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FCJ Refugee CENTRE

FCJ Refugee CENTRE. walking with uprooted people. Learning Through Law: A legal information training for ELL teachers across Ontario. Presented by the FCJ Refugee Centre. Introduction. What place (if any) does legal education have in an ELL classroom?

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FCJ Refugee CENTRE

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  1. FCJ Refugee CENTRE walking with uprooted people

  2. Learning Through Law: A legal information training for ELL teachers across Ontario Presented by the FCJ Refugee Centre

  3. FCJ Refugee Centre

  4. Introduction • What place (if any) does legal education have in an ELL classroom? • What legal issues have come up in your experience working with English language learners? How were these issues addressed? FCJ Refugee Centre

  5. The Benefits of Public Legal Education (PLE) • Builds valuable cross-sectoral partnerships • Encourages applicable language development • Raises awareness of current legislative and policy changes that are impacting ELL students • Promotes autonomy for different precarious migrant populations • Reduces precarity and risk FCJ Refugee Centre

  6. Challenges to promoting PLE in the ESL classroom • Navigating complicated legal processes • Introducing students to foreign and intrusive systems without proper support measures • Accountability, or perceived accountability of schools • Lack of Anti-Oppression • Potential to de-emphasize self-determination • Remember… your role isn’t to give legal advice! FCJ Refugee Centre

  7. Key areas of support identified by students and Toronto ELL professionals: 1. Housing: How do I break a lease? What are my rights in a homestay? 2. Employment: What do I need to work? What are my rights as an employee in Canada? 3. Health: What access to healthcare do I have? What do I need to know in an emergency? FCJ Refugee Centre

  8. Key areas of support identified by students and Toronto ELL professionals: 4. Immigration: How can I stay here longer? How can I stay here permanently? 5. Criminal law: If I’m stopped by the police, do I need to show my ID? What are the implications for me of a criminal charge? 6. Other areas of law: How do I break a gym contract? What do I do if my passport is stolen? How do I fight a parking ticket? FCJ Refugee Centre

  9. Housing and Tenancy Common Issues Resources Tenant’s Hotline (416)921-9494 The tenant survival manual www.torontotenants.org Community Legal Education Ontario www.cleo.org A combination of a lack of awareness of Canadian housing procedures and widespread discrimination in the housing market puts many ELL students in precarious situations. FCJ Refugee Centre

  10. Labour Common Issues Resources The Worker’s Action Centre (416)531-0778 www.workersactioncentre.org FCJ Refugee Centre (416)469-9754 www.fcjrefugeecentre.org Community Legal Education Ontario www.cleo.org The level of difficulty and risk that ELL students face when accessing employment often depends on their immigration status; regardless, it is important for students to be informed of their rights and mechanisms for complaint and protection FCJ Refugee Centre

  11. Health Common Issues Resources Health for All Clinics for Uninsured: Jane St. 416-760-2815 Markham Rd. 416-264-4446 FCJ Refugee Centre Community Health Centres Recent policy changes have made it increasingly difficult for certain migrant populations to access the healthcare they need; reduced access to healthcare impacts many other aspects of our students’ well-being FCJ Refugee Centre

  12. Avenues to Permanency Options Resources CIC website FCJ Refugee Centre orientation sessions CLEO CCR • Skilled worker class • Temporary foreign workers • Visitors • Students • Refugees • Sponsorship • Humanitarian and Compassionate applications • Provincial Nominee FCJ Refugee Centre

  13. Avenues to Permanency Recent changes have taken place to Canadian immigration and refugee policies that may impact certain groups of students, including: • Family class • Economic class • Provincial nominee • Refugees FCJ Refugee Centre

  14. If the authorities detain Common Issue Remember Phone a friend or relative The Refugee Law Office (416) 977-8111 TRAC (416) 401 8537 • Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and any Police officer can intercept, detain and/or arrest non-status “foreign nationals” wherever they find them, with or without a warrant of arrest. FCJ Refugee Centre

  15. Permanent residents and criminal admissibility Bill C-43 What you can do… Encourage permanent residents to apply for citizenship as soon as they are eligible, for themselves and their children. Citizens cannot be deported. “The faster removal of foreign criminals act…” Under new rules permanent residents will be deported to their country of origin without access to any appeal if they are sentenced in Canada to prison for 6 months or more for a crime, or commit certain crimes abroad, no matter what sentence received… FCJ Refugee Centre

  16. Permanent residents and criminal admissibility Examples of affected persons: A permanent resident is convicted of a drug related offence and sentenced to one year imprisonment under the new mandatory minimum sentence rules. Since the sentence is more than six months, this person faces deportation without any opportunity to appeal the decision… A 19-year-old permanent resident uses a fake ID to try to get into a bar in the United States. She admits this to a Canadian immigration officer. Using a false document is a crime punishable in Canada by up to 10 years imprisonment – she is therefore inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality. Even though she was not charged or convicted in the US, she could face deportation from Canada without any opportunity to appeal the decision. FCJ Refugee Centre

  17. Sources for Information Common Issues Resources CIC CCR CARL CLEO FCJ Refugee Centre orientation sessions Some lawyers do orientation free of charge (e.g. Adela Crossley) Student may seek legal information from a variety of sources including: lawyers, legal clinics, immigration consultants and community organizations FCJ Refugee Centre

  18. Summary How can we support students and safely and appropriately promote legal rights? • Recognize our role as “trusted intermediaries” and commit to working in an anti-racist, anti-oppressive environment (ARAO) • Prioritize self-determination and autonomy when promoting PLE • Connect with wider community and resources • Work toward the development of promising practices • Develop and use materials in the classroom that raise visibility of legal issues FCJ Refugee Centre

  19. Thank-you! For further information or to book further workshops for your school, please contact: Carolina Teves at cteves@fcjrefugeecentre.org (416)469-9754 x 226

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