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SIXTH
INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE WORKSHOP 35:
Refugee Claimants and Their Labour Market Impact 2 sessions: Wednesday, November
28, 2001 1:00-17:30
and Thursday November 29 16:00 - 17:30
ORGANIZER Elizabeth Ruddick
Director, Strategic Research and Review
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1L2
Tel: (613) 957-5907
Fax: (613) 957-5936
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
Unlike refugees selected from
precarious situations abroad ("resettled refugees"), refugees
who have been through an inland determination process (asylum seekers/refugee
claimants) may live in the country for a considerable period of time prior
to receiving a decision that they may remain permanently. While Canada
and most European countries are facing growing pressures from asylum seekers,
the situation in European countries is far more acute than that in Canada.
Certain countries are proposing new ways to deliver basic essentials to
asylum seekers awaiting determination of their claims, and legal access
to the labour market varies across countries. To date, little research has
been done on the characteristics of these refugee claimants or on their
financial circumstances before being allowed to remain in a country of
asylum. This is an important silence given that prior to receiving approval
to remain, claimants may, or may not, be eligible to take paid employment,
to collect social assistance or to pay employment insurance premiums.
In short, asylum claims are associated with both economic costs and contributions. The following questions will
be explored in this workshop: What are the social and labour market impacts
of refugee claimants/asylum seekers? How do successful asylum seekers
support themselves if they are permitted to stay? What provisions are
made for a refugee claimant's basic needs? How do refugee claimants access
the labour market? What are the impacts of legal entitlements (e.g. work
permits) and other pre-determination characteristics on labour market
participation and utilization of public income support programs? What
is the participation rate of asylum seekers? Are persons in certain demographic
groups more likely to find work? What segment of the labour market do
refugee claimants occupy? How do the pre-determination status, rights
and economic situation influence post-determination performance? What
can be learned from the experiences of different countries? Are labour
market impacts similar? Note: The terms refugee claimant
and asylum seekers have been used interchangeably. A "positive determination"
that the asylum seeker is, in fact, a refugee may lead to a range of possibilities,
(depending on the country) from the right to remain indefinitely in the
country, to the right to apply for permanent resident status (e.g. in
Canada, Australia) which may lead to acquisition of citizenship.
PRESENTERS:
Session 1: Wednesday November
28, 16:00 - 17:30
Chair:
Elizabeth Ruddick, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada
e-mail: elizabeth.ruddick@8754bss.cina.cic.x400.gc.ca
Presenters:
(1) Philip Muus, Malmo University, Sweden. "To work or not to work.
Asylum
Seekers in the Netherlands between hope and labour market needs"
e-mail: philip.muus@imer.mah.se
(2) Khalid Koser, University College London, United Kingdom. "Asylum
Seekers
in the UK Labour Market: What the Data Tell Us" e-mail: kkoser@geog.ucl.ac.uk
(3) Craig Dougherty, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada. "Inland
Determination Refugees Before and After Landing"e-mail: craig.dougherty@8754bss.cina.cic.x400.gc.ca
Discussant:
Peter Ward, Home Office, United Kingdom e-mail: peter.ward@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk _______________________________________________________ Session 2: Thursday November
29, 16:00 - 17:30
Chair:
Elizabeth Ruddick, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada e-mail:
elizabeth.ruddick@8754bss.cina.cic.x400.gc.ca
Presenters:
(1) Dieteke van der Ree, Erasmus University, the Netherlands. "A
Flood or
a Dripping Tap? Some Thoughts About Local Labour Market Integration of
Refugees: the Case of Rotterdam" e-mail: vanderree@frg.eur.nl
(2) Pieter Bevelander, Malmo University, Sweden. "The Employment
Integration of Refugees in Sweden, 1970 - 1995" e-mail: pieter.bevelander@imer.mah.se
Discussant: TBA
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