The month of October concluded with a training session entitled  “Mission & Identity” offered to our team by Eric Goeh-Akue from JRS International. During this event, we took the time to pause and reflect deeply on our mission.

The goal was to explore how the mission and values of JRS resonate with our own personal and professional experiences, with a particular focus on service and advocacy. This is part of a wider approach led by JRS International.

In early November, Hugo Ducharme, our Sponsorship Coordinator and Office Manager, attended the 45th anniversary of the “Table de Concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes” (TCRI). In addition to celebrating its anniversary, the TCRI took the opportunity to have important discussions about its strategic planning. The JRS presented the perspectives of refugee sponsorship organisations.

At the end of November, after we held our annual  “Evening of Stars”, to thank all our volunteers, organizations and donors, our JRS team travelled to Ottawa to attend the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) consultations.

The CCR is a pan-Canadian, non-profit umbrella organisation dedicated to the rights and protection of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Canada and around the world, and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada.

For 3 days, our team attended conferences that were part of the event entitled  “Winning back public support: Building the Movement for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants “. Our Sponsorship Coordinator and Head of Office played an active role as co-chair of the Overseas Protection and Resettlement working group. He also led a workshop and a caucus. Victor Setibo, JRS Country Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo, took part in a workshop on the involvement of Canadian extractive companies in displacement as a panellist.

Hugo also took part in the ‘CCR on the Hill’ day that preceded the consultations. Along with a small group of people from other organisations, he was able to meet the MP for Sherbrooke, Élisabeth Brière (LPC), the MP for Rosemont and deputy leader of the NDP, Alexandre Boulerice, and Senator Marc Gold, the government’s representative in the Senate.

Then, our awareness-raising efforts continued with a “Journey into Exile” simulation session in Longueuil in collaboration with Maison Bienvenue, a new organisation for refugees. Our project manager, Tevfik Karatop, facilitated the session along with Norbert Piché, our national director.

Our simulation exercise was in particularly high demand during November. A session was offered at Seneca College for social sciences students, and then to high school students at Loyola School. The students were so inspired by the session that they organised a donation campaign for an Afghan family.

Afterwards, our community worker Jean Gardy Joseph and our project manager Tevfik Karatop travelled to Quebec City for a symposium with Service de Référence, in Perinatal Care for Immigrant Women in Quebec. This organisation offers services tailored to the needs of immigrant mothers and their families.

In December, Norbert Piché, ended the year with a trip to Rome for another “Mission & Identity” workshop.

As we close a year marked by challenges and opportunities, we wish to express our deep gratitude for the collective support and commitment of all those who have guided our mission.

At the end of a year marked by challenges and opportunities, we would like to express our deep gratitude for the collective support and commitment of all those who have guided our mission.

Unfortunately, at the end of November, the federal government announced that groups of five and Community Sponsors would not be able to submit new applications until January 2026, allowing only organizations that had signed sponsorship agreements to submit new applications, but in fewer numbers than in 2024.

In December, it was the turn of the Quebec government to announce its own suspension of filings for its sponsorship programme for the year 2025. These are new barriers for the two programmes that have earned Quebec and Canada their international reputations.

Rest assured that, just as we did in 2024, the JRS will continue to advocate for the preservation and strengthening of refugee sponsorship in Canada in 2025.

JRS Canada