Diocesan Refugee Working Group (DRWG)

Who is a refugee?
• (NOTE - "refugee" here means a single refugee, a refugee family or a group of unrelated refugees)
• A refugee is generally an ordinary person who has been caught up in extraordinary circumstances and, as a result, has a well-founded fear of persecution, torture or death. Generally, war, injustice, lack of protection or insurrection in their native country has forced them to flee to another country to survive. Jesus himself was a refugee child when he fled with Mary and Joseph into Egypt, to escape from Herod who wanted to kill him. (Matt. 2, 13-16)

Who is not a refugee?

• The mandate of the DRWG does not extend to approving the sponsorship those applicants, who are seeking to enter Canada solely on economic grounds or solely to be reunited with their families. In this latter case, other avenues should be explored with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) through their immigration programmes.
• All applicants are interviewed by their nearest Canadian Visa Office overseas to determine whether they are genuine refugees and whether they may enter Canada under the Private Sponsorship Programme. Each application is judged on its own merits.
• If the interview is successful, the refugee must then undergo security and medical checks. Generally, failure to pass the medical check will not disqualify the refugee from sponsorship.

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Who can sponsor a refugee?

• Subject to the necessary DRWG approval, a parish, on its own or in combination with other churches, not necessarily Anglican, or a group of at least five parishioners may sponsor a refugee.
• What obligations are involved in sponsoring a refugee?
• Support of a refugee may take a number of forms, ranging from full financial and full settlement support to minimal settlement support.
• The terms of the supports are spelt out in the Settlement Plan, which the parish, etc., submits to the DRWG.
• In terms of financial support, this can range from providing full financial support to the refugee, at rates based on those for Social Assistance in the city concerned and on CIC guidelines, usually for up to one year or until the refugee become self-supporting, to partial support, as in cases where CIC provides financial assistance, e.g. for four or eight months, or no financial support where the parish, etc., is the agent for a third party, usually a family member, who has agreed to pick up all the financial costs associated with the sponsorship.
• Settlement support may mean finding the refugee a place to live, helping with applications for Social Insurance Number, child credits, doctor, dentist, schools, transportation, bus passes, providing clothing, kitchenware and a host of other non-direct financial assistance, usually for up to one year. The specifics of what and which persons will help will be spelt out in the Settlement Plan provided to the DRWG.

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Where do you begin?
• If you would like to sponsor a refugee, please contact the DRWG as given below. Speakers are available to advise your group, parish council, or the parish as a whole about the options in sponsorship, give you background information, help you with the administrative process and even provide names of refugee families who need sponsors.
• The process of finalizing the application for sponsorship of a refugee involves the completion of a number of forms required by CIC, including statements from and photographs of the refugee. Details can be obtained by visiting the CIC website and following the prompts to Refugee Sponsorship.

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How much time will it take before the refugee arrives?

• Once the necessary documents have been approved by the DRWG, they are submitted to the local CIC office.
• The length of time the process takes will depend on what stage the refugee is already in the interview process. Generally, if the application is just starting, you may anticipate a lengthy wait of many months before you are advised the refugee is cleared to travel.
• The process is Visa-office driven and DRWG has little influence over the lengthy process, which is a result of high levels of applications and low levels of staffing in our Visa Sections overseas.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada: (www.cic.gc.ca)

Please contact
The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa
Refugee Working Group
Rosemary Anderson, 613-225-9233
Or through the Programme Office: 233-6271 ext. 222 or for assistance or more information by e-mail at Resource Centre.


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