The Importance Of Refugees In Canada

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Towards the asylum seekers who are illegally crossing the border into Canada due to fear from recent changes to the US immigration policy, Canada should lift the Safe Third World Agreement with the US and lift the cap on the number of privately sponsored refugees allowed in. Doing so would eliminate the need for illegal crossings because the Agreement prevents these asylum seekers from requesting refugee status at official borders and would allow for more people to seek refuge in Canada. Canada is morally obligated to do so based on Peter Singer’s theory on our duty to provide aid and on Thomas Pogge’s causation and responsibility model. There are increasing amounts of people coming from the US hoping to get a refugee status granted to them …show more content…

As Singer says, "if we can help without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, then we ought to help” (1972); therefore, it is quite evident that we are in the position to help, as letting in more refugees will not lead to us sacrificing anything comparable to what the refugees are facing. Overall, Canada as a country is quite wealthy and is capable of supporting more people. Although we may be at different levels of wealth, overall, we are quite privileged. We also have an obligation to refugees because these people are not normal immigrants. These people are seeking a safe place to settle, as they have no other choice but to turn to other countries for protection. If they had the choice, they would not want to leave, whereas, normal immigrants are coming into Canada voluntarily (Parekh, S., …show more content…

The US is no longer following this obligation and therefore, should no longer be deemed as a safe place for refugees. What does this mean for Canada? We have a moral obligation to provide a safe place to refugees, especially because we are within reach, and are capable. There are innocent people in grave danger; if we can help, then we should (Singer, 1972). By fleeing their own country, refugees are essentially petitioning other states to address their right to protection (Blake, M., 2016). “Even if integration is a difficult process, that process seems morally obligatory, [especially] when the alternative is the literal destruction of human lives” (Blake, M., 2016). It is evident that the US is no longer fit to decide what is safeguarding them and what poses a threat to them, as it seems that they are unable realize they are the source of the threats posed towards these refugees who initially went to them looking for safety and are asking for

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