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Celebrating 40th anniversary of private refugee sponsorship in Canada
March 2019 Issue No. 78
Quotation of the month
“Yet we Christians have also been called to take a good hard look at ourselves. To reflect on our Christian beliefs, to scrutinize our missional practices. And to decolonize. It’s not that Christianity is inherently colonial, but for generations the Church and its faith have been used – wittingly, unwittingly, and far too often – as instruments of dispossession in the settler colonial arsenal. Indigenous peoples are asking the Church to our own work, to beat our colonial swords into peaceable ploughshares.” - pg. xvi Steve Heinrichs, Unsettling the Word. Read more here.
40th anniversary of private refugee sponsorship in Canada
On March 5, 1979, the Government of Canada signed the first Master Agreement for Sponsorship of Refugees with MCC. This week, we are celebrating 40 years of privately sponsored refugees in Canada. Following the first Master Agreement, other faith-based and community organizations followed suit, and since the signing of these agreements, 327,000 privately sponsored refugees have come to Canada finding a durable solution and a new home.
Over the last few years, refugee resettlement for MCC has seen challenges and opportunities as interest in refugee sponsorship has increased among constituents. Brian Dyck, National Migration and Resettlement Program Coordinator for MCC Canada, says that it “has been exciting and energizing to help people get involved in this very meaningful work,” but it is important that people “who are interested in refugee resettlement are also thinking about the other responses to displacement.”
While the refugee resettlement program in Canada has been so successful, becoming a model for sponsorship and resettlement programs for other states and NGOs in Europe and South America, less than one percent of refugees worldwide are resettled each year.
After 40 years of private sponsorship, MCC will of course continue to work hard to resettle refugees in Canada, but also continue to look at the root causes of displacement by asking ourselves “Why did these people have to leave their homes in the first place?” Read a recent blog post by Brian Dyck here.
MCC Ottawa Office Student Seminar
The 2019 annual Ottawa Office Student Seminar took place February 14 – 16, with the theme being People on the move: Human rights and global migration. After a snowy start that delayed a few staff and students, the seminar hosted over 35 participants from across Canada.
The seminar involved a diverse set of speakers with different perspectives on migration including a Member of Parliament, MCC Staff in Canada, the Middle East and Southern Africa, officials from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and representatives from civil society organizations. Thought-provoking dialogue was sparked in sessions that explored concepts relating to resettlement, root causes of migration, the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees, and displacement of Indigenous peoples here in Canada, both past and present.
The seminar ended with a tour of the West Block of Parliament Hill, the new location of the House of Commons. Students and staff were encouraged to take what they learned about human rights and global migration and direct it towards advocacy and engagement in their local communities.
Support Bill C-262
After passing 3rd reading in the House of Commons on May 30, 2018, Bill C-262 moved to the Senate where it needs to pass through three more readings before it can become law. This private member’s bill will ensure that Canada’s laws are aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Thank you to everyone who has acted to support Bill C-262. Members of the Senate are mentioning that they are hearing from faith-based organizations and supporters. Let’s make sure that the Senate acts on what they are hearing by passing the bill into law before an election is called. Write a letter to the Senate here and find more ideas of how you can act here.
Opportunity: Canadian School of PeacebuildingThe Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP), an institute of Canadian Mennonite University, offers a selection of 5-day courses each June and the opportunity for peacebuilders from around the world to come together to learn, share and practice peace. Check out their course listing and apply by the end of March. 
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Resource: Palestine Land ExerciseAs part of our A Cry for Home campaign, MCC is very excited to offer the Palestine Land Exercise. This is a 90-minute experiential learning tool in which participants “walk through” the past 100 years of history in Palestine and Israel. If you would like someone from MCC to facilitate the exercise for your group, contact your provincial MCC office or send a note to acryforhome@mcccanada.ca. 
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Staff update
Photo - Canada and Palestine: Civil Society Panel, left to right, Tom Woodley, President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME); Peggy Mason (moderator), President of the Rideau Institute, former diplomat and specialist in international peace and security; Corey Balsam, National Coordinator, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada; Robert Massoud, Founder of Zatoun, fair trade olive oil from Palestine; and Bekah Sears, Policy Analyst, MCC Ottawa Office
On February 22, MCC Ottawa staff co-sponsored and participated in an excellent day-long symposium, Canada and Palestine: Exploring Canada’s Historical and Contemporary Relationship with Palestine and the Palestinian People in Canadian External and Domestic Affairs. It was a fantastic learning and networking opportunity with academics, activists, and others from civil society. Bekah Sears, Policy Analyst for the MCC Ottawa Office, presented in the civil society plenary on behalf of MCC, A Cry for Home: Seeking a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel.
