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Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security - Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada progress report -2021-2022 and 2022-2023

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Women, Peace and Security

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is participating in the second generation of the Action Plan 2017-2022 as a supporting partner. The Department will promote and support the Action Plan as the lead department on international migration issues and in supporting and protecting women and girls through Canada’s immigration processing, programs, and services. IRCC also works with likeminded countries at the multilateral level on issues of global importance—such as migration and the resettlement, integration of refugees from conflict-affected countries, and initiatives to build the capacity of international organizations to support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. IRCC recognizes that women and girls are particularly vulnerable to being targeted for sexual and gender-based violence in situations of conflict and state fragility. In keeping with the principles of Canada’s National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security (WPS), the Department has put in place a number of policies and programs designed to provide protection and support to women and girls displaced by situations of conflict and state fragility. IRCC also provides targeted settlement supports for populations that experience increased vulnerability, including women and refugees. These services address the settlement and integration barriers for this population – empowering women and girls so they can participate in Canada’s social, cultural, civic and economic life.

On this page

Contributions on the international stage

In December 2018, Canada joined a large majority of United Nations General Assembly Member States in adopting two Global Compacts, one on Refugees and one for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (Global Compact for Migration). The Compacts provide a compendium of best practices to provide guidance for States to consider when developing or updating migration-related policies and programs, as well as when implementing larger objectives to align with Canadian values, such as the respect for human rights and protection of the most vulnerable, including women and children on the move or forcibly displaced as a result of conflict. Almost 50% of international migrants are women, and gender considerations are, therefore, an important aspect of discussions, policies and actions taken in relation to migration. As States begin to implement both Compacts, Canada will continue to share and participate in and advocate for the development of gender-transformative and intersectional migration management practices and refugee responses within the international community.

Protecting refugees

IRCC places a high priority on the protection of refugee women and recognizes their unique protection needs. Through the Assistance to Women at Risk Program, Canada provides resettlement opportunities to women abroad in precarious or permanently unstable situations who do not have the formal protection of a family unit. This includes women who are experiencing significant difficulties, such as harassment by local authorities or members of their own communities.

IRCC provides assistance through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) for 12 months to Government Assisted Refugees (GARs), assistance for 6 months to Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) refugees, and assistance for 3 months to LGBTQ+ refugees who are privately sponsored (through a cost sharing arrangement with Rainbow Refugee society). IRCC also provides assistance to refugees who are identified as having special needs through Joint Assistance Sponsorship (JAS) for up to 24 months.

Considerations in the asylum system regarding gender-related persecution

In addition to programs for resettling vulnerable women and girls from abroad, the in-Canada asylum system provides gender-specific protection to in-Canada refugee claimants who have fled conflicts or fragile states. The Department has developed specific program delivery instructions with respect to processing in-Canada claims for refugee protection of minors and other vulnerable persons. Provisions include ensuring a vulnerable person’s physical comfort; being sensitive to cultural and gender issues; and efforts to allow victims of sexual violence the option of choosing the gender of the interviewing officer.

Additionally, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), which hears asylum claims, has a set of guidelines specifically on how to treat vulnerable groups, including women refugee claimants fearing gender-related persecution. In May 2017, the IRB also announced a new Guideline to promote greater understanding of cases involving sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and the harm individuals may face due to their non-conformity with socially accepted norms. This Guideline aims to promote a greater understanding of the diversity and complexity that can be associated with having diverse sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; establish guiding principles for decision-makers in adjudicating cases; and provide parties with a clearer understanding of what to expect when appearing before the IRB.

Supporting settlement and integration in Canada

IRCC recognizes the significant contributions that newcomer women make to the economic, social, civic, and cultural life of Canada, and their key role in the settlement and integration of the family unit once they have arrived to Canada. Migration to Canada can bring many opportunities for women, but can also include distinct and multiple challenges such as navigating a new language, work transitions, childcare responsibilities, developing new networks, and shifts in family dynamics. Providing targeted settlement supports for vulnerable populations, including women and refugees, remains a priority area.

To address these challenges, the Settlement Program funds a range of targeted settlement services that can be accessed by newcomer and refugee women, including a pilot project to support employment programming for visible minority women, as well as additional supports such as mentoring, information and orientation on rights and responsibilities in Canada, women’s only employment and language training, and gender-based violence prevention support. Many of the organizations that deliver settlement programming in the area of violence prevention have strong community partnerships in place with local transition houses, police, and key emergency services to ensure holistic programming for victims of abuse. These include activities and information to mitigate the risks of exposure to gender-based violence by strengthening knowledge of Canadian laws, social cohesion and community connections. These services are provided through online resources, publications, a variety of in-person services, as well as through referrals to important community supports. In addition, child-minding and transportation services are offered to ensure that women, who are often the primary caregivers, are able to access these integration services.

