‘Intolerable delays’ in uniting refugee families

Refugees in Canada have to wait an average 31 months for their children and spouses to be allowed into Canada, a delay which is intolerable, says the Canadian Council for Refugees. This is a very long time for a young child to wait and families left behind may face the same dangers as did their relatives who found refuge in Canada, says a new report.

Families of refugees persecuted

“They are families of refugees, so they’re from situations of conflict…” says Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees. “Many people are persecuted for the same reasons that the person who’s a refugee in Canada is.

“In one case a family in South America, the father was a political activist. He’s not there because he’s in Canada, so the persecutors go after the rest of the family. They are being harassed. Their dogs have all been killed and a daughter has died in suspicious circumstances,” says Dench. “So the persecution continues on the family members.”

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Families describe fear and heartache

Heartrending stories have been collected by the council and published to try to raise awareness about the problem. Refugee advocates want the Canadian government to create an Express Entry program to ensure that children are reunited with their parents in six months or less.

Canada’s legal obligation ‘not being met’

Canada has a legal obligation under international law to process requests for family reunification in “a positive, humane and expeditious matter.”

“It’s clear that is not being met,” says Dench. “Canada is not giving priority to this and in fact, Canada has been blamed in the past by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child for the very slow family reunification. It’s a long-standing issue.”

Here are some of the stories from the council’s document:

• ·  A husband and children, already targeted politically, are caught up in the current escalating violence in Burundi. While waiting for immigration processing, a daughter, then aged 7 years, was sexually assaulted.
• ·  A 9 year old boy, living with his sick grandmother, is at risk of forced gang recruitment. He tells his mother: “I am so sad. I miss you. I want to be with you in Canada. When can I come?”
• ·  Four Syrian children, the youngest just 11 years old, have been waiting for over a year to be reunited with their mother in Canada. They cannot understand the delay and feel abandoned by their mother.
• · In Ecuador, children have been waiting more than 3 years already to be reunited with their father in Canada. In the meantime they are under threat from their father’s persecutors. One daughter has died in suspicious circumstances. Her sister writes: “Please, Lord, can you help us be together again with our father?  Can anyone help us? We only want to be with our dad and never leave his side.”