CIMM Committee Report

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

Syrian Refugee Resettlement Study

_______________________________

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

Over the last several months, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration conducted a thorough study on the federal government’s initiative to resettle refugees from the Syrian conflict to Canada. The testimonies of over 60 witnesses were used to critique the effectiveness of the Syrian refugee initiative, and the strengths and weaknesses of the program were analyzed in an attempt to improve Canada’s resettlement efforts in the future.

It is the opinion of the Conservative members that the report tabled by this Committee was insufficient in achieving the goals of the study. The recommendations in the main report neglect to respond many of the concerns that were revealed. The recommendations provide no mention of government accountability and lack specificity in their resolutions. We are also concerned in regards to mismanagement within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) which has caused undue stress on refugees and private sponsors. We also note the disregard for keeping within the set budget for the Syrian refugee initiative.

Due to these factors, we offer the following supplementary recommendations to the Committee’s report After the Warm Welcome: Ensuring That Syrian Refugees Succeed.

Consultations with stakeholders and other levels of government

Several organizations shared with the Committee that they were not consulted throughout the process of increased refugee resettlement, which resulted in a significant strain on their existing resources and services. For example, the Calgary Board of Education expressed that their operating expenses this year have skyrocketed due to the influx of new students, without receiving additional government assistance to compensate. Their district has taken in 414 Syrian students since January 2016, and several dozen teachers, translators, and psychologists have been hired to meet the new needs of the schools.[1] However, under current funding frameworks, they do not receive any additional compensation for students enrolled after September 30, 2015; therefore the school board is left to absorb the new costs.[2] Furthermore, School Board Chair Joy Bower-Eyre informed the Committee that the board was not consulted by the government, or even asked if they were capable of taking in the influx of new students resulting in a $2.6 million budget adjustment.[3]

It is not just school boards who are suffering from the lack of consultation. Speaking on behalf of the Region of Waterloo, John Haddock, CEO of the regional YMCA branches, stated that while the region saw a drastic increase of new refugees over a short period of time, the investment in resettlement services has declined.[4] With this lack of foresight and poor communication between the government and the communities affected, it makes it much harder for communities to absorb the unexpected costs. The witnesses made clear that for future changes to immigration levels, IRCC must conduct more extensive consultations with the provinces, territories, and municipalities affected by the changes.

Given that it takes the coordination of many stakeholders to effectively resettle new refugees, and given the financial strain that many organizations have faced in keeping up with the influx of new refugees, we recommend:

1.    That the government commit to broad consultation with all affected stakeholders before another massive change to the immigration levels plan takes place, regardless of the stream, so that appropriate allocation of resources can be arranged.

Transparent Funding

The government needs to provide a comprehensive financial plan that is accessible to Canadians, outlining the budget that will be used to sustainably, responsibly and sufficiently cover the needs of the Syrian refugees that are already in Canada, and those that will be arriving in the future. While refugee intake has risen by nearly 400%, funding for resettlement has only increased by about 16%.[5]

Given the testimony shared in Committee providing evidence that resettlement funding has not risen proportionally with the increase of refugees sponsored to come to Canada, we recommend:

2.    That the government table within 45 days a fully elucidated financial plan for future refugee intake for the fiscal years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.

Engagement with Private Sponsors

Private sponsors have been frustrated by the government’s lack of open engagement and with the inaction in processing their sponsored families. Collingwood Syrian Sponsorship Committee shared with the Committee that the government has failed to provide open communication with them as they wait for the families that they sponsored. Thomas Vincent, the founder and co-chair of the group, informed the Committee that his community had raised $90,000 to support two refugee families, but even after receiving approval they were given no indication of when the refugees would arrive.[6] He expressed that their sponsorship committee went from “excitement to frustration to anger at the absence of consistent or any communication, the lack of transparency, and the excessive wait times.”[7] And time was not the only thing going to waste; Collingwood, like many other private sponsors, was forced to continue paying for a housing lease that was not being put to use, as there was no indication of when their sponsored families would arrive.[8] Sandy Berman of Or Shalom Syrian Refugee Initiative echoed this frustration, sharing that their organization’s money is sitting idle, and that they “have also been receiving conflicting information from [their] inquiries about the status of [their refugee] families.”[9]

In addition to the poor communication between the government and Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs), there is no clear avenue for private sponsors to share knowledge and resources with each other in learning to affectively deal with the challenges that arise in sponsoring refugees. Brian Dyck spoke to the Committee on behalf of the Mennonite Central Committee. Despite the organization’s wealth of experience, he expressed that the heightened interest in refugee sponsorship has resulted in “a steep learning curve for many of these groups,” something which greater collaboration between SAHs could improve.[10] The Collingwood Syrian Sponsorship Committee also noted that it would be greatly beneficial to private sponsors, especially those from smaller communities across Canada, to be able to communicate directly with one another.[11]

The government needs to place a much greater priority on uniting private sponsorship groups with the families that they have sponsored. Since private sponsors are responsible for the first year of expenses, this serves the dual purpose of allowing more arrivals from Syria as well as keeping costs low for the government.

