CCR Resolutions Database

That the CCR urge the Canadian government to:

1. Send a strong protest to the government of Sudan condemning its deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing in Darfur region and requesting the government of Sudan to grant full and unhindered access to Darfur region by international organizations.
2. Raise the issue of ethnic cleansing in Darfur at the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and other international for a.
3. Explore the possibility of joining in a fact finding trip to Darfur region.

That the CCR:

1. Inform CIC of the well-documented evidence of systematic human rights violations, the recognition by certain IRB members of said violations as persecution and the inconsistent decision-making on Palestinian claims.
2. Call on CIC to facilitate the H&C process, in light of the unique circumstances faced by stateless Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, to allow the refused refugee claimants to be granted permanent resident status in Canada.
3. Call on CIC to collaborate with the Palestinian community in Canada to resolve the problems of ID requirements that may be faced by stateless Palestinian refugees.

That the CCR urge CIC to:

1. Develop a policy which clearly states that reporting newborn children will not jeopardize a family’s passage to Canada.
2. Communicate this policy to all embassies and UNHCR requiring that this policy be broadcast throughout the refugee population.
3. Distribute this policy to refugee support systems in Canada for dissemination in ethnocultural communities.
4. Facilitate a variety of avenues in which to report newborn children and ensure that applicants receive such information.

That the CCR, in collaboration with other sector organizations, seek funding from appropriate sources and contingent upon securing appropriate resources, undertake a feasibility study on Professional Certification within the settlement sector.

That the CCR ask the Government of Canada to urge UNHCR to insist as a matter of principle in its discussions and negotiations with host governments and governments of countries of origin that refugees, especially refugee women, be included as active partners in the negotiation, planning and implementation of all voluntary repatriation processes.

That the CCR:

1. Recognize that recourse to sanctuary may be necessary to protect asylum seekers whose lives or security would be jeopardized if removed from Canada.
2. Deplore the recent, first-known, violation of sanctuary in Canada by police acting with force and in apparent close cooperation with CBSA and other government officials.
3. When sanctuary is necessary, encourage those providing it to inform the CCR membership, so that members may assist in encouraging the government to reconsider the situation that leads to sanctuary.
4. Take appropriate action to encourage the government to reconsider the situation that leads to sanctuary.
5. Re-affirm the need for the implementation of the appeal on the merits for refused refugee claimants.
6. Call upon the Canadian government to continue to respect the historic right of sanctuary.

That the CCR:

1. Urge the UNHCR to ensure that conducive conditions exist before beginning any voluntary repatriation of refugees from the camps.
2. Urge the UNHCR to continue to promote resettlement as a durable solution for these refugees.
3. Encourage the Canadian government to continue to actively assist the UNHCR in promoting resettlement as a durable solution for these vulnerable populations;
4. Encourage the Canadian government to increase funding to the UNHCR and WFP programs and services in the camps.

That the CCR call on the government of Canada (CIC and IRB) to adhere to international standards with respect to detention of refugee claimants, and to ensure that refugee claimants not be detained for more time than is required to conduct initial enquiries as to the person's identity. Ascertaining a person's identity should not be dependent on an ability to produce an identity document.

That the CCR:

1. Write to CIC to request that CPC-Vegreville be instructed to give the processing of refugee claimants' work permits a priority in order to avoid an extended period of undue hardship and vulnerability; and that the work permits issued be for a minimum of one year.
2. Write to CIC to request an increase in resources to CPC-Vegreville and to medical services to allow for priority processing of work permit applications.
3. Send copies of these letters to the relevant provincial authorities.
4. Request that CPC-Vegreville be instructed to stop the practice of setting an arbitrary date for leaving Canada under the Conditions of Issue.

That the CCR call upon the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to develop guidelines for immigration and visa officers to accept uncontradicted affidavit evidence by parents and third parties as evidence of relationship in the absence of birth certificates, before requesting DNA testing.

That the CCR:

1. Urge Canadian Heritage/Status of Women Canada to support the implementation and the recommendations from the National Conference on Trafficked Women and Children.
2. Urge to the Federal Inter-Departmental Working Group to include CCR in the discussions on trafficked persons.

That the CCR:

1. Urge CIC to expand eligibility to settlement services to those living on work permits.
2. Undertake to examine the issues of, needs of and work being done with people living on temporary work permits.

