Refugee Resettlement in Canada

The homeless and persecuted need your help. They are called “refugees”.

There are more than 17 million refugees worldwide. The solution for most is repatriation- the resettling of refugees back in their country of origin. For those who cannot return home, a new life is carved out in their country of asylum. Finally, if no other solution is available, refugees may be resettled in a third country, like Canada, the U.S, or many others.

Much to the surprise of many North Americans, resettlement is always a last resort. A mere 1% will be welcomed into a new country. Those that do, face the difficultly of adjusting to a new culture and often find their education and work experience worthless in their new land.

Despite these barriers, thousands of refugees apply to immigrate to Canada each year.

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Refugee Reform: What's the Story

In April 2010, the Canadian government introduced plans to significantly change Canada’s refugee determination system.  While the desire for change was embraced by refugee advocates, who have long argued that changes were necessary for the system to function most effectively for both Canada and refugee claimants, there were also a number of concerns regarding the legislation.

At that time, the CRC laid out their concerns and asked for people to contact their MPs about the legislation (Bill C-11). People from the across the country, from the CRC and from many other denominations and agencies, responded to this call and raised awareness about their concerns over Bill C-11.

The government heard these concerns and responded by changing the legislation to address some of the issues of greatest concern including allowing all refused claimants the access to appeal, addressing the extremely quick hearing times for refugees (which would not always allow for gathering the necessary paperwork), and increasing resources to deal with backlogged claims.

Bill C-11, called the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, was passed in June.  While the amended bill is not perfect, the changes that were made in cooperation between refugee advocates and the government addressed many of the concerns and allowed for a bill to pass that was far fairer to all refugees, regardless of their country of origin.

If you have further questions about refugee issues or sponsorship, contact Rose Dekker or Rebecca Walker. For further information on advocacy, contact Mike Hogeterp.

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Why Canada?

Canada is unique among nations welcoming refugees. That’s because it is the only country that allows sponsorship capabilities by private organizations. CRWRC is one of the Canadian agencies that has been granted a sponsorship agreement.

This allows CRC congregations to apply to sponsor individuals defined as a refugee. Most eligible individuals who seek Canadian sponsorship are seeking eligibility as a Geneva Convention refugee, which is defined as,

“a person who, because of well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable or afraid to ask for protection in that country, or not having a country of nationality, is outside the country where he/she usually lived, and is unable or afraid to return to that country.” (United Nations Convention, 1951.)

In addition to the Convention Refugee Abroad, members of the Country of Asylum Class and Source Country Class are also eligible for sponsorship.

Sadly, there are not nearly enough CRC congregations offering to sponsor refugees. CRWRC must turn away hundreds of applications every year. Won’t you consider sponsoring a refugee?

Remember- a person isn’t a refugee by choice. He is a refugee by the discriminating choices of others.

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Note For Those Seeking Canadian Sponsorship

Please be forewarned that although CRWRC attempts to find sponsors for as many refugees as possible the agency cannot possibly respond to all the requests it receives each year. CRWRC is greatly limited in its response by both the stringent restrictions of the Canadian government and the number of churches available to sponsor

Steps to Sponsoring a Refugee

 

• Approach your deacon with your desire to sponsor a refugee and form a small action committee.
• Contact Rose Dekker (CRWRC Refugee Coordinator) or Rebecca Walker (CRWRC Refugee Associate), who can refer several cases of waiting refugees for your review. Take time with your committee to discern whom God is calling your congregation to sponsor.
• Communicate your decision to the refugee coordinator, at which time you may name the refugee(s) you would like to sponsor. The coordinator will assist you in preparing the sponsorship application.
• Receive your letter of approval and your application to sponsor from CRWRC. Sign the documents and send to your local Citizenship and Immigration Canada office.
• WAIT. This tends to be the most difficult part of the process for sponsoring congregations. While you wait, read over the Refugee Sponsorship Handbook & Helps, which will be mailed to you by CRWRC.

Additional Information

To learn more about this uniquely Canadian opportunity to sponsor a refugee, visit the Canadian government’s Refugee Resettlement website.

Refugees eligible for sponsorship in Canada are referred to Canadian visa posts by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. For more information about refugees around the world, visit the UNHCR website.

For those with a passion for refugee rights and advocacy in Canada, please visit Citizens for Public Justice.

Contact Information:

Rose Dekker, CRWRC Refugee Coordinator
Rebecca Walker, CRWRC Associate Refugee Coordinator

3475 Mainway
P.O. Box 5070, Stn LCD 1
Burlington, Ontario L7R 3Y8
Phone: 905-336-2920, x. 292 (Rose) X 232 (Rebecca)
Toll Free: 1-800-730-3490
Fax: 905-336-8344
Email: dekkerr@crcna.ca; walkerr@crcna.ca