Documents Archive
Warning: The documents on this page might be outdated. They’re gathered here for archive and documentation purposes. To see the latest and updated documents and reports, please visit or page Documents, Research & Special Reports.
Integrated Model of Refugee Protection and Integration
The FCJ Refugee Centre Integrated Model provides supportive services to ensure that refugee claimants, particularly uprooted women and women victims of violence, receive the appropriate information and support to navigate the complex Canadian refugee system. The centre offers an integrated model of refugee protection, settlement services and education, including shelter and transitional housing for refugee women and their children. Our integrated model follows a refugee’s journey from the time they make a claim (and sometimes before), until they become permanent residentsof Canada. This model has two core components: Refugee Protection and Integration Process (focus on uprooted women) and Popular Education and Networking.
Exclusionary Changes in the Conservative Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Policies: The Beginning of the EndBy Francisco Rico-Martinez.- In June 2008, Bill C-50 gave the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada broader power to change or cancel any Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) program or class through Ministerial Instruction (MI), without oversight by any parliamentary body or institution; in other words, the ability to run the Ministry by decree. This heralded a disturbing new tradition in Canadian legislation and policy implementation, one that contradicts the often quoted claim: “Canada has the fairest immigration and refugee system in the world.” [Keep reading]
Immigration and Refugee Policy Changes
Including:
Citizenship, Family Class Changes (Sponsoring spouses, Sponsoring dependent children, Sponsoring grandparents/parents), Economic Class Program Changes (Federal Skilled Workers, Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominees, Entrepreneurships & Immigrant investors), Temporary Stay (Temporary Foreign worker, Refugee Class Changes (New classifications, Conceptual Changes, New Refugee Process, new H&C limitations, new PRAA limitations, Health plan changes).
Refugee Claim ApplicationsApplications to file a refugee claim. Including:
– Generic Application
– Schedule 12
– Schedule A
– Basis of Claim Form
Human Trafficking for Forced Labour Forum: Summary Report
The Forum on Human Trafficking for Forced Labour: Raising Awareness and Building Response was organized by the FCJ Refugee Centre and was made possible with the financial support of the Department of Justice Canada, and took place during the National Victims of Crime Awareness Week 2013: We All Have a Role. The forum was focused on persons trafficked internationally for the purposes of forced labour, the programs that increase people’s vulnerabilities to this crime, and the barriers to services and protection for these populations. Approximately 100 participants took part in the event, mostly from Toronto and the GTA.
Request for Action and Recommendations
The FCJ Refugee Centre presented a request for action, suggesting policies for protection and services tailored to the needs of internationally trafficked persons.
The request for action was debated among the participants who provided input and also developed their own recommendations.
To read the document please click here.
Open Letter: Fund Legal Aid Ontario
Open Letter from the Coalition of Service Providers for Refugee Claimants in Southern Ontario calling on Federal and Provincial governments to fully fund Legal Aid Ontario’s immigration and refugee services.
The Coalition of Service Providers forRefugee Claimants in Southern Ontario calls on the Federal and Provincialgovernmentsto immediately increase funding to Legal Aid Ontario(LAO)to ensure that serious cuts are not made to immigration and refugee law services.
To read the document please click here.
How to provide support clients detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
This document has 2 sections: the first section is an explanation of what happens at the Toronto Immigration Holding Centre. The second section describes how a refugee house or any other agency can become a community-based alternative to detention. The FCJ Refugee Centre has been supporting detainees at the Immigration Holding Centre through the Toronto Refugee Affairs Council (TRAC) for more than a decade. Through this experience the Centre is trying to identify how the refugee houses at the Coalition of Service Providers, or any other agency, can provide a better support to this population.
The guide provides a quick overview of the release process for detained immigrants at the Toronto Immigration Holding Centre (TIHC). Our goal is to increase awareness among service providers and the wider population about issues of detention. We hope this guide is a helpful tool on procedures and promising practices to best support detainees in their transitioning process to independent living.
To read the document please click here.
Housing Needs of Precarious Populations Guide
The Housing Needs of Precarious populations Guide addresses the barriers, priorities, promising practices and gaps in terms of accessing housing for precarious migrants.
The document highlights existing limitations of the settlement programs that exacerbate the vulnerability of those populations to homelessness.
To read the document please click here.
The Precarious Migrant Protection and Support Program Resources
The Precarious Migrant Protection and Support Services allows the FCJ Refugee Centre to strengthen the service provision for precarious migrant populations living in Toronto.
Through the program we welcome new clients who are looking for support regarding immigration and settlement issues.
One of the components of this program is The Precarious Migrant Protection and Support Directory.
Human Trafficking Survivors Led Initiative
As part of the 2016 Victims and Survivors of Crime Week The Power of Our Voices, FCJ Refugee Centre in partnership with East Metro Youth Services embarked on a project to provide a safe space for survivors of human trafficking to voice their opinion on services and protection available and a lack thereof. The initiative was funded by the Department of Justice Canada. Such project was long overdue as survivors are left out of the conversations and decision-making pertaining to accessing services and solutions to combat trafficking in persons. The ultimate goal of the project is to lay the foundation of survivor led and designed toolkit for service providers outlining promising practices and accurate support.
To read the summary report please click here.
The Inland Regularization Class
As part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration, the FCJ Refugee Centre is proposing a program aimed at providing a new avenue for regularization for many migrant populations that find themselves in various states of immigration status limbo, including legacy claimants. We anticipate that this proposed program could impact more than 360,000 residents of Canada – a group that represents 1% of the “censused” population. This program involves the development of a new immigration class through which individuals will be assessed on various criteria surrounding their time in Canada, including their involvement in different institutions and community groups, economic integration, as well as social and familial ties. This new class will fill the gaps in existing legislation whereby refugee claimants are unable to submit an application for permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, despite having set roots, and becoming well-established in Canada.
Take a look at the complete document: Click here.
Audit Report Access T.O. Initiative
FCJ Refugee Centre reporting to the City of Toronto, Department of Social Policy, Analysis and Research.
Objective:To identify areas of improvement in service delivery and implementation of the Access T.O. initiative.
Key performance indicator: Services providecorrect information to the public (Knowledge of identification requirements with regards to immigration status, Knowledge of data protection policy, Overall customer service).