SS 9-Canada’s policy towards
refugees
p. 177-179 text
Refugee
Definition: ____________________
_____________________________
______________________________.
Refugees are one of the categories of immigrants
established under the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act (2002)
• Canada signed United Nations Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees in 1951.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_Relating_to_the_Statu
s_of_Refugees
The Conference met in Geneva from 2 to 25 July
http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/
prsr/prsr.html
1951 and took as its basis for discussion the draft
which had been prepared by the Ad Hoc
Committee on Refugees and Stateless Persons,
save that the Preamble was that adopted by the
Economic and Social Council, while article 1
(definition) was as recommended by the General
Assembly and annexed to resolution 429 (V). On
adopting the final text, the Conference also
unanimously adopted a Final Act, including five
recommendations covering travel documents,
family unity, non-governmental organizations,
asylum, and application of the Convention beyond
its contractual scope.
Refugee Shelter
• During the 50’s and 60’s, Canada offered to
shelter refugees in response to specific world
crises.
www.mremag.com/n
ews4.htm
ucalgary.ca
Why so many refugees from Eastern Europe?
_____________________________________________
REMEMBERING THE 1956
HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION
• (Hungarian Workers Against Stalinism), Solidarity, October, 2006.
• Fifty years have passed since the great uprising of the Hungarian
people against the Stalinist dictatorship.
• In order to fully understand the developments which led to the
Revolution of 1956, it is necessary to take into account the defeat of
the Hungarian Soviet Socialist Republic of 1919, followed by brutal
repression and the proto-capitalist dictatorship of Miklos Horty (1).
• Still others who managed to escape were killed in Stalin’s purges,
including the leader of the Hungarian Communist Party Bela Kun.
• The minority that wasn’t physically exterminated was forced
underground, leading a shadow existence, which would haunt the
Hungarian socialist movement for the decades to come.
http://www.jakopovich.com/jakopovich/hrv/index.php?cat=autorski_r
adovi&page=hungarian_revolution
Hungarian/Yugoslavian Revolution
•
•
On October 23, 1956, around two hundred thousand Hungarians gathered in
Budapest to demonstrate in sympathy for the Poles who had just gained political
reform during the Polish October. The Hungarians broadcast sixteen demands over
the radio, one of them being the dismantling of Stalin's statue. A hundred
thousand Hungarian revolutionaries demolished the Stalin statue, leaving only his
boots, in which they planted a Hungarian flag. The bronze inscribed name of the
Hungarians' leader, teacher and "best friend" was ripped off from the pedestal.
Before the toppling of the statue, someone had placed a sign over Stalin's mouth
that read "RUSSIANS, WHEN YOU RUN AWAY DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!"[2] The
revolutionaries chanted "Russia go home!" while pulling down the statue. “W.C.”
and other insulting remarks were scrawled over the fragmented parts of the
statue.
The account of the incident by Sandor Kopacsi, head of Budapest’s police: "[The
demonstrators] placed [...] a thick steel rope around the neck of the 25-metre tall
Stalin’s statue while other people, arriving in trucks with oxygen cylinders and
metal cutting blowpipes, were setting to work on the statue’s bronze shoes. [...] An
hour later the statue fell down from its pedestal."
Present
The site of the former Stalin Monument is now
occupied by the Monument of the 1956
Revolution, completed in 2006 for the 50th
anniversary of the historic event.
A life-sized copy of the tribune was built in the
Statue Park with the broken bronze shoes on
top of the pedestal in 2006. This is not an
accurate copy of the original but only an
artistic recreation by sculptor Ákos Eleőd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_Monumen
t_in_Budapest
Changes
• In 1976, Canada made refugees one of its
immigration categories. The change meant that
Canada accepted refugees steadily, instead of
crisis by crisis.
What do you think of this change and why?
__________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Objective of IRPA, 2002
Refugee Program Objectives:
• Save lives, offer protection
• Fulfill and accept Canada’s international
commitments to protect refugees (UN
Agreement)
• Grant fair consideration to persecuted people
because we are a humanitarian country
• Offer refuge (safety)-race, religion, political
opinion or social group membership; facing
torture, cruel or unusual treatment or
punishment.
Case study p. 178 text
A refugee’s experience
• Read the case study of Mary on page 178 text.
Answer:
1. What evidence from pages 177-178 can you find that Canada
does respond to world issues? (2)
____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
2. What evidence involving political factors influenced Canada’s
policy on refugees? (2)
____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
How has immigration policy changed in
response to security concerns? P. 179 text
Canada’s position has changed in response to world issues. Compare the two Acts on
p. 179 and list the similarities and differences that you see in them. You may use
this venn diagram or the T-Chart on the next page.
Notes p. 179-similarities and differences between IRPA
and Immigration Act
turcotte 2010
11
Fact sheets on refugee issues
The following five fact sheets were presented to the Standing Committee on
Citizenship and Immigration on December 5, 2006 during an appearance
by Citizenship and Immigration Canada senior officials on refugee issues. A
number of stakeholders who work directly with refugees have raised
concerns relating to five key areas of Canada’s refugee programs: the
Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, the Refugee Appeal Division,
the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, family reunification, and
individuals who benefit from a stay of Temporary Suspension of Removals.
The fact sheets address some of the issues raised by those stakeholders.
• Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement
• Family Reunification — Families of Protected Persons in Canada
• Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program
• Refugee Appeal Division
• Temporary Suspension of Removals
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/laws-policy/responses.asp
Did you Know?
• World Events and issues that can result in
more people applying as immigrants to
Canada:
1. Natural disasters such as floods and
earthquakes.
2. Population Pressures.
3. War.
4. Poverty.
My reactions to refugee issues
How I think the Canadian Government has
responded to refugee issues:
HealthSecurityPolitical-