“They tell me you are relying on welfare. You didn’t give approval for my children to work. How will we survive if we don’t rely on your welfare? [Farooq] “I do receive and rely on social assistance but it is obviously not enough due to cost of living.” [Alejandro] Despite receiving this assistance many of the participants are forced to rely on charitable sources of food including food banks and faith based organisations. “I lived hand to mouth, there were some times I didn’t eat for days. Sometimes I didn’t eat for a week or two. I didn’t have the money.” [Dave] “Yes, [welfare] pays for the rent, which is good. Just the rent, the food [we] access through food bank.” [Fatima] “[I] go to mosque for food sometimes.” [Noor] “I have found some basic food, and I have been fed-not too bad, not too good- average. Thanks to those particular charitable programs and food banks in Canada I have been able to put some food on my table.” [Alejandro] Not having a status in Canada, though for some of them legally residing here, has substantial impact on a stateless person’s ability to secure basic needs, such as adequate housing and nutrition. Relying on social assistance places stateless persons in a cycle of dependency wherein they must rely on the goodwill of others and the resources of organisations, which can be inconsistent in their support. Such dependency can impact the development of children, in particular, as they have special nutritional and accommodation needs which are crucial to their health and well-being. 70 3.3 Education Stateless persons without status in Canada who are not asylum-seekers are entitled, under federal law, to enrol in public schools. Education in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction, although, as it relates to foreign nationals (which includes stateless persons), education falls under the legislative authority of the federal government.71 The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) states that “[e]very minor child in Canada, other than a child of a temporary resident not authorized to work or study, is authorized to study at the pre-school, primary or secondary level.”72 In practice, however, provinces have authority to define who is eligible to attend primary and secondary schools, for example, by requiring the lawful residence of the child in 70 World Health Organization. (2003). Global strategy for infant and young child feeding. World Health Organization; Brazelton, T. B., & Greenspan, S. I. (2009). The irreducible needs of children: What every child must have to grow, learn, and flourish. Da Capo Lifelong Books. 71 Erauw, G. Compatibility of the 1954 convention Relating to the status of stateless persons With Canada’s legal framework and its International human rights obligations. (2015), 58. 72 Section 30(2). Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27. 24