{"id":433,"date":"2025-05-15T22:48:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T22:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/?p=433"},"modified":"2025-05-15T22:53:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T22:53:23","slug":"three-ways-canada-can-welcome-and-support-scientists-displaced-by-war-and-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/2025\/05\/15\/three-ways-canada-can-welcome-and-support-scientists-displaced-by-war-and-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"Three ways Canada can welcome and support scientists displaced by war and\u00a0persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Christina Clark-Kazak and Norah Vollmer <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian government recently introduced significant changes to immigration policy<\/a>. Missing from their initiatives is a strategic approach to welcoming and supporting researchers and artists who face threats to their life, liberty or research career<\/a> in their home countries.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Christina Clark-Kazak <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Drawing on the experiences of Scholars at Risk (SAR) programs in Canada<\/a> and abroad, along with research in Europe<\/a>, my co-author and I propose three recommendations to scale up and institutionalize efforts to support displaced researchers and artists to ensure Canada remains among the world\u2019s top destinations for talent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an era of growing global displacement<\/a>, there\u2019s an increasing number of people claiming asylum<\/a> in Canada, which also continues to be a world leader in refugee resettlement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Norah Vollmer<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

SAR\u2019s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project<\/a> and Free to Think<\/a> report both document increasing threats facing researchers and artists around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People do not lose their knowledge and expertise when they cross borders. But they often face structural barriers due to language, precarious immigration status and decreased access to academic funding, libraries, labs, resources and networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, there are several promising practices to support displaced researchers and artists, both internationally and in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current initiatives in Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A patchwork of international programs accessible in Canada exist, like the Scholars at Risk Network<\/a>. Some offer modest financial fellowships such as the Institute of International Education\u2019s Scholars Rescue Fund<\/a> and Artist Protection Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On campuses across Canada, SAR committees<\/a> welcome colleagues displaced by war and persecution. For example, at Carleton University<\/a> and the University of Ottawa<\/a>, these committees raise funds, co-ordinate academic support and help colleagues navigate immigration policies and settlement services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationally, there are mentoring programs like the Royal Society of Canada\u2019s At-Risk and Displaced Academics and Artist<\/a> initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These important initiatives open up opportunities for researchers and artists to continue their work in exile. However, many current programs rely on discretionary funding and voluntary labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of co-ordination results in duplication of efforts as initiatives are replicated across the country. Researchers who are invited as visiting scholars may also be refused visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current limitations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Visa challenges, in fact, illustrate the limitations in the Canadian government approach, which is siloed across different federal government departments, including Global Affairs Canada (GAC)<\/a>, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)<\/a>, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISEDC)<\/a> and Employment, Skills and Development Canada (ESDC)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lack of co-ordination is exacerbated by provincial jurisdiction over education policy and shared federal-provincial responsibilities for immigration and science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s approach has also been primarily reactive rather than proactive. The current approach does not address systemic challenges, nor create consistent opportunities for all researchers and artists displaced by war and persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We propose three key recommendations to leverage and scale up initiatives for displaced scientists through a co-ordinated, national and multi-sectoral plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendation 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Co-ordinate government-led programs across GAC, IRCC, ISED and ESDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend a designated, complementary pathway for scientists, artists and journalists at risk, within the Economic Mobility Pathways Project<\/a> and\/or as a separate program like the Human Rights Defenders resettlement scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recommendation draws on international experiences, such as the Program for Scientists and Artists in Exile<\/a> in France and the Philipp Schwartz Initiative<\/a> in Germany. These programs are entrenched nationally with government funding and accelerated visas and work permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendation 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Launch specific initiatives within national and provincial education and research agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2022 Special Response Fund for Trainees (Ukraine)<\/a> by Canada\u2019s three federal research funding agencies and the Ukrainian Emergency Research Support Program through Research Nova Scotia<\/a> offer two promising practices that should be scaled up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We propose expanding such partnerships with education\/research agencies to all at-risk researchers of any nationality, similar to programs in Finland<\/a> and Switzerland<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such initiatives use existing funding and reporting avenues among various levels of government and universities. They also build on research priorities, programs and collaborations between Canadian researchers and \u201chighly qualified personnel of different nationalities and cultures in the shared pursuit of scientific excellence<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendation 3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Invest in a sustainable national co-ordination mechanism for campus-based programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While SAR Canada does important work, it remains a loose network, with limited funding, organizational sustainability, and sharing of lessons learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, almost one-third of Canada\u2019s 100 universities are members of SAR Canada, demonstrating strong support across the university system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A funded national body, such as the Council for At-Risk Academic (CARA)<\/a> in the United Kingdom or the Bratislava Policy Institute<\/a> in Slovakia, could better co-ordinate and amplify activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A triple win<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our three recommended approaches would mean a triple win for Canada. First, our proposal would establish viable, permanent immigration pathways for displaced scientists and artists, thereby fulfilling our international humanitarian commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, our proposed approach would provide Canadian industry, higher education institutions and governments with in-demand skills, knowledge and talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, it would help preserve knowledge, culture and science for current and future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Christina Clark-Kazak<\/a> is a Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. Norah Vollmer is a founding member and co-chair of Carleton University\u2019s Scholars at Risk program<\/a>.<\/em> This article initially appeared in The Conversation<\/em><\/a> in September 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christina Clark-Kazak and Norah Vollmer The Canadian government recently introduced significant changes to immigration policy. Missing from their initiatives is a strategic approach to welcoming and supporting researchers and artists who face threats to their life, liberty or research career in their home countries. Drawing on the experiences of Scholars at Risk (SAR) programs in Canada and abroad, along … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/scholars-at-risk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}