That the CCR:

1. Urge the Canadian Government to set resettlement targets at a minimum of 8% of overall immigration targets, while respecting the private sponsorship principle of additionality;
2. Work together with the SAH representatives to the NGO-Government Committee on the Private Sponsorship of Refugees to negotiate annual private sponsorship targets with CIC.

That the CCR:

1. Call on the Government of Canada to expand the definition of protected persons to include trafficked persons.
2. Call on the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to urgently develop a regulatory class.
3. Call on CIC to give trafficked persons special consideration under H&C, and to accompany this with a regulatory stay.
4. Insist that these measures not be tied to providing testimony and not be punitive.
5. Call on CIC to give trafficked persons access to Interim Federal Health (IFH) benefits, work permits and legal aid.
6. Call on the IRB to address the special circumstances of trafficked persons in the gender guidelines.
7. Call on the federal and provincial governments to ensure that separated children have guardians assigned to them.

That the CCR ask that the regulations be amended to waive the processing fee for all protected persons in Canada, consistent with the waiver of this fee for overseas protected persons.

That the CCR call upon the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to develop guidelines for his officers to ensure that the best interests of children affected by a deportation decision are given "primary consideration" as required by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and that, for greater certainty, on public policy grounds, there is a presumption that deportation of the parent of a minor child in Canada would not be in the child's best interest.

That the CCR encourage the involvement and participation of youth at every CCR consultation by designating a local youth organizing committee and furthermore that the CCR support youth participation.

That CCR write to Treasury Board and CIC urging them to:

1. Stop the implementation of iCAMS until the issues between CIC national and CIC region have been resolved.
2. Review the iCAMS system in light of the new Voluntary Sector agreement to ensure that it conforms with the Code of Good Practices on Funding.
3. Take into consideration CCR's previous resolutions from May 2001(Res. 1), Dec. 2000 (Res. 16) and May 1999 (Res. 4).

That the CCR:

1. Strongly urge the Minister to amend IRPA to include statelessness as a ground for protection (both in Canada and for resettlement).
2. In the alternative, use the authority of subsection 25(1) to establish "protection of stateless persons" as a public policy category for permanent residence and amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to include statelessness as a ground for resettlement to Canada.
3. As an interim measure urge CIC to amend the Immigration Manual, Chapter IP5, to include statelessness as a factor for landing in H&C applications. ID requirements and establishment requirements should be waived in view of the special hardships faced by stateless persons.

That the CCR ask CIC and the IRB to release refugee claimants who satisfy their identity requirements, without a bond.

That the CCR:

1. Call on the Immigration and Refugee Board to ensure that in all of its regions a request for change of venue not be rejected where a claimant can show that hardship would result from such a rejection.
2. Call on the IRB and CIC to allow persons to choose their place of hearing where hardship would result from a refusal to grant this choice.

That the CCR work with the UNHCR and with the UN committee that monitors the Hague Convention and with the Departments of Justice of the provinces which are parties to the Hague Convention to ensure that these two international covenants are applied in a manner that does not interfere with a child's right to have a refugee claim determined and not to be refouled to a country where she has a well-founded fear of persecution.

That the CCR endorse the following Client Code of Service Rights and encourage its use by CCR member organizations:

1. You have the right to receive services in a trusting, respectful and supportive environment free of any form of discrimination or harassment.
2. You have the right of privacy and confidentiality and to disclose only what you believe is necessary at any given time.
3. Staff limits of confidentiality include: the requirement to report incidents of child abuse, to comply with a court ordered subpoena and to prevent harm.
4. The file is the property of [Agency name] and you have the right to review it and make comments if you disagree with the contents of the file.
5. You make decisions about your needs and goals.
6. You have the right to refuse services at any time or to request service from an alternate person.
7. You have the right to receive accurate, complete and timely information.
8. You have the right to a safe, fair and transparent complaint process when you feel that your rights have been violated.

That the CCR:

1. Call on the Government of Canada to urge the UNHCR to provide humanitarian aid adequate for the safety, health and maintenance of these vulnerable populations.
2. Urge Citizenship and Immigration Canada to expedite early resettlement of persons in urgent need of resettlement.

That CCR call upon the federal and provincial governments to establish procedures to ensure effective access to counsel for all immigration detainees, including free telephone access and face to face communication with counsel.