When you join the Canadian Council for Refugees, you become part of a vibrant and active national network of over 180 organizations committed to refugee and immigrant rights and the integration of newcomers. The Council serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership.

The CCR has been the national voice on refugee protection and newcomer settlement in Canada for over twenty-five years, successfully getting issues identified by our members onto the agenda of the various players in immigration and refugee law and policy in Canada, including parliamentarians, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Immigration and Refugee Board. We have excellent working relationships with our counterpart NGOs internationally, allowing us to conduct collaborative research and advocacy, enhancing our credibility with governments and intergovernmental organizations.

Many of the national media also turn to the CCR as a reliable and accurate voice on breaking refugee issues.

CCR members receive regular informative mailings containing analyses of policy changes, up-to-date information on refugee and immigration issues and tools to help with grass-roots advocacy and public education initiatives. They also benefit from lower registration rates at our Spring and Fall Consultations.

The most important benefit - and responsibility - of membership is the right to vote, thus the right to shape the policy direction of the Council and the right to nominate and vote for the Executive Committee. By participating in and voting at the Consultations, and at the Summer and Winter Working Group meetings, you help set the policy for the CCR.

For a list of activities carried out by the CCR and its members in the current year see the "Highlights" section in the Annual Report .

The Consultations and Working Group meetings provide an ideal place to network with organizations involved in similar work, and to bring forward for advocacy your issues of concern. Involvement in the CCR provides the staff and volunteers of member organizations with many opportunities for professional development and for networking, as they are invited to participate in various projects, committees and activities, including at the international level.

Members also receive the CCR Membership Directory, which gives a description and coordinates of all the members. It is updated every two years.

Members
To be eligible to become a voting member of the Canadian Council for Refugees, an organization must be a Canadian non-profit organization concerned for refugees and for the settlement in Canada of refugees and immigrants. For reasons of continuity, participation, and commitment we seek organizations as Members rather than individuals, although the latter can join as Associate Members (see below).

To apply to become a Member, please fill out the CCR Member form (print from here or contact the CCR office to be sent a copy) and mail to the CCR office with the required documents. The fee structure can be found on the second page of the form - it tells you what fee to pay according to your organization's budget.

All applications for membership are subject to approval by the CCR Executive Committee. For the Committee to evaluate a membership application from an organization the following information is needed (also stipulated on the application form):

Once we receive your completed application, we will present it for approval to the next meeting of the CCR Executive Committee (at the time of the next Consultation or Working Group meeting, whichever comes first), and you will be informed of the outcome.

Associate Members
This category of membership is for individuals, as only organizations can be full Members with voting rights. However individuals can be Associate Members and enjoy all benefits other than the right to vote.

Note: the CCR does not accept as Associate Members individuals who:

To apply to become an Associate Member, please fill out the CCR Associate Member form (print from here or contact the CCR office to be sent a copy) and mail to the CCR office along with the first year's membership fee. The fee is $100 a year (This fee may be reduced under special circumstances.  For those who are active participants in the CCR, need the mailings to carry out their work and for whom the fee poses a hardship, please tell us as we don’t want to hinder your contribution).

Note that on the application form we ask individuals applying for Associate Membership to provide the name of a person in a CCR member organization who can speak for them, and a brief statement of intent.

All applications for membership are subject to approval by the CCR Executive Committee. For the Committee to evaluate a membership application from an organization the following information is needed (also stipulated on the application form):

Once we receive your completed application we will present it for approval to the next meeting of the CCR Executive Committee (at the time of the next Consultation or Working Group meeting, whichever comes first), and you will be informed of the outcome.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Outside Canada:
NGOs outside of Canada are encouraged to join the CCR, although they are considered non-voting members. Benefits include:

To apply to become a non-Canadian member of the CCR, please fill out the CCR Member form and put a check beside the "non-Canadian member" box. (Print the form from here or contact the CCR office to be sent a copy). Mail it to the CCR office with the required documents. The fee structure can be found on the back of the form - it tells you what fee to pay according to your organization's budget.