IRCC funded Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) services delivered to government assisted refugees upon arrival in Canada include referrals, when appropriate, to specialized services such as Centers for Victims of Trauma and/or Torture, as well as orientation to Canadian laws, including informing clients that in Canada women and men have the same rights and opportunities and abuse of any sort (e.g., physical, psychological or sexual) is a crime.

As with the in-Canada asylum process, the Department has developed specific program delivery instructions with respect to the resettlement of minors and other vulnerable persons.

In support of the Syrian resettlement effort, Canada funded enhancements to support the unique settlement needs of Syrian refugee women. These included additional conversation circles specifically for women to enable them to establish valuable social connections, learn about available community supports, practice their new language skills, and reduce isolation.

Actions to address gender-based violence to support newcomers to Canada

IRCC is a key partner in the federal action plan to end gender-based violence announced in June 2017, It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. The strategy builds on federal initiatives already under way and coordinates existing programs. Under the strategy, IRCC received $1.5 million in funding over five years to further enhance the Settlement Program. This funding is being used to deliver targeted services for newcomer women and youth with place-based interventions as well as training for front-line settlement workers to assist in identifying abuse and making appropriate referrals for newcomers, including those in smaller cities and rural communities. IRCC also works closely with the federal department Women and Gender Equality on additional initiatives such as Engaging Men and Boys to address GBV as well as sharing promising practices with Settlement Provider Organizations.

IRCC resettles vulnerable refugees who have been forced to flee their home country due to persecution or massive conflict, including LGBTQ2 individuals who are often at heightened risk due to their sexual orientation or identity. The Department offers specialized settlement supports to all LGBTQ2 immigrants, including refugees upon arrival in Canada. The Department continues to work with LGBTQ2 stakeholders in Canada to collaboratively improve the available supports and ensure the refugee resettlement program includes an adequate LGBTQ2 lens.

In April 2017, IRCC removed a regulatory requirement that applied to some sponsored spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to live with their sponsor for two years as a condition to maintaining their permanent resident status. Previously, conditional permanent residence was in place for sponsored spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who were in a relationship of two years or less and had no children in common at the time of their sponsorship application. Sponsored spouses or partners were required to live with their sponsor for two years or risk losing their permanent resident status. Eliminating conditional permanent residence addresses concerns that vulnerable sponsored spouses or partners may stay in abusive relationships out of fear of losing their permanent resident status. This change is aligned with overall government efforts to support gender equality and combat gender-based violence.

Actions to reduce vulnerability in the immigration system

IRCC has taken other steps designed to reduce vulnerability in the immigration system. In June 2015, a regulatory amendment to increase the minimum age of a recognized spouse from 16 to 18 in all permanent and temporary immigration programs came into effect. This was intended to decrease the number of potentially vulnerable young spouses immigrating to Canada who may not have the capacity to act in their own best interest, and could prevent some forced marriages from occurring. At the same time, regulations came into force to ensure that marriages that were conducted by proxy, telephone, fax, Internet or other similar forms (i.e. marriages where one or both parties were not physically present at the marriage ceremony), would no longer be recognized within permanent and temporary immigration programs.

Integration of gender considerations in IRCC’s policies and programs

IRCC is committed to integrating Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) to assess the potential impacts of its policies, programs, services and other initiatives on diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people, taking into account gender and other identity factors (e.g. race, ethnicity and religion).

IRCC has awarded a contract to a non-governmental organization to develop gender-based violence training for IRCC officers processing immigration applications, as well as for IRCC Client Support Centre Staff. Once fully developed and launched, this training is intended to increase employee awareness of different forms of gender-based violence and equip them with tools to identify and appropriately address cases of abuse. It will complement existing general training and guidance for these employees with more comprehensive training dedicated solely to the topic of gender-based violence and tailored to the immigration and newcomer context, to help ensure a trauma-informed approach to addressing these cases. This training aligns with the Government’s commitment to addressing gender-based violence, in contribution to the federal GBV Strategy to support victims across Canada, including migrants and newcomers.

IRCC is committed to addressing the following broad Action Plan objectives/actions which are of relevance to its work:

The bulk of IRCC’s work is mainly through domestic policy and programs, but IRCC also works with likeminded countries at the multilateral level on issues of global importance. In doing so, the Department contributes in important ways toward the empowerment, inclusion and protection of women and girls around the world – while taking into account gender and intersecting identity factors such as age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and ability.

The following activities that IRCC undertakes reflect IRCC’s commitment to advancing the Action Plan in its capacity as a supporting partner organization:

Objective 1: Gender is integrated in relevant IRCC program and application processes when IRCC programs (domestic and abroad) are developed or revised to ensure all efforts are made to meet relevant Action Plan objectives and to ensure a gender-responsive approach to applicants, refugees and other newcomers.

