CIMM Committee Report

Supplementary Report of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC)

David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin – Caledon Michelle Rempel, Member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill Bob Saroya, Member of Parliament for Markham – Unionville

This summer the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration held emergency meetings to study and bring forward recommendations to assist highly vulnerable displaced persons.

It is the opinion of the Conservative members that the report tabled by this Committee has not accomplished this objective. While evidence contained in the report outlines several dire situations demanding a response, the recommendations section is inadequate.

With this in mind, the Conservative Members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration offer the following supplementary recommendations to the Committee’s report Distress Call: How Canada’s Immigration Program Can Respond to Reach the Displaced and Most Vulnerable.

CURRENT IMMIGRATION MEASURES FOR PROTECTION

Eligibility and Admissibility

During committee meetings, as reflected in the report, the Committee heard numerous times that the government should consider engaging with agencies other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement referrals. The predominant reason was a result of the UNHCR not having the legal authority to refer internally displaced persons, such as the Yazidis in Iraq.[1]

Rev. Majed El Shafie, President and Founder, One Free World International suggested that, “the government must work with representatives of minority groups and organizations that work directly with those refugees who, for a variety of reasons, cannot access mainstream refugee support programs in order to help identify the most vulnerable and must not simply rely on the UNHCR and other mainstream agencies.”[2] David Berson, Co-Chair, Or Shalom Syrian Refugee Initiative, echoed these sentiments.[3]

Mirza Ismail, Chairman, Yezidi Human Rights Organization International noted that it was not that the government was incapable of reaching remote populations like the Yazidis, but that they were unwilling to work with NGOs other than the UNHCR.[4]  Rabea Allos, Director, Catholic Refugee Sponsors Council also noted that Canada needs to consult with agencies other than the UNHCR for resettlement.[5]

One notable example the Committee heard was that the German government was working with the International Organization for Migration to resettle Yazidi women and girls.[6]

Given the overwhelming amount of testimony in favour of partnering with NGOs other than the UNHCR, we recommend:

1. That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada establish agreements with reputable agencies other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement referrals in order to expand the reach of Canada’s program targeting groups facing genocide.

Identification for Resettlement

Under Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s current guidelines, private sponsorship groups (also known as groups of five) can only sponsor people who are recognized as refugees by the UNHCR or a foreign state. Therefore, those who are internally displaced are ineligible to be sponsored by groups of five.

The committee heard testimony from numerous witnesses recommending a change to this rule. Balpreet Singh, Legal Counsel, World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) stated, “We think that it might be an option to open it up to private sponsorships. It needs to be looked at because right now there’s no viable option for those individuals who are internally displaced.”[7] David Berson, Co-Chair, Or Shalom Syrian Refugee Initiative, Or Shalom Synagogue echoed this by recommending that Canada: “[r]ecognize internally displaced people as candidates for sponsorship.”[8] Gloria Nafziger, Refugee and Migrant Coordinator, Toronto Office, Amnesty International simply added to this, “Canada could permit private groups and groups of five sponsorships for individuals who are internally displaced.”[9]

Given that witnesses invited to the Committee by all parties made these statements, we recommend:

2. That Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada consider the allowance of private sponsorship groups under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program to sponsor internally displaced persons who would otherwise meet Canada’s eligibility for resettlement if they had the ability to leave their country of origin.

Similarly, the committee heard evidence for creating private sponsorship programs on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate considerations. For instance Chantal Desloges, Lawyer, Desloges Law Group, stated: “The first [tool] is the increased use of the humanitarian and compassionate provisions in section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to cover off situations where people are not outside their country of origin – for example, internally displaced people – and people who do not have UNHCR recognition. That would cover people who are not able, for whatever reason, to access UNHCR registration or to access UNHCR camps.”[10] Mirza Ismail echoed this, “We ask Canada to bring in the abducted Yazidis who were able to escape from ISIS. Canada can bring those escaped Yazidi girls from Iraq under section 25 of the immigration law. As my colleague said, Germany has accepted 1,000 who are underaged with their families.”[11]

The Committee also heard that private sponsorship groups want to offer their resources to expeditiously resettle Yazidi refugees. David Berson stated:

We've raised more than $775,000 and are prepared to do more. We've educated ourselves in terms of language, food, culture. We've been active long before November 2015 and we are ready to deploy.

