These refugees in Kenya were promised jobs in Canada. At the 11th hour, the employer cancelled the offer

A continuing give care organisation in Nova Scotia has rescinded book of job offers it had been extending to refugees for thomas more than ii years, leaving the displaced people without a path out of some of the largest refugee camps in the world.

"After hearing that information, I was very traumatized. Even up to now, I'm depressed," said Juma Asukulu Shauri, a 33-year-old refugee who has been living at Kakuma, a United Nations refugee camp in northwestern Kenya, for 16 years.

According to the global humanitarian organization RefugePoint, Shauri is one of 18 refugees whose job offers were rescinded by Northwood — which provides long-term care, home care and retirement living in Nova Scotia — after they were invited to come to Canada through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), a federal program designed to help skilled displaced people find new homes while addressing labour shortages in Canada.

"This is just not an acceptable development with an employer," said Jennifer Wilson, chief operating officer of RefugePoint, which has been connecting candidates with employers in Canada since the program’s inception in 2018.

Many of the candidates had been waiting years to come to Canada, she said, and were in the "very late stages" of the difficult program. 

"Literally, they needed housing to be secured, and they could get on a plane and they could go," Wilson said.

She said it comes at a time when the number of refugees — roughly 43 million worldwide — is at an unprecedented high and there have been significant cuts to foreign aid, including by Canada and the United States.

Wilson said her organization has since ended its partnership with Northwood.

"It is with a heavy heart that I write to share a difficult update regarding the employment offer we previously extended to you with Northwood,” the letters read.

The identical letters went on to explain that Northwood was no longer in a position to proceed with the supports and positions necessary to welcome new staff.

"They give us hope. For almost three years they are giving us hope. They allow us to go in all those processes," Shauri said during an interview over Zoom from inside the refugee camp.

Candidates are required to demonstrate their experience in the related field — in this case health care — and a proficiency in English.

"We finished the medical ... Then after that, the visa was approved. Then suddenly you're not interested. So how can you feel? You know I'm a human being."

Shauri, who applied for the program in 2021, fled his home country of Congo (also known as Congo-Kinshasa) in 2010, after his two sisters and father were killed by armed groups. He and his wife have five children, all born in the camp.

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Northwood refused to do an interview about this matter, but in a statement, Callie Gallant, the organization's director of marketing and communications, said the job offers were extended "in good faith" several years ago. But as processing timelines extended, many of the roles were filled through local recruitment efforts, partially due to an increase in the number of Nova Scotians entering continuing care.

Gallant said Northwood successfully employed and supported the relocation of 12 refugees, which reinforced that welcoming people through this pathway requires a high level of co-ordination and support.

Wilson acknowledged that processing times have caused unpredictability, but she also said Canada's program has been the "gold standard" when it comes to labour mobility worldwide.  

More than 1,200 people have come to Canada under the EMPP, entering through all provinces with the exception of Quebec, and with jobs in health care, engineering, construction, electronics, and mineral and metal processing.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) initially pledged to process most of these applications within six months, but the program has been plagued by delays. IRCC says currently 80 per cent of complete applications are being processed within 18 months.

The federal government has temporarily paused the program as of Jan. 1 because the volume of applications has exceeded available space. IRCC says it is currently conducting an evaluation of the EMPP and is anticipating the results in the fall of this year, when it plans to make them public.

In the meantime, IRCC says it is committed to processing all 3,900 applications currently in the system, which includes 1,300 candidates and their dependents.

Some of those who had their job offers rescinded by Northwood are still in the system and could still come to Canada if they receive another job offer, but others have had their cases closed, depending on their stage in the program.

It is unclear what will happen in Shauri's case. He said he's lost nearly 25 pounds because of the stress this situation has caused. He also said he finds it triggering when he hears the words "Canada" and "Northwood" but would still like to move to this country if possible.

Idris Abussin Adam, originally from Sudan, has been living at Kakuma for 14 years and had been approved to work as a personal care worker at Northwood.

He said it was difficult to explain to his five-year-old daughter why they would not be going to Canada after all. "Every day she used to ask me, 'Daddy, when we are travelling? Daddy, when we are travelling?'"

But he said he is not angry. "I was very excited to go to Canada and rebuild my life.... I still have hope."

Senior reporter

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