CCR Resolutions Database

That the CCR:

1. Request the Government of Canada establish an NGO-Government Committee on African refugee and immigrant issues to further monitor and document the situation and propose viable solutions;
2. Seek collaboration on these issues with Canadian Council on International Cooperation (CCIC), especially the CCIC Africa Group;
3. Once again request to be involved meaningfully in the Annual Levels Consultation process.

That the CCR demand that NGOs that visit or provide services within immigration detention facilities not be required to pass security clearance

That the CCR call on CIC to issue“protected status” documents at the time the person is accepted by the IRB.

That the CCR:

1. Support the development of the CCR Youth Network and increasing meaningful youth engagement and leadership within the CCR.
2. Add youth to the list of factors to be taken into account by the members of the CCR in the election of Executive Committee members.

That the CCR demand that the status of worker be maintained during the period necessary to seize a tribunal of the matter and to await its resolution.

That the CCR ask the Canadian government to collaborate with the African Union to achieve a more humane approach to diplomacy in the Horn of Africa and to use unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral means to apply pressure on:

1. The Ethiopian government to withdraw its soldiers from Somalia and to refrain from further escalating the tension by dragging people into war.
2. The Eritrean government to stop trying to wage their conflict with Ethiopia in Somalia.

That the CCR oppose the arming of CBSA and advocate to overturn the decision.

That the CCR urge CIC to review increasingly serious concerns around interpretation at interviews, including allegations of bias, and ask that standards be adopted to ensure quality of interpretation.

That:

1. The CCR call on the government to enact legislation that unequivocally and absolutely prohibits the use of torture under any circumstances by any person, but in particular by any government official or persons acting in a government-related capacity;
2. This legislation prohibit the use of information garnered as a result of torture;
3. This legislation prohibit actions, including the sharing of information, that might reasonably be expected to place any person at risk of torture.

That the CCR demand that IRPA be amended to require that the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board conduct an independent review of 1 a), b) and c).

That the CCR call on the government to issue regulations or guidelines that would require POE officers to ask persons subject to removal if they fear persecution in their country of origin or of habitual residence before issuing a removal order.

That the CCR:

1. Urge CIC to consider resettlement of Liberians to Canada for whom repatriation is not the preferred option and as part of a broader effort to achieve durable solutions for all Liberian refugees in West Africa.
2. Ask CIC to consult with interested NGOs in Canada regarding resettlement to Canada of Liberian refugees in West Africa.
3. Encourage CIC to review sponsorship cases rejected in 2006 if the refugees live in camp-based situations and were rejected on the basis that repatriation is available to them.
4. Request UNHCR to stop reducing financial support to the refugees in Buduburam Camp and restore the assistance to the past year level.
5. Request CIDA to become actively involved in the post-war reconstruction in Liberia.

That the CCR call upon the Canadian government and urge our sister organizations to ask for other governments to ratify the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture so that this can come into effect as soon as possible.

That the CCR:

1. Call upon the Canadian government and the IRB to enable the continued operation of these regional offices;
2. Request that the IRB provide full access to their resources and facilities to all claimants in all regions.

That the CCR adopt as policy the Proposal for the regularization of individuals and families without status, as approved by the Working Group on Inland Protection, including the call to:

1. Provide an opportunity for seasonal agricultural workers to apply for permanent residence, similar to the opportunity provided under the Live-In Caregiver Program;
2. Introduce an adjustment of status program similar to that introduced in 1972, whereby anyone who was already in Canada by a date (e.g. two years prior) may apply for status.
3. Eliminate processing fees for humanitarian cases.

That the CCR call upon the Canadian government and other governments to support the renewal of all of the current mandates of Special Rapporteurs and special non-conventional procedures of the United Nations in order not to lose their expertise.

That the CCR include, as far as it is possible, at least one panelist intervening in French and offer simultaneous translation for each panel.

That the CCR call upon CIC and the Québec government to establish a new GAR stream that would provide 2 year financial support to regular GARs with longer-term integration issues: medical problems, single mothers, those with little or no education. The other 2 streams would remain as is.

That the CCR:

1. Advocate that the future conclusion of UNHCR Executive Committee on “self-reliance” be broadly stated to include such activities as the right to work, practice professions, run businesses, own property, move freely and choose their place for residence and have travel documents.
2. Advocate that the future conclusion on self-reliance affirm that such rights are integral to UNHCR’s protection mandate.
3. Advocate that CIDA integrate refugee rights to self-reliance activities into its aid and development programs.

That the CCR:

1. Accept the Draft Preamble and Application of the Policy, as amended, for full implementation;
2. Commit to maintaining public education within its membership; 
3. Compile a Glossary of Terms.

That the CCR demand:

1. Access to secure permanent resident status for these workers and their families.
2. Improved working and housing conditions for these workers.
3. That provincial governments enforce the rights guaranteed to migrant workers under provincial employment and human right laws, rather than abdicating this responsibility to foreign governments.

That the CCR request an amendment to the Regulations requiring that a person who is granted approval in principle for landing on H&C grounds be exempt from medical admissibility criteria and be landed without delay.

That the CCR call on the federal government in all of its contracts to ensure a living wage that at least meets the low income cut-off (LICO) or 60% of the average industrial wage, whichever is higher.

That the CCR:

1. Advocate for the addition of Haiti to Canada’s Source Country Resettlement Program.
2. Urge the Canadian government and the UNHCR to find protection solutions for Haitians, both refugees and those internally displaced, including resettlement to Canada of vulnerable persons.
3. Join with NGOs in the USA and elsewhere in the Americas seeking a comprehensive solution to the protection needs of Haitians, both IDPs and refugees.

That the CCR urge the federal and Québec governments to raise the RAP rates to at least the low income cut-off (LICO) rate to bring the government-assisted refugees out of poverty.