Applications for membership are subject to approval by the CCR Executive Committee. For the Committee to evaluate a membership application from an organization the following information is needed:

• A completed application form
• The first year's membership fee (Note: organizations in non-Western countries are eligible for an exemption of membership fees - see guidelines below)
• A copy of your organisation's constitution or mission statement, if one exists, or a description of the agency's work relating to refugees and immigrants
• Confirmation that the Board or Executive committee has endorsed application for membership in the Canadian Council for Refugees (e.g. extract from minutes)

Guidelines for Non-Western organizations offered non-paying membership
Applicants from non-Western countries are exempted from membership dues, but are asked to identify their areas of interest and the benefits that they are seeking from membership in the CCR. A CCR contact person will be designated for each non-Canadian non-paying member to communicate with the member from time to time. In lieu of payment of fees the CCR will annually require from the organization a letter stating their interest in continuing as members of the CCR.

To apply to become a non-Canadian non-paying member of the Canadian Council for refugees, fill out the Member form and mark on it that you are applying to be a non-paying non-Canadian member. Mail it to the CCR office with the required documents.

Once we receive your completed application we will present it for approval to the next meeting of the CCR Executive Committee (at the time of the next Consultation or Working Group meeting, whichever comes first), and you will be informed of the outcome.

Observer Status
Organizations that support the general goals of the CCR but cannot appropriately join as full members may seek observer status. Observers do not have the right to vote, but otherwise enjoy the same privileges as members (notably mailings and lower registration rates at Consultations). The same fee scale as for members applies.

To apply to become an Observer, please fill out the CCR Observer form (print from here or contact the CCR office to be sent a copy) and fill out and mail to the CCR with the required documents. The fee structure can be found on the second page of the form - it tells you what fee to pay according to your organization's budget.

Applications for Observer status, like membership, are subject to approval by the CCR Executive. For the Committee to evaluate a membership application from an organization the following information is needed:

• a completed application form
• the first year's membership fee
• a copy of your organization's mission statement or constitution, or a description of the work it does relating to refugees and immigrants
• a copy of the last completed financial report

Once we receive your completed application we will present it for approval to the next meeting of the CCR Executive Committee (at the time of the next Consultation or Working Group meeting, whichever comes first), and you will be informed of the outcome.

Q. How long is the membership term for?
A. One calendar year - from 1 January to 31 December.

Q. When are members dues due?
A. We require that members pay their annual member dues by the Spring Consultation (May or June). If for cashflow reasons, your organization is unable to pay its dues in the first month of any year, we are open to requests for an extension to accomodate your organization’s situation.

Starting in the year 2006, if we don't receive your organization's renewal dues by the Spring Consultation, or a request for postponement, we will no longer be able to consider you a member, and mailings and other benefits will cease.

Q. How are members notified to renew their membership dues?
A. The CCR office mails invoices to all its members in January, and a reminder notice one month before the Spring Consultation.  If members have not paid by then, they can do so at the Spring Consultation registration desk.

Q. If a national organization joins the CCR (for example, the United Church of Canada's national office), can the branch offices or local parishes enjoy the benefits of membership?
A. The local bodies can benefit from the preferential CCR member registration rate at CCR Consultations. However, the mailings by the CCR office will be sent only to the officially designated member that applied i.e. the national office. To receive the mailings, the local bodies would have to take out their own membership. Also there is only one vote per member organization.

Q. Is there a special membership rate for students?
A. Since the CCR is an umbrella association with primarily organizations and groups as its members, we do not have categories for individual membership other than Associate Member.

If you have questions about joining the CCR, or your pending application, contact Colleen French, CCR Communications and Networking Coordinator, at telephone 514-277-7223 ext. 1, or by email at cfrench@ccrweb.ca.

If you are an existing CCR member and have questions about your fees, mailings, or such like, please contact Guadalupe Macias, Office Manager at telephone 514-277-7223 ext. 4, or by email at gmacias@ccrweb.ca.

If you are not sure, contact either!