Resettlement of Syrian Refugees : Making Canada Home
In 2015, the Government of Canada began its new Syrian refugee resettlement plan, bringing in 25,000 refugees between November 2015 and February 2016. How successful has this program been?
The Senate is ideally placed to provide a fair and non-partisan analysis of the program’s strengths and weakness, in this case by investigating the challenges all the involved parties are facing. The Senate Committee on Human Rights is studying keys to successful integration, such as language training, youth- and women-focused programs, training for low-skilled workers, the provision of mental health support and accommodation.
In addition, the committee wants to know more about how to bridge the gap between government-assisted refugees and refugees brought over by privately-funded groups (such as churches or families), who tend to achieve self-sufficiency more easily.
“It's extremely important for the public to learn and know more about the difference between government-sponsored refugees and privately-sponsored refugees, and where there are gaps.”
– Senator Jim Munson, Chair of the committee
“Here in Canada we view refugees as an asset, not as a burden.”
– Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Deputy Chair of the committee
Syria’s Walking Wounded:
New refugees need mental health support now, senators hear
The pitiless savagery of war-torn Syria has left no refugee untouched.
Escape to the safety of Canada did not ease the dread of one young child; Senator Jim Munson, Chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights, recalled a boy who hid his toys beneath his bed for fear that soldiers would take them away.
Members of the human rights committee met in Toronto on Monday to assess the effectiveness of the federal program that has brought thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada and to determine what more should be done.
Witnesses said mental health support is essential to the recovery of the civil war’s walking wounded.
“How many children are hiding their toys that we’re not picking up on?” Dr. Meb Rashid, medical director of Women’s College Hospital’s refugee-focussed Crossroads Clinic, told senators.
“How many of them will have more significant issues six months from now?”
Grim questions on a sunny day in Toronto as Senator Munson, Deputy Chair Senator Salma Ataullahjan and Senators Thanh Hai Ngo, Elizabeth Hubley and Ratna Omidvar grappled with the brutal reality of Syrian suffering.
“There needs to be more mental health, post-traumatic stress outlets for everyone to help pour out those emotions,” Senator Munson said.
Rashid told the committee building relationships of trust with refugees would be crucial to caring for their mental well-being.
“We need to connect these people to folks who will be following up with them continuously,” he said. “That will allow for that relationship to be cultivated.”
Integration is also a powerful cure, the doctor told senators.
“I’ve seen people go through therapy, and what really helps is them getting a job, or being reunited with their family,” Rashid said. “Those issues really intersect, fundamentally, with people’s mental health.
Senator Ataullahjan asked about reports of domestic violence among refugees.
The committee heard education sessions for men and women are underway — but support workers can only do so much.
“What I worry about is people who don’t have access to medical care, people who are isolated,” Rashid said. “If you can connect people to the healthcare community, it’s also an opportunity for us to speak to people about their rights.”
Lest they forget what gave rise to the refugee program, senators heard directly from refugees themselves.
“They came to my home and slaughtered my husband, in front of my daughters,” a woman, who testified anonymously, told the committee.
“His only crime was that he was a Sunni.”
At a detention centre, her 11- and 10-year-old daughters “were subjected to the kind of torture that even adult men would not be able to stand,” she said.
They spent about four months in the custody of sadists, unable to tell day from night.
“The horrors that I experienced in Syria led me to hate my country,” the woman said. “I would like for the Canadian government to bring more Syrian people in.”
The senators listened to her in silence.
“We’ve heard emotional stories today that will stay with us,” Senator Ataullahjan said through a film of tears. “Nobody should have to go through what you went through.”
Senator Munson was also affected.
“One thing I’ve learned today — the human spirit is strong in this room,” he said.
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Resettlement of Syrian Refugees : Making Canada Home
In 2015, the Government of Canada began its new Syrian refugee resettlement plan, bringing in 25,000 refugees between November 2015 and February 2016. How successful has this program been?
The Senate is ideally placed to provide a fair and non-partisan analysis of the program’s strengths and weakness, in this case by investigating the challenges all the involved parties are facing. The Senate Committee on Human Rights is studying keys to successful integration, such as language training, youth- and women-focused programs, training for low-skilled workers, the provision of mental health support and accommodation.
In addition, the committee wants to know more about how to bridge the gap between government-assisted refugees and refugees brought over by privately-funded groups (such as churches or families), who tend to achieve self-sufficiency more easily.
“It's extremely important for the public to learn and know more about the difference between government-sponsored refugees and privately-sponsored refugees, and where there are gaps.”
– Senator Jim Munson, Chair of the committee
“Here in Canada we view refugees as an asset, not as a burden.”
– Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Deputy Chair of the committee
Syria’s Walking Wounded:
New refugees need mental health support now, senators hear
The pitiless savagery of war-torn Syria has left no refugee untouched.
Escape to the safety of Canada did not ease the dread of one young child; Senator Jim Munson, Chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights, recalled a boy who hid his toys beneath his bed for fear that soldiers would take them away.
Members of the human rights committee met in Toronto on Monday to assess the effectiveness of the federal program that has brought thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada and to determine what more should be done.
Witnesses said mental health support is essential to the recovery of the civil war’s walking wounded.
“How many children are hiding their toys that we’re not picking up on?” Dr. Meb Rashid, medical director of Women’s College Hospital’s refugee-focussed Crossroads Clinic, told senators.
“How many of them will have more significant issues six months from now?”
Grim questions on a sunny day in Toronto as Senator Munson, Deputy Chair Senator Salma Ataullahjan and Senators Thanh Hai Ngo, Elizabeth Hubley and Ratna Omidvar grappled with the brutal reality of Syrian suffering.
“There needs to be more mental health, post-traumatic stress outlets for everyone to help pour out those emotions,” Senator Munson said.
Rashid told the committee building relationships of trust with refugees would be crucial to caring for their mental well-being.
“We need to connect these people to folks who will be following up with them continuously,” he said. “That will allow for that relationship to be cultivated.”
Integration is also a powerful cure, the doctor told senators.
“I’ve seen people go through therapy, and what really helps is them getting a job, or being reunited with their family,” Rashid said. “Those issues really intersect, fundamentally, with people’s mental health.
Senator Ataullahjan asked about reports of domestic violence among refugees.
The committee heard education sessions for men and women are underway — but support workers can only do so much.
“What I worry about is people who don’t have access to medical care, people who are isolated,” Rashid said. “If you can connect people to the healthcare community, it’s also an opportunity for us to speak to people about their rights.”
Lest they forget what gave rise to the refugee program, senators heard directly from refugees themselves.
“They came to my home and slaughtered my husband, in front of my daughters,” a woman, who testified anonymously, told the committee.
“His only crime was that he was a Sunni.”
At a detention centre, her 11- and 10-year-old daughters “were subjected to the kind of torture that even adult men would not be able to stand,” she said.
They spent about four months in the custody of sadists, unable to tell day from night.
“The horrors that I experienced in Syria led me to hate my country,” the woman said. “I would like for the Canadian government to bring more Syrian people in.”
The senators listened to her in silence.
“We’ve heard emotional stories today that will stay with us,” Senator Ataullahjan said through a film of tears. “Nobody should have to go through what you went through.”
Senator Munson was also affected.
“One thing I’ve learned today — the human spirit is strong in this room,” he said.