Foreign Secretary meets with Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Canada

On Tuesday, 17 January 2023, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud met with Ms. Marian Campbell Jarvis, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Programme Policy, at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), at her office in Ottawa, Canada.

Mr. Persaud and Ms. Campbell Jarvis underscored the importance of the Los Angeles Declaration to hemispheric cooperation on the issues related to irregular migration in the area and determining the best means of addressing the challenges of this phenomenon, both for national governments and those who are migrants.  Issues such as language differences, opportunities for employment, education and registration were highlighted as specific matters that must be focused on as they impact the resettlement of refugees and migrants.

In recognition of the fact that Guyana and Canada are Co-chairs of the Action Package Group on Legal Pathways and Protection – Refugee Resettlement and Complementary Pathways, the two officials emphasized the need to share ideas within the group on the initiatives and mechanisms that are employed by individual States of the group to address the issues related to this area of responsibility.  Both sides agreed that there will be best practices and mistakes to learn from each member State.  The Member States of this group are Canada, Guyana, Mexico, the United States and Uruguay. In that context, it was agreed that an early meeting of this Action Group will be proposed.