A Senate committee is urging the federal government to allow North Korean defectors to qualify for refugee status in Canada.

The report, published on Monday, also recommends that Minister of Immigration John McCallum use his powers to allow the “most vulnerable” North Korean defectors into the country. 

The Senate committee published the report after hearing testimony from 10 witnesses, including Hyeonseo Lee, a defector who later wrote a book about her perilous escape from North Korea.

Lee told the committee that living in North Korea is akin to "living in another universe."

"I will never truly be free of its gravity, no matter how far I journey," she said during her testimony, which included descriptions of living in constant fear, state brainwashing, and witnessing public executions.

The Senate report paints a grim picture of what North Korean defectors face once they manage to leave the notoriously closed-off communist regime.

Currently, when defectors escape they often land first in China, the committee heard. Once there, they can be forced into slavery out of a fear that they may be deported back.

When defectors do make it to other nearby Southeast Asian countries, they are often not welcome. Witnesses told the committee that defectors are not legally allowed to settle in Thailand, for example, resulting in their detention.

Many defectors end up in South Korea, where they are entitled to citizenship. However, life in South Korea is still difficult as they are treated as foreigners and face discrimination, the witnesses said. As well, many defectors continue to live in fear of being spied on by the North Korean regime.

In order to qualify as a refugee in Canada, an asylum seeker must not have access to protection in another country. This means that North Korean defectors do not qualify for refugee status in Canada, as they are entitled to South Korean citizenship.

Some countries have made an exception for North Korean defectors, including the U.S. The Senate report urges Ottawa to study the American legislation and also make an exception.

The report also recommends the following:

  • McCallum use his discretion under section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and allow the "most vulnerable" North Korean defectors into the country. Special attention should be paid to defectors trapped in third countries, women and children.
  • Ottawa should set up a pilot project in Thailand to identify "appropriate" North Korean candidates for resettlement in Canada.
  • Global Affairs Canada should continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in North Korea, and implement sanctions as necessary.

According to the report, the number of refugee claims by North Korean defectors has been decreasing, with fewer than five claims made in 2014 and zero claims made in 2015. Witnesses told the Senate committee that this decrease is not because the situation is improving in North Korea.