Canadian Council for Refugees -
Fall Consultation 2004

“A light in the Window” – is Canada a Safe Haven - Past, Present, Future?

The Fall Consultation 2004 of the Canadian Council for Refugees, entitled "A light in the Window" - is Canada a Safe Haven - Past, Present, Future? took place in Victoria, British Columbia November 18 - 20.

Over 500 delegates, representing various NGO's in the field of immigration and resettlement and Government Departments, packed the Harbour Towers Hotel. 

The opening plenary served as an introduction to the consultation and gave an update on recent developments.  The CCR's annual status report on refugees and immigrants was released, and participants heard about the highlights of CCR activities over the year 2003/2004. 

Robert Orr, Director General, Refugees Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Tom Jensen, Assistant Deputy Minister, BC Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services reviewed Federal and Provincial Government perspectives on recent trends. 

The Consultation included such workshops as: the cost of keeping families separated;Interim Federal Health Program; subsidizing government funding; forced displacement from and in Russia; humanitarian and compassionate applications and the security agenda: impact on refugees and immigrants.

The Immigration and Settlement Working Group met specifically to discuss issues relating to immigration and newcomer settlement.  The group focussed on family reunification as one of the major concerns at this time.  The CCR has produced a report "More than a Nightmare"  highlighting the concerns regarding the delay in reuniting families.  The report can be found on the CCR website at http://www.web.ca/~ccr/releasenov04.html

The meetings afforded an opportunity to present the position of the Jewish community on issues of immigration as well as productive networking and contacts both on the NGO and the Government level.