2015 National SAH Conference Building together, Learning from each other May 24 - May 26, 2015 Winnipeg, MB ANNOTATED AGENDA. Saturday, MAY 23, 2015

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1 Saturday, MAY 23, :00-7:00 pm Registration at 13 th Floor ( Foyer ) DAY 1 Sunday, MAY 24, 2015 Room: Terrace West ( 13th Floor ) 24, :00-8:30 Breakfast 7:30-8:30 Registration 8:00-8:30 Interfaith Reflection 8:30-9:00 Welcome, Review of the Year 9:00-9:30 Share Good News Stories 9:30-10:30 Strategic Plan Implementation and Direction :30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-1:00 Telling Our Stories: Communication Strategies 1:00-2:00 Lunch Break 2:00-3:00 Funding and Trusts: Managing Risk 3:00-3:45 Allocations 3:45 4:00 Coffee Break 4:00 5:30 SAH Association Annual General Meeting 5:30 Adjourn 1

2 DAY 2 Monday, MAY 25, 2015 Room: Terrace West ( 13 th Floor) 7:00-8:30 Breakfast 7:30-8:30 Registration Opening Remarks & Major Program and Operation Updates 8:30-9:15 Presenters: Brian Dyck, Mennonite Central Committee Canada David Manicom, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic and Program Policy, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Jean-Marc Gionet, Refugee Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; and Wally Boxhill, Integration Program Management, Citizenship and Immigration Canada After welcoming conference participants, a panel consisting of CIC staff and the SAH Council chair will highlight the major policy and program updates and other anticipated developments from CIC and SAH perspectives. Brian Dyck will also provide a brief summary of important issues that were discussed during the SAH only day meeting (May 24). The Operation of the Beirut Visa Post 9:15 10:15 Presenter: Beirut Immigration Office- TBD (via webinar) Moderators: Brian Dyck, Mennonite Central Committee Canada Emina Tudakovic, International Region, Citizenship and Immigration Canada A visa officer will present on processing of refugee sponsorship applications by the Beirut visa post, including numbers of application processed, refugee populations involved, acceptance and rejection rates and common reasons for rejections and other trends observed. Conference participants will be provided with an opportunity to ask questions and get clarifications. 10:15 10:30 Coffee Break 2

3 CIC and Overseas Mission Updates 10:30-11:45 Presenters: Emina Tudakovic, International Region, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Tom Denton, Anglican Diocese of Rupertsland Moderator: Susan Nye-Brothers, Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown Emina Tudakovic will provide an overview of case processing of private sponsorship applications by the large visa posts, including successes and challenges and other key points from the 2015 PSR Processing Report shared in advanced with conference participants. Tom Denton will be providing an overview of the same matter from a SAH s perspective. UNHCR Updates 11:45-12:45 Presenter: Michael Casasola, UNHCR Canada Moderator: Dr. Aslam Daud, Humanity First Canada Michael Casasola will discuss the major international issues affecting global refugee movement and resettlement to Canada. He will also speak about UNHCR s priority refugee populations, resettlement referrals and departures. 12:45-1:45 Lunch Break Case Assessment & Avoiding or Minimizing Rejections 1:45-2:45 Resource persons: Emina Tudakovic, International Region, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Rob Shropshire, The Presbyterian Church in Canada Moderator: Ellen Erickson, Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon Break-out session at tables, where participants review case scenarios and assess the eligibility of refugee applicants involved, and report back to the larger group the results of their assessment. This will be followed by Emina Tudakovic and Rob Shropshire providing insights on assessing refugee sponsorship applications and avoiding or minimizing refusals. 3

4 Rejections and Remedies Gilbert Iyamuremye, Roman Catholic Diocese of London; Tom Denton, Anglican Diocese of Rupertsland 2:45-3:30 Moderator: Ellen Woolaver, Christie Refugee Welcome Centre 3:30-3:45 Coffee Break This session will explore the remedies available when a sponsorship application is rejected. Panelists will discuss options available to SAHs and share their experiences in dealing with rejections. Allocations - Updates and Issues 3:45-5:00 Ron Parent, Integration Program Management, Citizenship and Immigration Canada Elizabeth Walton, SAH Secretariat Moderator: Debra Simpson, SAH Secretariat Ron Parent will be discussing the principles behind the allocations and the process of determining allocations for the upcoming years. Elizabeth Walton will talk about the process of tracking, reporting, sharing and trading sponsorship spaces, including newly implemented procedures. Please join us for a group dinner and social in the Ambassador H Room at 6:00 p.m. 4

