TORONTO, June 13, 2008 -- A conference on the forced migration of refugees is coming to York University at a critical juncture in the federal government’s campaign to overhaul Canada's immigration system.
The conference, "Refugees and the Insecure Nation: Managing Forced Migration in Canada 2008," will bring together more than 100 researchers, academics, graduate students, non-governmental organizations and government representatives from across Canada and beyond.
Conference speakers will examine measures taken in the name of national security that may have negative consequences for refugees. Panel topics will include forced migration, the mental health of refugees, safe third-country agreements, security certificates, gender in forced migration, the experiences of refugee children and youth, and access to labour and work, among other issues.
The conference, being held from June 15 to 18, comes at a time when Canada is on the cusp of introducing critical changes to its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act under Bill C-50.
Proposed amendments to the Act aim to streamline the immigration process and would allow the minister responsible to give priority to certain groups of immigrants.
"Bill C-50 introduces drastic, negative legislative changes to Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, said Wenona Giles, conference organizer and associate director at York’s Centre of Refugee Studies. “These amendments, if adopted, will greatly narrow processing of immigration applications."
Session highlights include:
Audrey Macklin, Professor, University of Toronto:
Forcing managed migration in Canada" (policing the Canadian border). Monday, June 16, 11:30 a.m.
Sasha Bagley, Professor, York’s Osgoode Hall Law School:
Detention and deportation of refugee 'terrorists': A comparative analysis between Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand. Monday, June 16, 2 p.m.
Nandita Sharma: University of Hawai'i at Manoa & York’s School of Social Sciences, Atkinson Faculty. Nationalism and the "management" of migration in Canada: Constraining the freedom and rights of temporary migrant workers. Monday, June 16, 11:30 a.m.
Janet Dench, Executive Director of the Canadian Council for Refugees:
Canadian settlement and integration: A manifesto for unsettlement and dis-integration. Tuesday, June 17, 9 a.m.
Graham Hudson, PHD Candidate, York’s Osgoode Hall Law School:
With the Force of Law? Charkaoui, security certificates and the rights of non-citizens. Monday, June 16, 2 p.m.
Sharry Aiken, Professor, Queen's University, Co-Chair, Canadian Council for Refugees Legal Affairs Committee and Editor-in-Chief, Refuge:
The international impact of Canadian refugee policy. Wednesday, June 18, 9 a.m.
Maroussia Hajdukowski-Ahmed, Professor, University of McMaster, New book: Not Born a Refugee Woman. Tuesday, June 17th 2:30 p.m.
Catherine Dauvergne, Canada Research Chair in Migration Law, Faculty of Law, UBC: Making people illegal: What globalization means for migration and law. Tuesday, June 17, 4 p.m.
Ezat Mossallanejad, Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT): The impact of impunity on uprooted survivors of torture and war. Wednesday, June 18, 1:30 p.m.
This is the inaugural conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies. It is hosted by York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies. Please see the program link below for a full list of sessions.
WHAT: Refugees and the Insecure Nation: Managing Forced Migration in Canada 2008 conference
WHEN: June 15-18, 2008
WHERE: York University, Keele Campus, Accolade West Building, Rooms 106, 206, 006.
PROGRAM: Refugees and the Insecure Nation program
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
-30-
Media contact:
Killeen Kelly, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22938 / killeenk@yorku.ca
