uOttawa students lead refugee law reform lobby

Canada’s refugee system is sophisticated and world-class, but not problem-free. University of Ottawa law student Victoria Wan, for one, views aspects of current Canadian policy as putting the human rights of refugees at risk.

“The mandatory detention of certain categories of refugees, including children, based solely on their country of origin or mode of arrival in Canada, is arbitrary and unjust,” Wan said. “Among other problematic issues, Canada imposes a ‘travel loan’ on many government-assisted refugees, forcing them to pay back thousands of dollars after they’ve been resettled here.”

Taking advantage of their location in the nation’s capital, Wan and other uOttawa law students organized a day-long conference and lobbying effort to push for progressive changes to Canadian refugee law. The event was organized by the uOttawa chapter of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL/ACAADR) in conjunction with CARL McGill and ACAADR at the Université de Montréal, and was billed as the first-ever student-led “CARL LobbyCon.”

Recently appointed independent senator Ratna Omidvar gave the keynote address. She encouraged students to pursue a career in refugee and social justice law and shared her own story of fleeing Iran as a refugee in 1981. She inspired attendees to remember that the human element in the law is as important as the law itself.

Read the full article on the University of Ottawa Gazette’s website.