Bill C-31 would usher in “harsher regime” for refugees in Canada, critic says

As Canada marks the anniversary of a Supreme Court decision affirming the rights of refugee claimants, advocacy groups concerned about proposed federal legislation are planning to fight the bill they claim will create a “two-tier status” for people fleeing other countries.

Vancouver lawyer Catherine Dauvergne, the Canada Research Chair in migration law and a member of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL), argued Bill C-31 will move the country toward “a much harsher regime for refugee protection”.

“Whereas it really was true for probably a couple of decades that Canada had one of the best human rights records for refugees, this bill will change that,” she told the Straight by phone. “It creates two-tier status, it creates a system which reinforces family separation, and it reduces rights for people based on where they come from, which is a breach of international law.”

The bill, which is currently in second reading, includes reforms aimed at speeding up the asylum system, measures to address human smuggling, and measures to make the collection of biometric data mandatory with a temporary resident visa application, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. A final day of second reading debate is expected to take place Thursday (April 5) or following Parliament’s Easter break.

CARL is part of a coalition of groups, including Amnesty International, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Canadian Council for Refugees, that claim the bill violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Their concerns include an amendment that they say would allow the designation of certain countries as “safe” and subject refugee applicants from those countries to a different process, and an amendment that would allow the detention for up to a year of refugees that arrive as part of a human smuggling event.

“I think mandatory detention for people who arrive on boats for up to a year without any possibility of review by the courts creates the most draconian refugee detention regime in the world, and it strips people of basic liberty rights for no reason whatsoever, and it’s a breach of the Canadian constitution, and of at least three pieces of international law,” charged Dauvergne.

Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies noted the debate over the bill coincides with Refugee Rights Day. April 4 marks the anniversary of the Singh decision, a Supreme Court case that recognized the rights of refugee claimants to an oral hearing.

“In terms of refugees, what this sends to the world is a message that Canada is no longer as welcoming and hospitable and fair a place as we once were,” claimed Davies. “And to have that message sent at a time like on April 4th is bitterly ironic.”

The NDP critic for citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, who described the bill as a “tectonic shift” in refugee law and policy, said he has been getting phone calls, emails, and letters from a variety of countries and stakeholder groups concerned about the legislation.

At a recent gathering at Collingwood Neighbourhood House in Vancouver, Davies addressed members of the Latino community as part of a meeting organized by a new group called the Movement in Defence of Human Rights of Immigrants and Refugees.

Will Molina said the group’s concerns include the shortened application process for some refugee claimants under the proposed legislation, and the detention of refugees who arrive as part of a human smuggling event.

“They’re trying to build this idea in Canadian people's mind that there are good refugees and bad refugees—there’s no such thing,” said Molina. “Refugees are going to do whatever it takes when their life is in danger…you’re going to take a boat, you’re going to jump on the train, you’re going to take a bus, you’re going to walk the desert—you’re going to do whatever it takes to get to a safe place like Canada.”

Ana Curic, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, refuted the criticism of the detention clause in the legislation.

“I think it’s incredibly irresponsible for anybody to suggest, or to think that Canadians would want us, to release onto the streets people whose identities haven’t been confirmed, and in which case, we have no clue if they are a threat to the safety and security of Canadians,” she told the Straight by phone from Ottawa.

Curic added that the designation of countries will be determined through criteria including high numbers of withdrawn or abandoned claims from refugee applicants from that country, and factors such as whether the country demonstrates respect for human rights and has independent, non-governmental organizations.

Opponents of the bill say they plan to continue gathering support from other groups to protest the legislation. A rally against the legislation is scheduled to take place in Vancouver today (April 4) from 2 to 4 p.m. Members of the group No One Is Illegal are also staging occupations in eight cities across the country at the offices of Conservative MPs, and at the Immigration and Refugee Board office in Vancouver.

Magnifying concerns around the bill are what some advocates say are already significant challenges facing refugees upon their arrival in the country.

“Refugee claimants I think are the most vulnerable population, and the poorest that we have in our system,” said Cecilia Tagle, who has worked as an immigration settlement worker in Vancouver for the last 18 years.

Davies echoed Tagle’s concern, describing refugees as “among the most traumatized and vulnerable people on earth.”

“These are people that come to Canada that have witnessed extra-judicial killings, rapes….they’re psychiatrically and emotionally traumatized, they come here with no money, the clothes on their back, as well as they don’t speak English a lot of times.”

Davies added that detention centres and settlement locations for refugee claimants are “stark” places.

“The people that work with refugees in this country happen to be among the best Canadians I’ve ever met, and they do their best to help people, but these are people that are living in very poor surroundings, they are poor, and they have every single challenge that you can possibly think of in terms of building a life,” he said.

Richard Marquez, a social worker and volunteer with anti-poverty groups in the Downtown Eastside, said he has met many Latino refugees who have ended up in the low-income neighbourhood in search of housing.

“You have a class of people that are immigrants that are not necessarily fluent in English, don’t have the skills or the transferrable academic credentials, and essentially relegated to a kind of marginal labour existence,” he said. “With that, upwards of 50 to 60 percent of their incomes go to rent. So the affordability question around housing is essential to their existence.”

After arriving in the city, migrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Chile, and other countries often encounter language barriers and a shortage of Spanish-speaking settlement workers and service providers, according to Marquez.

“The ability to negotiate just a daily existence in English is burdensome,” he said. “The myth is that translators are always available…through the hospitals, through the courts—and in many cases, that’s hit or miss.”

After passing second reading, Bill C-31 will be sent to a parliamentary committee, where parties will have an opportunity to invite witnesses to speak to the bill. Curic noted the government’s intention is to pass the bill before June 29, the date that the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, which was passed in 2010, is scheduled to take effect.

Davies argued that doesn’t give the bill enough time for scrutiny.

“I want this bill to have a fulsome debate, and I want to make sure that we hear from all of the stakeholders, and it’s my job to do what I can to make sure that happens,” he said. “If the government cooperates with that, that’ll be fine—if they don’t, then they’re not going to be getting cooperation from the official Opposition.”

The Vancouver rally is scheduled to take place from 2 to 4 p.m. today outside the Immigration and Refugee Board office at 300 West Georgia Street.