Given that private sponsors are greatly underutilized, with countless resources being sacrificed by generous Canadians who desire to make a difference, and given the lack of communication between the government and private sponsors, as well as insufficient avenues for collaboration between sponsors, we recommend:

3.    That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create mechanisms to provide clear communication to private sponsors, ensuring that they will not waste efforts on renting housing for incoming refugees that will not arrive for several months.

Commercial Flights for Privately Sponsored Refugees

It was brought to the Committee’s attention that flights could only be procured through the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which caused problems for private sponsors whose refugee families had procured visas long before official flight arrangements could be made. In some cases, it appeared that the only cause for delay was that the refugees were waiting to be booked on a flight to Canada. The Central Muskoka Community Syrian Relief group stated that they had “enquired [to see if they] could arrange and pay for commercial flights since our families have their visas,” but the government maintained that all refugees had to arrange their flights through the IOM regardless of backlog or the private sponsor’s willingness to pay for a more efficient alternative.[12]

Given the inefficiencies of the IOM, lagging far behind visa issuance, and the willingness of private sponsors to cover the cost of commercial flights for their refugee families, we recommend:

4.    That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allow for private sponsorship groups to pay for commercial flights for their approved refugee families who have received visas should they choose, instead of being forced to go through the International Organization for Migration’s backlogged flight arrangement process.

Availability of Services Influencing Resettlement

It was made evident by the testimonies of several witnesses that some urban centres do not have the capacity to continue providing certain services to additional refugees. Resettlement agencies in the Greater Toronto Area in particular struggled to keep up with the demand for services. Moy Wong-Tam, the Executive Director for Immigrant and Community Services, stated that “[t]he majority of refugees, especially the government-sponsored ones, do not have any capacity in either official language,” but despite this desperate need for language training, many “are actually on wait-lists for language classes funded by the federal government.”[13]

Given that some cities do not have the capacity to expand their services, and that refugees in those cities are stuck on waitlists for essential training for months on end as a result, we recommend:

5.    That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consider availability of services, such as language classes and childcare, when selecting the settlement location of Government Assisted Refugees.

Settlement Services

Moy Wong-Tam, the Executive Director for Immigrant and Community Services in Toronto, highlighted to the Committee that Syrian children are in need of better services which will help them integrate into their schools.[14] Large public institutions cannot always provide sufficient support for the extracurricular needs of Syrian children, particularly in dealing with trauma, providing extra language training, and assisting in the transportation needs of students who are unable to access transit to and from education programs.[15] Although there are community organizations willing to address these needs, they are not always promoted adequately, leaving families and children uninformed as to what support is available to them.

Just as refugees need to be made aware of the services available to them, Settlement Program Providers must also know the profiles of refugees that will be requiring their services. Options Community Services stated that “there is a lack of information dissemination of Syrian Refugee profiles…from Resettlement Assistance Program Providers to Settlement Program Providers.”[16] Organizations wishing to assist incoming refugees would benefit greatly from basic profile information such as the number of family members, the ages of children, medical conditions, etc.

Given the willingness of organizations to help Syrian refugees without a means to communicate the services they offer we recommend:

6.    That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada compile a list of reputable community organizations, which offer programs that assist refugees, and compile a booklet of best practices and helpful tips for refugees and sponsors.

Special Protection for LGBTQ Refugees

Majed El Shafie, the President of One Free World International, questioned whether the government was properly prioritizing based on vulnerability. In his testimony, he stated that “it’s not about fulfilling [the government’s] promise [to bring in 25,000 refugees]…It’s about saving the most vulnerable,” something which Canada has neglected to do in its selection process.[17] Additionally, since persecuted minority groups are frequently unwilling to go to the United Nations for help for fear of further discrimination, LGBTQ and other minority groups are not gaining refugee status. Sandy Berman, a committee member from Or Shalom Syrian Refugee Initiative, highlighted the case of an LGBTQ couple that her organization is working to sponsor, stating that they are currently living “under immediate threat of persecution.”[18]

When government officials were asked how many refugees from this vulnerable group have come to Canada, they could not provide an answer as there is no tracking in place. Rabea Allos, Director of the Catholic Refugee Sponsors Council, also emphasized the urgent need to prioritize the especially vulnerable LGBTQ refugees.[19]

Given that there is evidence pointing towards the discrimination of and persecution against LGBTQ members, and given the fact that this persecuted minority is often afraid of approaching the UN due to this discrimination, we recommend:

6.    That the government develops better tracking systems to identify vulnerable minorities, ensuring that LGBTQ-friendly private sponsors can be matched with LGBTQ individuals so that affected refugees will know that they are safe; and that initiatives with previous success such as the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Program be utilized in this process.

