Sponsorship Agreements and Sponsorship Program

sponsorship program: Based on a survey of the 85 private groups that have formal refugee sponsorship agreements with Ottawa, recent policy changes appear to threaten the vitality of the sponsorship program launched in 1978 amid an outpouring of public concern over the Southeast Asian boat people crisis, according to The Star. Cuts to the Interim Federal Health program for refugees have left church-based and other voluntary sponsoring groups on the line for previously-covered supplemental health costs, said the 15-page report, titled Private Sponsorship and Public Policy and Bureaucratic delays and federal cuts to health coverage are hurting the ability of churches and other groups to bring in refugees under Canadas renowned private refugee sponsorship program, says a new study. Groups were concerned with waits that stretch into years, and processing hurdles that jeopardize their future engagement in resettlement work, said the survey conducted by the advocacy group Citizens for Public Justice. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.