Change is needed in how we expedite the processing of vulnerable populations in isolated areas. Here are some recommendations and possible solutions to consider.

Increase the number of private sponsorships allowed to sponsorship agreement holders because private sponsors significantly increase the acculturation process to Canada, even more so in cases where people are vulnerable and have special needs. Private sponsorships cost the government and taxpayers much less, and they develop more resilient communities and stronger community networks.[12]

Given that the government has the capability and that the UNHCR has asked for states to expedite the processing of Yazidis, we recommend:

3. That Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship use humanitarian and compassionate grounds (for example, utilizing Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)) to bring Yazidi victims of genocide to Canada in an expeditious manner.

Immigration Levels Plan, Caps and Allocations

Annual caps exist for the number of refugees which will be resettled to Canada via Sponsorship Agreement Holders. The Committee heard recommendations urging the removal of caps on private sponsors in order to fully capitalize on the generosity of Canadians. For instance, Chantal Desloges said: “lift or at least better manage the caps on sponsorship agreement holders. Private sponsors are really excited right now, and they’re willing to back up their enthusiasm with their wallets.”[13]

Given that many Canadians are willing to personally facilitate the sponsorship of refugees, and the current gravity of the Syrian and Iraqi refugee crisis, we recommend:

4. That Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada remove Iraq and Syria from the current Sponsorship Agreement Holders cap.

This recommendation would put this government in line with a practice instituted by the previous government.

We also heard from witnesses that genocide victims, with particular emphasis on Yazidi victims of genocide, should be given high priority in selecting candidates for resettlement via the Government Assisted Refugee program. These people are being systemically exterminated and it is highly unlikely that they will be unable to return to their homes, even if general conflict in the region ceases. Given this, we recommend:

5. That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada set targets for the inclusion of genocide victims in annual levels for the Government Assisted Refugee program, and that a special program be established in 2016 to immediately resettle a target number of Yazidi genocide victims to Canada.

The report recommends that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consider a resettlement class for private sponsorship for persons in need of protection and residing in their country of origin similar to the former Source Country Class. However, department officials noted the following,

I would say that we repealed the source country class primarily because it was quite ineffective. We had a list of countries and regulation that we would consider, where applicants could go directly to a visa officer as opposed to through a referral, but it was very difficult and cumbersome, with changing country conditions around the world, to take countries on or off that list, not to mention the diplomatic considerations about saying to a country essentially that we consider that people inside its territory should be removed if they asked for—[14]

Given that there is ample additional rationale from department officials in the public domain providing warnings about the previous ineffectiveness of this program, we encourage the government to bear these facts in mind should they choose to accept this recommendation.

Integration Support

Given that successful integration support systems provide opportunities for success for refugees upon entry into Canada, we recommend:

6. That the Government conduct thorough consultations with resettlement support service providers, including provincial and municipal governments, and post a comprehensive, fully costed plan to provide integration support services to increases in resettlement spots significantly exceed the levels outline in the most recent Immigration Levels Report, and that this plan be studied by a Parliamentary committee.

TESTIMONY ON IMMIGRATION MEASURES TO PROTECT VULNERABLE GROUPS

Improving the Resettlement Program

During committee, many witnesses commented on the issues of prioritization and on defining the term “most vulnerable.”  Chantal Desloges noted: “[It] makes sense to draw certain distinctions between groups of people, not to discriminate against those who are not prioritized but to recognize the simple reality that some groups are singled out and horrifically targeted by their persecutors. If the persecutors themselves draw those distinctions, it only makes sense that our response has to be proportionate. Every refugee faces a well-founded fear of persecution, but not every refugee is a genocide victim. Not every refugee is a survivor of sex slavery.”[15]

Many witnesses echoed this rationale, including John Clayton, Director of Programs and Projects, and Raija-Liisa Schmidt Teigen, General Director of Grace Community Centre Duhok, Samaritan’s Purse Canada: “The genocide committed against the Yazidis merits priority and exceptional handling for those seeking refuge in Canada. … We recommend that Canada implement the Human Rights Council commissioned report recommendation 212 (g):