Refugee resettlement program

A-1.1

Maintain high priority on the protection of refugee women, and recognize their unique needs through the Assistance to Women at Risk flag, and continue to resettle the most vulnerable groups, including refugee women and girls from abroad.

Completed activities

As some restrictions were lifted and borders re-opened both in Canada and around the world, IRCC leveraged new opportunities to fully resume the resettlement of refugees, including women and girls. Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program remained in operation, providing much-needed protection to refugee women and girls who lack the protection of any state and any durable solution to their situation.

Gender-based persecution is one of the grounds upon which Canada grants refugee protection. As a result of forced displacement, refugee women and girls in particular are at a heightened risk of violence. Although women refugees are often persecuted on similar grounds as men, the types of persecution may take on different forms. In some cases women may be subject to persecution simply because they are women. As such, referral organizations and IRCC officers may attach the Assistance to Women at Risk (AWR) flag to refugee referrals and case files to indicate women or girls in perilous or permanently unstable situations; and in situations where urgent or expedited processing may be necessary. Women at risk may be offered a Joint Assistance Sponsorship and a longer period of support (36 months instead of 12 months) to become integrated and established in Canada. In 2021, Canada resettled 995 vulnerable refugee including 678 women and children through AWR, while in 2022, 2,088 resettled refugees were flagged as AWR.

The Urgent Protection Program (UPP) provides expedited resettlement to persecuted persons who are facing immediate threats to their life, liberty, or physical safety. IRCC used National Interest Exemption Letters to permit these refugees in urgent need to escape risk and access Canada’s protection in a timely manner. The number of individuals who came to Canada through UPP grew from 194 refugees in 2021 to 269 individuals in 2022.

The Government of Canada has also prioritized the protection of Yazidi refugees and other survivors of Daesh, including women and girls who experienced sexual and gender-based violence. Since 2016, special measures put in place by IRCC have facilitated the resettlement of more than 1,400 survivors of Daesh, including family members. Further, following the fall of Kabul in August 2021, IRCC announced a special humanitarian programme in response to the situation in Afghanistan as part of a broader Afghan resettlement initiative that extends until 2024. In recognition of the deteriorating human rights situation and protection environment in Afghanistan, especially concerning the fundamental rights of women and girls, the program aims to resettle vulnerable and at-risk groups, including women and girls, 2SLGBTQI+ people, human rights defenders, journalists and those who helped them, and members of religious and ethnic minorities. Building on measures introduced in 2021-22, IRCC created a new pathway in 2022-23 for Afghans facing elevated risks due to their connection to Canada or membership in another vulnerable group who have been identified by organizations that are operationally active in Afghanistan and neighboring countries, such as 2SLGBTQI+ Afghans identified by Rainbow Railroad.

IRCC has worked to reduce the administrative and financial burden on Afghans inside and outside of Canada at various points along the resettlement continuum by waiving various application and biometrics fees from 2021-22 into 2022-23 and beyond. By March 31, 2023, Canada had welcomed over 29,733 Afghan refugees and vulnerable persons under the initiative. Recognizing that safe passage out of Afghanistan remains a key challenge for clients, especially women and girls, the Department supported the Government’s introduction of Bill C-41 in March 2023, which was granted Royal Assent in June 2023, and which will address potential Criminal Code liability for funding humanitarian aid, immigration activities, and other government operations in Afghanistan and other geographic areas controlled by a terrorist group. These changes remove a barrier to IRCC and other Canadian organizations to deliver much needed assistance to vulnerable clients in Afghanistan while maintaining our strong anti-terrorism laws and protections.

Additionally, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, IRCC implemented a series of measures to support Ukrainians seeking temporary safe haven while they flee war. On March 17, 2022 the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) was introduced as a facilitative temporary resident measure that expedites the issuance of fee-exempt travel documents to Ukrainian nationals and their family members, as well as fee-exempt status documents that enable them to live, work and study for up to three years in Canada. Since its introduction in March 2022, 58 percent of CUAET permit holders have been women and girls. As of March 28, 2023, IRCC received 972,860 CUAET applications and approved over 628,814 applications, while 139,056 CUAET holders have arrived in Canada.

Settlement program

A-1.2

Continue to fund and implement a range of targeted settlement services that can be accessed by newcomer women, including refugees, such as mentoring, information and orientation on rights and responsibilities, employment, language supports, and family and gender-based violence prevention support, as well as support services which include childcare, transportation assistance, translation, interpretation, short-term crisis counseling, and provisions for addressing disabilities, to reduce barriers to access settlement services.

