances.
5.  That the Government organize a conference to bring service providers together to discuss best practices.
6.  That IRCC extend the special program for internally displaced Yazidis to be resettled in Canada.
7.  That the Government of Canada ask the United Nations to undertake a follow-up study to the 2016 report entitled “They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against Yazidis” to look at what has been achieved by the global community, and to provide recommendations to the global community and member states for the support of the Yazidis.
8.  That the Government of Canada table an update to Parliament on its efforts to meet and take actions on recommendations 210, 212, and 213 in the 2016 report entitled “They Came to Destroy” as was voted unanimously in the House of Commons in 2016.