CCR Meetings

CCR Spring Consultation, 30 May - 1 June 2013, Vancouver, Thursday, May 30, 2013 - Saturday, June 1, 2013, Burnaby

Promoting Security and a Warm Welcome

Refugees come to Canada seeking safety for themselves and their families. How do we make sure that refugees and other newcomers feel safe and secure?
How do we offer a warm welcome to all?
Join us at the Canadian Council for Refugees Spring Consultation on the theme of Promoting Security and a Warm Welcome to explore these questions and more.

Register before 10 May to take advantage of the reduced fees!

Download the Consultation program or browse the options above.

Click here for details about the Consultation workshops.

Here's what some past participants have liked about CCR Consultations:

Participant speaking during a workshop"My clients face these issues and it’s important for me to hear from other workers about possible solutions."


Panellsts presenting during a workshop"It takes extra effort to keep updated when you do it on your own so being a part of the CCR and the energy of people who care was absolutely wonderful, refreshing, and a good reminder of what matters."


Participants brainstorming in a workshop"A lot of the consultation was useful to me and my work. I feel that I will be able to bring a lot of what I learned back to my team."


Participants preparing to present ideas at a workshop"It was nice hearing questions, comments and concerns addressed by both people who work in the refugee sector and from refugees themselves."

About the CCR Consultation

The Consultation will bring together over 300 people from across Canada and beyond and offer key opportunities for information exchange, networking, and strategy development. Participants include refugees, immigrants, representatives of NGOs, government, UNHCR, academics, community workers, youth advocates and international guests.

CCR consultations are designed to move from issues to action. Discussions will address issues that challenge refugees, immigrants, advocates and community workers.  In addition to larger plenary sessions, workshops and working sessions will produce strategies for further collaboration, specific actions and policy recommendations.

Contact us

Have questions about the Consultation that you can't find answers to here? Ask us by email at consultation [at] ccrweb [dot] ca (subject: Question%20about%20the%20CCR%20Consultation)

General Information

Consultations

The Canadian Council for Refugees holds two Consultations each year, one in the spring (May or June) and one in the fall (November or December). The Consultations are held in different cities.

CCR Consultations address issues of refugee protection and immigrant and refugee settlement. They bring together 300 or more people from across Canada and beyond. Participants include refugees, immigrants, representatives of NGOs, government, UNHCR, academics and international guests.  A General meeting of members is always held at these Consultations, where the resolutions that drive CCR policy are moved and adopted.

The consultations offer a key opportunity for information-exchange, networking, strategy development and discussion.

People who work with newcomers and those with a personal interest in refugees and immigrants are warmly invited.

The consultation is an excellent opportunity to:

  • meet and learn from experts in the field
  • exchange information and prepare resolutions on a broad range of refugee and newcomer issues
  • contribute to the CCR working groups’ ongoing dialogue on policy and legislation.

Working group meetings

The CCR’s three Working Groups provide the forum for CCR members and other refugee and immigrant rights advocates to exchange information, network and develop policy positions in particular areas of concern.  Each Working Group is responsible for preparing resolutions, following up on action items, and planning workshops for the consultations, as well as for advising the CCR Executive on policy.  The Working Group meetings are closed to representatives of government and the media.

The CCR Working Groups meet four times a year.  Two of these meetings take place during the consultations (see above).  The other two series of working group meetings take place in February (in Toronto) and in September (in Montreal).

The working group meetings offer an excellent opportunity to:

  • Participate in efforts to promote refugee protection and resettlement, and the settlement of refugees and immigrants
  • Discuss in depth pressing issues affecting refugees and immigrants in Canada
  • Share information and strategies with others from across Canada

Further information about the three working groups.

Photography, filming and audio recording

To protect the privacy of participants, we ask you to respect our policy restricting any forms of recording during CCR sessions. You may however take photos (or film or audio record) outside the CCR sessions (for example in the coffee area or lobbies, or before or after a workshop session), but ONLY after explaining the purpose and obtaining permission of each person photographed, filmed or recorded. The policy is available at http://ccrweb.ca/en/policy-recording

There will be CCR photographers taking pictures during some of the sessions, so that we can document the consultation. If you do not wish to be included in any of the photos, sit in the part of the room that is marked as photo-free. In certain circumstances, the CCR may grant exceptions to specific projects involving recording during a session. Applicants would need to make a request in advance. For more information, see http://ccrweb.ca/en/recording-request.