Question Period Note: Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

Canadian assistance to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon and the potential return to Syria

• Canada continues to provide substantial humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugee and vulnerable host communities in Lebanon as part of the Middle East Strategy, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in Beirut on August 4.
• Canada's flexible, multi-year assistance benefits vulnerable Lebanese, Syrians and other refugee and migrant communities by expanding and strengthening social and security services.
• Return of refugees must take place in a safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable manner.
• Conditions in Syria are still not conducive for such return.

Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, Lebanon has received around 1.5M people displaced from Syria, amounting to one-fourth of the total population.

This makes Lebanon the country with the highest number of refugees per capita.

Hosting such a significant number of refugees strains local communities, increasing demand for services such as health care, education, water and sanitation and increasing competition for jobs. This can contribute to tensions within and between refugee and host communities.

Canada has responded by assisting Lebanon under the Middle East Strategy. Canada's assistance helps meet the immediate needs of Syrian refugees and mitigate the broader impacts of the Syria crisis on Lebanon. It is provided through trusted partners to respond to the basic needs of refugee and host community households, and to expand and strengthen social and security systems and services.

Canada is committing up to $3.5B over five years (2016-2021) under the Strategy to address the crises in Syria and Iraq, and play a significant humanitarian and stabilization role in Lebanon. Since 2016, Canada has committed over $400M in international assistance for Lebanon.

In line with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada's programming in Lebanon aims to address the needs of women and girls by providing gender-responsive humanitarian assistance and by supporting the economic empowerment and resilience of women through vocational training and livelihoods support.

Alongside UNHCR and like-minded countries, Canada remains firm in its position that the conditions in Syria are not conducive for the large-scale return of Syrian refugees in line with international standards namely in a safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable manner.

Canada advocates for the Government of Lebanon to continue providing asylum for refugees. Canada's resettlement and assistance response as part of the broader international response helps support this effort. However, with the difficulties Lebanon currently faces, it is expected there will be increasing pressures for Syrian refugees to return. Canadian officials are monitoring this situation closely.

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