CCR Resolutions Database

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  • Refugees and development

    Res.: 15
    Whereas:
    1. At the refugees and development sessions there was considerable interest in continued activity around these issues;
    2. A significant barrier to coordinated assistance to refugees and the internally displaced in countries of asylum/origin is the separation of responsibilities and different funding criteria within departments and between government ministries;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Continue to organize sessions on international refugee and development issues;
    2. Investigate initiating dialogue with CIDA, Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance to discuss the overlapping responsibilities/ funding criteria relating to refugee relief and development assistance.

  • Rwandan crisis

    Res.: 20
    Whereas:
    1. The crisis in Rwanda persists and a special workshop on the subject was requested at the CCR conference;
    2. The genocide and massacres which began on April 6 have to date caused 500,000 victims and displaced more than 2,000,000 people and the numbers are continuing to grow;
    3. Inordinate numbers of refugees are pouring into the countries neighbouring Rwanda;
    4. The people of Rwanda are suffering a humanitarian tragedy and a social and economic crisis without historical precedent;
    5. The UN forces left Rwanda just as the genocide was launched, leaving the civilian population at risk, thus encouraging the army and the militia to massacre and calling into question their credibility
    6. There is considerable media misinformation suggesting that the war in Rwanda is ethnic, while in fact it is political;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Urge the government of Canada to:
      1. support our request for an impartial international or regional inquiry into the events which led to the genocide of the Rwandan people;
      2. support appropriate measures to ensure that following such an inquiry those responsible for the massacres are judged and punished, whether in Rwanda, here or in another country;
      3. support appropriate measures to establish a democratic government of national unity and to ensure respect for human rights, in the spirit of the Arusha Accord;
      4. continue its generous humanitarian aid to the Rwandan people;
      5. study and discuss the problem of how the local personnel employed by Canadian organizations or government were abandonned when Canadian expatriates were evacuated, in order to ensure that such a situation does not happen again;
      6. reject the imposition of conditions on the participation of Canadian forces in the UN troops, according to which 5,500 troops are to be brought together in Rwanda;
      7. implement special measures with simple and clear criteria to offer protection in Canada for those with family or other links with Canadians of Rwandan origin and to refuse visas and landing to previously identified criminals;
      8. cease all non-justified removals of Rwandans in Canada;
    2. Request its members to educate the Canadian public on the origins as well as the solutions to the current crisis in Rwanda;
    3. Request the Canadian government to finalize an urgent special procedure to collect unaccompanied orphaned minors whose sole remaining relatives are in Canada; i.e. Canadians of Rwandan origin whatever their eligibility for existing sponsorship programmes (humanitarian cases).

  • Protection of Burmese refugees

    Res.: 23
    Whereas:
    1. Aung San Su Kyi remains under house arrest following her victory in the democratic elections of 1989
    2. The SLORC continues to disregard human rights and the outcome of the 1989 democratic elections;
    3. Since 1988 large numbers of Burmese nationals have been both internally and externally displaced;
    4. The Royal Thai government is failing to provide protection to Burmese nationals and their conditions continue to deteriorate;
    5. International attention and pressure have been conspicuously absent;
    6. There is both an overseas need and a sponsorship interest in increasing the current immigration levels;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Petition the Government of Canada to request the Government of Thailand:
      1. to honour their responsibilities to provide safe asylum to Burmese nationals; and
      2. to issue exit visas to Burmese nationals upon completion of Canadian immigration processing;
    2. Petition the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to increase the number of government sponsorships to at least double the current seventy-five positions and in addition appropriate one-third of the contingency allocation in recognition of the urgency of the situation;
    3. Urge the Government of Canada to use all means at its disposal to pressure the Burmese (Myanmar) SLORC to restore human rights and to honour its own democratic process and the outcome of the election of 1989;
    4. Request the Government of Canada to provide human resource development opportunities to Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries as they await restoration of human rights and the democratic process in Burma.

  • Programme evaluation

    Res.: 41
    Whereas:
    Meaningful evaluation requires the participation of major stakeholders (clients, agencies and funders) in the evaluation process, including the development of national and local evaluation tools;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR Executive in discussion with funders at the next roundtable meeting determine how these major stakeholders will work together in the development of evaluation tools, including national performance indicators.

  • Principle of non-adversarial hearings at the IRB

    Res.: 28
    Whereas:
    1. The IRB was originally designed in principle to be a non-adversarial adjudicative tribunal;
    2. The IRB has departed from this founding principle and has devolved into an adversarial process;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR strongly endorse the position contained in the Rebuilding Trust report by James Hathaway that the IRB return and adhere to the principle of being a non-adversarial tribunal of inquiry into Convention refugee claims.

