At Home And Abroad

In considering the resettlement of refugees, the government also has an obligation to our homeless citizens

Dominc Santiago / Flickr

With the continued increase of Syrian refugees being granted asylum in Canada, there are some citizens who are concerned about who the government is letting in. According to the Government of Canada website, the process has five distinct phases, each of which can be associated with a single keyword: identify, process, transportation, welcome and, finally, settlement.

In brief, the Government of Canada works with the United Nations Refugee Agency to identify candidates in Jordan and Lebanon. The Agency has an extensive list of registered refugees. Once they’ve been identified, possible refugees will be scheduled for processing in dedicated visa offices in Amman and Beirut. After they’ve been processed, the cleared refugees are transported via privately chartered aircraft, with military aircraft assistance if needed, to help bring refugees to Canada.

Upon arrival, all refugees undergo a final verification of identity and are then welcomed and processed by Border Services Officers for admission into Canada. They are also be screened for illness and offered treatment if needed. Finally, refugees are transported to communities across Canada where they will begin to rebuild their lives. They are provided with immediate, essential services and long-term settlement support.

However, it is important to keep the big picture in perspective. While it is admirable that Canada has begun to accept refugees, there have also been concerns raised about Canada’s homeless population. Although it is difficult to compare those who are homeless with those seeking refugee status in Canada, both populations deserve support and assistance from the Canadian government. It seems there is little difference between attempting to bring a family of refugees into a Canadian community from overseas and doing the same for our homeless fellow citizens.

There are two categories of refugees: government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees. GARs are essentially sponsored by the Government of Canada and it seeks to align with provincial and territorial social assistance rates. This is a form of welfare or government assistance. PSRs are sponsored by private citizens of Canada, and they are supported by these individuals for their first twelve months or until they achieve self-sufficiency.

On the one hand, the refugees Canada is bringing in are educated and qualified workers who are prepared to make a contribution to their new country. While they may be in need of some English as a second language training, it is a worthwhile investment.

The homeless, on the other hand, may already be citizens, but may also be stricken with either mental or physical disabilities, or both. This criticism appears to be of little significance, as the refugees are offered medical care upon arrival.

While it is true that the disabilities suffered by our homeless are likely more long-term in nature, this does not exempt the Government from acting. Recall that resettling the refugees is also on a long-term timeframe. It seems that the Government of Canada needs to recalibrate their priorities and start within.

The Government of Canada has a rare opportunity to complete two projects at an accelerated pace, if they choose to streamline it. Canada’s Immigration Minister, John McCallum, claims that Canada will welcome 35,000 to 50,000 refugees by the end of 2016. With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party leading the charge, the government will need to complete their resettlement process with a model to smoothly integrate these refugees into Canadian communities.

If they can complete this task, then that same model should be applied to reaching out to our homeless fellow citizens and integrating them back into our communities as well.