From November 18-20, 2025, a few members of the JRS Canada team participated in the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) Consultations at the RBC Convention Center in Winnipeg.

This year’s theme was “Better neighbors. Building the communities we need.”

This consultation was an opportunity to come together and rethink how we move forward as a sector.

“The immigration and refugee sector is facing drastic cuts, both in the number of people we welcome and in funding for our organizations, and an increasingly prevalent political sentiment that our immigration system is ‘broken’ ” said the CCR website announcing the event.

The consultation aimed to explore ways to deepen relationships within and between communities, including with Indigenous peoples, and to show how we can all be there for each other in tangible ways.

The first day began with a call to address the urgency of the current moment: the rising tide of anti-immigrant hate and rhetoric. To counter this, a collective effort is needed to rebuild broad public support for a welcoming and just country.

The panelists shared lessons learned from their experiences engaging with audiences across the country, to inspire the launch of the new joint campaign.

Several key questions were addressed:

• How can we strengthen our capacity across movements to marginalize far-right narratives?
• How can we reach and mobilize new audiences to increase our collective power?
• How can we expose those who are truly responsible for the crises affecting our communities, while increasing demand for solutions that build the communities we need?
• How can we maintain hope in the midst of these struggles?

CCR Consultations – 2025 – Photo credit: Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR)

The day continued with several workshops, including one co-facilitated by Hugo Ducharme, Sponsorship Coordinator and Office Manager at JRS Canada. Hugo led a workshop on political changes in the United States that are influencing the asylum and resettlement landscape in Canada.

This workshop explored the multiple impacts of rapid changes in U.S. migration policies and programs under the Trump administration, both on the global refugee system and on our resettlement and settlement work in Canada. The workshop also considered strategies for how we can address these issues collectively in the short and long term.

Hugo also co-chaired his working group for the last time and co-hosted a caucus on the unfair treatment of cases in the African region.

Finally, the CCR highlighted the end of his four and a half years of involvement as co-chair of the Overseas Protection and Resettlement Working Group during the general assembly held on the morning of the third day.

This consultation was a special moment of reflection for JRS Canada members, but above all, it was an opportunity to network with other organizations in the field.