CCR Resolutions Database

1. The need for language training increases in communities affected by secondary migration;
2. The new funding allocation model does not address the immediate training needs of newcomers now living in affected communities;
3. These communities have long waiting lists for LINC classes;

1. A significant number of refugees applying for private sponsorship are found to be inadmissible pursuant to s. 34(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
2. These refugees are entitled to request Ministerial Relief, and an exemption from inadmissibility, pursuant to s. 34(2) of IRPA, on the grounds that it would not be detrimental to Canada's national interest to admit them to Canada;
3. The CIC policy manuals advise visa officers to consider Ministerial Relief only in cases where it is specifically requested by refugees;

1. IRPA is silent on the issue of statelessness which increases the vulnerability of stateless people;
2. Current data collection systems of the government are inconsistent and ad hoc on statistics relating to statelessness;

1. The IRB has implemented new guidelines related to the conduct of hearings;
2. Many of the provisions contained in these guidelines will result in a denial of refugee claimants' right to be heard and right to counsel;
3. The IRB has implemented these guidelines in a clear attempt to increase the efficiency of the Board without consideration of the negative impact these guidelines will have on claimants' ability to get a fair hearing;
4. The CCR has previously passed a resolution (15, Nov. 1998) on video-conferencing of refugee hearings;

1. The reunification of families continues to be a serious problem for refugees in Canada;
2. No financial support requirement need be satisfied in the resettlement of protected persons;
3. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, children who are granted "protected person" status in Canada are not permitted to include their parents and siblings, either abroad or in Canada, in their applications to be landed as "protected persons";

1. The immigrant and refugee sector has made little attempt to create meaningful linkages with Canada's First Nation communities.
2. Non-aboriginal Canadians (including immigrants and refugees) have been beneficiaries of Canada's policies that have discriminated against Aboriginal communities;

1. Homeless immigrants and refugees are a vulnerable population;
2. HRDC will not issue Social Insurance Numbers without immigration documents and CIC will not issue permanent residence cards without a Social Insurance Number.
3. Immigrants cannot travel without a permanent resident card after December 31, 2003.

1. There are more than 120,000 refugees in the Dadaab camps and 86,000 in Kakuma refugee camp from several different African countries who have been resident there for up to 14 years;
2. Peace processes are underway in the region, which have potential implications to refugees such as possible reduction of services and closure of camps;

1. Many refugee claimants lack identity documents upon arrival;
2. International standards stipulate that people must not be penalized for lack of ID;
3. International guidelines on detention stipulate that undocumented refugee claimants should not normally be detained;

1. Most refugee claimants have no financial source other than their own work. They arrive in Canada with no money and have no family or friends in Canada to assist them financially. They are consequently highly vulnerable and desperate;
2. Refugee claimants cannot receive a work permit without first being medically cleared. It takes a minimum of 2 months from the time a doctor sends the medical results to CIC to the time that CIC actually enters the medical results in the CIC computer system;
3. Once the medical results are entered into the CIC system and a work permit application is filed with CPC-Vegreville it takes another 2 to 3 months before Vegreville issues the work permit;
4. Until a work permit is issued, refugee claimants are ineligible for Social Insurance Numbers which, in turn, prevents them from accessing other community services;

The definition of "dependent child" in IRPA, restricting "dependent child" to "biological" or "adopted child" may result in greater recourse to DNA testing, which is intrusive and possibly harmful to the best interest of children;

1. Undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees who have been living without status in Canada have made and continue to make vital contributions to our society;
2. They have been denied access to basic social supports, health services and educational opportunities;
3. They are exploited and marginalized because of lack of status;
4. The rights of the children of undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees, including those who are Canadian-born, are often violated and they and their parents have no recourse because they are fearful of being deported;
5. An increasingly restrictive Canadian immigration policy serves as a prohibitive barrier to equitable access to immigration to Canada;
6. In the past the Canadian Government has instituted special programs to regularize the status of such persons without status;
7. A just and humane solution must be sought to address the problem of the large numbers of undocumented/non-status immigrants and refugees in the country;

CCR Resolution 8, Nov. 1993 called for physical protection of refugee women in Africa and Resolution 17, June 1994 called for women at risk to have interviews waived;