  • Settlement and mainstream services

    Res.: 3
    Whereas:
    1. All social service agencies (mainstream and non-governmental) hold as fundamental principles that services must meet the specific needs of the populations served and that clients have the right to self-determination;
    2. All social services must respect the clients' choice as to the most appropriate service delivery system and offer diverse models of services to meet these individual needs;
    3. The understanding of settlement needs of immigrants and refugees has developed significantly over the past 10 years and has responded to the reality that newcomers' adjustment is of varying length depending on a variety of factors, which include language, cultural, social supports and integration, etc;
    4. Non-governmental settlement service agencies have evolved in meeting these needs and have developed a very comprehensive and specialized knowledge base for service delivery;
    5. Mainstream services are only beginning to address the issue of access to services by an increasingly diverse population;
    6. The accessibility and adequacy of such services are only in the developmental stages and these service agencies are still struggling with their internal adjustments to personnel and organizational change;
    7. Historically, non-governmental settlement services have not only been pioneers but have been providing leadership in developing settlement services to a constantly changing population;
    8. Mainstream social services are increasingly calling on the expertise of non-governmental settlement services to assist them in their transition to providing more accessible and culturally appropriate services to a population that they have not served in the past;
    9. Non-governmental settlement services have been meeting, and will continue to meet the needs for service in this area;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR communicate to the appropriate governmental and social service bodies at every possible opportunity that:

    1. Non-governmental settlement services are an integral part of the social service delivery system and that the expertise of these services must be fully recognized;
    2. Non-governmental settlement services must have equal access to funding for social services; 3. Ongoing funding must be made available to ensure continuity of services and to maintain quality of services through appropriate resources for planning, delivery and evaluation.

  • Proposed IRB code of procedures for torture survivors

    Res.: 33
    Whereas:
    1. The CCR passed a resolution in May 1993 supporting the initiative of the National Network of Torture Survivor Centres to develop a code of procedures for the treatment of survivors who are refugee claimants;
    2. The CCR remains concerned about the plight of torture survivors in the refugee determination process;
    3. The CCR has been consulted in the preparation of the proposed code of procedures;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Endorse the proposed code of procedures for torture survivors;
    2. Assist the National Network in encouraging the IRB and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to study the code and to consult interested parties and to thereby formally create a legally enforceable code of procedures for the treatment of torture survivors.

  • Immigrant and refugee mental health

    Res.: 8
    Whereas:
    1. The settlement and adaptation process has been recognised in the Report "After the Door has been Opened" to have significant mental health aspects;
    2. The federal Ministries of Human Resources, Citizenship and Immigration, Canadian Heritage, and Health are concerned with the successful settlement of Immigrants and refugees;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR request that:

    1. The above mentioned Federal ministries continue to implement the recommendations of the report "After the Door Has Been Opened";
    2. These Ministries pay particular attention to and review the mental health effects of their policies;
    3. These Ministries urge the Provincial Ministries of Health to recognise cross cultural mental health counselling by including costs for these services under the Provincial Health Plans.

  • Stays of removal orders

    Res.: 38
    Whereas:
    1. Section 49 (1) of the Immigration Act provides for stay of execution of removal orders when a rejected refugee claimant makes an application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court;
    2. Section 49 (1.1) of the Immigration Act provides that there is no stay for persons "residing or sojourning in the United States" where a section 20 (border) report was made on that person;
    3. The Immigration department is purporting to apply section 49(1.1) to persons who have been residing in Canada for more than one year, telling them to leave while their application for leave to appeal is still before the Federal Court;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR demand that the government cease the practice of removing refugee claimants residing in Canada who entered Canada from the United States and whose applications for leave to appeal are before the Federal Court.

  • Collaborative funding efforts

    Res.: 13
    Whereas:
    1. Under the current era of fiscal restraint and funding cutbacks, agencies are being encouraged to enter into collaborative efforts for service delivery;
    2. The criteria for establishing collaborative efforts has been only loosely developed;
    3. The attempt to forge effective, equitable collaborative efforts has met with little, if any, success;
    4. The funding allocated to conjoint projects is never adequate to allow organizations to engage in a process of development;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Bring to the attention of funders, particularly the federal government and specifically the funders participating in the Culturally Appropriate Social Services Conference in Montreal, June 5 - 7, the need to allocate sufficient funds for the development process of forging equitable collaborative efforts between mainstream and community-based organizations including, but not limited to, the criteria for equitable power-sharing;
    2. Call upon the mainstream organizations to join in the effort of making the development process a reality for forging meaningful, equitable collaborative efforts.

