| Canadian Council for Refugees

Fall Consultation 2020

The CCR Fall Consultation will take place on-line 26 November - 11 December on the theme of: Challenges and beyond: thriving in the era of a pandemic.

As we all grapple with the reverberations of the pandemic, refugees, refugee claimants, migrants and newcomers face a unique set of challenges. So do those working to support them.

Through these trials and tribulations, what does it look like to survive and to thrive? This consultation will highlight key issues affecting vulnerable communities as well new opportunities emerging in the midst of a health crisis. Participants will share strategies, tools and resources to move beyond the challenges.

Registration now open!

Workshops, CCR consultation, Fall 2020

"Early" sessions begin at:

12pm Eastern
1:30pm Newfoundland
1pm Atlantic
11am Central
10am Mountain
9am Pacific

"Late" sessions begin at:

2:30pm Eastern
4pm Newfoundland
3:30pm Atlantic
1:30pm Central
12:30pm Mountain
11:30am Pacific

All sessions last 90 minutes (unless otherwise indicated).

Note: the workshops on "US-Canada border" and "refugee determination" have switched dates since the program was first announced.

Opening plenary with keynote speaker Senator Ratna Omidvar | 26 Nov 2020 | Early
Creating ally ship: Indigenous perspectives on welcoming newcomers | 26 Nov 2020 | Late
The US-Canada border in the age of COVID | 27 Nov 2020 | Early
Innovative Approaches to Housing | 27 Nov 2020 | Late
Security Inadmissibility: Lives in Limbo | 30 Nov 2020 | Early
Family Reunification Challenges | 30 Nov 2020 | Late
Working Group meetings Part 1 | 1 Dec 2020 | Early
Walk a Mile in These Shoes | 1 Dec 2020 | Late
Addressing refugee determination issues during COVID | 2 Dec 2020 | Early
Anti-Black racism – inequities in systems | 2 Dec 2020 | Late
Family or Stranger? Who Canada Welcomes | 3 Dec 2020 | Early
Youth Engagement Sustainability Toolkit Launch: Sharing key lessons and important questions to consider | 3 Dec 2020 | Late
Dealing with the Pandemic - Training Workshop | 4 Dec 2020 | Early
Anti-trafficking: seeking remedies and protection | 4 Dec 2020 | Late
Rethinking Boundaries: A Fireside Chat with IRCC | 7 Dec 2020 | Early
Changing perceptions by centring newcomer voices | 7 Dec 2020 | Late
Overseas Protection and Resettlement Working Group meeting | 8 Dec 2020 | Early
Immigration and Settlement Working Group meeting | 8 Dec 2020 | Late
Inland Protection Working Group meeting | 9 Dec 2020 | Early
The Global Refugee Regime: Options for the Never-to-be-resettled | 9 Dec 2020 | Late
Caucus: International Medical Graduates | 10 Dec 2020 | Early
Caucus: African Refugee Network | 10 Dec 2020 | Late
Annual General Meeting | 11 Dec 2020 | Early

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

Workshops, CCR consultation, Fall 2020

General Information

Consultations

Working group meetings

Photography, filming and audio recording

Consultation reports

Working groups

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