18 December 2024
The Honourable Marc Miller, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
RE: Pause on G5 sponsorships and reduction in levels for Privately Sponsored Refugees
Dear Minister,
I am writing to communicate the strong disappointment of the Canadian Council for Refugees at your decision to close the Group of 5 (G5) and Community sponsorship programs to new applications until 2026.
Since the announcement we have heard from many how devastating the news is for the people who have been looking to Canada for refuge. The pause is particularly cruel for those whose sponsors had been working for months to prepare applications, often paying thousands of dollars to lawyers or consultants, and in some cases having already begun the application in the portal. Now Canadian sponsors need to break the news that our government has said “no” before the application could even be submitted.
Over the summer, we were consulted by your department on possible intake control mechanisms. In the input we gave at that time, we strongly opposed the option of a zero cap. That input was informed by consultation with members and G5 sponsors.
The decision to pause G5 applications follows on the dramatic cuts in the targets for privately sponsored refugees you recently announced. The 2025 levels eliminate spaces for 5,000 privately sponsored people, meaning longer waits for the over 90,000 people with applications in process. They are living in situations of daily insecurity, while Canadians anxiously wait to welcome them. With the current low targets, many applicants can expect to wait four years before they can come to safety in Canada – years during which their lives are at risk, their health compromised, and their children denied education.
Although Sponsorship Agreement Holders are still able to submit private sponsorship applications, their caps have been significantly reduced, making it all the more unrealistic for Groups of Five to submit their sponsorship through a SAH.
Closing the door on privately sponsored refugees makes no sense when worldwide there are more refugees than ever needing protection, and Canadians are willing and able to welcome them. All the costs for refugees in this category are covered by private citizens, who support them financially on arrival, help them find housing and a job, and introduce them to their new community. Very soon these newcomers are contributing economically and in so many other ways to our communities and country.
Canada’s private sponsorship program has been an extraordinarily successful program, of which Canadians are rightly proud. For over 45 years, the program has given ordinary Canadians a unique opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of people who have been forcibly displaced. It is a model that other countries around the world are copying – yet here in Canada we are backing down when the world’s displaced need us to step up.
Canadians want and must be provided uninterrupted access to a program that allows them to band together and create community for people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are requesting that you ensure that Canadians are able to exercise their generosity to sponsor refugees and that levels targets match that generosity and enable those sponsored to begin their new lives in Canada without delay.
We would like to request a meeting with you that will also include representatives of Groups of Five, as an important first step towards rethinking this decision (in particular in regard to people who had invested heavily in preparing an application), and ensuring that the levels are adequate.
More specifically, we urge you to:
- Ensure any G5/CS applications that have been partially completed in the portal can be finalized and submitted for processing
- Allow the submission of G5 applications of children or adult dependents whose files were about to be submitted as files linked to family members whose sponsorship applications have already been submitted, and on whom they are dependent
- Show flexibility in giving applicants a chance to address issues with applications already submitted, rather than returning applications as incomplete (and thus preventing the applications from being processed).
Sincerely,
Diana Gallego
President