PROTECT Expert Forum 20 November: Opportunity or Threat: Receiving Refugees in Canada and the Effects of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants - PROTECT The Right to International Protection

PROTECT Expert Forum 20 November

Opportunity or Threat: Receiving Refugees in Canada and the Effects of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants

Photo by Frederick Tubiermont on Unsplash

Forum title: Opportunity or Threat: Receiving Refugees in Canada and the Effects of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants

When: 20 November 2020, 10.00 – 11:30 am (EST)

Where: Online

Hosts: Ryerson University

Program and speakers

This is one of three online Expert Forums organized by the PROTECT Consortium aimed at discussing the implementation and performance of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migrants.

In this webinar, an expert panel will address current challenges of Canadian refugee protection, both in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and to existing obligations and legal frameworks. Providing views from different institutions, the speakers will consider challenges faced by refugees in specific contexts including employment, healthcare and detention.

In doing so, it will assess Canada’s performance in realizing the objectives of the Global Compacts on Migrants and Refugees – as well as existing human rights and refugee protection frameworks.

The panel is chaired by Associate Professor Idil Atak from Ryerson University.

Discussant

Delphine Nakache, University of Ottawa

Delphine Nakache is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law (French Common Law). She teaches courses in the areas of public international law and immigration and refugee law. She has researched and published on issues related to the human rights and security-based implications of migration, citizenship and refugee laws and policies, both in Europe and Canada. Her main focus is on issues surrounding the protection of migrant workers, asylum seekers and non-status migrants, and on barriers to citizenship for disadvantaged immigrants.

Photo: University of Ottawa

Speakers

Anthony Navaneelan, Legal aid Ontario

Anthony Navaneelan is a litigator specializing in Federal Court judicial reviews and stays of removal; claims and appeals for refugee protection; humanitarian and compassionate applications; Pre-Removal Risk Assessment applications; Immigration Appeal Division appeals, including removal order appeals and family sponsorship appeals; and detention reviews.

Photo: The lawyers Daily

Mac Scott, No One is Illegal

Over his 20-year career working with immigration, Mac has accumulated several high-profile immigration cases in his arsenal and has been able to support organizing around migrant justice and poverty using his immigration legal skills.

Photo: Carranza LLP

Mary-Jo Leddy, Romero House

Mary Jo Leddy is a Canadian writer, speaker, theologian and social activist.
Leddy is widely recognized for her work with refugees at Toronto’s Romero House. She began working for the center as a night manager in 1991, and has been active in human rights issues and the peace movement. She is an adjunct professor, Regis College, University of Toronto, and an active member of the Ontario Sanctuary Coalition.

Photo: Kolbe Times

Rana Khan, Head of Regional Office, UNHCR Canada

Rana Khan is a human rights lawyer. Her work in Canada has covered all aspects of refugee protection, policy and practice. An experienced trainer, Rana has also been the UNHCR lead in Canada on judicial interventions, gender, children’s issues and the Global Detention Strategy – Beyond Detention. She has represented UNHCR in the Supreme Court of Canada on several landmark cases and has worked closely with the government and civil society partners to establish best practices on asylum both regionally and nationally. Rana has also participated in some of the organization’s international operations for refugee protection and humanitarian assistance