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NewsletterOctober 2016 • Vol. 1 No. 4

On August 22, 2016 the Archdiocese of Toronto hosted a delegation from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico USA as part of a four day visit. Our visitors’ goal was to explore and learn about the Civic Resettlement program for refugees in Canada, and to gather information about the best practices that can help their diocese and organizations in responding to refugee crisis. The delegation of six people included representatives from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Catholic Charities USA and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Throughout their four day visit, guided by staff from the Office for Refugees, the delegation conducted a number of visits and met with staff members within different departments at the archdiocese and parishes in Toronto and Brampton. The group had the chance to visit settlement agencies such as COSTI, Catholic Cross Cultural Services, the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program, and attended information sessions provided by the Office for Refugees. The delegation thus became educated about the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program and the various aspects that it entails.

This visit was a unique opportunity to exchange experiences about refugee resettlement. The United States does not currently have a program which enables refugees to be privately sponsored. However, the U.S. does resettle refugees through government sponsorship

and also through asylum status, accepting thousands of refugees every year. The visitors were impressed by the initiatives and work that takes place and expressed interest in wanting to replicate the program in their jurisdiction.

The Office for Refugees is grateful for all persons who helped in organizing the visit, and parishioners for their hospitality and welcoming the visitors from the USA.

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico Visit

Front left to right: Rev. John C. Daniel, Ildy Sziladi, Luciano Moro, Jim Gannon and Dr. Kenneth FungMiddle left to right: Kristan Schlichte, Dick Hogan and Diana LealBack left to right: Dr. Martin Mark, Rev Andrew Pavlak and Fr. Fred Foley

Please remember to use the latest version of Immigration forms when you submit your case to our office. As you may know Immigration Canada is rejecting old versions.

New version of the Generic form IMM 0008 (08-2016) E is out and available online. Due to Immigration Canada rules we will accept previous

version IMM 0008 (11-2015) until December 31st, 2016. After that date, applications with earlier versions will be rejected by Immigration Canada.

The new version is available on the website of Immigration Canada, and can also be found in many places on our website under Forms tab.

Latest version of immigration forms

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John Ecker Takes Up Other Duties with Archdiocese

Initiate Sponsorship through Group of 5 of Community SponsorshipWould you like to initiate sponsorship for a refugee that cannot settle permanently in their country of asylum? There are other methods that you can begin right away instead of going through a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). You can begin through a Group of Five or community sponsorship application. The Office for Refugees does not specialize in either of these categories, but if you would like to find out more on how to get started you can click here and watch the very informative video compiled by the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP). You may also find more information on the details of being eligible and instructions on how to move forward through either of these methods on the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada website. The instructions on the government’s website are also available in 11 different languages. Click here to learn more about applying as a community sponsor. Click here to learn more about applying as a Group of Five .

Attention all Resettlement Group (RG) members

RG Seminars are monthly meetings that are organized and tailored specifically to the needs of resettlement group members. All are always welcome to attend as it is an interactive meeting meant to focus on a different topic of resettlement, regardless of where you are in the process. October’s Seminar will be on Managing Expectations and Sponsorship Ethics presented by the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP). The themes of the workshop that will be discussed are:

•Managing expectations: What are sponsors’ and refugees’ expectations of each other, and how can expectations be managed to avoid potential conflict?

•Code of ethics for private sponsoring groups: What are some ethical practices that private sponsors may wish to consider?

•Power imbalance: How do power imbalances affect the relationship between sponsors and refugees, and how can they be minimized?

As I wrap up my time here and return to the archdiocese as Director, Family of Faith Campaign & Special Projects, I want to say thanks to the resettlement groups, volunteers and staff who are dedicated to the mission of the Office for Refugees.

The Office for Refugees has helped thousands of people from around the world find a safe haven and a new life in Canada. To better serve the people the office helps and to support sponsors, parishes and other resettlement groups, many improvements have been made since February 2016. In April, the Office for Refugees was relocated to a central Toronto location, near the Catholic Pastoral Centre. We increased our staffing, improved our technology and

enhanced our processes to better work with our partners and clients. We also revamped our volunteer recruitment and engagement activities and improved our information sessions—all in response to feedback we received. We also fulfilled and then exceeded our government quota for sponsorships for the year and are well on track to welcome a record number of arrivals by the end of 2016.

The key objectives of my work with the office have been accomplished. I am confident that the office is on the right track. Under Martin Mark’s leadership along with a strong team of staff, the Office for Refugees is going to continue its excellent work.

John Ecker served as Operations Director of the Office for Refugees from February to September, 2016.

