Unaccompanied/Separated Minors and Refugee Protection in Canada: Filling Information Gaps

Authors

  • Judith Wouk Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  • Soojin Yu Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  • Lisa Roach Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  • Jessie Thomson Citizenship and Immigration Canada
  • Anmarie Harris Citizenship and Immigration Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.21360

Keywords:

Canada, unaccompanied minors, separated children, minor refugees, refugee protection, demographics

Abstract

This paper fills information gaps with regard to unaccompanied/ separated minors in Canada. By the means of reviewing Citizenship and Immigration Canada administrative databases, it investigates how many unaccompanied/separated refugee minors exist, who they are, and how they are received in Canada.We found that there were fewer truly unaccompanied minors than previously reported. In the asylum stream, only 0.63 per cent (or 1,087) of the total claimant population were found to be unaccompanied by adults in the past five years. In the resettlement stream only two truly unaccompanied minors were resettled during 2003 and 2004. Regarding their socio-demographic characteristics, we found that unaccompanied minors compose a highly heterogeneous group from many different countries. Regarding how they were received in Canada, very little evidence existed. Our study found that unaccompanied and separated asylum-seeking minors showed a higher acceptance rate and quicker processing times than the adult population, but details about the minors’ actual reception into Canada remains to be further explored. This study recommends that Citizenship and Immigration Canada review its administrative databases with a view toward improving the data about separated/unaccompanied children. Consistent and detailed definitions are required to develop a comprehensive policy framework for unaccompanied/ separated minor refugees in Canada.
Citations
  • Policy Citations: 1
Captures
  • Readers: 13

Metrics

PDF views
980
Jan 2007Jul 2007Jan 2008Jul 2008Jan 2009Jul 2009Jan 2010Jul 2010Jan 2011Jul 2011Jan 2012Jul 2012Jan 2013Jul 2013Jan 2014Jul 2014Jan 2015Jul 2015Jan 2016Jul 2016Jan 2017Jul 2017Jan 2018Jul 2018Jan 2019Jul 2019Jan 2020Jul 2020Jan 2021Jul 2021Jan 2022Jul 2022Jan 2023Jul 2023Jan 2024Jul 2024Jan 2025Jul 2025Jan 202630
|

Published

2006-12-01

How to Cite

Wouk, J., Yu, S., Roach, L., Thomson, J., & Harris, A. (2006). Unaccompanied/Separated Minors and Refugee Protection in Canada: Filling Information Gaps. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 23(2), 125–138. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.21360

Similar Articles

<< < 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.