CCR Resolutions Database

that the CCR write immediately to the B.C. Minister of Social Services, Joy Macphail, to demand the immediate repeal of these regulations and to remind her of:

1. Canada's international obligations to refugee claimants;
2. The length of time rejected refugee claimants remain in Canada prior to deportation;
3. The social and economic plight of newly arrived refugee claimants.

1. The settlement core group on behalf of the settlement working group:

*  monitor the Settlement Renewal process;

* further develop these principles and draft others which address gaps in the current set;

* develop standards which relate to these principles;

2. The CCR forward this document immediately, followed by any subsequent principles and standards, to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for inclusion in the legal agreements between the Federal Government and partners as determined through the Settlement Renewal process;
3. The CCR communicate these principles to all the participants of the Settlement Renewal workshop.

NATIONAL PRINCIPLES

National principles must be upheld by national standards.  These standards still need to be developed along with mechanisms which ensure compliance.

1.   Client eligibility

a) Settlement/integration services should be available to immigrants/refugees based on need rather than on immigration status or length of time in Canada;

2.   Eligibility of Service Deliverers:

b) Services which are mandated by provincial, regional, or local governments (health care, primary‑secondary education, administration of justice) should not be funded as settlement and integration services;

c) Not‑for‑profit, community‑based organizations with proven track records, and a primary mandate in delivering settlement/integration services should be given funding priority;

d) Service-providers should have expertise and skills in the field of settlement and integration;

3.   Rights of clients:

e) Providers of settlement and integration services must respect and protect fundamental rights of clients (eg. confidentiality, legal, etc.);

f) Services should be delivered in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate and free from racism and other forms of discrimination;

g) Organizations collecting and using data must meet standards of appropriateness, confidentiality, validity, etc. and must be accountable to the clients whose information is being collected;

4.   Comprehensiveness of services:

h) Where appropriate and practical, clients should be able to choose from among service-providers the approach to service-delivery that best meets their needs;

i) Settlement/integration services should:

-  meet national standards,

-  reflect changing needs of the local community,

-  meet the self-defined needs of the individual immigrant/refugee;

5.   Accessibility of services

j) Services should be made accessible by identifying and removing systemic barriers;

6.   Priority-setting and funding allocation process

k)Where established, local or regional advisory bodies should identify local settlement and integration priorities.  These non-partisan bodies should be composed of community members with expertise in the provision of settlement services and reflect the ethno-racial composition of the client group;

7.   Humanitarian Obligations

l)Settlement Renewal should not reduce the federal government's national obligations to international responsibility-sharing and offering a safe haven to refugees.  The rights and needs of refugees must be integrated and guaranteed priority in the provision of settlement and integration services;

8.   Accountability

m) Allocation of settlement funds should be utilized solely for settlement/integration services;

n) Methods for ensuring accountability should be appropriate, realistic and cost effective. They should:

-reflect accountability methods already in place;

-not constitute "undue scrutiny" in comparison with practices for other comparable service sectors;

9.   Enduring Federal Role

o) A strong federal role must include a commitment to continue to fund settlement services at a rate not less than the 1994/95 funding level.

that the CCR, in addition to other previously adopted recommendations:

1. Call on the Department to:
   • Establish accountability mechanisms, including civilian oversight or an ombudsman, for the Enforcement Branch of the Immigration Department;
   • Protect the deportee's identity vis-a-vis the country to which they are being deported;
   • Respect the principle of family unity by ordering that removals never be effected when the removal would lead to family separation;
2. Endorse the following recommendations of the assessment of the CIC-RCMP task force, dated May 25, 1995:
   • that the Department develop a Code of Conduct and Discipline for investigators;
   • that the Department undertake a pro-active recruiting campaign to attract women and visible minorities to the enforcement function;
   • that the Department design and implement a community based approach to the issue of illegal immigration;
   • that all persons employed in the enforcement function receive cross cultural training.

