Of Gods and Monsters: National Security and Canadian Refugee Policy
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Authors
Aiken, Sharryn J.
Date
2001-11
Type
journal article
Language
en
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Abstract
The fiftieth anniversary year of the 1951 Convention affords an appropriate juncture to tum our gaze to the pledges Canada has made as a signatory state and the extent to which Canadian refugee policy has been "securitized" at the expense of vulnerable refugees and the very objectives the Convention was designed to address. Through the lens of the legal standards established by the Convention as well as complementary international norms and jurisprudence, this paper considers Canada's contemporary record on refugee issues with specific reference to the national security dimension of domestic policy. The author begins by tracing the evolution of refugee law and policy during the Cold War period, as well as parallel developments in the area of immigration security. The primary focus then tums to the anti-terrorism and security measures implemented by the federal govemment in 1992, together with proposals for reform under review in the Canadian Senate. The author concludes by locating the coordinates of an alternative approach to national security, one which incorporates the legal standards and normative values codified in the Refugee Convention. lt is an approach that is premised on the overarching objective of bridging the chasm between "civilized self' and "barbarie other," of enhancing human security for refugees and host population alike.
Description
This article is also available at the publisher's website at https://www.persee.fr/issue/rqdi_0828-9999_2001_num_14_2
Citation
Aiken, Sharryn J., "Of Gods and Monsters: National Security and Canadian Refugee Policy " (2001). 14 Revue quebecoise de droit international (Quebec Journal of International Law) 2. 1-51
Publisher
Société québécoise de droit international
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External DOI
ISSN
2561-6994