All of us are on a journey through life. As we travel, we make choices everyday: what to eat, where to sleep, what to study. We try hard to consider the needs of our families and neighbours as we make our choices. When people are forced to flee, these ordinary, everyday choices are suddenly removed.

No matter the specific situations, and where they are located, all people on the move deserve to be treated and talked about with dignity. This means addressing the root causes of why people are leaving, and supporting people to migrate with safety and dignity.

More than 70.8 million people are forcibly displaced from their homes. This does not include people on the move because of economics or climate change. Included in these 70 million were 28 million new internal displacements across 148 countries and territories in 2018 alone. Unresolved conflicts, new waves of violence and extreme weather events were responsible for most of the new displacement. 85% of UNHCR convention refugees remain in neighboring countries in the global south with no prospective of either going home or resettling to a third country that can offer them a durable solution.

Canada has an important role to play in addressing the reasons people are forced to leave home in the first place. Conflict, climate crisis and economic factors are all part of the factors that cause people to flee. This means we have an opportunity to encourage the Canadian government to implement policies that protect all, and allow everyone to choose when to leave home. Migration should be a choice, not a last resort.