Canada shirking its responsibility to growing millions of forcibly displaced people
Ottawa – As the number of people forcibly displaced from their home countries surpasses 114 million, Canada must pull its weight and work with its allies to address this growing crisis, the Senate Committee on Human Rights said in a report released Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
Conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan are contributing to global forced displacement on a scale not seen since the end of the Second World War. Climate change is also driving people from their homelands and threatens many more.
The burden of supporting the millions of forcibly displaced people is not shared equally. Canada, by its very geography, is protected from the large-scale movement of refugees, which leaves other countries to shoulder the load. The host countries with the largest refugee populations are Iran, Türkiye, Germany, Colombia and Pakistan, which host between 2.1 million and 3.4 million refugees each. Canada can do more.
In all, the committee is making 15 recommendations to the federal government with global, regional and national scope, including to increase funding to humanitarian aid groups and countries that host refugees, and to work with international allies to develop a plan — with detailed benchmarks — for responsibility sharing.
Quick Facts
- Of the 114 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, 45.6 million are children.
- Wealthy countries spend more than $20 billion every year just to assess refugee claims, which is four times more than what is available to address the needs of refugees in the Global South.
- Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, established in 1979, has been lauded as a model with clear benefits. Under this program, sponsors agree to supply care, lodging, settlement assistance and support for 12 months following the refugee’s arrival in Canada, or until the refugee becomes self-sufficient.
Quotes
“Escalating conflicts throughout the world are creating a growing class of people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Canada must increase the support it provides to countries that host refugees and to organizations that provide life-saving aid to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
- Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Chair of the committee
“The numbers are alarming because we are not talking about numbers at all — we are talking about people. Men and women ripped from their homes. Children torn from all that they have ever known. We urge the government to increase its support for these global diasporas.”
- Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, Deputy Chair of the committee
“While recent hostilities have unleashed a fresh wave of forcibly displaced people, we cannot forget that tens of millions of people have been living in limbo for decades, with no end in sight. Canada can help to bring them back from the margins. It’s time we live up to our responsibilities.”
- Senator Kim Pate, Member of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure
Associated Links
- Read the report: Ripped from Home: The global crisis of forced displacement.
- Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #RIDR.
- Subscribe to email alerts for Senate committees.
- Sign up for the Senate eNewsletter.
For more information:
Chelsea DeFazio
Communications Officer | Senate of Canada
343-576-1481 | chelsea.defazio@sen.parl.gc.ca