“212. The Commission recommends to the international community: (g) Accelerate the asylum applications of Yazidi victims of genocide”.”[16]

Lorne Weiss, President, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, Operation Ezra, also emphasized the necessity of an immediate response: “The plight of the Yazidi people needs to be given priority in the face of this tragic genocide.”[17]

Murad Ismael also commented: “We would like you to have a special quota of 5,000 to 10,000 people, sponsored by the Government of Canada, to allow the Yazidis to come. I think the Yazidis must be allowed to go to any country, exactly as the people of the Holocaust were. The world finally recognized their genocide and allowed them to come in.”[18]

We recommend:

7. That the Government of Canada adopt recommendations found in sections 210, 212, and 213 of the June 15, 2016 report They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis; and that the government regularly report back to the House of Commons on the progress related to the implementation of these recommendations.

In addition we recommend:

8. That Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugees Canada set specific targets for the number of victims of genocide within our refugee sponsorship programs, and implement mechanisms to measure whether the government is meeting these targets.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Individuals

The Committee heard from numerous witnesses concerning the struggles confronted by LGBTQI refugees. A member of the non-profit organization Rainbow Road gave the following recommendation: “The inability to leave one’s home country due to gender identity or misogyny, homophobia in entire regions and possible countries of first asylum, and administrative delays that put individuals at risk are the main risks that the government of Canada can attempt to address in order to address the protection of vulnerable and persecuted LGBTQ individuals who are seeking asylum.”[19]

The Committee also heard that sometimes LGBTQI people encounter insensitivity during the refugee process from UNHCR officials themselves, possibly due to inadequate training. Chad Walters, Board Member, Foundation of Hope recommended that measures be taken to “ensure substantial LGBT competence training for immigration lawyers and officials. Meeting things like “but you don’t look gay” is commonplace for claimants. … It is imperative that the way one looks is not a factor in one’s credibility as LGBT.”[20]

Given this testimony, we recommend:

9. That the Government of Canada work with its partners in the UNHCR to ensure that adequate training and best practices are being implemented so that processing LGBTQI refugees is appropriate and does not cause undue stress and hardship or risk to these individuals.

Secondly, in recognition that those who are persecuted based on their sexual orientation or their gender identity face increased security risk, including death, when travelling to a foreign country in order to file a refugee claim, we recommend:

10. That Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada create a private sponsorship program for members of the LGBTQI using measures such as humanitarian and compassionate grounds to allow Canadians to sponsor individuals based in their country of origin.

Groups Facing Genocide

The declaration that ISIS is committing genocide against the Yazidi people by the United Nations compels Canada to act quickly to support them, and other groups facing similar dire circumstances. Much of the testimony on this topic supported specific recommendations to improve our immigration system to swiftly support victims of genocide.

We heard testimony, which is noted in the body of the report, that Yazidi victims of genocide face discrimination by UN refugee processing agents, which may preclude their selection as candidates for resettlement to Canada. Given that government officials have noted in previous committee hearings that only a handful of Yazidis have been selected to come to Canada as part of the government’s recent selection of 25,000 resettlement candidates, this testimony raises questions about the efficacy of the UN selection process as it pertains to assisting Yazidis and other persecuted minorities.

Most of the staff of the UNHCR in Turkey and Syria are Muslims and they violently discriminate against the Yazidi, who do not dare protest their ill treatment or demand their rights. They are given four to five years for a UN interview. I have evidence I am happy to show anyone who wants to see it.[21]

- Mirza Ismail

Just today I got two reports that I found disturbing. One was the report of some of our workers visiting a refugee who had an appointment for 2021, and was told maybe not even 2021, it might be 2022. I can confirm that is definitely true, and it makes no sense to me why the UNHCR cannot be providing refugees.... That was just for refugee status, that wasn't even for immigration, that was just for status as a refugee to be able to move forward in the immigration process.

