Canada’s 5th Gender Equality Week is being observed in the country to promote equality for all newcomers. The campaign is held every year in September, and the Government determines a theme for it. 

This year’s campaign theme is United for Gender Equality: Stronger Together. 

The central purpose of Gender Equality Week is to raise awareness of the diverse identities of Canadians and to boost the inclusiveness for all, irrespective of their gender, sexual orientation, racial background, and education. 

Canada’s 5th Gender Equality Week Promotes Equality for All. 

Canada’s all government departments are obliged to apply GBA, i.e., Gender-Based Analysis Plus, to their new as well as existing policies and programs. This must be applied both internally and externally. 

This implies that things should be reviewed in terms of how different groups of people would perceive them, and differences should be discovered. 

According to the Canadian Government, gender equality in the country can only be accomplished when individuals of all genders, including men, women, trans, and gender-diverse people, have equal opportunities in every field and may reach their full potential in society. This is also true for new immigrants to Canada. The Department of IRCC ( Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada) invests heavily in programs (funds and resources) in order to support women, gender-diverse people, as well as the 2SLGBTQ+ community of new immigrants. 

Canada’s Settlement programs for women and gender-diverse new immigrants. 

Particularly for new immigrant women, IRCC has collaborated with over 400 settlement organizations in Canada. These associations seek to educate newcomer women about their options if they are in an abusive situation. They help them become independent both financially and socially. 

For example, IRCC declared on January 2023 that it would provide funding of $5.8 million for ten schemes managed under the Racialized Women Newcomers Pilot Program. This program is intended to assist racialized new immigrant women in learning the skills required to obtain work in Canada and navigate daily living in the new country. 

In addition to this, the government is attempting to make childcare more accessible and inexpensive in order to encourage more women to enter the labor force in Canada. To support this, the government’s ultimate objective is to provide $10-a-day childcare across the country by 2026 

IRCC further stated that the Early Learning and Childcare Infrastructure Fund intends to promote childcare facilities for underserved communities (rural and remote regions), expensive and low-income urban communities, and communities facing access challenges like racialized groups and new immigrants. 

Furthermore, Canada collaborates with settlement organizations like the Rainbow Railroad to assist 2SLGBTQI+ refugee immigrants and their families in settling and thriving in Canada. 

New Immigrants to Canada and Gender-based Violence  

Canada’s 5th Gender Equality Week is encouraging equality for all. However, one of the major challenges to establishing equality in Canada is eliminating gender-based discrimination. 

According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, immigrant women in Canada are more susceptible to domestic violence for various reasons. These include language barriers, economic dependence, and a lack of understanding about the community options. 

It also claims that new immigrants who have experienced trauma from war or oppressive governments are substantially hesitant to disclose physical or sexual violence to the authorities. This is particularly true for Women immigrants who are sponsored by abusive partners or spouses. This is because many of them fear that if they leave their sponsor, they will be deported. 

This has previously happened in Canada. The sponsored partners or spouses of some Canadian citizens or permanent residents (PRs) were required to live with their sponsor partners or spouses in order to maintain their permanent resident status. 

However, this condition is no longer in place. This means that obtaining and maintaining permanent residence status no longer requires living with a sponsor. 

Irrespective of gender identity, if a new immigrant experiences gender-based violence in Canada, they are permitted to leave their sponsor. Also, they are eligible to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). 

Canada’s TRP-Temporary Resident Permit 

A Canadian TRP is a document provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to individuals who are inadmissible to Canada to enter the country. 

Who is Eligible for a TRP: The Eligibility Criteria 

• Candidates of the family class or SCLPC class, i.e., spouse or common-law partner in Canada class, are eligible for the TRP if they have already left their sponsor due to violence or haven’t yet left their sponsor due to the fear of losing their immigration status. 
• Candidates who could not evaluated for permanent residence status as their sponsor (abusive common-law partner or spouse) has canceled their family class or SCLPC class sponsorship are eligible for a TRP. 
• Individuals who have been deceived by their abusive partners or spouses into believing that their application for permanent residency under family class or SCLPC class has been submitted and is under process. However, in reality, no application has been submitted. Such individuals are eligible for a TRP. 

• Temporary residents are eligible for a TRP who want to apply for permanent residence through a relationship that has turned abusive, but they haven’t applied yet. 

According to the IRCC, a TRP might provide individuals a coverage for trauma counselling and additional healthcare benefits. Besides a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), individuals may also apply for a fee-exempt work permit.