December 2024

Dana, my favourite instructor at my gym, seemed a little distracted. We were supposed to be doing hamstring curls, but she had us doing leg lifts. Syrian music, which she’s incorporated into her playlist, kept us on time as she realized her mistake and had us switch exercises. After class, she admitted that the music had made her emotional. ‘I have a country!’ she told me.

Dana, like many other Syrians who have made their way to Canada during its 13-year civil war, has family still in Syria who she hasn’t seen in years. Upon learning of the fall of the Assad regime, returning to visit or even returning permanently has become an option they thought they might never have.

For Syrians who came to Canada as refugees, returning to Syria could be problematic. Those who have become Canadian citizens enjoy mobility rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which grants the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada. Citizenship of former refugees will only be removed if they made false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances when applying for their status in Canada. However, the situation is more complex for refugees who have not yet become citizens.

Refugees who claim protection after arriving in Canada have their passports seized as part of the application process. Those arriving from overseas are granted a single journey travel document to come here. Canada will issue a refugee travel document, similar to a passport, to Convention refugees and protected persons in Canada. This document allows travel to any country other than their country of citizenship. Boarding a flight to Syria is (at least technically) impossible without a Canadian passport.

Flying to an adjacent country and travelling to Syria by land might be possible. The Syrian government could allow entry without a Syrian passport if other proof of Syrian nationality (like a birth certificate, identity card, or family booklet.) However, returning to one’s country of nationality can jeopardize one's status in Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows for a ‘cessation’ of refugee protection if the individual ‘has voluntarily reavailed themself of the protection of their country of nationality.’ The Canada Border Services Agency does not initiate cessation proceedings in all cases where someone travels to their country of nationality, and with the dramatic changes in Syria’s politics, there may be little institutional interest in Syrian nationals who travel there.

For individuals in Canada whose refugee claims are pending, where the claim is based on political opinion or other grounds based on fears of the Assad regime, their claims for protection are likely to fail. Claims for refugee protection are to be rejected where ‘ the reasons for which the person sought refugee protection have ceased to exist.’ These individuals may have other ways to stay in Canada, such as applying for status based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, but others will be returned to Syria.

Many European countries have paused Syrian refugee claims. Canada will not do the same; the number of Syrian refugee claimants in Canada is low, so Canada is not facing the same pressure as in other countries such as Germany and Austria. Further, claims can be based on other grounds, such as gender and sexual orientation. A change in the political climate in Syria may not make life in Syria any safer for individuals at risk of persecution on grounds other than political opinion.