Completed activities

Migration to Canada can bring many opportunities for women, but can also include distinct challenges such as navigating a new language, work transitions, child and elder care responsibilities, developing new networks, and shifts in family dynamics. Providing targeted settlement supports for diverse populations that experience increased barriers to services, including newcomer women, remains a priority area.

To address these challenges, the Settlement Program continues to fund a range of targeted settlement services that can be accessed by immigrant and refugee women such as mentoring, information and orientation on rights and responsibilities in Canada, women’s only employment and language training, and gender-based violence prevention support. Many of the organizations that deliver settlement programming in the area of violence prevention have strong community partnerships in place with local transition houses, police, and key emergency services to ensure holistic programming for survivors of abuse. These include activities and information to mitigate the risks of exposure to gender-based violence by strengthening knowledge of Canadian laws, social cohesion and community connections.

In addition, child-minding and transportation services are offered to ensure that women, who are often the primary caregivers, are able to access these settlement integration services. A range of tailored settlement supports are available to populations that face additional barriers to services and are at increased risk of marginalization, including newcomer youth, seniors, people living with a disability, and 2SLGBTQI+ newcomer populations. In 2022–23, 76% of child care services were provided to female clients and 2,135 newcomers received disability services. About 22% of Settlement Program clients were resettled refugees who are considered more vulnerable than many other immigration categories.

Further, IRCC resettles refugees who have been forced to flee their home country due to persecution or conflict, including 2SLGBTQI+ individuals who are often at heightened risk due to their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). The Department offers specialized settlement supports to 2SLGBTQI+ immigrants, including refugees upon arrival in Canada. The Department continues to work with 2SLGBTQI+ stakeholders in Canada to collaboratively improve the available supports and ensure the Settlement and Resettlement Assistance Programs integrate the needs of 2SLGBTQI+ newcomers.

In 2022, the Settlement Program also funded 17 new projects in the area of Anti-Racism, mainstreaming gender equality and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) with the settlement sector. These projects will enhance the ability of the settlement sector to identify, examine, and analyze the barriers and obstacles which diverse newcomers face as they settle and integrate into Canadian society.

A-1.3

As part of the “It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence” (GBV Strategy), implement enhancements to the Settlement Program to offer place-based services for newcomers who may face challenges in accessing gender-based violence supports and to provide training for front-line settlement workers to help identify gender-based violence and make appropriate referrals to support immigrant and refugee women and girls.

Completed activities

IRCC is a key partner in the federal action plan to end gender-based violence, announced in June 2017. The strategy builds on federal initiatives already under way and coordinates existing programs. Under the strategy, IRCC received $1.5 million in funding over five years to further enhance the Settlement Program (2017-2022). The funding is being used to implement a settlement sector strategy on gender-based violence through a coordinated partnership of settlement and anti-violence sector organizations (ngbv.ca). This partnership will continue through Budget 2021 investments of an additional $2 million for another five years (2021-2026).

The GBV Partnership has advanced best practices that address emerging GBV issues for the settlement sector, along with effective resources for stakeholders to support a strong cross-sectoral approach. These resources include online training webinars covering specific issues and a bilingual online course designed specifically for the settlement sector, titled Bridges to Safety. In addition, the GBV Partnership has piloted a client information session with participants, established a settlement sector Champion Network, and produced multiple guides. Initial project results indicate that the initiative has successfully established a common base of knowledge for service providers, and has increased collaboration between the settlement and anti-violence sectors, as well as between agencies.

This funding has been used to enhance settlement services for newcomers through the provision of capacity building activities for front-line settlement workers to assist in identifying abuse and making appropriate referrals for newcomers, including those in smaller cities and rural communities. IRCC also works closely with the federal department, Women and Gender Equality, on additional initiatives such as engaging men and boys to address gender-based violence as well as sharing promising practices with Settlement Provider Organizations. IRCC funds over 30 targeted programming initiatives to address gender-based violence (GBV), in addition to the organizations across the settlement sector that offer GBV referrals and supports to access community resources.

A-1.4

Establish a framework to assess vulnerability of women, girls, men, boys and gender-diverse people.

Completed activities

IRCC successfully monitors and delivers on the family violence measures introduced in 2019 to support foreign nationals in Canada who are in situations of family violence. More specifically, these measures support those whose immigration status may be precarious due to their reliance on an abusive spouse or partner for their status in Canada (including, but not limited to, sponsored spouses and partners).

Under these measures, individuals in vulnerable situations of family violence, who are out-of-status, may apply for an expedited, fee-exempt, temporary resident permit (TRP), which includes a fee-exempt work permit and Interim Federal Health Program coverage. This provides protection to vulnerable individuals who are victims of family violence and/or their dependent foreign national children in Canada through security of short-term immigration status to help escape the influence of abuse, and grant them time to decide their next course of action. The family violence measures also include an expedited process for individuals in Canada who are in urgent situations of family violence and who apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds. This means individuals will have their permanent residence applications processed more quickly, with the goal of helping them leave abusive situations as expeditiously as possible.

The Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership is a 5 year initiative from 2020-24 that was established in cooperation with the Rainbow Refugee Society. The partnership encourages more Canadians to support 2SLGBTQI+ refugees as well as providing funding for 2SLGBTQI+ refugee resettlement, and seeks to strengthen collaboration between 2SLGBTQI+ organizations and the refugee settlement community in Canada. This initiative is in addition to existing refugee programs, which provide protection to vulnerable refugees, including individuals who have been persecuted on the basis of their sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) . Despite the challenges of border closures and travel restrictions, in 2021, 12 refugees were resettled through this partnership, with 40 landings of refugees in 2022 through this partnership. Moreover, the partnership was expanded in response to the crisis in Afghanistan, providing an additional 150 spaces per year between 2022 and 2024.

As part of capacity building funding for the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, Canada is supporting the National Network for Enhancing 2SLGBTQI+ Refugee Sponsorship project from 2021-2023. This project aims to improve the settlement experiences of 2SLGBTQI+ refugee newcomers in Canada and brings together five organizations who are leaders in 2SLGBTQI+ refugee sponsorship, including Rainbow Refugee Society, who will coordinate the development, delivery, and evaluation of needed training, resources, tools, and information.

In July 2021, IRCC launched a new refugee stream for human rights defenders at risk, making Canada one of the few countries in the world with a dedicated, permanent immigration program for those who are targeted for their work to protect and promote human rights. The new stream was designed and implemented in close consultation with human rights defender protection experts and civil society in order to design the program in a way that best meets the needs of those most at risk, with particular attention being placed on those who are less visible or marginalized, including women and 2SLGBTQI+ human rights defenders. IRCC recognizes that women human rights defenders face particular risks, including from their own communities or even families, due to the fact that they and their work can challenge patriarchal social norms.

Indicators, results and progress

I-1.1

Number of applicants (and/or dependents including spouses) who came to Canada through the Assistance to Women at Risk Program.

Results and progress

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for the resettlement of refugees in 2020 and well into 2021. Travel restrictions and other public health measures in Canada and abroad, reduced availability of flights, and pauses in the operations of key partners like the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Refugee Agency and service provider organizations were some of the key challenges. Despite these challenges, Canada safely resettled a total of 20,431 refugees via its Blended Sponsorship Refugees (76), Private Sponsorship of Refugees (9,543), and Government-Assisted Refugees programs (10,812) in 2021. Of all resettled refugees in Canada in 2021, 47% (9,625) were women and girls. As part of its refugee resettlement efforts in 2021, Canada provided protection from gender-based persecution by resettling 995 refugees under the Assistance to Women at Risk flag of whom 678 were women and girls, and 194 refugees under the Urgent Protection Program, of whom 86 were women and girls.

In 2022, Canada resettled a total of 100 Blended Sponsored refugees, 22,520 Privately Sponsored refugees and 23,912 Government-Assisted refugees. Of note, 48% (22,326) of the total number of refugees in 2022 were women and girls. There were 2,088 resettled refugees flagged as AWR, 68% (1,420) of which are women and girls. Additionally, 269 individuals came to Canada through UPP, 143 of whom were women and girls.

Under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), the Government of Canada helps GARs and other eligible clients when they first arrive in Canada by providing direct financial support and funding the provision of immediate and essential services. In 2022-23, RAP continued to provide referrals and orientations on community resources, including information sessions on employment, schooling, and childcare, as well as Canadian laws, rights and responsibilities, such as informing clients that in Canada women and men have the same rights and opportunities and that abuse of any sort (e.g., physical, psychological or sexual) is a crime. Orientations also included referrals to specialized services to address the specific barriers faced by 2SLGBTQI+ refugees, as well as supports for newcomers with disabilities, seniors, youth, and to address gender-based violence. Overall, Government Assisted Refugees received the following Resettlement and Settlement Programs supports in 2022-2023:

I-1.2

Number of new settlement services based on gender violence interventions for newcomer women and families (such as activities to mitigate the risks of exposure to gender-based violence by strengthening knowledge of Canadian laws, social cohesion, and referrals to essential community supports specializing in violence prevention).

Results and progress

Established in 2019 as a unique and strategic approach, the GBV Partnership (ngbv.ca) collaboration between the settlement and anti-violence sectors has resulted in the development of GBV policy and protocol resources, as well as training that is culturally competent and trauma-informed. The online training, Bridges to Safety, has improved the capacity of settlement workers to effectively respond to GBV, as well as adopt a preventative response that strengthens the awareness of newcomers and refugees, including men and boys, to engage on the issue.

