GC34 Refugee Asylum and Canadian Policy (1992R217)

The 34th General Council agrees to

1. reaffirm the Refugee Policy of the 32nd General council, providing guidelines for work with refugees, and commend the Division of Mission in Canada for the work presently being done to implement it; and

2. ask the Government of Canada to change proposed amendments to the Immigration Act, introduced in Bill C-86 currently before the House of Commons to reflect the following principles:

   1. allow refugee claimants to get a work permit before the first hearing,

   2. significantly lower the number of deportations, and establish a more just protection policy,

   3. lessen the hardships of families in the refugee process by the immediate issuing of Minister’s Permits to spouses and children of UN Convention refugees and individuals accepted in the backlog,

   4. ensure a swift and just hearing and settlement process by lessening both sponsorship and claimant delays and the backlog,

   5. do all within its power to at least meet, if not exceed its refugee quotas in every category each year,

   6. adequately select, train and hold accountable persons who are making decisions about refugees throughout the claimant process, particularly at the level of the first hearing,

   7. include an adequate means of appeal for claimants rejected,

   8. ensure the highest possible standards of humane treatment for those refugee claimants who are detained;

3. encourage the Division of Mission in Canada, in its priority-setting, to give high priority to continuing this work;

4. request the Committee on Education for Mission of the Division of Communication to make the refugee situation the subject of our mission study theme as soon as this can be  scheduled; and 

5. request the Division of Mission in Canada to prepare new resources to raise the awareness of the refugee situation and offer possible ways of responding, to the members of our church.

GC34 1992 ROP, p. 139