  • Separation of refugee programmes, policy and budget from immigration programmes, policy and budget

    Res.: 18
    Whereas:
    1. The combination of eligibility criteria for overseas refugee processing confirming the person is either a Convention Refugee or a member of a Designated Class and the admissibility criteria based on immigration criteria is a contradiction of the humanitarian and protection focus of the refugee programme;
    2. The combination of the eligibility and admissibility criteria, named above, causes the particular exclusion of women, who suffer from a gender bias in any test based on economic achievement. Sociologist Monica Boyd writes of the triple disadvantage immigrant women face in the job market - gender, nationality and race - which is further compounded by the refugee experience;
    3. The Adjustment Assistance Programme is a source of immigration funds available to support government and jointly sponsored refugees. Refugee levels take into account the budget requirements. Until most recently AAP funds were used to assist indigent immigrants, whose cases and the policy for selection is the responsibility of the immigration (not refugee) section, thereby negatively impacting on the fact that Canada has repeatedly fallen short in its overseas government-assisted refugee resettlement levels;
    4. Refugees in need of protection processed for entry to Canada are frequently denied a transportation loan based on a projection of "inability to repay the loan". The transportation loan system must be administered consistent with the policy objectives of the refugee programme i.e. protection;
    5. The issue of the separation of refugee humanitarian programmes and budget is listed as the fifth of five major topics to be referred to the broad consultations on immigration;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR Executive communicate with the Minister and Department of Citizenship and Immigration recommending that the refugee programmes, policy and budget, including Adjustment Assistance Programme and the Transportation Loan be separated from the immigration programmes, policy and budget. This process should be undertaken in conjunction with stakeholders, such as CCR, Sponsorship Agreement holders, community groups, refugees and settlement agencies. The discussions should include recommendations on the placement of Family Class, immigration levels, levels of special needs cases and programming needs.

  • Genocide

    Res.: 26
    Whereas:
    1. Genocide is going on in various parts of the world by the governments, armies, paramilitary and civil forces;
    2. Refugees are victims and survivors of and witnesses to genocides;
    3. The present international legal mechanisms cannot adequately address the widespread perpetration of genocide today, notably as it affects girls and women, by means of rape in war;
    4. The United Nations has recently begun to discuss the failure of international mechanisms to respond adequately to the crime of genocide;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    1. That the CCR call upon the government of Canada, in international fora:
    2. To address the inadequacy of international mechanisms to respond adequately to the crime of genocide;
    3. To ask for a review of the Genocide Convention;
    4. To provide new funding to the United Nations Human Rights Centre for international human rights mechanisms because these are seriously underfunded.

  • SMIS national working group

    Res.: 1
    Whereas:
    1. Certain clients will not be accessing the services they need if they are aware that information about them will be transmitted to the government;
    2. NGOs' integrity cannot be comprised by supplying confidential information to the government;
    3. NGOs are not satisfied that SMIS has taken into consideration the operational implications or workload on them, nor are they convinced of the accuracy and therefore usefulness of the performance indicators;
    4. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Marchi announced the creation of a National Working Group to reach a compromise agreement on outstanding issues that will be mutually acceptable to the NGO community and the Government;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR urge: 

    1. That a moratorium be placed on the implementation and piloting of the SMIS until such time as a mutually acceptable agreement is reached by the National Working Group;
    2. That the National Working Group be comprised of:
      1. one provincial representative nominated by each of AMSSA, AAISA, SAISA, MICA, OCASI, and one for the Atlantic Region;
      2. an Information Technology Expert, nominated by the CCR;
      3. a legal expert on privacy, nominated by the CCR;
      4. an expert on programme evaluation, nominated by the CCR;
      5. a refugee client of a CCR member agency;
      6. an immigrant client of a CCR member agency;
      7. government staff including Settlement and Integration Policy, Research and Settlement Operations;
    3. That the National Working Group be co-chaired by an NGO and a government representative;
    4. That the agreements reached by the National Working Group be implemented in a timely fashion;
    5. That the NGO representatives keep the refugee and immigrant services organizations fully informed of the progress and seek their input including but not limited to the following issues:
      1. client confidentiality
      2. who has access to the reports produced
      3. a review of the mandatory information required
      4. what clients and programmes can be exempt from the SMIS reports
      5. the use and the meaningfulness of the performance indicators
      6. what kind of reports will be generated and how will they be used
      7. the security of the data
      8. what process will be used to ensure that planning will be collaborative;
    6. That sufficient funding be made available to the NGO representatives for:
      1. travel
      2. consultation
      3. telephone and fax
      4. expert advice
      5. honoraria for refugee and immigrant client representatives.

