A core tenet of the Commons is a strong foundation of human rights that incorporates protections for individuals within a clear understanding of our collective responsibility to each other. An excellent example of Canada’s commitment to this tenet is our private refugee sponsorship program implemented in the late 1970s and which has settled over 325,000 refugee newcomers. Groups of (private) Canadian residents sponsor a refugee or household assuming responsibility for housing, basic expenses, and linkages to health, education, language services and employment during their first year. The paper below documents how this community practice has been sustained despite the personal sacrifices in part by sponsors’ transnational commitments to social justice for those facing displacement and violence on a global scale. – Susan McGrath
“This paper focuses on private refugee sponsorship, sometimes called community sponsorship, as a complementary pathway to government-sponsored refugee resettlement in providing concrete, permanent protection to displaced persons. Sponsorship is also a unique and widespread mobilization of civil society members who put their own money, energy and time toward supporting people identified as being in need of protection. Specifically, we analyze how such a demanding program of voluntarism and community engagement has been sustained for so long, given the intense commitment often required upon people’s arrival in Canada.”
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