Senate Committee Meeting on Human Rights - Remarks
11:30-12:30pm, May 30, 2016
Overview:
Good morning Senators. I am delighted to address this honourable audience on a subject that I
care greatly about.
My name is Annette Wilde and I live and work here in Toronto. Like many of you, I came to
Canada as an immigrant, but not as a refugee. I have been involved in the private sponsorship
for a little over 2 years now since December 2013 and I will be talking to you about the
obstacles and supports I have experienced.
The obstacles are primarily the fundamentally flawed Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH)
program, the lack of available, quality ESL classes, the lack of coverage for dental issues, lurking
opportunists and the challenging job market.
The supports are primarily the abundance availability of volunteers, the generosity of time,
money and in-kind donations, good quality volunteer training programs, availability of city
resources (if you know how to find them) and the amazing strength, resilience, resourcefulness
and civility of the Syrian families themselves.
Background:
To date I have been involved in the sponsorship of 15 families in Kingston, Toronto, Mississauga
and Windsor under the campaign name “Save A Family From Syria”. In each city we partnered
a church with a mosque to identify the families, fund-raise, complete the applications and
perform settlement activities. Each Syrian refugee family was selected because they have
family here in Canada.
Here in Toronto the partnership is between the Unitarian Church and the Muslim Association of
Canada. In Kingston it is the United Church and the Islamic Foundation of Kingston, in Windsor
the Catholic Church, etc. 12 families were sponsored using the SAH (Sponsorship Agreement
Holder) framework – a well-meaning, hard-working but ultimately flawed system. 3 families
were sponsored using the “Group of 5” approach. 12 of the 15 IRCC approved families have
arrived. One family of 5 is about to complete their 12 month settlement period at the end of
June, 2016. One family of 4 just arrived in last month, on April 14th, 2016.
As privately sponsored families they do not, and we the sponsors do not, get any financial
support from the government for settlement. Early on, when we did the math we realized that
the government published $$ amount needed to support a family was way too low. Instead we
raised $40,000 per family of 4 and $5,000 for each additional family member. All of the money
(minus pre-settlement costs) is paid out to the family in monthly installments. “Save A Family
From Syria” takes no overhead or admin fee. We are all volunteers. All monies raised go to the
families.
Obstacles and Supports:
Annette Wilde, Private Syrian Refugee Sponsor
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Senate Committee Meeting on Human Rights - Remarks
11:30-12:30pm, May 30, 2016
From my experience, there are a number of phases in the first 12 months of settlement in
Canada. I can really only talk about privately sponsored cases and I have yet to experience what
happens after the 12 months are up. They are 1) pre-settlement, 2) the first month after
arrival, 3) months 2 through 5, and 4) months 6 through 12.
Phase 1 - Pre-settlement:
Housing is the big issue when we don’t know when the family will arrive. We need to find
something that we think they will be able to afford going forward. We need to determine
location between where the volunteers are, where the Canadian family lives and where it is
most affordable. Luckily we have only had to pull out of one lease when we realized that the
arrival could be many more months later than we originally thought.
Volunteer training and screening: Sadly the Robertson Hall Insurance company, insurer of
many churches has been canvassing the churches putting the “Fear of God” into them with
concerns of liability. Happily as long as you pay more money, and implement an arduous,
sanctioned screening/training program you might be covered. Fortunately we have had no lack
of fervent volunteers who will jump through any hoops. Also there is the RSTP which is
providing wonderful volunteer support and training. Fundraising has not been a problem.
Phase 2 - The First Month
Setting up the Appointments: The first month, shortly after euphoric arrival there is a flurry of
appointments that need to be setup. Finding the right settlement agency (all of whom do
different things), English testing, bank accounts, medical exams, getting children into schools,
getting parents into ESL, driving tests, dental checkups… two major issues come to mind.
1) lack of available ESL Kingston closed the ESL classes last summer and, Level 1 with
daycare is scarce (Family in Mississauga that arrived in February still cannot get into any
ESL program with daycare – she has twin little girls)
2) dental care costs – 100% of the families have major dental issues that are not covered
under IFH. We have had to find a dentist willing to do the work for free or fund-raise for
the additional expenses. Some families are not getting the dental care they need
because of this.
