Action on Refugee Rights:
Public Statements:
The CUC and Refugee Sponsorship
In the world of refugee resettlement, 2016 was a phenomenal year that saw an outpouring of generosity from Canadians who responded to resettle Syrian refugees.
What began as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis quickly grew in the minds and hearts of Canadian Unitarians to encompass refugees from around the world. Since December of 2015, Unitarians across Canada have welcomed 176 newcomers from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Gambia.
Canadian Unitarian congregations currently have 34 applications in progress (as of January 2017), representing another 75 individuals we are waiting to welcome to Canada from around the world.
As a result of these changes, we have been allocated 30 spaces for the 2017 calendar year. We are very disappointed with this response from the government as we had requested almost 80 spaces on behalf of our congregations. These spaces have been allocated using the following criteria: date of request, urgency of sponsorship, number of spaces required, readiness of sponsoring group.
A Campaign to Fix Canada’s Broken Refugee System
“How authentic is Canada’s welcome… To speak out against the present slow processing of refugees, Victoria Unitarians have joined their local Anglican Cathedral and Diocese and others. They are protesting the broken promises of the government made in March 2016 to throw open Canada’s doors to refugees, as well as the lack of transparency about the refugee system and families’ status in the increasingly long waiting system…”