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My name is Alexandra Whittle and I am the Resettlement Educator for the Office for Refugees. I am approaching the 2 year mark of being the educator for the office. However, my involvement began in 2014 when I was completing my postgraduate studies, specializing as a social service worker for immigrants and refugees. Throughout the years of my involvement with the office I have learned an invaluable amount of knowledge about refugee resettlement and am very grateful for the many experiences I have had. I was also happy to be a part of the volunteer team that went to Jordan in October 2015 to identify refugee individuals and families for Project Hope. I thoroughly enjoy the work

that I do for the office and all of the people I get to interact with and help in the process of resettling refugees.

If you would like to find out how to register for any of the office’s sessions or if you are a Resettlement Group member and have a topic you are interested in learning about at an RG Seminar please feel free to send me an email at: awhittle@archtoronto.org or reach me by phone at: 416.934.3400 ext.810Thank you,Alexandra WhittleResettlement EducatorOffice for Refugees Archdiocese

of Toronto

Get to know the staff

Please note that for any session you wish to attend you need to register to book your seat. You may find the below sessions and more directly on: www.officeforrefugees.eventbrite.ca

Info Session 3 IRCC Processing Time

Date: Wed, Oct 5th

Location: 830 Bathurst Street, Paulist Centre

Info Session 1: Orientation (Civic Resettlement Program)

Date: Thurs, Oct 6th

Location: 830 Bathurst Street, Paulist Centre

Newcomer Meeting on healthy living hosted by the Y

Date: Wed, Oct 12th

Location: 1220 Yonge Street suite 203, Office for Refugees

Resettlement Group (RG) Seminar: Managing Expectations and Sponsorship Ethics presented by RSTP

Date: Mon, Oct 17th

Location: 131 McCaul Street, St. Patrick’s Parish

Info Session 2: Settlement Training Workshop

Date: Wed, Oct 26th

Location: 830 Bathurst Street, Paulist Centre

Project Hope Parish Info Session

Date: Thurs, Oct 27th

Location: 830 Bathurst Street, Paulist Centre

Upcoming Sessions

The Office for Refugees, Archdiocese of Toronto is happy to announce that we initiated sponsorship for nearly 1,000 individuals this year and we have used all our allocations for 2016. It is uncertain if our office will be able to receive additional spots for the rest of the year. We suggest, if you have not already done so, that you register and attend our Info Session 1: Orientation, if you are planning to initiate a sponsorship and follow the steps recommended there. As additional spots need to be approved by the government it is up to Immigration Canada whether our office will be receiving any more spots for this year. If we are able to accept new cases we will make an announcement on our Facebook page and website.

Initiating a Sponsorship? Please Read:

Office for Refugees Website

Please visit the Office for Refugees’ website to find details about our mandates, goals, and policies, as well as tools regarding Info Sessions 1 and 3 materials.Website: bit.ly/refugeesTO

Are you in a Resettlement Group that has formed since Project Hope was established in September 2015? A Facebook Group was formed specifically for the Resettlement Group members that are involved with Project Hope. If you would like to join the group please contact Luciano via: lmoro@archtoronto.org

Project Hope Facebook Group

Join us on FacebookBecome a member of the Office for Refugees Facebook Page and join the Canada Group on to get the latest news and updates on resettlement issues. facebook.com

The Office for Refugees is Supported by

Next Stop Canada is a pre-arrival program, which is housed on a web-based platform. Their adult program, Electronic Newcomer Information Centre (ENIC) is designed to assist newcomers while they are still overseas, helping them receive meaningful information and referral to services to the area in which they will reside, as well as preparation and orientation before their arrival to Canada. Their platform includes many services including, a live chat assessment of their needs, referral and information, live webinars on topics such as “Four Key Steps to Labour Market Information,” “Credential Assessment,” “First Few Weeks in Canada” and many more. In addition they have an array of professional mentors and an online Question and Answer Forum. They also have a sister program, Youth Pre-Arrival Learning Site (YPALS)

which targets youth between the ages of 12-19 where they can take part of interactive learning, webinars, youth mentorship and much more.

In order to find out more about accessing these resources and sharing them with refugees that are eligible to use them, you can visit their website: www.nextstopcanada.ca.

Additionally, another Resettlement Group (RG) Seminar featuring the services outlined by the Y is going to be held on Thursday, November 17th beginning at 6:30pm. It will be held at St. John the Evangelist’s parish, located on 16066 The Gore Road. A representative from Next Stop Canada will go into full details about the services and how to help the refugees register online to gain access to them.

Next Stop Canada

Refugee resettlement work is not possible without our many dedicated volunteers who assist with administration, event coordination, interpretation, translation, outreach work and information sessions. Volunteers at the Office for Refugees develop useful skills while contributing to our world in meaningful ways. If you are interested in volunteering for the Office for Refugees, please contact Alexandra at: awhittle@archtoronto.org

Become a volunteer for the Office for Refugees