Beyond Borders: Cosmopolitanism and Family Reunification for Refugees in Canada

Canada has committed to facilitate family reunification for refugees in both domestic and international law; however, Canada's current family reunification policies are insufficient. The imperfect implementation of family reunification in Canadian law may illustrate a deeper tension in refugee law, between cosmopolitanism and statism. Refugees are accepted in Canada based on cosmopolitan principles. Family reunification, on the other hand, is governed by Canadian immigration law, which adopts a more bordered approach to global migration. The Tibetan community in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto is experiencing particular difficulties with family reunification. This community illustrates that reform of Canada's current family reunification program may be insufficient. A more radical shift may be required, to position family unity as a fundamental human right that, as with the right to freedom from persecution, takes precedence over state sovereignty.