The GBV Partnership has advanced best practices that address emerging GBV issues for this sector, along with effective resources for stakeholders to support a strong cross-sectoral approach. These resources include training webinars and the online course with over 200 hundred participants in 2022-23. In addition, the GBV Partnership has piloted a client information session, established a settlement sector Champion Network, and produced multiple guides. This initiative is contributing to Canada’s broader gender equality goals and addresses gender-based violence for newcomers through capacity building for front line settlement workers and enhanced place-based services.

I-1.3

Number of female clients who access each component of the Settlement Program (information and orientation, needs assessment and referral, language training, employment related services, community connections, and support services.

Results and progress

IRCC’s 2021-22 Settlement Program data indicates that women account for 57% of unique clients. Despite the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department continued to apply a Gender-Based Analysis Plus lens to support populations that experienced increased vulnerabilities and complex needs. For example, during the pandemic IRCC was able to introduce flexibilities to ensure effective management of our settlement sector grants and contributions program. This allowed the sector to pivot to virtual service offerings and in person only when necessary and safe to do so.

In 2021-22, female clients continued to receive a variety of services in slightly lower numbers due to the pandemic and restrictions on newcomer arrivals to Canada. The proportion of women accessing supports remained higher than men across all services:

In 2022-23, female clients (331,970 – 55% of all clients) continued to receive a variety of services and the proportion of women accessing supports remained higher than men across all services:

Service delivery improvement (SDI) projects test new ways of improving settlement programming to make it more responsive to newcomers’ circumstances. IRCC’s SDI expression of interest process integrates Gender-Based Analysis Plus considerations throughout the application requirements to address the needs of diverse populations based on intersecting identity factors such as gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, race, etc.

Initially launched in 2018, the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot (RNWP) was designed to support employment outcomes and career advancement for racialized newcomer women, including by testing and evaluating the effectiveness of services for racialized newcomer women through the Settlement Program, such as: work placements, mentorships and employment counselling for women-only cohorts. While 2022-23 was the final year for the Pilot, early results show improvements in career adaptability and employment outcomes, including the likelihood of working, wages, and hours of work for participants.

The Department anticipates integrating overall learnings from the Pilot into broader employment-related settlement services to help ensure the program can better meet the needs of clients facing barriers on the basis of gender and ethnicity. In the interim, recognizing the continued need for these services, select projects initially funded through RNWP have been extended until March 2025. In 2022–23, 1,432 recipients received supports under the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot.

IRCC collects outcome information from clients of the RAP and the Settlement Program though the Newcomer Outcomes Survey (NOS). The NOS collects responses from newcomers, including women, on such outcomes as sense of belonging, ability to use official languages, participation in the labour market and in the community, and others. Starting in 2020, IRCC’s annual Newcomer Outcome Survey included a question to identify race, resulting in the collection of race disaggregated data and in 2022, data on income and family composition was also collected. These quantitative data have been combined with other qualitative and quantitative data to produce a more comprehensive picture of the barriers faced by diverse newcomers.

I-1.4

Percentage of newcomers and settlement workers who receive interventions funded by the GBV Strategy enhancement to the Settlement Program that report increased knowledge of gender-based violence and awareness of available services.

Results and progress

In 2021-22, approximately 90% of participants of the GBV Partnership (ngbv.ca) indicated that their level of GBV knowledge and resources had increased as a result, while in 2022-23, there was a slight increase with 92% of project participants indicating their growth in GBV knowledge. In addition, over 7,700 service providers have accessed training or resources through the project website since it’s development, and 6,000 of those visitors were located in Canada. Approximately 88% of participating service provider organizations report increased knowledge and competencies to strengthen networks to address GBV for immigrants and refugees.

I-1.5

Creation and implementation of a policy framework for defining vulnerability.

Results and progress

IRCC made progress to support vulnerable individuals, beyond the Settlement Program and in Canada’s immigration system and resettlement programs. Since the July 2019 launch and up to April 2023, IRCC has approved a total of 504 temporary resident applications from victims of family violence. With respect to the humanitarian & compassionate applications, 294 submissions have been approved to grant permanent residence to victims of family violence. The majority of applicants for these measures are women between the ages of 25-54 and dependent children.

Temporary Resident Permits and Humanitarian and Compassionate applications from individuals who experienced family violence were processed at a faster rate in comparison to standard applications in order to reduce the risk of immediate harm among victims of family violence.

Objective 2: IRCC employees are aware of women, peace and security issues and make gender-based considerations in the application of program and provision of services.

Program and activity

A-2.1

Continue to provide the training sessions on gender persecution and persecution based on sexual orientation as part of specific staff training before they go overseas to missions abroad to process the refugee caseload.

