Media Advisory
For immediate release
May 9, 2005
May 9, 2005
Canadian Council for Refugees Spring Consultation,
Fredericton, June 2-4, 2005
Members of the media are invited to a national conference
on refugee and immigration issues taking place in Fredericton. The
theme of the Consultation is “Forced Migration and the Family.”
Most of the Consultation sessions are open to the media. A good part of this Consultation will deal with the problem of separated refugee families, an issue currently of particular concern to the CCR and its members. Many refugees in Canada are desperately trying to reunite with spouses and children overseas, but confront numerous barriers, such as interminable delays and at worst, no legal way to be allowed to bring them to Canada at all.
Workshops include:
Introduction to family reunification: Canadian law and policies Workshop Thursday 2 June, 9-10:30 a.m.
Excluded family members: Workshop Thursday 2 June, 2-3:30 p.m.
Torture and the family: Workshop Thursday 2 June, 2-3:30 p.m.
Diaspora, Islam and Gender: report on research Workshop Friday 3 June, 9-10:30 a.m.
Other Consultation workshops will highlight pressing issues such as monitoring of the Safe Third Country agreement, addressing systemic racism in government departments, creating a gendered approach to settlement services, and youth and access to education.
The CCR Consultation will bring together people from across Canada active in the field of refugee and immigrant issues. Participants, both national and local, will include senior representatives of refugee and immigrant-serving organizations, churches, policy-makers, as well as academics, lawyers, and refugees currently in Canada. There will be opportunities to arrange interviews with participants.
We encourage media representatives to contact us beforehand to discuss what you would like to cover, and to please present themselves at the CCR registration desk on site.
When: 2-4 June, CCR Spring Consultation 2005
Location: Fredericton Inn, 1315 Regent Street, Tel: (506) 455-1430
Consultation program and other details: On the CCR web site at www.web.ca/~ccr/meetings
Contact: Catherine Balfour, Communications and Networking Co-ordinator, tel. (514) 277-7223 ext. 1, ccr4@web.ca
Most of the Consultation sessions are open to the media. A good part of this Consultation will deal with the problem of separated refugee families, an issue currently of particular concern to the CCR and its members. Many refugees in Canada are desperately trying to reunite with spouses and children overseas, but confront numerous barriers, such as interminable delays and at worst, no legal way to be allowed to bring them to Canada at all.
Workshops include:
Introduction to family reunification: Canadian law and policies Workshop Thursday 2 June, 9-10:30 a.m.
Excluded family members: Workshop Thursday 2 June, 2-3:30 p.m.
Torture and the family: Workshop Thursday 2 June, 2-3:30 p.m.
Diaspora, Islam and Gender: report on research Workshop Friday 3 June, 9-10:30 a.m.
Other Consultation workshops will highlight pressing issues such as monitoring of the Safe Third Country agreement, addressing systemic racism in government departments, creating a gendered approach to settlement services, and youth and access to education.
The CCR Consultation will bring together people from across Canada active in the field of refugee and immigrant issues. Participants, both national and local, will include senior representatives of refugee and immigrant-serving organizations, churches, policy-makers, as well as academics, lawyers, and refugees currently in Canada. There will be opportunities to arrange interviews with participants.
We encourage media representatives to contact us beforehand to discuss what you would like to cover, and to please present themselves at the CCR registration desk on site.
When: 2-4 June, CCR Spring Consultation 2005
Location: Fredericton Inn, 1315 Regent Street, Tel: (506) 455-1430
Consultation program and other details: On the CCR web site at www.web.ca/~ccr/meetings
Contact: Catherine Balfour, Communications and Networking Co-ordinator, tel. (514) 277-7223 ext. 1, ccr4@web.ca
The Canadian Council for Refugees is a non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada. The membership is made up of over 180 organizations involved in refugee protection and sponsorship and in newcomer settlement. The CCR serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership.
6839 Drolet #302, Montréal, QC, Canada
H2S 2T1 TEL.: (514) 277-7223 FAX : (514) 277-1447
EMAIL: ccr@web.ca WEB SITE: www.web.ca/~ccr/
EMAIL: ccr@web.ca WEB SITE: www.web.ca/~ccr/