Southern Ontario Sanctuary Coalition: Toronto

Toronto Churches Dept: Four Toronto churches have agreed to hide asylum-seekers whose refugee claims have been rejected and others say they are considering the request, has learned, according to The Star. Members of the Southern Ontario Sanctuary Coalition have met with 13 churches over the past few months, as well as with representatives from Mennonite communities in Kitchener and Toronto. The group also plans to meet with local rabbis and their congregations. The coalition s 60 members represent congregations who organized in the early 1990s after a number of Eritreans were thought to have been wrongfully deported and refugee activists in Toronto are quietly canvassing churches across the province, seeking sanctuary for failed refugee claimants facing deportation. MORE: Roma in Hungary feel persecuted but they have nowhere to turn (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.