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Colleen French [ Profil ] |
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BC Municipalities call on federal government to absorb refugee transportation loans
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Oct 1st, 2009 - 11:45:34 |
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eliminate refugee transportation loansGreat news! Yesterday, the Union
of BC Municipalities approved a resolution calling on the federal
government to absorb the costs of refugee transportation loans.
Follow the lead of Surrey City Council - have your municipal council
adopt a resolution calling on the federal government to cancel
transportation loans for all resettled refugees to Canada. The greater
the voices calling on the government to change its policy, the better.
For more information, see:
http://www.ccrweb.ca/transportationloans.htm#action (Take Action, Option 4)
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Municipal politicians want feds to change refugee policies
Surrey councillor delivers proposal to government meeting
By Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun
October 1, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/ydx8pxh
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is calling on the federal government to
abandon its policy of requiring government-assisted refugees to repay
the cost of bringing them into the country.
Surrey Councillor Judy Villeneuve said the policy that forces refugees
to sign loan documents promising repayment for transportation, pre-entry
medical examinations and other service fees has the effect of
impoverishing many refugees before they have chance to put down roots in
Canada.
"Canada opens its door to refugees as a humanitarian act, yet expects
refugee families to start their new life with an immediate debt ranging
from $1,200 to over $15,000 in spite of the significant challenges these
vulnerable households face in settling," Villeneuve told the UBCM
assembly in Vancouver on Wednesday.
She said refugees are often the poorest of the poor and having to repay
the loan is an intolerable burden.
"In the words of one refugee 'If you do not repay your loans it may
affect your status so you have to starve to pay,'" said Villeneuve.
Canada is the only country in the world that make such demands on
resettled refugees, she said. The loans amount to about $13 million a
year. Forgiving outstanding loans would cost about $38 million, she said.
"New residents are expected to begin repaying this loan within 12 months
and interest begins accruing after three years," she said.
Surrey is home to about 800 refugee families -- more than 1,000
individuals -- resettled under Canada's Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act, said Villeneuve.
She said local governments are having to deal with the social problems
caused by the repayment program.
A national study of the effects of the loan program on refugees has
found it induces a higher risk of homelessness, increased food bank use,
family breakdowns due to income instability and forces youths to drop
out of school to help parents augment family income.
Many of the refugees living in Surrey, she said, are living in low-cost
housing, "sometimes eight people in a two-bedroom apartment."
"The city is working with them to acquire language skills and trying to
get them employed so they can integrate and contribute to the community.
Anything we can do to give them a lift up and help them get a start is
very important," she said.
Wednesday was the first of the working days for delegates who began
considering more than 226 resolutions to be made to senior governments.
The convention approved a resolution from Delta calling on the
provincial government to beef up training and reassessment of
commercial-vehicle drivers' licences and to ensure more accountability
from companies and shippers that hire truck drivers.
Some delegates from northern B.C. opposed the resolution, saying such
measures would increase transportation costs at a time when the economy
was in trouble.
However, a delegate from Delta said his community has 2,000 trucks a day
passing through and numerous fatal truck accidents on Highway 17.
--
Colleen French
Communication and Networking Coordinator / Coordinatrice de la communication et du réseautage
Canadian Council for Refugees / Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés
6839A Drolet #302, Montréal QC, H2S 2T1
Tel : (514) 277-7223, extension / poste 1
Fax / Téléc. : (514) 277-1447
Email / Courriel : cfrench (at) ccrweb.ca
Website / Site web : www.ccrweb.ca
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