Do you want to be part of efforts to promote rights for refugees? Want to participate in in-depth discussions on pressing issues affecting refugees and immigrants in Canada? Looking for an opportunity to share information and strategies with others from across Canada?

Participate in the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) Working Group meetings in Toronto, 23 and 24 February 2018.

Anyone interested is welcome to participate, especially CCR members; however meetings are closed to media and government employees.

There is no cost to participate and there is no need to register in advance.

FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2018: Salvation Army, 160 Jarvis St., Toronto

9:30am - 5pm: Inland Protection Working Group meeting

SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2018: Salvation Army, 160 Jarvis St., Toronto

9:30am – 4:30pm: Overseas Protection & Resettlement Working Group meeting

9:30am – 4:30pm: Immigration and Settlement Working Group meeting

On Thursday 22 February, 3pm - 7pm there will be a training session for CCR members. The training will be on CCR policies and practices, and is designed for current and potential future CCR leaders. Click here for more details and to sign up to this session.

Not able to come to Toronto for the Working Group meetings?

The CCR will be holding a virtual meeting for CCR members in English on Tuesday 20 February at 1:30pm Eastern, for those unable to participate in the CCR Working Group meetings in person.

The virtual meeting will be an opportunity to:

• Hear recent updates on priority issues
• Give input on matters on the agenda of the working group meetings 
• Raise current issues of concern to the participants (for possible follow up by the Working Groups)

Click here to register for the English-language virtual meeting on 20 February. You must be logged in to your account on the CCR website to access this page.

Are you with a CCR member organization and you don’t yet have an account? Sign up for one here.

There will also be a similar virtual meeting ​in French on Tuesday 20 February 3pm (Eastern time).

How to get there:

The Salvation Army Harbour Light Ministries in Toronto is located at 160 Jarvis Street between Queen and Shuter.

By public transport - Queen subway station. Walk or take the streetcar – no.s 501 or 502 - east from the station.

By car - Click here for a map of the area.

Parking - There is no parking available at the Salvation Army. Street parking is possible, but you need to pay every two hours.

On the agenda:

Proposed agendas for the meeting will be sent to the CCR listserve (CCRLIST) and posted on the webpages of each Working Group.

Draft agendas for the meeting will be available on the Working Group webpages for logged-in CCR members and will also be sent by email to the CCRLIST.

About the Working Group meetings

The CCR’s three Working Groups provide a forum to exchange information, network and develop policy positions in their respective area of interest.

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