That the CCR strongly express its disappointment and disagreement with the Minister's failure to establish an appeal process whereby unsuccessful refugee claimants could appeal a negative decision of the IRB on the merits.

that the CCR call on the Minister to:

1. Establish a fair procedure to determine if the applicant has met the exceptions set out in 19(f) and (l) and create similar exceptions for subsections (e) and (k);
2. Define what is meant by the phrase "detrimental to the national interest" in order to avoid vagueness and uncertainty;
3. Allow a review of these decisions by an independent and impartial tribunal such as the IRB.

that the CCR:

1. Press the government of Canada not to enter into agreement with the U.S. unless those guarantees are satisfied;
2. Demand a public hearing on the new draft agreement before it is signed and seek opportunities to comment on the proposed agreement.

that the CCR:

1. Call on CIC to stop the present discriminatory practice of requesting DNA testing from people from mainly Third World countries.
2. Strongly urge the Minister to establish and publish clear guidelines as to what constitutes reasonable grounds of doubt which would justify a request for DNA testing.

that the CCR:

1. Call for a repeal of the Right of Landing Fee for all newcomers accepted for landing in Canada;
2. Urge the federal government to recognize the distinctive burden that the "head tax" lays on refugees and their families.

that the CCR ask the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration:

1. To instruct Immigration enforcement officials that all restraints be removed before an IRB hearing;
2. To ask the IRB to provide a reasonable and sufficient level of security so that restraints can be removed safely and in a way that the claimants are not compromised, the Board members remain without bias and a clear and fair refugee hearing can take place.

That the CCR support the thrust of the Brief submitted by ICCR and raise the major recommendations of the Brief at its meeting with officials, namely:

1. providing training programs on the Convention for the various actors in immigration procedures;
2. allowing the children of non-citizens to benefit from the Canadian Human Rights Act as of right;
3. introducing provisions of the Convention into the Immigration Act and Regulations relating to overseas procedures; children in hearings and interviews; family reunion procedures; and access to essential health and social services.

That the CCR:

1. Support specific recommendation R7 of Issue Group 3 of the 1994 Immigration Consultation which states: "That CIC adopt a broader interpretation of the term "refugee" when assessing the protection needs of individuals for whom resettlement is the only option. In particular, the working group proposes the following terminology for inclusion in the proposed Resettlement from Abroad Class definition: Country of Refugee Class Member of the country of refugee class (source of country class) means an immigrant/person:
   1. who is outside the person's country of citizenship or habitual residence (who is residing in the person's country of citizenship or of habitual residence, where the person's country of citizenship or of habitual residence is a country of citizenship or of habitual residence listed in Schedule XII)
   2. whose life, safety or freedom:
      1. has been seriously affected by civil or armed conflict, government-tolerated repression, generalized violence or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order; or
      2. are threatened by massive violations of human rights.
   3. in respect of whom one of the following situations applies:
      1. there is no feasible possibility, within a reasonable period of time, of a durable solution in respect of the person; or
      2. the person has a relative living in Canada; or
      3. the person has an urgent need for protection.
   4. Who is outside of Canada."
2. Call on Citizenship and Immigration Canada to establish the Resettlement from Abroad Category using the definition outlined above.

That the CCR urge the Canadian government to:

1. Actively support U.N. efforts and initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict,
2. Take a leading role in rallying international support for Afghanistan;
3. Increase and strengthen their support of relief aid in Afghanistan through present aid missions such as the International Red Cross.

That the CCR:

1. Urge that the government play a leadership role in public education to dispel the negative myths about refugees and immigrants and increase resources to allow non-governmental groups to do so effectively;
2. Ask all CCR members to urge the media to be fair and balanced in their coverage of refugee issues.

that the CCR:

1. Investigate becoming an active member of the Canadian Coalition on Landmines, and endorse the Coalition's four objectives:
   1. Urge the Canadian Government to call for a total ban on the use, production, stockpiling, sale, transfer or export of antipersonnel landmines;
   2. Recognize recent Canadian initiatives and support for further initiatives to assist in humanitarian mine clearance activities. These would include multilateral activities such as support of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre and other UN initiatives, as well as any unilateral activities which Canada may undertake with respect to humanitarian mine clearance;
   3. Request an immediate Canadian moratorium on the production, export and transfer of landmines, their component parts and related technology;
   4. Call on the Canadian goverment and public to increase its support for, and participation in, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental (NGO) programs providing assistance to the victims of landmines;
2. Encourage member agencies to participate in public awareness campaigns on landmines.
3. Write to the Departments of Foreign Affairs and National Defence urging them to:
   1. Permit the Canadian Coalition on Landmines and other NGOs to participate on the proposed Task Force on Landmines;
   2. Solicit the Coalition's input into the Canadian government position at the Review Conference.