5 DAY 3 Tuesday, MAY 26, 2015 Room: Terrace West ( 13 th Floor) 7:00-8:00 Breakfast CONCURRENT SESSIONS: 8:00-9:00 Room: Terrace East Canadian Response to Syrian Refugee Crisis Paula Marshall, Governing Council of the Salvation Army Paul Carline, Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches Donald Smith, Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa Brian Dyck, Mennonite Central Committee Canada Moderator: Fikre Tsehai, Canadian Lutheran World Relief This session will explore how local communities are responding to the Syrian refugee crisis and the announcement made by Minister Chris Alexander. Room: Terrace West Working With NGOs Overseas Antoinette Godbout, Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary Anne Sapir & Lana Goral, African Refugee Development Center ( ARDC) (by webinar) Moderator: Serena Richardson, The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada Antoinette Godbout and staff from ARDC will share with participants how they have been collaborating in submitting sponsorship applications and supporting refugees in Israel. The Blended VOR Program Updates and Success Stories 9:00 10:15 Ron Parent, Integration Program Management, Citizenship and Immigration Canada Jennifer Mpungu, Mennonite Central Committee BC Moderator: Felisa Ponce, Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) Ron Parent will talk about the BVOR refugee populations, expanded BVOR 5

6 criteria, matching of refugees and future plans. Jennifer Mpungu will share her experiences of sponsoring BVOR cases, including successes, challenges and issues observed. 10:15-10:30 Coffee Break In-Canada Processing and CPO-W Operations Panelist: Elisha Kappell-Seguin, Centralized Processing Office Winnipeg, Citizenship and Immigration Canada 10:30-11:30 Resource persons: Eugenie Hebert and Betty Picur, Operational Management & Coordination Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (via teleconference) Moderator: Evelyn Jones, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia The session will deal with the in-canada processing of refugee sponsorship applications. Elisha Kappell-Seguin will describe processing of sponsorship applications in Canada and the work of CPO-W, including updates on caseloads, processing times and other new developments. International Organization for Migration (IOM) Updates Ahmad Fahim, IOM Canada (via webinar) 11:30-12:30 Moderator: Paula Marshall, Governing Council of the Salvation Army 12:30-1:30 Lunch break Ahmad Fahim will explain the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its services to privately sponsored refugees, and provide an update on IOM s recent operations. 1:30-2:30 Working With CGs And Co Sponsors Nadine Nasir, Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) Michelle Manks, World University Service of Canada Student Refugee Program Shauna Jimenez, East Kootenay Friends of Burma Luciano Moro, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto Moderator: Heddie Driegen, Emmanuel Free Reformed Church 6

7 The purpose of this session is for SAHs to learn from each other by sharing information about how SAHs work with their CGs and co-sponsors. Nadine Nasir will present a summary of her findings from the interviews she conducted with various SAHs, while Michelle Manks, Shauna Jimenez and Luciano Moro will share their experiences of working with CGs and cosponsors. 2:30-2:45 Coffee Break 2:45-3:30 Empowering Refugees through Settlement Assistance CONCURRENT SESSIONS: Room: Terrace West Room: Terrace East Available Settlement Services Paulette Johnson, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton Azaria Wolday, Northwood Neighbourhood Services Moderator: Klaus Gruber Both Paulette Johnson and Azaria Wolday will present on services available to privately sponsored refugees and services provided by their respective organizations. Empowering Practices Moderator: Helen Smith-McIntyre A facilitated group discussion on identifying practices that can foster or prevent a refugee s journey towards self-sufficiency and integration in Canada. Closing Remarks 3:30-3:45 Brian Dyck, SAH Council Chair Jean-Marc Gionet, Citizenship and Immigration Canada 7