Completed activities

IRCC focuses on delivering Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) training to various audiences which focuses on legislation rather than processing. Although the training does not specifically provide training on gender persecution and persecution based on sexual orientation, it does provide unconscious bias training as a standard component of its procedural fairness module. This module is a mandatory requirement of IRCC’s immigration certification courses for decision-makers. The Family Class and Refugee Class modules, which are taught in the IRPA training (permanent resident certification) similarly incorporate gender and decision-making components.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training is also provided to IRCC decision-makers who are assigned to overseas offices. This training includes a gender component on cross cutting themes that are relevant to decision-making including but not limited to systemic and unconscious bias that adversely affect marginalized and equity-deserving groups.

A-2.2

Encourage all IRCC staff and senior management to complete the Status of Women Canada’s GBA Plus online introduction course, which provides a foundational understanding of applying gender and identity considerations to policies and programs.

Completed activities

IRCC continued to encourage employees at all levels to complete the online Government of Canada Introduction to Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) course. For example, a description and link to the course continued to be available on the Department’s intranet site, which also provided resources to help employees use GBA Plus in their work.

IRCC’s Equity Policy and GBA Plus Team continued to advise departmental staff and management on best practices for the application of GBA Plus to policies and programs, internally and externally. This included facilitating GBA Plus workshops for various groups to help implement best practices throughout the organization. In 2022, the Department launched IRCC’s Gender-based Analysis Plus Working Group, which convenes quarterly, with participation coming from all areas of the Department. Additionally in 2022, the Settlement and Integration Sector established a working group to integrate GBA Plus and Gender Equality into the work of the settlement programs. Now in its second year, the Settlement and Integration Sector (SIS) working group is an established community of practice to build capacity by sharing resources, developing tools and guidance relevant to the sector, as well as organizing an annual learning series to hear from academics and practitioners on migration issues.

Every year the Equity Policy and GBA Plus Team organizes GBA Plus Awareness Week. In May 2022, the week included an EX Panel session that showcased examples of outstanding GBA Plus work happening across the department. This session allowed for speakers to share their approach to GBA Plus, lessons learned and best practices in applying an intersectional lens to their various projects.

Indicators, results and progress

I-2.1

Number of courses or training sessions given with a module on gender and decision-making (example, Foreign Service Development Program training, Locally Engaged Officers training, refugee training, etc.).

Results and progress

In 2022-23, approximately 300 employees were trained through 14 IRPA Certification courses (temporary resident, permanent resident or refugee certification) as well as 1 Foreign Service Development Program cohort. These IRPA certification courses included the Procedural Fairness module mentioned above. Additionally, over 30 Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion workshops, reaching over 500 staff in IRCC have been offered since 2021. IRCC staff are also required to take 3 mandatory unconscious bias courses from the Canadian School of the Public Service varying from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

I-2.2

Number of staff who complete the Status of Women Canada’s GBA Plus online introduction course

Results and progress

From 2021-2023, over 408 IRCC employees completed the WAGE Introduction to GBA Plus online course. As this online introduction course is public-facing and not under the control of IRCC, it is not possible to confirm the exact number of IRCC participants, as employees may not have identified their place of work.

Throughout 2021-2023, IRCC’s Equity Policy and GBA Plus Team conducted twelve tailored information sessions that engaged staff and IRCC management, including staff in overseas missions. In addition, the Settlement and Integration Sector has led a series of GBA Plus trainings to raise awareness and build capacity among IRCC settlement sector staff.

I-2.3

Number of staff (overseas Locally Engaged Staff or other IRCC) who participated in the “gender and decision-making” training session

Results and progress

IRCC currently does not have the ability to track the completion rate of training sessions that include gender and decision-making. However, the Department is currently working to increase statistical ability of this for future evaluations.

Objective 3: Promoting gender-based initiatives in international fora.

Program and activity

A-3.1

Support gender-based initiatives in the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Migration and other agreements, fora or frameworks.

Completed activities

From 2021 to 2023, Canada continued to share best practices and provide leadership on global migration and international refugee protection issues, as we continued to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and other geopolitical and climate-related crises that had significant impacts on the number of migrants and refugees around the world. IRCC worked at the bilateral and multilateral levels to encourage dialogue and collaboration on migration management and refugee protection that is more gender-responsive and inclusive of a variety of identity factors for diverse newcomers.

In its international engagements, IRCC has continued to promote the importance of implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in a gender-responsive way, including by sharing best practices related to gender-responsive migration governance. Canada also funded capacity building projects that advance migration policies and programs internationally, including some that actively support the development of gender-responsive migration management or that contribute to gender equality.

Through statements, meetings with key United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials and other delegations, as well as stakeholder engagement at the 2021 and 2022 Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR), Canada continued to monitor and strongly encourage UNHCR’s commitments to women and girls, and prioritization of resources in this regard.

