Challenges and Implementations for Refugees in Canada: An ECE Approach

This report provides an overview of the challenges faced by refugees in Canada, focusing on issues such as trauma, poverty, racism, and the difficulties faced by women. It examines Canadian statistics on refugee resettlement and highlights the role of the Office for Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT) in supporting refugees. The report emphasizes the potential of Early Childhood Education (ECE) to address these challenges, particularly in improving the participation of refugee children in education and promoting awareness of the negative impacts of war. The report also references several studies and resources to support its findings, and concludes by emphasizing the ORAT's commitment to assisting uprooted people through religious and community-based services. The report suggests that ECE can play a crucial role in helping refugees integrate into Canadian society and overcome the obstacles they face.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Canadian statistics...........................................................................................................................2
Challenges and issues......................................................................................................................3
Implementation................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The refugees are those people who have fled from their countries mostly in the fear of
persecution and is not able or sometimes willingly does not want to return home as they have
experienced many horrors. There is a difference between the immigrants and the refugees as the
former are those who willingly chose to settle in one country permanently whereas the later is
forced to flee. In this report, the refugees will be talked about in the Canadian demographics. The
issues and challenges that is faced by the refugee family will also be described keeping in mind
the implementations of the ECE.
Canadian statistics
The statistics on the refugees has been published in the Canadian Open Data Portals.
Over the last 10 years about 26000 refugees have arrived and amongst them 7000 received the
assistance from the government to resettle in Canada and about 4000 were sponsored privately
(McMurray et al., 2014). The refugee protection programs in Canada are based on two parts: the
humanitarian resettlement and the refugee program for those who needs protection from outside
Canada and the other one is for the refugee people in making the protection claims from within.

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Fig 1: Refugees in Canada, 2004- 2013
(Source: Makwarimba et al., 2013)
Almost an average of 11,000 refugees that came to Canada were successfully claimed in
the refugee status and the rest 4000 were considered the dependents (Hansen, Maidment &
Ahmad, 2016). In 2014, 23,285 refugees were admitted in Canada and in the recent days it is to
some extent less than 10 percent of the total immigrants who came to Canada.
Challenges and issues
There is certain unfathomable pain faced by the refugees in Canada that includes those of
war, torture, persecution and the loss of the near dear ones. In their way of escape, they left
behind their incomes, professional standing and the assets. Some experience intense trauma for
leaving their hometown that may result in flashbacks, memory problems and the difficulty in
concentrating, and these issues needs to be overcome so that they lead a good and healthy life in
their new home country (Evans et al. 2014).

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Racism is another major issue that is still present in maximum parts of Canada and they
need to deal with it. The refugees often have to go through poverty and involve themselves in
systems that may be they do not understand (Ghiabi, Matthews & Brillant, 2014).
It is mostly difficult for the women refugees that has no longer access to their family, that
may be their support system (Olsen et al. 2016). The Government of Canada in this case has
prioritized them but the policy does not reflect that. The women are considered to be more likely
the caregivers and hence are less employable. Hence, it becomes difficult for them to access their
job opportunity, community and the programs and hence this might lead them to isolation and
depression (Hansen, Maidment & Ahmad, 2016).
Implementation
Through the ECE there are various things that can be designed that will help the issues to
be resolved. The most important one is the wars that needs to be stopped immediately. The
young children of refugees have lowered their levels of participation and enrollment in the early
childhood education. As per Olsen et al. (2016), almost forty percent of these young children
refugees in Canada, have enrolled in their preschool programs that are compared with almost 48
percent children of US born parents. Through the ECE there is a need to make a complete
apprehension as to why the war is not beneficial and it just leads to destructive things. The
outcomes are even worse like poverty in the country, loss of people, homes being destroyed and
inflation. The young children of refugee groups often face lowest enrollment in the ECE such as
the Somalia and Iraq, that often face the multiple risk factors. Multiple research studies have
been documented that might bring positive impacts on the education system of the society. The
background of the refugees may become a barrier to be accessed and in most of the times they
lack information and awareness (Agic et al. 2016). Through this ECE a better knowledge needs

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to be provided to the new generation so that the hazards and the problems that is due to the wars
and how it needs to be resolved has also been described.
Fig 2: Office for Refugees, Archdiocese of Toronto
(Source: Refugees, 2017)

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The Office for Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT) has used its annual quota
for 2017 that has been specifically allocated by the Immigration Ministry. To keep updates and
to know more about the ORAT there is a need to make the applications and to accept it as well.
The support that can be availed from the ORAT is the information that they provide for the
general public regarding any resettlement on the Canadian immigration options. They also
monitor the procedures after and before the submission of the resettlement application on the
integration process. They also help in assessing the settlement plans and the resettlement
applications. Their only mission is to enable assistance for the uprooted people by religious
orders, catholic institutions and by also providing services to the Christian community. It offers
various services like the trainings, referrals, parish information events and much more and it is
funded by ShareLife (Evanset al. 2014).
Conclusion
From the above report a complete apprehension can be made on the refugees that are
present in Canada. The ORAT is an organization that works for the refugees and assists them
faithfully and also aims to improve their level of service that has been provided by the Catholic
organizations. This is such an organization that works internationally and nationally to
ameliorate the situations of the uprooted people. The values that is served by this organization
helps in operating with the accordance of the Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teachings
that is generally respected with the principles, philosophy and the values of the Catholic church.
This organization covers almost the entire geographic area of the Roman catholic Archdiocese of
Toronto and also to those members that have resettled beyond these geographical boundaries.

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References
Agic, B., McKenzie, K., Tuck, A., & Antwi, M. (2016). Supporting the Mental Health of
Refugees to Canada. Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Evans, A., Caudarella, A., Ratnapalan, S., & Chan, K. (2014). The cost and impact of the Interim
Federal Health Program cuts on child refugees in Canada. PloS one, 9(5), e96902.
Ghiabi, E., Matthews, D. C., & Brillant, M. S. (2014). The oral health status of recent
immigrants and refugees in Nova Scotia, Canada. Journal of immigrant and minority
health, 16(1), 95-101.
Hansen, L., Maidment, L., & Ahmad, R. (2016). Early observations on the health of Syrian
refugees in Canada. Canada Communicable Disease Report, 42(S2), S8.
Makwarimba, E., Stewart, M., Simich, L., Makumbe, K., Shizha, E., & Anderson, S. (2013).
Sudanese and Somali refugees in Canada: Social support needs and
preferences. International Migration, 51(5), 106-119.
McMurray, J., Breward, K., Breward, M., Alder, R., & Arya, N. (2014). Integrated primary care
improves access to healthcare for newly arrived refugees in Canada. Journal of
Immigrant and Minority Health, 16(4), 576-585.
Olsen, C., El-Bialy, R., Mckelvie, M., Rauman, P., & Brunger, F. (2016). “Other” Troubles:
Deconstructing perceptions and changing responses to refugees in Canada. Journal of
immigrant and minority health, 18(1), 58-66.
Refugees. (2017). Archtoronto.org. Retrieved 8 October 2017, from
https://www.archtoronto.org/about-us/departments-(o-z)/Office_for_Refugees