  • Rights of claimants during interim measures programme

    Res.: 31
    Whereas:
    1. The Canadian Government has encouraged greater self-sufficiency of refugee claimants by authorizing work permits
    2. The Canadian Government has extended the residency period of many thousands of refugee claimants through new "interim measures";
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Ask the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to instruct his department to grant work permits to refused refugee claimants eligible for the "interim measures" programme;
    2. Urge the Canadian Government to use its best efforts to ensure basic health care for refugee claimants awaiting processing through the "interim measures" programme;
    3. Urge the Minister to impose a moratorium on removals of all failed refugee claimants pending the outcome of the "interim measures programme".

  • Anti-racism and equity

    Res.: 6
    Whereas:
    1. Ministries of Education and Boards of Education across Canada are developing and implementing policies of Race Relations and Ethno-cultural Equity;
    2. Anti-racism education is most effective when it involves participants in a process that addresses attitudinal change;
    3. Member groups of CCR have grassroots, community experience, as well as an analysis from international experience, in the meaning and effects of racism;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR communicate with the Ministries of Education with a list of CCR member groups and the recommendation that Boards of Education be encouraged to communicate with these groups as sources of local resource people for teacher workshops, classroom presentations and representation on policy-shaping committees at the Board level.

  • Refugee awareness week and refugee rights day

    Res.: 36
    Whereas:
    The education of the Canadian public and promotion of rights and concerns relating to refugees are vitally important matters to those concerned with the plight of refugees;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR:

    1. Adopt the week in which April 4 falls each year as Refugee Awareness Week and April 4 as Refugee Rights Day;
    2. Recommend to its members the organization of programmes to promote greater understanding of the plight of refugees at this time each year.

  • Settlement worker recognition

    Res.: 11
    Whereas:
    1. Settlement workers provide essential services in providing support during transition and adaptation of immigrants and refugees;
    2. Settlement workers have immense linguistic, cultural and crosscultural skills that are in demand by both the host community and immigrants and refugees;
    3. The majority of settlement workers are immigrants, visible minorities and women;
    4. Two of the four priority groups as identified by the federal government's employment equity plan are visible minorities and women;
    5. The ISAP contracts provided by the Department of Immigration to settlement agencies refuse to acknowledge and/or provide funding for any benefits except those mandated by law (i.e. CPP and UIC);
    6. Settlement agencies are independent and should not be subject to government wage freezes;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR write to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration urging him to fully recognize Settlement Worker skills by providing funds to allow settlement agencies to implement an adequate salary structure and benefit package including health and retirement plans.

  • Selection criteria for landing

    Res.: 7
    Whereas:
    1. Persons accepted on humanitarian and compassionate grounds must meet the admissibility criteria as set out in Section 19 of the Immigration Act;
    2. According to Section 19(1)(b) of the Act, anyone who represents a burden on society, among others women who receive social assistance, is inadmissible as an immigrant;
    3. This clause is seriously prejudicial to single mothers and other women who have parental responsibilities for children they have in their care, who have been accepted on humanitarian grounds, or who would have been accepted were it not for this provision;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR request the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to take measures so that the Immigration officers not consider Section 19(1)(b) of the Act when establishing whether a single mother, or other woman who has parental responsibilities for children in her care, meets the admissibility criteria.

  • Delayed departures of accepted Kurdish refugees in Turkey

    Res.: 12
    Whereas:
    1. CCR Resolution 6, May 1993, called on the Canadian embassy in Ankara to recognize the risk to the lives of Kurdish refugees and expedite their resettlement in Canada;
    2. There are approximately 400 Iraqi refugees identified by the UNHCR who are living in wretched conditions in camps in Turkey even though they were accepted by Canada over one year ago;
    3. Medicals are beginning to expire as a result of the long delays;
    4. These people have not been considered for resettlement in other countries because of their acceptance by Canada;
    5. Tension in camps is rising and there is fear of refoulement;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR contact the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration exhorting Canada to let all of these already accepted refugees depart for Canada immediately.

  • Reorganization of visa posts

    Res.: 15
    Whereas:
    1. The government has announced that it will no longer offer full immigrant processing at all visa posts and will centralize immigrant processing worldwide;
    2. There is already a limited number of visa posts with full immigration consulars;
    3. This creates hardships particularly in affected countries and more particularly creates hardships for women who are restricted financially and socially from accessing these posts;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR contact government officials to express its concern over the reorganization, pointing out the negative impact in limiting access particularly for women.

