In the weeks preceding October 4th, with help of my professor John Carlaw, my classmates, and the work of the FCJ Refugee Centre, I will be fundraising for the Ride & Walk for Refuge. This fundraising will support the FCJ in their work with refugees and precarious migrants, the most vulnerable among refugee and migrant populations. These individuals are those who do not have permanent residence in Canada, have an immigration status with imposed perimeters or do not have any formally recognized status within Canadian borders. They are often refused refugee claimants, temporary workers, students, victims and survivors of human trafficking, and they may be undocumented. They may be facing several intersections of oppressive structures, a lack of resources, and other forms of marginalization, in other words, they are the most at risk. 

The FCJ Refugee Centres’ work is work that means a lot to me, its work that meets migrants where they’re at, providing housing support, transitional shelters, acting as a primary health care clinic, and serving as a hub for refugees to receive housing, access education, English classes and food security. The centre also offers pathways for migrants to access permanent residency in Canada, and numerous other programs and branching support networks to connect precarious populations to the resources they need. 

The FCJ also develops public educational resources that assist the public in understanding immigration issues. This is another reason why the Walk & Ride for Refuge is so meaningful to me, as the FCJ seeks to combat harmful information, including initiatives by the federal government to reduce protections for migrants and infringe upon the rights of Canadian citizens, such as Bill C-2. 

Bill C-2 goes directly against humanitarian law, giving the federal government mass deportation powers, the ability to cancel permits without due process, revoking the statuses of an already precarious population overnight. Migrants are living in an era with mass amounts of crimmigration, the association of criminal law and immigration, that aims to treat those seeking refuge as if they have violated the law through their asylum, ignoring their individual rights to seek said asylum by law. Migrants are illegalized through this process, treated as though their desire for safety and refuge is inherently criminal. Bill C-2 also disallows those who have been in Canada for more than a year from seeking asylum, and also targets those coming from the United States, removing the ability to apply for refugee status after 14 days. Migrants are subject to unrestricted information sharing through the federal government, which affects all Canadians in general. In favour of a punitive system that ignores international humanitarian law, which bases its processes on harmful notions of universal criminality amongst migrants, Bill C-2 seeks to threaten the rights of Canadians and all those who wish to migrate to, or stay in, Canada. 

This is one of the many reasons why the work the FCJ is doing is so valuable, to stand up for migrant and refugee rights, and to act as one of the first steps for a vulnerable population to access safety and resources is paramount to combat the punitive and harmful policies making their way through the federal government and rhetoric spread thereafter.

I was grateful to have Loly Rico, one of the co-founders of the FCJ Refugee Centre as a guest speaker in my class, where she shared her insights, experiences, and offered important information on what the centre does and stands for. At one point, when Loly was fielding questions, I asked if her experiences as a refugee impacted her ability to speak to other refugees' needs, meet said needs, and understand their struggles. What she answered impacted me significantly. Loly described her experience as a refugee from El Salvador, and how her story brought her into contact with other refugees, revealing the needs of vulnerable women and children seeking asylum, safety, and care. The creation of the FCJ and the work they do was driven by the desire to create a better world for people seeking refuge, safety, resources, and care within Canada. Through this, the work of the centre matters a great deal to me.

I hope those who are able to will join the centre for the Walk & Ride for Refuge on October 4th, in support of those most vulnerable. I would implore anyone reading to join our fundraising team, or make a donation in support of the centre and its efforts to further human rights for migrants and refugees.