Refugee sponsor groups accuse Ottawa of 'breach of agreement' as families wait to reunite

More than 100 groupsacross Canada that have formal agreements with Ottawa to privately sponsor refugees are accusing the federal government of breaching their agreements, leaving them unable to help vulnerable people.

These groups, known as Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs), arereligious,humanitarian, or community organizations that assume the full financial, legal and logistical obligations related to settling refugees in Canada. They often work with smaller community groups that handle the fundraising and arrange, among other things,housing, schools, and jobs.

Every year, SAHsare each allotted acertain number ofrefugees for a combined total of roughly 10,000 to 12,000 for whom they can submit applications toImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which then carries out interviews, medical check-ups, and security clearance.

The Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders Association (SAH Council) wrote a letter to the federal minister, SeanFraser, on June 20 to complain thatOttawa still hasn't given itsmembers their annual allotment of sponsorship spaces, which it says is "a breach of the Sponsorship Agreement." It's calling for the immediate release of 2022 allocations.

"SAH's are facing a quickly diminishing window of time to submit new sponsorship applications within this calendar year," the Council said, adding that it's difficult to plan or confirm support to vulnerable refugee families.

"It's frustrating," said Mark Bigland-Pritchard,a migration and resettlement coordinator for theMennonite Central Committee (MCC),a faith-based agency that's had a sponsorshipagreement with Ottawa for about 40 years.

"The bulk of our allocation, we just cannot submit until the time comes that they permit us to."

These delays endanger thousands of people who are facing persecution or living in dangerous places, he said.

Families separated, refugeesat risk

Threeapplications that arestill sitting on his desk, ready to be submitted,belong to nine-year-old Adnan Kharsa's parents and sister. As CBC News reported in April, the Syrianboy has beenseparated from his family, who arein Turkey, for five years. He made it to Saskatoon with his grandmother and uncle as a privately-sponsored refugeelast year.

Adnan's aunt, Doha Kharsa, who lives in Saskatoon, formed a sponsorship group in the community and raised $40,000 to privately sponsor Adnan's parents and sister. Then,she teamed up with MCC, as the sponsorship agreement holder, to submit their applications as part of its 2022 allotment.

Bigland-Pritchardsays MCC is normally allotted about 400 spacesa year, and those numbers are usually confirmed in February. That didn't happen this year. In May, the federal government allowed each sponsorship agreement holder in Canadato submit 25 applications.

Kharsa was disappointed to learn Ottawa hasn't accepted more applications, including hers.

"It's shocking," she said. "Idon't know how to tell my mom, or even Adnan, or even my brother in Turkey about this."

"I don't understand why. The money is there. The applications are ready to go. So why the delay?"

WATCH | Syrian refugee Adnan Kharsa has been separated from parents for 5 years:

Syrian refugee Adnan Kharsa video chats with his father in Turkey

2 years ago

Duration 0:38

Nine-year-old Adnan Kharsa was separated from his parents in 2017. The Syrian refugee lives in Saskatoon and his parents are in Turkey. They video chat nearly ever day while Adnan waits to be reunited.

In the letter to Fraser, the SAH Council said it "acknowledged the tremendous pressure IRCC currently faces in its response to multiple global crises." It said IRCC had indicated to SAH Council that the delay is, in part, due to what it called "processing challenges" at theResettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa.

In a statement to CBC News, IRCC did not offer an explanation for the delays.

"The Department is actively working to release the remaining 2022 allocations to SAHs," said the statement attributed to a spokesperson for Fraser.

"We can confirm that we received a letter from the Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH) Association and will be responding directly to address their concerns. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with the Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders."

2-3 year wait after application goes in

Bigland-Pritchard said it's critical to resume steady sponsorship submissions because getting the application into the system is only the first step.

After that, theprocessing time for MCC's privately-sponsored refugees isabout two to three years. For example, MCC is still waiting for half of the refugees they applied for in 2019 to arrive in Canada, and most of the people they applied for in 2020 haven't arrived.

He said he feels Ottawa is doing a good job providing timely refugeto people fleeing the crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan, but other places in the world are facing significant delays.

"It seems to be longer for people in Africa than in other parts of the world," he said.

FevenTesfay, 35, an Eritrean Canadian who lives in Saskatoon, is trying to get her sister, her sister's fourkids, and her cousin out of Ethiopia. The Eritrean refugees were sheltering at a refugee camp in Ethiopia, but fled to the capital of Addis Ababa following violent attacks inside the camp.

Tesfay and her three siblings in Canada raisedmore than $30,000 and worked with MCC to submit applications in late 2020 forher sister, Tsigereda Tesfay, her nephews and niece, and then later, her cousin, a single woman in her twenties.

"They can't work. It's very unsafe," said Tesfay, who sends money to them in Ethiopia every month.

She received an initial email confirmation from Ottawa when they first submitted the application, but nothing since. There hasn't been a field interview or medical check-ups. Tesfay worries about them constantly.

"After we did all this, if they're not safe at the end of the whole process, if something happens to them, that would be a disaster," said Tesfay.

Doha Kharsahad braced herself for a two or three year wait after Adnan's parents' applicationsaresubmitted, but she didn't expect that thepaperwork wouldn't even be accepted in Ottawa yet.

Meanwhile, she said,Adnan is growing up without his parents.

Read the whole letter here: