James Bay Refugee Initiative

Dear friends of the James Bay Refugee Initiative –

If you were able to listen to CBC’s The Current on September 20th, you will have heard a narrative that very much reflects the experience of the James Bay Refugee Initiative. It seems there are thousands of private sponsorship in Canada groups waiting for the refugees with whom they’ve been matched . The good news from Minister John McCallum is that “all of those who had applications in by March 31st for privately sponsored refugees would get their refugees by the end of this year or early next year.”

As a result of the very long wait, we have been offered a “substitute case” and we have decided to say ‘YES’ to this offer. We are now committed to sponsoring a very young Syrian man with no family ties. He is “travel ready” which means he has passed the health, criminal and security checks, and might well be here within a couple of months. The refugee with whom we had originally been matched, and for whom we’ve been waiting with such eager anticipation, will be resettled in Canada as a Government Assisted Refugee once he clears the hurdles.

While we wait, we continue to raise money for what we hope will be our next sponsorship. To that end, a friend of the JBRI has shared the format for what has been a successful personal appeal for donations on behalf of other sponsorship groups. We have attached that letter, amended to reflect the differences in the details of our sponsorship group.

In the meantime, we have sub-let the apartment we had rented for the newcomer, feeling reluctant to let go of the apartment in this tight rental market. An Engineering student from Africa is very grateful for a place to live.

With gratitude for your continued interest in the James Bay Refugee Initiative. One of these days you will receive an email with “He’s here!” in the subject line.

Aleksa, For the James Bay Refugee Initiative Steering Committee