e-4603 (Foreign affairs)

Insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is concerned:

2)

The Government of Canada currently has the tools to refuse visas under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in order to protect the safety of Canadians and uphold the integrity of Canada’s immigration program.

Under Canada’s immigration law, an individual may be inadmissible to Canada for a number of reasons, including on grounds of human or international rights violations, security, and criminality. All individuals who have committed or been complicit in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, or who are the subject of a sanction imposed by Canada or an international organization of which Canada is a member, are inadmissible to Canada and may be refused a visa.

All visa-required foreign nationals (including visitors, workers, students), immigrants and refugees are carefully assessed to ensure that they are eligible and admissible to come to Canada.

IRCC works closely with Public Safety partners (Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service) to screen applicants in order to determine whether they are admissible to enter or remain in Canada. This screening ensures that these persons do not pose a threat to the health, safety or security of Canadians.

All inadmissibility assessments require a case-by-case analysis based on the facts of the case and the evidence before the decision maker. Foreign nationals who are temporary residents living in Canada and permanent residents found to be inadmissible can lose their status and be removed from Canada.

3)

IRCC’s Settlement Program provides funding for the delivery of settlement services in English and French by more than 550 third-party service provider organizations across Canada (excluding Quebec, where services are funded separately). These services include employment-related services, information and orientation services, French- or English-language training, as well as additional support services (including translation and interpretation) that are intended to remove barriers for newcomers in accessing settlement services.

As a condition of receiving federal funding, service provider organizations are required to take measures to protect the personal information of their clients against unauthorized use or disclosure. Privacy and security requirements are established by IRCC and outlined in guidelines for service provider organizations as well as in the contribution agreement that establishes the funding conditions for each organization.

For example, all staff of service provider organizations who have access to clients’ personal information must undergo a reliability assessment by the organization. The reliability assessment involves the verification of staff information to determine whether the person is reliable for the purpose of accessing personal client information. The reliability assessment also includes a criminal record check (or equivalent documentation). These requirements also apply to volunteers at service provider organizations who are given access to clients’ personal information, as well as to persons who are sub-contracted by the service provider organization. Interpreters who work for service provider organizations, including staff members, volunteers, or sub-contractors, would also be subject to these requirements.

4)

Specific measures are built into IRCC’s Settlement Program to promote the delivery of culturally-appropriate services for newcomers by over 550 third-party service provider organizations. For example, IRCC launched the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot in 2018 to support targeted employment services for racialized newcomer women. Ten of the pilot projects were extended until 2025, with an investment of $5.9M, to ensure that support continues to be available where it is needed.

Measures for promoting culturally-appropriate services for newcomers will be extended and enhanced through the Settlement Program’s current 2024 Call for Proposals, which will establish funding agreements for service provider organizations for the period between 2025 and 2030. The 2024 Call for Proposals has integrated a Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) approach to the selection and funding of services. GBA Plus is the Government of Canada’s approach to developing responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives by taking into account gender, sex, age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Specifically:

• Organizations that are applying for funding are encouraged to apply GBA Plus analysis to the design, activities, and anticipated outcomes of their projects.
• IRCC will continue to provide funding for targeted programming to address gaps in programming for populations that experience inequities and greater barriers to services, for example, women, youth, 2SLGBTQI+ populations, racialized newcomers, seniors, or people with disabilities, as well as funding for programming to address specific issues such as sexual and gender-based violence and mental health needs.
• Settlement sector organizations may also apply for funding for indirect service delivery, to develop their own organizational capacity to address inequities for diverse populations, including by building capacity in anti-racism, service to people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQI+ newcomers, etc.
• In addition, the 2024 Call for Proposals includes a new Equity Stream, which will provide dedicated funding to organizations who can support the organizational capacity-building of grassroots organizations that serve and are led by equity-deserving populations.

Insofar as the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) is concerned:

3)

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB, or the Board) is responsible for making well-reasoned decisions on immigration and refugee matters, efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.