Canada was the Chair of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Frameworks (“MIRPS” as per the Spanish acronym) Support Platform from July 2021 to September 2022 and remains involved in the platform as Past Chair (until December 2023).  MIRPS promotes responses to forced displacement in Central America and Mexico. Canada’s theme as Chair was the “The Protection and Empowerment of Women and Girls on the Move.” This theme allowed Canada to draw attention to the international protection and education needs of refugee women and girls, as well as the need to protect the human rights of displaced women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals in vulnerable situations. It also guided a number of key events and activities throughout Canada’s tenure as Chair including a high level event, hosted by Canada, on the Protection and Empowerment of forcibly displaced women and girls in the North of Central America and Mexico.

Indicators, results and progress

I-3.1

Number of initiatives implemented under the Global Compacts that focus specifically on gender or that directly contribute to a gender-responsive implementation of either Compact.

Results and progress

In April 2021, Canada participated in the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Review of Implementation of the GCM. On the margins of this review, Canada co-sponsored a side-event dedicated to advancing a gender-responsive approach to migration. By bringing together governments and civil society to share best practices, resources and guidance, the event served to help build capacity towards the design, implementation and evaluation of gender-responsive migration policies, programmes and services. Canada’s co-hosting this side event represented a further step forward in Canada’s commitment to focusing international attention on the importance of advancing this underlying principle in GCM implementation. IRCC also continued to support the Gender+Migration Hub led by the International Migration Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University, which developed tools and compiled resources to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people on the move.

In May 2022, Canada participated in the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) in New York City at the United Nations, which was a global platform to discuss and share progress on the implementation of the GCM. Canada participated as a Champion Country and continued to build on previous efforts to promote gender responsive migration programs and policies. This included hosting an IMRF side event, co-sponsored with the Philippines, to encourage the gender-responsive implementation of the GCM, where Canada showcased the work of the Gender + Migration Hub by the International Migration Research Centre, migrant women voices, and provided a platform for stakeholders to share examples of gender-responsive practices and resources in support of GCM implementation. Canada also took on an informal rapporteur role on gender-responsiveness for the entire IMRF. In 2022-23, following the co-sponsorship of the 2022 IMRF gender-responsiveness side-event with the Philippines, Canada continued to engage bilaterally with the Philippines, who is also a GCM Champion, on GCM and Global Forum on Migration and Development initiatives.

Through the International Migration Capacity Building Program, IRCC has continued to support international work on gender-responsive migration. This includes research work by the International Organization for Migration on the impacts that COVID-19 has had on migration and migrants from a gender perspective to inform policy and program responses over the short- and longer-term. In 2022-2023, IRCC also supported the Gender and Migration Research Policy Action Lab ("GenMig"), an IOM multi-stakeholder initiative focused on research for supporting gender-responsive policies, operations, programming and practices in migration.

In March 2022, Canada began funding a capacity building project with the International Organization for Migration to enhance the capacities of the Government of Bangladesh to deliver gender-responsive integrated services for safe and regular migration, and welfare of migrants, returnees and communities, especially women. While seeking to improve service delivery throughout the migration cycle in Bangladesh, the project encompasses a gender perspective to promote equitable access to services for all, with a focus on women migrant workers and other vulnerable migrants and returnees. IRCC’s funding will support the development of a roadmap for a gender-responsive service delivery mechanism, including redesigning service centers with gender sensitive spaces, counselling services, sensitization and training. This project also supports the ongoing development and validation of the all inclusive, gender sensitive National Reintegration Policy, including sessions on the gender dimensions of this policy and its impact on women migrant workers and other vulnerable groups.

I-3.2

IRCC engagements in bilateral and multilateral fora where Action Plan objectives were considered.

Results and progress

As part of Canada’s engagement in the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), IRCC co-launched in 2021 and has continued to actively contribute to the implementation of a global communications campaign called It Takes a Community (https://ittakesacommunity.org/). The campaign aims to promote a more balanced narrative on migration by sharing inclusive stories about the positive contributions of migrants, including migrant women and girls, to communities worldwide.

As the member of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), Canada participated in the Regional Congress on Women in Migratory Contexts in Mexico City in September 2021, as well as in the IV Regional Congress on Women in Migratory Contexts “Migrant Women: Agents of their own development, their families and communities” held in El Salvador in July 2022. These Congresses focused on challenges and recommendations regarding various factors that impact women and girls in the context of mobility, including gender equality, human rights, and autonomy.

In March 2023, Canada also participated in the International Dialogue on Migration on the Sustainable Development Goals in a session on strengthening migration data for action, insight, and foresight. Canada actively intervened to highlight the importance of disaggregated data that looks at intersectionality, and at the importance of applying a strong intersectional gender lens, which was well-received.

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