On Saturday, March 15, the Refugee Parliament, in partnership with the International Development Studies Student Association (IDSSA), The Refugee Centre, and the McGill Refugees Research Group, hosted the Refugee Parliament Conference. Created in Fall 2022 by Alessia Mottet, Maria Radu, Saadet Serra, and Shona Moreau as part of their SWRK 400 (Policy and Practice for Refugees) course project, the conference’s first edition took place in 2023, with this year marking its second iteration. 

The event focused on drafting two resolutions addressing the political inclusion and civic participation of refugees and migrants in Quebec, as well as ways to strengthen their integration into Quebec’s francophone culture and their access to higher education. The event featured collaborative discussions and workshops from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Levon Sevunts, Communications Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), delivered a speech at the beginning of the event discussing the importance of these spaces and the contribution of immigrants to Quebec and Canadian society.

Mikaël Lam-Lussier, U2 Arts and Vice President of Outreach and Finance for the Refugee Parliament, highlighted McGill’s large immigrant population, emphasizing that the conference resonates with many students in an interview with The Tribune.

“A good amount of the McGill population are immigrants, and because of that they should also be represented in both McGill as a school and also in the Quebec and Canadian governments,” he said.  “Even though maybe they don’t have voting rights […], they’re still people that are in our society, and they are also contributing. Maybe some of them are going to become citizens in the future. Maybe they’re going to stay in Canada, or they’re going to get employment. So because of that, we really want them to be represented at various different levels and to integrate well.”

Out of the over 20 attendees, most of whom were students, several told The Tribune that their motivation for attending stemmed from personal experiences as refugees, migrants, or allies to these communities.

Anastasiia Yemets, MA3 Education, shared her reason for being present at the event.

“I decided to come because it’s very much related to, first of all, my personal experience,” she said. “[The] second thing is that I’m working with refugees and doing my research on refugees’ experiences [and] I’m an immigrant myself. I do really love that this initiative […] is happening. I feel it’s very much important to talk and be here, especially in the context of the global refugee and immigrant crisis.”

Additionally, Sofia Figueredo Prieto, U2 Arts and an immigrant to Canada, highlighted the lack of similar events in postsecondary institutions.

“As an immigrant here in Quebec, I have barely seen this type of event taking place especially in postsecondary institutions like McGill or my Cégep,” she stressed. “I think learning about experiences and opinions of the immigrant community here, in Quebec and in Canada in general, is really important, not only to address important issues concerning immigration, but also important issues concerning Quebec and Canadian society.”

From another perspective, Susana Baquero Salah, U3 Arts, shared how her interest in the refugee experience had been heightened by humanitarian crises in the Middle East, particularly the Syrian refugee crisis. The conference provided an opportunity for her to learn more about the struggles refugees face in Quebec.

“I feel like this Refugee Parliament conference was a great opportunity to be able to exchange more ideas about what it means to be a refugee in Quebec, more specifically, like applying it to the local context,” she said.

An essential aspect of the conference was its inclusion and discussions of the distinct challenges faced by refugees and immigrants from the Global South. Their reasons for migrating to Quebec often contrast with those from developed countries, making it crucial to incorporate their perspectives and create a safe space for them to share their concerns.

“It’s also helpful to understand the context behind an immigrant, say whether they are an economic immigrant or a refugee, or asylum seeker,” Prieto told The Tribune. “I’ve noticed that it’s harder for people from developed countries to empathize or relate with experiences of people from developing countries.” 

The conference aims to impact policy change, with draft resolutions that will be shared with Quebec policymakers in the coming weeks. As Baquero Salah explained, refugees are directly impacted by the policies being discussed, which makes their input crucial.

“We have to listen to refugees’ perspectives and what they bring to the table when we’re making policies that affect them directly,” she said.

 Jasmine Zhao, President of the Refugee Parliament Conference club and co-founder of the conference, emphasized the importance of sharing these concerns with policymakers.

“[Having] the power to at least make a little change or let the policymakers know what we think about the existing laws or how we could be better integrated into this country, [is] something that’s very much needed,” she added. “We can not only voice our concerns, voice how we are feeling about things, but also establish a sense of community, unity, inspire each other and bring new resolutions to these matters.”

Zhao also explained that while the McGill community offers tremendous support with several professors and student organizations fighting for refugee and migrant voices to be heard, McGill as an institution could support its students in more practical ways.

“What universities can do better is to actually actively listen [to] their students’ voices and have more surveys or student bonding groups or club events that are tailored towards the refugee or migrant group,” Zhao stated. “[When it comes to] visas, tax forms, [students] need a lot of guidance on these kinds of issues because the policies are usually very different from their home countries.”

Many attendees also suggested ways McGill could improve its support for refugees and migrants.

“They could give a larger list of either tools that could help, such as access, for example, to healthcare and access to legal help, more help finding housing, especially for people that are just coming over and aren’t fully proficient in either French or English; that can be very difficult,” Lam-Lussier explained.

Looking ahead, the organizers aim to increase the conference’s reach and continue advocating for migrant and refugee rights through policy engagement and increased student involvement.

“We hope to expand [the conference] to have more participants, refugees, and migrants joining in every year to amplify their voices and to find their sense of community. We are supported by the UNHCR, the Montreal Refugee Centre, the McGill Refugee Research Group, many McGill professors, as well as the IDSSA. We hope to get more support in the future […] and more outreach in the coming years,” Zhao said.

Find the Refugee Parliament on Instagram to help support more of their events.