A refugee can be described as any individual who is outside of their country of residence, and who is unable or reluctant to return to their country of origin because they will be, or they have a fear of being, persecuted. Persecution in the case of refugees is hostility or ill-treatment based on whom an individual is or their beliefs (textbook). Most refugees come from war torn countries, where rebel groups and armies exploit and abuse civilian populations, and refugees flee from these harmful situations in search of safety (voices from the front line article). In order to fully understand what a refugee is in Canada, the historical development of refugees in Canada must be outlined, with specific attention being placed on their admission
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Policy surrounding the admission refugees is extremely important to social work with refugees, as it determines the treatment and assistance refugees are able to receive, and whether or not they have the ability to seek asylum in Canada. Canada is believed to be a great nation in terms of protecting and accepting refugees. However, history shows that in the past Canadian response to refugee admission was largely negative. For a large portion of Canadian history, policy surrounding migration discouraged most non-European refugee claimants (textbook). The most important example of Canada’s negative reaction to refugees, is the treatment of refugees during wartimes. This paper will outline the treatment of refugees during wartime to exemplify how Canadian social structures were largely discriminatory to …show more content…
Post-war reactions to refugee admission were also largely negative, and restrictions were placed on allowing admission to displaced individuals that were affected by war. This shows how numerous Canadian social structures were very adamant against refugees being allowed entry into Canada (http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/static-files/canadarefugeeshistory4.htm). The Immigration Act of 1976 is also very important as it described refugee policy, and incorporated numerous categories of refugees that were outlined in Geneva Conventions. However, categories of refugees were now deemed “inadmissible” in this act because it was believed that they would be a burden on social and health services. So, refugees could be denied access not based on need and fear, but on health problems (textbook). This impacted social work with refugees, as refugees were now being banned from Canada and couldn’t receive social services from social workers. Another piece of legislation that exemplifies the historical development of refugees in Canada, is the Immigration and Refugee Act. Under the Immigration and Refugee Act, the Canadian government started designating the United States of America as a “Safe Third Country”. Meaning that refugee claimants could not make a
Policy surrounding the admission refugees is extremely important to social work with refugees, as it determines the treatment and assistance refugees are able to receive, and whether or not they have the ability to seek asylum in Canada. Canada is believed to be a great nation in terms of protecting and accepting refugees. However, history shows that in the past Canadian response to refugee admission was largely negative. For a large portion of Canadian history, policy surrounding migration discouraged most non-European refugee claimants (textbook). The most important example of Canada’s negative reaction to refugees, is the treatment of refugees during wartimes. This paper will outline the treatment of refugees during wartime to exemplify how Canadian social structures were largely discriminatory to …show more content…
Post-war reactions to refugee admission were also largely negative, and restrictions were placed on allowing admission to displaced individuals that were affected by war. This shows how numerous Canadian social structures were very adamant against refugees being allowed entry into Canada (http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/static-files/canadarefugeeshistory4.htm). The Immigration Act of 1976 is also very important as it described refugee policy, and incorporated numerous categories of refugees that were outlined in Geneva Conventions. However, categories of refugees were now deemed “inadmissible” in this act because it was believed that they would be a burden on social and health services. So, refugees could be denied access not based on need and fear, but on health problems (textbook). This impacted social work with refugees, as refugees were now being banned from Canada and couldn’t receive social services from social workers. Another piece of legislation that exemplifies the historical development of refugees in Canada, is the Immigration and Refugee Act. Under the Immigration and Refugee Act, the Canadian government started designating the United States of America as a “Safe Third Country”. Meaning that refugee claimants could not make a