  • Refugee children

    Res.: 20
    Whereas:
    1. 85% percent of the world refugee population are women and children and the number of refugee children exceeds 10 million;
    2. Refugee children are the most vulnerable sector of refugees all over the globe;
    3. Refugee girls are persecuted for their gender and refugee children bear responsibilities for childcare and for parenting of younger children;
    4. Refugee children suffer regular violations in camps which rarely gain attention and condemnation in the media, including hard physical labour, malnutrition, epidemics, rape and are deprived of adequate schooling and education opportunities;
    5. Unaccompanied children and minors suffer detention in many countries;
    6. The defense and protection of refugee children has not received adequate attention in educational material and international legal conventions;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR take action with the Canadian government and relevant international organizations to:

    1. Call for an international legal instrument for the protection of refugee children as a supplement to the Geneva Convention and Protocols;
    2. Call for an increase in relief aid and educational resources to refugee children, especially those in camp situations;
    3. Increase the numbers of unaccompanied minors resettled in western countries, after suitable efforts at family reunification have been exhausted;
    4. Demand an end to the detention of refugee children and call for the use of other more humane mechanisms to accommodate these children;
    5. Call for measures to eradicate prostitution, rape, female genital mutilation and other abuses in refugee camps, and for resources to be made available to assist in the healing of children victimized by these abuses;
    6. Call for humane measures concerning international adoptions of refugee children.

  • Request for intervention to the Supreme Court

    Res.: 25
    Whereas:
    1. The Federal Court of Appeal recognized in the Cheung case that a woman fearing forced sterilization in P.R.C. is a member of a social group and a Convention refugee;
    2. In a subsequent decision, the Chan case, the Federal Court of Appeal maintained, with a dissent, that a man fearing forced sterilization is not a member of a social group and is not a Convention refugee;
    3. This latter decision is pending leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada;
    4. This latter decision has the effect of restricting the scope of the definition of social group as developed by the Supreme Court in the Ward case;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR intervene in this case if leave is granted, subject to availability of funds.

  • Training for tomorrow

    Res.: 5
    Whereas:
    1. The intent of training is to improve the quality and accessibility of settlement service delivery for immigrants and refugees by improving the skills of settlement workers;
    2. The demand for training in all regions of the country is increasing;
    3. Training programs do not exist in most parts of the country, and where they do exist they are underfunded;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That the CCR play a leading role in advocating to the federal government for the expansion of existing and the creation of new funding programs for settlement training.

  • Economic aid for Iraqi Kurdistan

    Res.: 10
    Whereas:
    1. The United Nations persuaded the Kurds of Northern Iraq to return to their homeland;
    2. The current food, medicine and electricity shortages as well as the "double embargo" are all combining to cause great suffering to the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, and to create sentiments of frustration and distrust of the allied forces among some of the Kurds;
    Therefore be it resolved:
    That the CCR request the Department of External Affairs to urge the United Nations to ensure that adequate economic aid is given to the people of Iraqi Kurdistan to ensure that basic needs are met, thereby promoting greater overall stability in the region.

  • Call to ban anti-personnel land mines

    Res.: 18
    Whereas:
    1. Anti-personnel land mines that detonate on contact are indiscriminate weapons that remain hidden and lethal long after the end of a conflict;
    2. Anti-personnel mines have killed or mutilated tens of thousands of civilians and rendered large tracts of agricultural and pastoral land unusable, preventing the subsistence and economic development of rural populations;
    3. In most countries women and children are especially affected as direct victims through their agricultural and pastoral work or through death and disabling of their husbands and fathers;
    4. The 1981 United Nations Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby traps and other Devices has failed to prevent the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines but unfortunately international law permits the use of land mines to achieve "defensive" military objectives;
    5. The CCR adopted Resolution 14 at the Consultation in Winnipeg in November 1992 calling for Canada to ratify the Land Mines Protocol and to press other states of the United Nations to do likewise;
    6. Land mines remain an obstacle to the durable solution of voluntary repatriation for refugees;
    Therefore be it resolved:

    That:

    1. The CCR join a growing number of organizations including Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation in a joint call for:
      1. An international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer or export of antipersonnel mines;
      2. The establishment of an international fund, administered by the United Nations, to promote and finance landmine awareness, clearance and eradication programs worldwide;
      3. Countries responsible for the production and dissemination of anti-personnel mines to contribute to the international fund;
    2. The CCR call on the government of Canada to support and promote an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer or export of antipersonnel mines;
    3. The CCR urge the government of Canada to support and promote the establishment of an international fund, administered by the United Nations, to promote and finance landmine awareness, clearance and eradication programs worldwide;
    4. The CCR call on the government of Canada to urge countries responsible for the production and dissemination of anti-personnel mines to contribute to the international fund.