As set out in Section 14 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, every person who appears before the IRB has the right to the assistance of an interpreter if they do not understand English or French. Therefore, the IRB provides interpretation for any party who does not understand any of the two official languages used in IRB proceedings. The role of an interpreter at the IRB is to interpret the hearing.

The IRB has safeguards in place to help ensure their interpreters do not pose a risk. All IRB accredited interpreters must be permanent residents or citizens of Canada. Before working as an interpreter at the IRB, a candidate must pass a security screening done by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and shall, at all times when performing their duties, hold a valid security status. Interpreters must sign a contract that requires them to comply with rules in the IRB Code of Conduct for Interpreters regarding impartiality, confidentiality, and conflict of interest. Any real or potential conflict of interest must be disclosed. Interpreters cannot, within or outside the IRB, discuss any matter for which they provide services to the IRB. Furthermore, the IRB has a mechanism in place via its public facing website entitled Identification of Potential Security Risk in IRB Proceedings. This allows individuals (i.e., stakeholders, members of the public, etc.) to report a potential security risk related to IRB proceedings, including risks related to interpreters. Additionally, anyone can file a complaint to the IRB about the conduct and services of an interpreter. Finally, at the start of every hearing, the IRB validates the interpreter’s identity before proceeding.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) encourages anyone experiencing or witnessing extortion to report it to their local police of jurisdiction.

Complaints are received and assessed by the police of jurisdiction, and may be subject to further investigation. Applicable actions under Canadian legislation are taken as deemed appropriate.

The Government of Canada is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Eritrea and raises this concern directly with Eritrean officials and in multilateral forums, including the United Nations Human Rights Council. At the Human Rights Council, Canada regularly calls upon Eritrea to improve the human rights situation in the country. At the Council’s 47th session in 2021, Canada actively negotiated the text and co-sponsored the Resolution entitled "Situation of human rights in Eritrea", which established the mandate of a UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. Canada consistently co-sponsors this Resolution, most recently in 2023, and the extension of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur.

In March 2023 during the Council’s General Debate, Canada raised the issue of restrictions on freedoms, arbitrary detention, and indefinite conscription in Eritrea. Canadian officials met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea during his October 2023 visit to Canada to discuss the dire human rights situation and his mandate.

Canada has also repeatedly and publicly called for the swift withdrawal of Eritrean forces from northern Ethiopia, including through public joint statements with likeminded countries, as done on November 2, 2023, in the Joint Statement on the One Year Anniversary of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On September 22, 2022, officials of the Government of Canada spoke at the Human Rights Council and urged all parties to cease violence immediately, respect human rights and implement accountability measures, and called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean Defence Forces.

Canada’s former Ambassador to Sudan, who represented Canada to Eritrea, engaged with Eritrean officials in 2021, calling on them to withdraw Eritrean Defense Forces from northern Ethiopia. On September 20, 2022, a tweet issued from the Global Affairs Canada corporate account deplored the movement of Eritrean Defence Forces in northern Ethiopia and condemned the escalation of hostilities. Standing up for human rights around the world is a core parts of Canada’s foreign policy. Canada’s robust sanctions regime serves as a key tool to respond to violations of internationally recognized human rights. In addition to imposing all sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council, Canada, often in concert with allies and likeminded partners, also acts autonomously, imposing sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA), otherwise known as the Sergei Magnitsky Law, and the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA).

Canada has established a rigorous process to consider and evaluate possible cases of human rights violations, corruption, or other circumstances that may warrant the use of sanctions, while also considering the broader political and international contexts when determining whether sanctions or any other tools in Canada’s foreign policy toolbox constitute the most effective and appropriate response.

The Government of Canada will continue to engage on the human rights situation in Eritrea. Promoting and protecting democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms is an integral part of Canada’s foreign policy. Canada is committed to standing up for human rights and striving for a world where the rights and freedoms of all people are respected.