Family reunification became almost impossible because Canada does not allow family reunification for Convention refugees. We now have Somali Convention refugees who arrived in 1992 or earlier, who have been separated from their spouses and children for almost seven years. Tragically, in many cases the separation will be permanent, because spouses and dependants have died abroad. Violations of family unity rooted in social condition. We are also concerned with the violations of Covenant rights which stem directly from the government introduction of cost recovery in almost every aspect of immigration, particularly family reunification.
Fees are payable for most immigration department services, except removal procedures.
We have included at Tab 6, No.8, a case example of how cost recovery has resulted in the denial of family reunification for Mr. Kamba, a Convention refugee from Kenya, who is disabled and unable to afford the processing fees or the right of landing fees from his disability pension, which is well below the poverty line. Many others are denied family reunification because of immigration fees. In particular disabled adults and single mothers with dependant children are unable to pay the fees because of the documented rates of poverty these groups experience, a situation on which the Committee appears to be well briefed. In addition to the fees payable directly to the Canadian government, there is an alarming movement towards requiring DNA testing to prove paternity and maternity where documents do not exist. States are exhorted to implement measure to facilitate family reunification of refugees without undue delay, particularly when the head of the family has been admitted as a refugee.