{"id":5930,"date":"2019-03-09T13:47:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T18:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tumc.ca\/?page_id=5930"},"modified":"2019-03-09T14:09:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-09T19:09:36","slug":"how-canadians-opened-their-hearts-to-refugees-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/?page_id=5930","title":{"rendered":"How Canadians opened their hearts to refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/tpc.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-32\/html\/container.html\" width=\"970\" height=\"250\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news.html\">N<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/gta.html\">G<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Canadians opened their hearts to refugees<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/authors.keung_nicholas.html\">Nicholas Keung<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Immigration Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sat., March 2, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Few\n government contracts have stood the test of time as well as a simply \nworded deal between Canada and its people that has not only lasted four \ndecades but continues to bolster the country\u2019s reputation for \ncompassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 11-page sponsorship agreement, signed between \nOttawa and the Mennonite Church on March 5, 1979, in response to the \n\u201cboat people\u201d crisis, became the blueprint for Canada\u2019s private refugee \nresettlement program that has allowed Canadians to play an active role \nin helping refugees start a new life here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thestar.com\/8PG0dfE7si2proMNMjfnAqEus8Y=\/1200x795\/smart\/filters:cb(1551578836416)\/https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/content\/dam\/thestar\/news\/gta\/2019\/03\/02\/how-canadians-opened-their-hearts-to-refugees\/boat_people.jpg\" alt=\"Vietnamese refugees fleeing the communist chaos after the end of the Vietnam War wade to shore in Malaysia in 1978 after their boat sank offshore.\"\/><figcaption>Vietnamese\n refugees fleeing the communist chaos after the end of the Vietnam War \nwade to shore in Malaysia in 1978 after their boat sank offshore.&nbsp;&nbsp;(K. Gaugler \/ UNHCR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy\n family and I wouldn\u2019t be here without it,\u201d said Ka Lee-Paine, who was \nborn in a refugee camp in Thailand and came here at age 2 with her \nfamily in 1979, among the first wave of people accepted under the \nprivate refugee sponsorship program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had complete strangers \nhelping us out. The sponsorship meant I could have a good life, get a \ngreat education and be a strong woman,\u201d added the now 42-year-old \nKitchener teacher. \u201cNinety-nine per cent of us do understand how \nfortunate we are to have made it to Canada and we strive to be \nproductive citizens of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the help of groups such\n as the Mennonite Central Committee serving as guarantors and \nadministrators, Canadians have brought almost 350,000 refugees to Canada\n by providing the newcomers with at least one year of financial and \nsocial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/refugees.html\">Syrian refugee crisis<\/a>,  Canada has seen a renewed interest in private sponsorships, which  accounted for half of the 60,000 Syrians resettled here; the rest were  sponsored by the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thestar.com\/U8esRlKvMFh43zrQGsxiJQ5piY0=\/968x691\/smart\/filters:cb(1551492651029)\/https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/content\/dam\/thestar\/news\/gta\/2019\/03\/02\/how-canadians-opened-their-hearts-to-refugees\/mike_molloy.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Molloy was director of refugee policies in the immigration department when Ottawa passed a new immigration law to allow private sponsorships in 1978.\"\/><figcaption>Mike\n Molloy was director of refugee policies in the immigration department \nwhen Ottawa passed a new immigration law to allow private sponsorships \nin 1978.&nbsp;&nbsp;(LEONARD-GILDAY photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Organizations\n that have sponsorship agreements with the federal government handle \napplications from individual community groups, who in turn are \nresponsible for raising funds to support the refugees during their first\n year in the country as well as creating a social network to help them \nnavigate their new lives and find housing and jobs. There are now more \nthan 100 sponsorship agreement holders, mostly faith groups, across \nCanada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mass exodus of Indochinese refugees was sparked by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/immigration\/2015\/04\/30\/fear-and-sadness-mark-40th-anniversary-of-the-fall-of-saigon.html\">fall of Saigon<\/a>\n on April 30, 1975. As American soldiers were evacuated from the South \nVietnamese capital, Communist troops from the north swept in, hoisting \ntheir flags and spreading panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds\n of thousands of desperate people from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos fled \nto neighbouring countries by boat. Many didn\u2019t make it, either drowning \nat sea or being attacked by pirates. Others ended up languishing for \nyears in overcrowded refugee camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1978, Ottawa passed a new \nimmigration law with a provision to allow private sponsorships if \nCanadians would accept full responsibility for the refugees for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there were no takers, said Mike Molloy, who was director of refugee policies in the Immigration Department at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRefugee\n advocates and churches were speaking against it and intimidating others\n not to get involved. There wasn\u2019t a single sponsorship application \ncoming in,\u201d recalled Molloy, 74, who officially retired from the federal\n service in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Mennonite Central Committee was a gift. \nThey came to us in late 1978 with a clear altruistic motivation. As a \nfaith community that came here as refugees, they were confident and \npragmatic. They played straight with us and we played straight with \nthem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada had welcomed more than 21,000 Mennonite refugees \nfrom Russia in the 1920s and another 8,000 from Eastern Europe after the\n Second World War, and the community was eager to play a part in helping\n the boat people, said Bill Janzen, who was tasked by the Mennonite \ncommittee with negotiating the deal with Ottawa in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur \ncommunity was experienced in helping refugees get settled with jobs and a\n place to live. We had been active with our aid work in Vietnam since \n1954. We sympathized with those fleeing from Communist totalitarian \nregimes,\u201d said Janzen, 75, who was MCC\u2019s office director in Ottawa in \n1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s human nature to imagine the worst-case scenario and \nworry about any legal problems, health and financial needs of the people\n they sponsored. That\u2019s why we decided to step up as an organization for\n them to fall back on and help them overcome the fear of liability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With\n a mandate from his board to make a deal with the government, Janzen \nasked for a meeting with senior immigration officials on Feb. 2, 1979. \nHe arrived in Ottawa with a rough outline of what would later turn into \nthe 11-page agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thestar.com\/qVQca5Bdt0daaXAgpaUT9AV9zJc=\/850x589\/smart\/filters:cb(1551492650868)\/https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/content\/dam\/thestar\/news\/gta\/2019\/03\/02\/how-canadians-opened-their-hearts-to-refugees\/mcc_historical_photos.jpg\" alt=\"The Hoong family was sponsored by the Sargent Ave. Mennonite church in Winnipeg in the wake of the boat people refugee crisis that followed the end of the Vietnam War. The family is shown with Ernie and Elsie Rempel with their daughter, seated on the floor.\"\/><figcaption>The\n Hoong family was sponsored by the Sargent Ave. Mennonite church in \nWinnipeg in the wake of the boat people refugee crisis that followed the\n end of the Vietnam War. The family is shown with Ernie and Elsie Rempel\n with their daughter, seated on the floor.&nbsp;&nbsp;(Jason Dueck\/MCC Photo Archive)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Gordon Barnett, an experienced government negotiator, was Janzen\u2019s counterpart at the bargaining table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\n said one of the sticking points of the negotiation was over the \nresponsibility to provide language classes to privately sponsored \nrefugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt didn\u2019t start out smoothly. Why should the government\n offer language classes to refugees sponsored by churches? That should \nbe their problem,\u201d recalled Barnett, now 75, who once belonged to a team\n on the Privy Council tasked with drafting the language rights for the \nCharter of Rights and Freedoms and who retired from the Immigration \nDepartment in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was a time when the Indochinese boat \npeople were filling the news and the government was under undue pressure\n to do something. We were negotiating with the Mennonites and they were \nso willing to help. We met a few more times and the deal was signed \nwithin weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agreement laid out the eligibility of who could\n be a sponsor and the criteria to be sponsored, as well as the \nsponsorship process, roles and responsibilities \u2014 with Ottawa ultimately\n agreeing to pick up the tab for language training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mennonite \nagreement inspired groups such as the Presbyterian Church of Canada and \nCouncil of Christian Reformed Churches to follow suit. By August 1979, \n28 national church organizations as well as Catholic and Anglican \ndioceses were on board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the end of that year, 5,456 private \nsponsorships had been received for 29,169 refugees, surpassing the \n21,000 goal set by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, Canada would roll \nout the welcome mat to 60,000 Indochinese refugees in the late 1970s and\n early 1980s, half of them through private sponsorships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I \nlook back on my career, this agreement with the Mennonites was something\n I really felt good about. At the end, we had a really well-negotiated \ndocument because what we negotiated was fair,\u201d said Barnett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI \nthought when the Indochinese refugee crisis was over, the agreement \nwould become a historical document. I never thought it would go on \nforever. I\u2019m just amazed that it stood the test of time and is still \nuseful to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brian Dyck, the Mennonite committee\u2019s current\n national migration and resettlement program co-ordinator, said the \nprivate sponsorship program is unique in that it allows Canadians to be \nhands-on in helping refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have a broad range of people in\n the community who bring together their social capital to the process. \nThis has helped build Canadians\u2019 awareness of refugee issues over the \nlast 40 years,\u201d said Dyck. \u201cIt helps build social cohesion and instills a\n stronger sense of volunteerism in Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration. Follow him on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nkeung\">@nkeung<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/about\/aboutus.html\">A<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/gta\/2019\/03\/02\/how-canadians-opened-their-hearts-to-refugees.html\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/c5x8i7c7.ssl.hwcdn.net\/creatives\/site_logos\/dslogo_sm.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><\/li><li>     <br> <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><\/li><li><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><\/li><li><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NG How Canadians opened their hearts to refugees By Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter Sat., March 2, 2019 Few government contracts have stood the test of time as well as a simply worded deal between Canada and its people that has not only lasted four decades but continues to bolster the country\u2019s reputation for compassion. The 11-page sponsorship agreement, signed between Ottawa and the Mennonite Church on March 5, 1979, in response to the \u201cboat people\u201d crisis, became the blueprint for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5930","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5932,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5930\/revisions\/5932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}