According to the CBC, Mr. Richard and his family had found their way to Canada from Haiti over a year ago. But because of federal and provincial delays in getting work permits and health coverage, his wife and one-year-old son returned to relatives in the U.S., again via Roxham Road. But Roxham Road did not work this time in late December. Knowing he was lost and freezing to death, he called his wife to say, “I love you,” and “Goodbye.”

We ask two questions. First, why do people take such huge risks? Whether it is the family of Syrian two-year-old Alan Kurdi, who washed up on the shore of a Greek beach in 2015, or the Patel family of four, who froze to death near the U.S. border in Manitoba last January, what drives people to take such life and death risks? Intuitively, we might know the reasons; they want for their children what we have: health, safety, security and education – in short, hope for a future. These are migrants. And then there are refugees. The difference between migrants and refugees is that refugees can’t go home. Refugees have been driven out. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) estimates that global forced displacement reached 103 million people by the middle of last year; this includes more than 32 million refugees. Families like the Richards, Kurdis and Patels leave their homes for a myriad of reasons. Refugees are driven out and flee for their lives. It doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see that the global refugee crisis is only going to deepen.

Second, individuals and families seeking hope and a home in Canada take such risks to leave because of frustration with the Canadian immigration procedures. The bureaucracy in Canada seems not only unjust but deathly slow. As of last September, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported more than 900,000 refugees are in the backlog. It seems that the IRCC is critically under-resourced.

In the midst of this, it is mystifying why the IRCC has made things more difficult for Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH) or SAH-organizations who are authorized to resettle overseas refugees. The IRCC has just laid out new and detailed eligibility criteria: all Sponsorship Agreement Holders must be able to demonstrate that they can monitor their caseloads, prove financial viability, be properly trained, and have a detailed operations structure, among other things. We would agree that such accountability is essential when dealing with the globe’s most vulnerable people. Yet we are perturbed to read that such regulations are forcing smaller Sponsorship Agreement Holders to shut down.

In particular, a Jan. 17 article in The Toronto Star alarmed Anglicans in the Diocese of Toronto when it pictured Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee of the Diocese of British Columbia. Bishop Greenwood-Lee is concluding her diocese’s status as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, citing the heavy bureaucracy of the IRCC’s new rules. Anglicans of the Diocese of Toronto have asked, “Well, what about us? We know we have a robust sponsorship commitment. Are we having to close down our work, too?” The answer is no. The Anglican United Refugee Alliance (AURA) can manage the new IRCC requirements. In our diocese, churches sponsoring refugees are supported by AURA. AURA has already submitted all the required documentation to the IRCC. So in our diocese, there is no need for concern.

AURA is the go-to organization for assisting Diocese of Toronto churches in our ministry of sponsoring the world’s refugees, as we are called to do by Jesus’ commandments to love our neighbour and welcome the stranger. AURA has a full-time operations director, a full-time sponsorship director, and a part-time sponsorship assistant. Further, AURA has an active working board of eight directors. Last year, AURA worked with more than 750 people in 50 Anglican parishes and 84 active sponsor groups to welcome 323 refugees to Canada. Moreover, these new residents were properly supported, cared for, and loved. The IRCC continues to recognize AURA’s competency and increases annually the number of sponsorships we can hold. AURA’s board and staff are currently conducting a review of our policies and procedures to increase our capacity.

With climate change gripping the planet and war seizing nations, the need for increased Sponsorship Agreement Holders is here, but clear oversight, monitoring and supervision are a necessity. Canada needs to think hard about how it can increase the capacity of SAHs. It needs to welcome refugees in a timely way. And AURA is thinking about how we can support smaller SAHs. We need to continue to work with the IRCC to increase the Canadian capacity to welcome refugees safely to a new home.

The Rev. Stephen Drakeford, a retired priest of the Diocese of Toronto, is co-chair of AURA’s board of directors. To learn more or get involved, visit AURA’s website, auraforrefugees.org.

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The effect of COVID-19 was devastating for all of us. Two years ago, we didn’t know what was happening, and we were afraid. We were isolated, fearful and crestfallen. As the pandemic wore on, we experienced disappointment after disappointment. We had to pivot into a new reality and a new way of relating. That was our reality. The reality for refugees was of an even greater magnitude. Not only did they fear for their lives from COVID-19 like the rest of us, but with the suspension of global travel, families were left stateless and languishing in refugee camps. Because of war and drought, many had to migrate from home in the midst of the pandemic. For some people, COVID-19 was the least of their troubles; more pressing was food, water and an escape from gunfire.

Through the Anglican-United Refugee Alliance (AURA), a Pakistani family (we are not revealing their full identity for their safety’s sake) was sponsored by a coalition of churches in Toronto: St. Anne, Epiphany and St. Mark, and Redeemer Lutheran. The family arrived in Canada in February, but their journey from Pakistan was an eight-year one. The family are Christian and fled religious persecution. The coalition learned of them in 2018 while they were in Malaysia looking for help finding a country to grant them permanent resident status. The father has a master’s degree in math and has taught, worked as an accountant and managed several non-profit projects. The mother has an arts degree and worked as an elementary teacher and an office worker before raising a family. In Malaysia, they were living and working under the radar. They were assisted by an Anglican church where David Reed, a professor emeritus at Wycliff College, learned about them while conducting a seminar in Malaysia. He contacted Bishop Jenny Andison, a former student of his, and she asked whether the coalition of churches could help. They could, but the family’s arrival in Canada in 2020 was delayed by COVID-19. They had to put their whole lives on hold for another two years.

For You have been a defense for the helpless,
A defense for the needy in his distress,

A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the ruthless
Is like a rainstorm against a wall.

Isaiah 25:4

When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19: 33-34

Bishop Andrew Asbil has declared Sunday, May 15 as Refugee Sunday in the diocese. AURA and the diocese are providing resources, prayers, litanies for liturgies, as well as primers on developing church refugee groups and sponsoring refugees. AURA has produced three video interviews with refugees that can be used in the liturgy or as presentations at church advisory board and outreach events.

For many of us, COVID-19 had surprising spiritual benefits: we found refuge in God ± peace and comfort in God’s presence. Many of us started to focus on what we would do with the rest of our lives. We realized anew that time is precious and all we have is right now. How do we make the most of what we have? How can we serve God and each other in time of pandemic? Can we serve the foreigner, the refugee, the alien?

One simple, fun, fulfilling thing to do is to observe Refugee Sunday; and think about organizing your church community to sponsor refugees. As was recently pointed out: you’re saving lives. Look at your smile and feel your heart glow when you watch your family come through the arrival gate at Pearson airport. To start, simply go to www.auraforrefugees.org or Google “AURA for Refugees” for links to materials and resources. Join the Diocesan Refugee Network by visiting the “Welcoming Refugees” section on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca. Be a part of a community of likeminded Christians championing justice for refugees.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2​​

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Drakeford is an AURA board member and an honorary assistant at St. Anne, Toronto, where he is involved in refugee work.

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