1. The CCR passed a resolution in November 1994 on guidelines and education on sexual orientation for the IRB (Res. 16);
2. There continues to be a lack of familiarity and sensitivity to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual (LGBT) issues and realities amongst some members of the IRB, RPOs and CIC employees as well as a continuing attitude of homophobia and heterosexism;
3. Members are using the existence of LGBT organizations in the country of origin as evidence of acceptance in the country of origin;
4. Members are using tourist promotional materials directed at LGBT North American communities as evidence of acceptance;
5. Members incorrectly assume that there are no human rights abuses and therefore consider there is evidence of acceptance, in situations where both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are silent on specific countries;
6. Some members state that claimants will experience no problems if they behave in a discreet manner in their country of origin;

1. We are witnessing a significant increase in the number of immigrants recently, and trends indicate that this will likely continue for years to come;
2. We see a significant increase in costs to deliver settlement services, due to increases in rents and other infrastructure costs, increased staff compensation levels, etc;

1. CCR Resolution 39, June 1994 condemned cost recovery fees for Convention refugees and their dependants and requested that processing fees be eliminated for refugees and CCR Resolution 12, May 1995, called the Right of Landing Fee discriminatory, exclusionary and racist and called for the repeal of the Right of Landing Fee for all newcomers to Canada while recognizing the particular burden the head tax laid on refugees;
2. CIC is likely to implement a "user pay" cost recovery fee to pay organizations abroad who are contracted to refer and/or process refugees for resettlement to Canada. The cost recovery mechanism will create additional debt burdens for refugees resettled to Canada;
3. The cost recovery mechanism creates a two-tier system for refugees seeking resettlement because neither sponsors nor UNHCR charge fees to refugees for referral;

1. The CCR passed a resolution to endorse the "Best Practice" Statement developed by the Focal Point on Separated Children (Res. 19, Nov. 2002);
2. There has yet to be a national policy developed on separated children;
3. There is no consistent definition of the term "separated children";
4. Practices differ widely across the country;

The provision of services of a certain quality is a social responsibility for agencies providing services to refugee and immigrant clients;

1. The CCR is concerned globally with the plight of refugees and refugee welfare in their area or place of refuge;
2. Financial assistance provided by CIDA multilaterally to UN agencies and other coordinating bodies does not always result in improving the actual provision of material assistance (food, water, shelter, non-food items, etc.) to refugees;

1. The IRB is denying extensions of time for filing PIFs and where extensions are granted they are for 1-2 weeks maximum;
2. This does not allow for difficulties claimants experience when they:
   a)are detained; b)require translation (language issues);
   c)require an experienced counsel (e.g. gender, sexual orientation);
   d)face delays in obtaining legal aid;
   e)reside in smaller centres with no easy access to counsel;
   f)are survivors of torture and trauma;
3. The IRB is declaring abandonment even where a claimant has produced a PIF and has a reasonable explanation for the delay;

1. Young people are under-represented in the CCR;
2. There are increasing numbers of separated children and youth coming to Canada;
3. In order to remain relevant to immigrants and refugees, the CCR must find ways to increase youth participation;

1. The Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have agreed on a cessation of hostilities and began peace negotiations to end almost two decades of civil war;
2. Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in refugee camps in India met in February 2003 to discuss the peace process and agree on principles for their possible return home;
3. The refugees have come out with a Memorandum of Concern stating that their return home should be "safe, orderly and as a consequence of a peace process that is transparent, democratic and inclusive with a visible commitment to protecting the rights of all Ceylon's citizens and the restoration of their social and material well-being";
4. The refugees have asked for international support of their principles of return;
5. The principles of return as outlined in the Nallayan Declaration Memorandum of Concern are in line with CCR concerns that refugees have a say in decisions impacting on their lives;

1. Permanent residents, protected persons and citizens have the right to establish a longstanding relationship by co-habiting with or marrying a partner of their choice and have children, regardless of status;
2. Families are a key foundation of civil society and every effort should be taken to ensure that partners and their offspring are not separated;

The on-going humanitarian and human insecurity problems continue to plague Iraqis displaced inside or outside the country;

1. People of Arab descent and Muslims of various ethnicities are experiencing being the target of increased discrimination, harassment and racialization following the events of September 11, 2001;
2. Many such victims are reticent out of fear of making public such targeting;
3. There is a need to broaden public awareness of what is happening in our communities concerning this targeting;