Canada is Leaving Refugees Behind Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis
Molly Whittington, Online Staff Writer
July 27, 2020
A family disembarks from a taxi just south of the US-Canadian border in New York, despite signs prohibiting crossing it here
The COVID-19 Crisis was dubbed “the great equalizer” in its early months because of its detrimental effects regardless of socioeconomic position. Instead, it is anything but. International response has deliberately excluded and worsened the precarious situations of millions of asylum-seekers and refugees. Canada’s response is no exception.
On March 21st 2020, Canada and the United States officially closed the land border in a bilateral decision. The closure banned all but essential travel, trade and commerce and has been extended several times, with the earliest lift on the ban now set for August 21st, 2020.
In the blur of emergency orders and extended government authority, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offices have suspended in-person hearings, processing of asylum claims, and the land border has been closed to asylum-seekers and refugees. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) home page on Canada, asylum-seekers “will temporarily be sent back to the United States” if they attempt to enter Canada at irregular border crossings, which are unofficial points of entry into the country.
These closures and suspensions further restrict possibilities for people fleeing persecution. Canada first limited options for asylum-seekers on December 29th 2004 when Canada implemented the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the United States. The Government of Canada’s page on the agreement states that “refugees must seek protection in the first safe country they arrive in”, meaning refugees cannot arrive in the U.S. and then request protection in Canada. However, a loophole in the STCA did allow for unofficial points of crossing, and asylum seekers had been using this loophole to arrive in Canada up until the March ban.
Canada’s irregular border crossings are represented most famously by Roxham Road, which connects Quebec and New York state. The irregular border crossers are seeking refuge from persecution in a variety of countries including Nigeria, Haiti and Columbia. Some are fleeing persecution from the United States itself. According to the IRCC, in 2019 there was an intake of 16,137 refugee claims by irregular border crossers, and 7,793 acceptances. As of late April, the STCA regulations will return, but those crossing at irregular borders will continue to be turned back.
Amnesty International claims that the agreement “violates Canada’s legal obligation to protect refugee protection claimants” and that legal guidance on protections during the COVID-19 pandemic makes it clear that “states may not put in place measures that categorically deny people seeking protection an effective opportunity to do so”. The agreement is in violation of Canada’s legal responsibilities to refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The restrictions are particularly unsettling in the wake of policies in the United States that have resulted in a dramatic decline in refugee admission, and a slow and bureaucratic resettlement process. Additionally, there is a culture of anti-immigration and xenophobia that has grown since the election of President Donald Trump. By sending claimants back to the United States, Canada is complicit in placing asylum-seekers in a volatile and precarious position.
On the same day that Canada closed its borders, Global Affairs Canada released a statement pledging $8 million to “experienced humanitarian partners” such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNHCR. Their statement claims that this funding will provide “protection services; emergency health care; and psychosocial support” for vulnerable populations globally. Refugee camps in Syria, Bangladesh and Greece have incredibly high population densities and the International Rescue Committee states that camps are suffering from lack of medical equipment and personnel, as well as “inadequate space and poor sanitation”. These conditions will only exacerbate the COVID-19 crisis. The financial support is paradoxical in the face of the border closure. It is contradictory to claim this support for vulnerable populations when it will not safeguard those who are knocking right on the country’s own front door.
With continued restrictions on asylum seekers, Canada’s paltry financial donation is a worthless mirage meant to uphold its international reputation. To show a real commitment to humanity, Canada must open its irregular border closures and increase its financial support of global refugee organizations if it wishes to uphold itself as a global leader in humanitarian aid.
It is likely that ideologies of nationalism and self-sufficiency will rise out of the ashes of the COVID-19 crisis, with increased border security and wariness of dependence on a global supply chain. As more precautionary measures, and perhaps more isolationist policies are adopted in the future, humanity must not be forgotten.