Spring Consultation 2019

Canadian Council for Refugees Spring Consultation

30 May - 1 June 2019, Victoria, BC

Roots: Reconciling the global with the local

Join more than 300 others in Victoria to explore current issues affecting refugee protection and newcomer settlement at our Spring Consultation, with a special focus on dialogue about newcomer settlement on Indigenous land, and building bridges with Indigenous People. All are welcome to participate!

With views from all Canadian provinces and with experts in diverse fields, the Consultation offers opportunities for professional development, networking and strategy.

Consultation program

Click here for an overview of program and other important information.

Registration

Register online before 24 May 2019 at noon!

Plenary speakers

Carey Newman, Kwagiulth and Coast Salish artist and Audain Professor at University of Victoria. Creator of the Witness Blanket.
Richard Wex, Chairperson, Immigration and Refugee Board
Hassan Al-Kontar, Syrian refugee and activist, stranded for 7 months in a Malaysian airport

Highlights

Workshops on a wide range of topics including:

Building Bridges: settlement on Indigenous lands
Housing for refugee claimants
Root Causes: the Supreme Court Nevsun case
Private sponsorship issues
Complementary pathways
Newcomer youth engagement

Join us to discuss key current issues:

Caregiver Programs
Access to legal aid
Sponsor – settlement agency relations
Addressing public opinion
Proposed changes to the refugee determination process

And more: ccrweb.ca/en/consultation-workshops

Not yet a CCR member? There’s no better time to become one...

Coming to the CCR Consultation in Victoria? There is no better time to apply for membership as a Member (for groups and organizations) or as an Associate Member (for unaffiliated individuals).

Submit a complete membership application and your Consultation registration by 24 May 2019 to receive your membership for 2019. Click here for more details.

If your group or organization is not yet a member of the CCR, you may be missing out on perks like Consultation registration discounts, free webinars and online resources for CCR members only.

Already an Associate Member or with a CCR member organization? Please share this opportunity with ‘future Members’ attending the Consultation!

Why participate?

‘‘I loved the opportunity to share, but also to see the many people involved in the field! It’s energizing and motivational!’’

‘‘My clients face these issues and it’s important for me to hear from other workers about possible solutions.’’

‘‘It takes extra effort to keep updated when you do it on your own so being a part of the CCR and the energy of people who care was absolutely wonderful, refreshing, and a good reminder of what matters.’’

‘‘A lot of the consultation was useful to me and my work. I feel that I will be able to bring a lot of what I learned back to my team.’’

‘‘It was nice hearing questions, comments and concerns addressed by both people who work in the refugee sector and from refugees themselves.’’

‘‘I appreciated the open environment and the speakers’ abilities to navigate a conversation so that everyone felt heard.”

General Information

Consultations

The Canadian Council for Refugees holds two Consultations each year, one in the spring (May or June) and one in the fall (November or December). The Consultations are held in different cities.

CCR Consultations address issues of refugee protection and immigrant and refugee settlement. They bring together 300 or more people from across Canada and beyond. Participants include refugees, immigrants, representatives of NGOs, government, UNHCR, academics and international guests. A General meeting of members is always held at these Consultations, where the resolutions that drive CCR policy are moved and adopted.

The consultations offer a key opportunity for information-exchange, networking, strategy development and discussion.

People who work with newcomers and those with a personal interest in refugees and immigrants are warmly invited.

The consultation is an excellent opportunity to:

meet and learn from experts in the field
exchange information and prepare resolutions on a broad range of refugee and newcomer issues
contribute to the CCR working groups’ ongoing dialogue on policy and legislation.

Working group meetings

The CCR’s three Working Groups provide a forum to exchange information, network and develop policy positions on issues related to the Working Group.

Each Working Group is responsible for following issues, promoting engagement of members and the public, developing recommendations for policy and action, and encouraging learning. This includes planning workshops, preparing resolutions, following up on action items, and advising the CCR Executive on policy. Click here for further information on the terms of reference for the Working Groups.

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 are closed to representatives of government and the media.

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

Click here for more information about the CCR Working Groups

Photography, filming and audio recording

To protect the privacy of participants, we ask you to respect our policy restricting any forms of recording during CCR sessions. You may however take photos (or film or audio record) outside the CCR sessions (for example in the coffee area or lobbies, or before or after a workshop session), but ONLY after explaining the purpose and obtaining permission of each person photographed, filmed or recorded. The policy is available at http://ccrweb.ca/en/policy-recording

There will be CCR photographers taking pictures during some of the sessions, so that we can document the consultation. If you do not wish to be included in any of the photos, sit in the part of the room that is marked as photo-free. In certain circumstances, the CCR may grant exceptions to specific projects involving recording during a session. Applicants would need to make a request in advance. For more information, see http://ccrweb.ca/en/recording-request.

Languages

Upcoming meetings

Upcoming webinars