Resolution number
3
Whereas
- The legal definition of family used in the Canadian immigration system is an impediment to family reunification;
- The current definition of the family in immigration law is based on a traditional, first-world (Western or Global North) and heterosexist vision of the family. In effect, this definition is narrow and discriminatory;
- As soon as a dependent person does not meet the current family definition criteria, the application is rejected;
- Past CCR resolutions on family reunification that touch on the definition of family, including the November 2011 resolution: "An increased commitment to family reunification", do not include the reality of LGBTQ+ immigrants and other social groups.
Therefore be it resolved
that the CCR:
- Supports a definition of family that takes into account the family realities observed in various cultural communities and other family dependency situations (multigenerational family, de facto child, brother and sister, etc.), as well as the specific realities of other diverse social groups, including the families of people from LGBTQ+ communities.
Subject
Working Group
Overseas Protection and Resettlement