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Urgent Action
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Immigration Minister Judy Sgro’s recent statement that the churches should cease offering sanctuary to refused refugee claimants has caused great concern amongst the churches and civil society. The problem is not sanctuary, but flaws in the refugee determination system, especially the government’s continued failure to implement the appeal process. The protection of life is profoundly rooted in every faith, and is reflected in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Canada has signed. We invite you to take action with us by sending a letter to the
Minister. Below find a brief summary, a sample letter, and background
information to help you write your own letter. |
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Summary |
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Refugee claimants are forced to seek sanctuary and local churches
feel compelled to offer it because of deep flaws in Canada’s
refugee determination system. The problem lies with the system,
not with sanctuary.
The most important of these flaws is the government’s failure
to provide refugee claimants with a basic right available to every
Canadian – the right to appeal a negative decision.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), adopted by Parliament in 2001, provided a Refugee Appeal Division to give a refused refugee the right to appeal a negative refugee decision. However, in April 2002, then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Denis Coderre announced that the Government had decided not to implement the Appeal Division. As a result, a single Immigration and Refugee Board decision-maker now decides whether a person faces persecution in their home country, a decision on which the person’s very life and security may depend. There is no right to an appeal on the merits from this decision.
KAIROS issued an urgent action on this issue in February 2003,
asking Minister Denis Coderre to reconsider and to implement the
Appeal Division. Over 1,000 letters were sent, but the government
has not implemented the appeal, despite a promise made in May 2002
by Minister Coderre to implement the appeal within a year.
The churches continue to add our voice to those of the Canadian
Council for Refugees, Amnesty International, unions and many others
who protect and sponsor refugees. The Canadian people have a history
of compassion for our sisters and brothers who are fleeing persecution.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees awarded the 1986
Nansen Medal to the people of Canada for our excellent work in protection
of refugees.
As citizens, we urgently and respectfully call our government to
account for practices that fail our national and international commitments
to refugees.
Given the recent call by Minister Sgro for churches to stop offering
sanctuary, we ask for your help in urging the government to implement
the appeal. Please write your own letter to the Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration, with a copy to KAIROS, the Prime Minister, and
the Immigration critics of the other parties.
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Sample letter |
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The letter below includes some main points to make. Add your own comments or write your own letter. Print letters have more impact than emails, so please post a letter where possible and cc KAIROS on both print and email letters. Postage to the House of Commons is free.
Hon. Judy Sgro, PC, MP
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Ottawa, ON, K1A 1L1
minister@cic.gc.ca or Sgro.J@parl.gc.ca
Regarding: Need for a Refugee Appeal Division
Dear Minister Sgro;
I write to you as a Canadian concerned by your recent remarks that
the churches must cease offering sanctuary to refugee claimants.
I believe that the problem lies not with sanctuary, but with Canada’s
refugee determination system.
Refugee claimants’ rights are violated by the government’s failure to implement the appeal process that Parliament approved.
I call upon the federal government to immediately implement the Refugee Appeal Division, as included in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
I am also concerned with your recent statement that "The protection of our country and of Canadians has to be the No. 1 concern.” Comments such as this draw an inappropriate and unfounded link between refugees and security concerns. There is no evidence that refugees pose any threat to Canadian security. In fact, Canada contributes to global security by abiding by its international commitment to accept all asylum-seekers who have a well-founded fear of persecution.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
(Your signature, full name, and full mailing address)
CC:
The Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Martin.P@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Gilles Duceppe, Leader,
Bloc Québécois
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca
Ms. Diane Ablonczy, Critic for Citizenship and Immigration
Conservative Party of Canada
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Ablonczy.D@parl.gc.ca
Mr. Bill Siksay, Critic for Citizenship and Immigration
New Democratic Party of Canada
House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
129 St. Clair Avenue West. Toronto ON M4V 1N5
jgraham@kairoscanada.org
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Background |
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Why an appeal process is needed:
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have criticized
Canada for its failure to provide refused refugee claimants with
a merits-based review (as per our international legal obligations).
- The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act reduced the
number of decision-makers in a refugee claim from two to one;
the Refugee Appeal Division was seen as a balance to counteract
this reduction.
- It is almost impossible for mistakes to be corrected in the
present system. The Federal Court is allowed to intervene only
in cases involving procedural mistakes. The Pre-removal Risk Assessment
only considers new evidence. Taken together, these measures do
not provide a meaningful remedy for people seeking protection
in Canada.
- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights talked about
the importance of an appeal on the merits in its February 2000
Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers Within
the Canadian Refugee Determination System: “Given that
even the best decision?makers may err in passing judgment, and
given the potential risk to life which may result from such an
error, an appeal on the merits of a negative determination constitutes
a necessary element of international protection.”
- A person can only claim refugee protection in Canada once in their lifetime so mistakes cannot be corrected by claiming a second time.
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Further points |
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- KAIROS objects to Minister Sgro’s portrayal of refugees
as a threat to Canada’s security in a Canadian Press article
25 July 2004. The Canadian Council for Refugees responded to the
Minister by stating: “refugees seeking sanctuary in churches
in no way threaten Canada or Canadians. The only security issue
at stake is that of refugees, who are at risk if they are deported
from Canada. We are very disturbed to see you reinforcing the
popular prejudice that unfairly links refugees with threats to
national security.”
- KAIROS requested a meeting with Minister Sgro in March 2004, following Canada’s first-ever violation of sanctuary at a United Church congregation in Quebec City. To date we have received no response. KAIROS welcomes the Minister’s openness to meeting with church leaders, and look forward to constructive dialogue with her as an essential step towards identifying mutually acceptable solutions.
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Further information |
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Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.ca/Refugee/
Canadian Council for Refugees:
Open letter to Minister Sgro in response to her comments about sanctuary:
http://www.web.net/~ccr/sgrosanctuary.html
Essential principles for Canada’s refugee determination process:
http://www.web.net/~ccr/essprinc.html
KAIROS
Archived action on the Appeal Division:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/urgent/subject.asp#ref
Letters to the Ministers of Immigration and of Public Safety:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/ltrSgro040315.asp
and
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/ltrSgro040219.asp
The United Church of Canada:
Letter to the Immigration Minister on sanctuary and the refugee
determination process:
http://www.united-church.ca/news/2004/0311a.shtm
World Council of Churches: Uprooted Peoples
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/regional/uprooted/index-e.html
CBC Online’s backgrounder on sanctuary: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/immigration/sanctuary.html
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