Expediting Victims of Genocide

Many witnesses highlighted that there are minority groups in Syria deserving of special attention due to their particular marginalization they are facing. Rabea Allos told the Committee that he believes that the most vulnerable refugees must be identified, and highlighted that minority groups tend to be persecuted even within refugee camps.[20] He stated that because of this, the UNHCR fails to refer many of these refugees as they are often forced outside of the camps, and recommends that other referral agencies be used to identify Yazidis and other minorities.[21]

The Yazidi people were emphasized by several witnesses to the Committee, as they are victims of genocide, endemic rape, and extreme persecution. This group is even more vulnerable than others because they lack an active diaspora community, and thus are not receiving priority under private sponsorship. Majed El Shafie highlighted the fact that the Yazidis are an exceptionally urgent case, and stated that “girls as young as nine years old [are] being raped 20 times a day.”[22] Additionally, even though his organization has personally rescued and identified 400 Yazidi girls out of sex slavery, the government is still failing to act in making an effort to rescue victims of discrimination, religiously-motivated violence, and genocide.[23]

Chantal Desloges, a lawyer at Desloges Law Group, recommended that the government “target groups who are victims of genocide,” adding that “there is a very serious situation happening with religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.”[24]

Given that the Yazidi people are experiencing horrific violence, and are victims of genocide, and given the fact that they are often unable to gain refugee status through the UNHCR due to discrimination in refugee camps, we recommend:

7.    That the government work with NGOs and other groups to identify the extremely vulnerable minorities who are being inadvertently overlooked by the UNHCR, identifying and aiding groups facing genocide such as the Yazidis; and that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada develop better tracking systems to ensure that the most vulnerable groups come to Canada.

Removing Private Sponsorship Caps

Several witnesses expressed frustration to the Committee in regards to the caps on privately sponsored refugees from Syria and Iraq. Their generosity was inhibited by the pre-set quotas that the government has put in place; leaving many SAHs unable to utilize the funds they have collected to sponsor refugees. Dr. Aslam Daud, chairman of Humanity First, expressed that Canadian communities are very receptive to assisting Syrian refugees, but told the Committee that the caps on private sponsorship held their organization back. “Our capacity is only limited by the quota restrictions that are put in place by the government,” he said, adding that their organization “[has] the capacity to sponsor and resettle many more refugees.”[25] Thomas Vincent, Founder and Co-Chair of Collingwood Syrian Sponsorship Committee, also expressed frustration regarding the wait times that SAHs experience due to the limited number of privately sponsored refugees arriving. He recommended polling sponsorship groups to gauge interest instead of creating restrictive caps that are disproportional to the number of SAHs wishing to sponsor refugees.[26]

Chantal Desloges, from Desloges Law Group, emphasized that “geographic regional quotas…may not be the best way to approach the situation,” particularly in regards to private sponsorship of refugees.[27] She highlighted for the Committee that it is illogical to place restrictions on private sponsorship since all costs are covered independently, and as such, groups should be able to choose who they sponsor without regional caps.[28]

Given the outpouring of support from the Canadian public in their desire to privately sponsor refugees from Syria and Iraq, and given the substantial amount of money that private groups have risen which is wasted under a quota system, we recommend:

8.    That Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada remove Iraq and Syria from the current Sponsorship Agreement Holders cap, utilizing the generosity of Canadians to bring more refugees to Canada in a fiscally responsible manner.

CONCLUSION

The Conservative Party of Canada submits these recommendations with the objective that the concerns and difficulties expressed by the witnesses to the Committee would be honoured and incorporated into improving future refugee initiatives. It is clear that the Government’s Syrian Refugee Initiative had inefficiencies and weaknesses that should be improved for future initiatives.

The recommendations put forward in this report, which range from better communications with private sponsorship groups to better tracking systems to identify vulnerable minorities, will having meaningful impact on the lives of refugees living here and abroad. If the government does not implement the recommendations in this report, then they must consider the implications that flaws in their program have had and will continue to have, on the Syrian refugee community.