VZCZCXRO9401
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0543/01 1971803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161803Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9664
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN PRIORITY 2356
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADRO/HQ ICE DRO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEPICA/USCIS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0575
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1344

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000543 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/MLGA (KRISTEN MCGEENY) AND WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PREL UN CA
SUBJECT: CANADIAN PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT TORTURE VICTIMS 
 
REF: STATE 70129 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  Canada avoids deporting individuals to any 
country where they would be at risk of persecution, torture, 
or cruel and unusual punishment.  With a few exceptions, 
anyone ordered removed from Canada may apply for a 
pre-removal risk assessment.  "Security certificate" 
legislation specifically bans the use of any evidence 
believed to have been obtained as a result of torture, but 
allows special restriction on individuals who are 
inadmissible to Canada but whose deportations could lead to 
torture in their home countries.  The Canadian Network for 
the Health of Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence 
which includes NGOs around Canada supports survivors of 
torture.  Canadian NGOs such as the Canadian Center for 
Victims of Torture regularly train Canadian immigration 
officers and adjudicators on how best to work with survivors 
of torture.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  Canadian regulations prohibit deporting  individuals 
to a country where they would be at risk of persecution, 
torture, or cruel and unusual punishment.  Individuals given 
a removal order from Canada can request a pre-removal risk 
assessment (PRRA) conducted by the Department of Citizenship 
and Immigration Canada (CIC), which will consider written 
evidence submitted by the claimant.  (Note: Individuals 
subject to extradition who came from a safe third country, 
who are recognized as a Convention Refugee by a country to 
which they can return, or who are repeat refugee protection 
claimants less than six months after previously leaving, are 
not eligible for a PRRA. End note.)  If CIC accepts the 
claim, Canada will grant "protected person" status, allowing 
the individual to apply for permanent residence.  If CIC 
rejects the claim, the individual may appeal to Canada's 
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) on humanitarian and 
compassionate grounds. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Under Canada's "security certificate" legislation, 
the government may detain and deport non-citizens (including 
permanent residents) whom the government deems inadmissible 
to Canada under various security-related provisions of the 
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).  The Minister 
of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism and the 
Minister of Public Safety must both sign a warrant for 
detention when the government considers that an individual 
presents a danger to national security and/or is unlikely to 
appear at a proceeding for removal.  The Federal Court must 
review the "reasonableness" of each request for a security 
certificate.  Persons subject to removal have the right to a 
PRRA conducted by CIC, subject to a further review by a 
Federal Court judge.  If the judge determines that a person 
faces a risk of torture or death in his/her country of origin 
greater than the risk he/she poses by remaining in Canada, 
the judge may stay the removal order and the individual may 
be detained pending deportation, or released subject to 
whatever monitoring the judge may deem appropriate. 
Security-screened lawyers known as "special advocates" have 
access to confidential evidence on which the government based 
its decision to seek security certificates.  Revised 
legislation in February 2008 specifically bans the use of any 
Qlegislation in February 2008 specifically bans the use of any 
evidence believed to have obtained as a result of torture. 
Five individuals remain under security certificates in lieu 
of deportation, but none are currently in formal detention 
facilities. 
 
Canadian Network for the Health of Survivors of Torture and 
Organized Violence (CanNet) 
---------------  -----------------  ------------------------- 
 ------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U)  Canadian NGOs actively support victims of torture, 
including Convention Refugees, asylum seekers, permanent 
residents, and others in need of treatment.  In 1993, the 
Canadian Center for Victims of Torture (CCVT) in Toronto, the 
Intervention Network for Persons Affected by Organized 
Violence (RIVO) in Montreal, and the Vancouver Association 
for Survivors of Torture (VAST) in British Columbia created 
the Canadian Network for the Health of Survivors of Torture 
and Organized Violence (CanNet).  CanNet builds coalitions 
across the country to protect and rehabilitate survivors of 
torture.  Survivors are referred by other institutions or may 
also be self-referred. 
 