The other report that I received today was from Greece. One of our Yazidi beneficiaries commented to one of our workers that it was really hard for them because they were still living in a Muslim context, and the Muslim NGO workers who were serving them were, after hours, overheard calling them all sorts of names. [22]

- Ms. Raija-Liisa Schmidt-Teigen

As such, we recommend:

11. That the government should establish a formal process with the United Nations to audit lists of candidates presented for resettlement to Canada in order to ensure the acceleration of applications from victims of genocide.

We also heard that Yazdi victims of genocide face extreme persecution in general refugee camps with some making it to segregated camps, such as one in Greece. The know existence of the whereabouts of Yazidis in these types of camps presents and immediate opportunity for Canadian officials and the government to identify Yazidi candidates for immediate resettlement to Canada.

On June 23, 2016, in the Skaramagas refugee camp in Greece, the Arabs, Kurds, and Afghans called a jihad to kill the Yazidis in the camp. These Muslim jihadists attacked the Yazidi refugees with knives, metal bars, sticks, and stones. They injured 18 Yazidi men who tried to defend their families and their people. The 18 injured men were taken to the hospital for medical treatment. They also ravaged their tents and belongings. The attack started at 9:30 p.m. and ended at 3:00 a.m. on June 24. This is not the first attack against the Yazidi refugees in Greece. There have been attacks and violence against the Yazidi refugees in Greece, in Turkey, in Syria, and even in Germany, many times, by ISIS supporters or ISIS members in those countries.

There are about 750 Yazidi refugees in Skaramagas camp. In total there are about 3,363 Yazidi refugees in Greece. This is happening in Greece despite the fact that Greece is not a Muslim country. What about countries like Turkey or Syria? If that could happen in Greece, you can imagine what is happening. You can see on the screen pictures of the victims of the attack by ISIS members or supporters in Greece.[23]

- Mirza Ismael

In addition to the recommendations throughout, we recommend:

12. That Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees review the selection process used by the United Nations to identify refugees for the government sponsored refugee stream, and encourage changes to accelerate the resettlement of victims of genocide.

13. That Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees review processing times in Canada for asylum claims of victims of genocide, in both the government sponsored and private sponsorship stream, and make process improvements.

CONCLUSION

The Conservative Party submits these recommendations with the objective that these will be considered with utmost urgency, in the same spirit as this Committee met during the summer.

“When they took us, the girls and children, we were not simply held prisoners, but they committed crimes against us. They forced us to change our religion. They raped us. They sold us. They leased us. This continues today against more than 3,000 women and children in Iraq and Syria. There is no place in Iraq or Syria under the control of ISIL where girls were not distributed. Girls who were 10 years old were in my company and they would be raped, and they would be sold among themselves. Until today, some girls continue to be raped by tens of ISIL members, This is not a secret; it's done in public. ISIL videographs the girls, and they're proud of what they are doing toward those girls.

Thousands of other Yazidis in the camps struggle with extreme poverty. Thousands of Yazidis had to migrate. Hundreds drowned in the Aegean Sea. Thousands of widows in camps are not able to raise their children. More than 35 mass graves have been discovered so far in the areas that have been liberated in Sinjar, and they have not been documented to date. With the grave where my mother is buried, for more than nine months I knew that my mother was buried there, but she has not been properly identified. Imagine human beings having to see more than six or seven of their siblings killed and not be able to even go to collect their remains. You see your mother killed with no guilt other than her Yazidi identity that meant others considered her an infidel.

We're talking about not being able to buy a container of milk for the children in the camps in Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Iraqi Kurdistan. The Yazidis are being eliminated. Since August 3, 2014, no Yazidi child is being helped by any side. Yazidis are not getting help from anyone.

We're talking about girls who have been raped tens of times, and they're currently in the camps of Iraqi Kurdistan. They've lost their mothers, their fathers, and their brothers. They are living just like other refugees in the camps after having been the victims of ISIL, but they're not receiving any help or assistance. I know of girls who have been liberated. They're in the camps, but there is nobody to help them.

As Yazidis, we feel that the world is negligent toward us, especially when it comes to the survivors, the widows, and the orphans. We do not know for how long we will continue to be in this situation where we're being killed off.”[24]

---