Phase 3 - Months 2 -5
Reality sets in. The families worry about their relatives left behind. They feel guilty and
powerless and far away. Unlike immigrants, they never dreamed of coming to Canada. They
had no choice but to come because there were no alternatives. Canada is far away (not like
Germany). Learning English is hard and progress is difficult. Their children are flourishing in
school and very quickly they are taking a new role in the family. The 3 major issues are:
Annette Wilde, Private Syrian Refugee Sponsor
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Senate Committee Meeting on Human Rights - Remarks
11:30-12:30pm, May 30, 2016
1) Mental Health. Anxiety, depression, anger… all “normal” responses but the medical
community is not yet setup to spot it and address it. Mental health is a very taboo,
shameful topic for Syrians. Volunteers are under the “must tell” mandate. There are
many children that are suffering from untreated night terrors and behavioural issues.
2) Employment: When the men first arrive they are very keen to start working right away.
Their work is a critical part of their self-worth. However, without adequate English and
very restrictive policies around professional designations the opportunities are few and
far between. Also, if they take a low-paying job, they are likely never to get out.
3) Volunteer disengagement: When some volunteers realize that the volunteer
experience is not going to be what they hoped, or the family is not what they expected,
they disengage. This can be problematic when the relationship with their settlement
worker has not been well developed.
Phase 4 - Months 6-12
This is the time when it is really important for the family to start seriously looking for work (any
work) and planning for the financial end of the settlement support. It is a period of uncertainty
and feelings of hopelessness can set in. The volunteer team is finding this part of the job the
most difficult and least rewarding and there is attrition. Housing needs to be revisited as the
lease will be coming up for renewal. Meanwhile, the children have settled into their school and
don’t want to leave. On the other hand, for many there is a feeling of empowerment. Their
English is better, they understand credit cards and finances, and how life generally works in
Canada. They feel more comfortable with us as friends and can withstand acts of intolerance
on the street. But now they start asking about their families left behind and want to bring them
here.
The 2 major issues at this point are:
1) Family Reunification: There is no clear process by which they can bring over their
extended families. Their families are suffering and they feel they need to help them.
2) Debt: The families that arrived before Dec, 2015 and after Feb of 2016 are obliged to
pay back the IOM debt while those that arrived in the interim do not have to. Not only
is it unfair but it is also problematic for it creates financial hardship at a time when the
families need to focus on creating successful lives for themselves in Canada.
Summary:
In summary, participating in refugee sponsorship is an amazing gift to Canadians. Private
sponsorships provide individuals with the feelings of giving back, making the world a better
place, expanding the horizons of what you know and who you know, making life-long
friendships and the list goes on.
Annette Wilde, Private Syrian Refugee Sponsor
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Senate Committee Meeting on Human Rights - Remarks
11:30-12:30pm, May 30, 2016
Despite the issues with the SAH program (1), fear-mongering insurance companies (2), lack of
adequate dental coverage, inadequate ESL availability and scarce real job opportunities there
are also many resources available to draw on from existing services, programs (3), the Syrian
families themselves (4) as well as a generous outreach of the Canadian people.
My concept of family has expanded to include these wonderful people and this experience
counts amongst the best experiences in my whole life.
Thank you.
Annette Wilde
[email protected]
416-884-9662
Notes:
(1) The majority of SAHs are churches. Private sponsorship should not be in the hands of
churches because they have little choice other than to push their own religious and
political agendas. They are also under-resourced and lack growth capacity.
(2) Insurance companies (like Richardson Hall) should not be allowed to prey and profit on
fears of “terrorism”.
.
(3) Programs like RSPT.ca, Community Health Centres, Settlement Agencies, CultureLink,
the public school system, Access Ontario, Life Line Syria and many others are invaluable
and critical to successful settlement.
(4) Syrians who come with little education are the most vulnerable and will likely struggle
the most to integrate. They need special attention and there are no special programs
and 12 months is just not long enough.
Annette Wilde, Private Syrian Refugee Sponsor
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