That the CCR reaffirm the folllowing principles to which we are committed:

1. The independence of Board members as decision-makers and of the IRB as a quasi-judicial tribunal.
2. The need for a credible, transparent and accessible mechanism within the IRB for dealing with complaints.
3. The need for an independent and impartial process for the appointment and reappointment of the members of the IRB.

We are furthermore deeply concerned with the barrage of media attacks on the refugee determination process. We are dismayed that no effort seems to have been made by the Minister's office to address the many distortions and inaccuracies contained in the various articles, when what is at stake may be the very principle of refugee protection.

That the CCR strongly support a full public inquiry into the actions of the Canadian military in Somalia, as recently announced by the Minister of Defence, and urge the Canadian government to proceed with this inquiry as soon as possible.

 That the CCR:

1. Enter into discussions with C&I with the intention of housing this initiative;
2. The Executive Committee be authorized to submit a proposal to C&I for the establishment and operation of an independent clearing house for settlement-related research, information and documentation.

That the CCR:

1. Adopt in principle the report 'Women at Risk: Developing Recommendations';
2. Adopt and promote the recommendations within 'Women at Risk: Developing Recommendations'.

1. The CCR communicate to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the need for his commitment to a process of total organizational renewal of his Department with full involvement of stakeholders: Department management; employees and their representatives; and clients, including NGOs;
2. In this context, the CCR ask that urgent attention be given to the Vegreville situation;
3. As the CCR contribution to the Government Program review, the CCR communicate to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration all CCR resolutions with a cost-saving implication for the government.

That the CCR strongly urge the Immigration and Refugee Board to develop and adopt Guidelines for determination of claims of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and provide on-going education on the Guidelines and on combatting homophobia to members, refugee hearings officers and interpreters.

That the CCR:

1. Adopt as its position that no form of bonds should be considered as a viable option for ensuring compliance in sponsorship agreements;
2. Communicate this position to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

That the CCR call on the Government of Canada to endorse and promote these conclusions:

1. The international community should endorse the recommendation of the Secretary General to deploy a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Kivu region of Zaire for the purpose of providing security to the relief effort for Rwandan refugees in Zaire.
2. In the delivery of aid, local aid delivery agencies should be involved as much as possible, and local resources used as much as possible.
3. The United Human Rights Commission must have the capacity to investigate on its own initiative the human rights situation in any country in the world and to report its findings to the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Security Council and the public.
4. The UN Human Rights Centre should deploy human rights monitors throughout Rwanda to report on human rights violations if they occur, and as a means of establishing confidence for repatriation, where they do not occur.
5. The international community should promote democracy and respect for human rights throughout the world, without distinctions based on culture or region.
6. The United Nations needs a permanent deployment headquarters which can function immediately to bring together and service a peacekeeping force whenever the United Nations Security Council decides to create one.
7. The United Nations should ask member states to allocate peacekeeping forces to the U.N. on a contingency basis. The contingently allocated forces should be in a state of readiness to be called on immediately whenever the Security Council decides to create a new peacekeeping force.
8. United Nations peacekeeping forces on the ground should be mandated and instructed, as a humanitarian duty, to intervene and use force if necessary to protect innocent civilians under attack in the areas where the forces are operating.
9. The international community should contribute to the establishment within Rwanda of a functioning social service system, civil administration, police network, and judiciary. It is urgent that a system of justice be established in Rwanda so that all perpetrators of past atrocities can be brought to justice.
10. The international tribunal on crimes in Rwanda should be made functional on an urgent basis.
11. Canada and other members of the international community must contribute to the bringing to justice of Rwandan criminals against humanity, wherever they may be found, by prosecuting them where they are found, extraditing them for trial in Rwanda or extraditing them for trial by the international tribunal on Rwanda.

That the CCR write to the IRB expressing concern about the inadequacy of accurate and authentic information based on first-hand information, in particular the lack of sufficient information about up-to-date events in Iran and the true picture of the terrible situation of women in that country.