Half of all migrants and refugees are women, who face specific challenges and protection risks in transit, including caregiving responsibilities, sexual and reproductive health complications (particularly for pregnant women), and risks of exploitation and gender-based violence.
In 2022, the government created several programs to enable people seeking safety abroad to come to Canada. The authorization for emergency travel program allowed for an unlimited number of Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to Canada and obtain work and study permits. Yet, for too many migrants and refugees, accessing protection in Canada remains crushingly difficult due to delays, backlogs, and barriers in immigration policies and programs. Moreover, Canada’s rapid response to Ukraine has highlighted significant inequities in the treatment of refugees from different countries, like Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Ethiopia. Canada must also do more to protect women, human rights defenders, religious and ethnic minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, and journalists fleeing danger and persecution in their home countries.
The government is working on an “regularization” program, which could provide a pathway to permanent residency for the 1.7 million people in Canada with precarious immigration status, including up to 500,000 migrants who are undocumented. This is an historic opportunity to deliver equal access and life-changing policies for so many.