OTTAWA 00000543  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  Other CanNet organizations include the Canadian 
Mental Health Association's Committee to Assist Survivors of 
War and Torture in Ottawa, the Cross Cultural Counseling 
Program in Winnipeg, the Edmonton Center for Survivors of 
Torture and Trauma, the Catholic Immigration Society's 
Support Program for Survivors of Torture in Calgary, and the 
Victoria Coalition for the Survivors of Torture in British 
Columbia.  Most of these NGOs are also members of the 
Canadian Council for Refugees.  The Canadian Refugee and 
Immigrant Counseling Services in Toronto, Needs Center for 
War Affected Families in Winnipeg, and "Cercle d'entraide 
pour les refugies ayant subi la violence 
organisee" in Quebec also support torture victims. 
 
Canadian Center for Victims of Torture (CCVT) 
------------------  ------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U)  The Toronto-based Canadian Center for Victims of 
Torture (CCVT) helps survivors integrate into Canadian 
society and raises awareness of the effects of torture and 
war on survivors.  It offers mental health counseling, crisis 
intervention, art therapy, education (including English as a 
Second Language and computer training), coordinated 
professional services, and support groups (which have 
included a Somali Women's Group, African Women's Group, 
Albanian Family Group, and Iranian Men and Women's Groups). 
A group of doctors, lawyers, and social service professionals 
founded CCVT in 1983 to provide specialized counseling.  It 
is reportedly the second oldest facility in the world.  In 
2003, the CCVT received accreditation from the International 
Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.  The CCVT's 
volunteer board includes educators, former service users, and 
community activists. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  With support from the UN Voluntary Fund for 
Torture Victim, CCVT has conducted international cooperation 
projects, including rehabilitation centers in Central 
America, South Africa, and Ethiopia.  CCVT also collaborates 
closely with U.S. NGOs.  Since its establishment, CCVT has 
assisted over 14,000 torture survivors from more than 136 
countries.  CCVT Executive Director Mulugeta Abai told Poloff 
that CCVT had treated 1,800 survivors from 73 countries in 
2008 alone.  According to Abai, CIC provides over 80 percent 
of its C$1.3 million budget.  Other funders include the 
governments of Ontario province and the City of Toronto. 
CCVT regularly provides training about torture and its impact 
on survivors to CIC, the Department of Foreign Affairs and 
International Trade (DFAIT), and the Immigration and Refugee 
Board (IRB), educating immigration officers and other front 
line workers.  Training is tailored to the needs of 
government agency. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  According to CIC Training Coordinator Kathleen 
Nectoux, CIC's refugee adjudication course features a special 
module on interviewing techniques for "sensitive" applicants, 
covering victims of gender-based violence and torture, 
including how to detect and approach such cases. 
 
Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST) 
----------------------  ----------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Established in 1986, the Vancouver Association for 
Survivors of Torture (VAST) offers survivors psychological 
QSurvivors of Torture (VAST) offers survivors psychological 
and somatic therapy, counseling, and legal assistance while 
raising public awareness about torture and encouraging 
sensitivity towards survivors.  For many years, VAST observed 
the UN Day in Support of Victims of Torture by holding a 
public gathering called "Roses and Thorns," in which staff, 
volunteers, torture survivors and their families handed out 
roses with information sheets about torture.  VAST Executive 
Director Christine Thomas told Poloff that its clients 
largely originate from Mexico, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, 
Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
 
Intervention Network for Persons Affected by Organized 
Violence (RIVO) 
---------- ----------------- ------------------  -------- 
---------- 
 
¶10.  (U)  The Montreal-based Intervention Network for Persons 
Affected by Organized Violence (RIVO) was established in 
 
OTTAWA 00000543  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶1990.  RIVO treated 459 victims in 2008, averaging 22 hours 
of therapy per torture victim.  The UN Voluntary Fund for 
Victims of Torture, the Canadian Government's Interim Federal 
Health Plan, and the Quebec Provincial Government's Ministry 
of Health and Social Services provide funding for RIVO.  RIVO 
partnered with a Rwandan NGO to support children orphaned by 
the genocide and the loss of parents to AIDS, and who are now 
heads of household caring for siblings.  In 2008, RIVO 
treated victims from 62 countries, including Mexico (144 
individuals), India (53), Colombia (41), Cameroon (22), 
Nigeria (18), Democratic Republic of Congo (17), and Rwanda 
(12). 
 
Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
 
BREESE