Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?

Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program commenced before the Indochinese refugee flow began, and it has continued for almost 40 years since it subsided. Although conceived of as a complementary partnership, private sponsorship plays out more as a tug-of-war between the conflicting interests...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shauna Labman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: York University Libraries 2016-09-01
Series:Refuge
Online Access:https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40266
_version_ 1811267933660250112
author Shauna Labman
author_facet Shauna Labman
author_sort Shauna Labman
collection DOAJ
description Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program commenced before the Indochinese refugee flow began, and it has continued for almost 40 years since it subsided. Although conceived of as a complementary partnership, private sponsorship plays out more as a tug-of-war between the conflicting interests of government and sponsors over selection control and numbers. While guided by additionality, sponsors have been confronted with administrative and regulatory changes that challenge them to do more with less, and the fear that overall Canadian resettlement will reduce if their efforts are not expanded. A federal election and change of government in October 2015 may have reset government-sponsor relations but highlights the vulnerability and interpretative malleability of the program. With the pillars of the Indochinese and now Syrian resettlement efforts bookending the analysis, the article provides a historical and contextual understanding of recent changes to private sponsorship and the tensions and conflicting interests in maintaining a voluntary program premised on the resettlement of additional refugees.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T21:11:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-93132443738a483fa5e5ddb6a2f72abb
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0229-5113
1920-7336
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T21:11:46Z
publishDate 2016-09-01
publisher York University Libraries
record_format Article
series Refuge
spelling doaj.art-93132443738a483fa5e5ddb6a2f72abb2022-12-22T03:16:34ZengYork University LibrariesRefuge0229-51131920-73362016-09-0132210.25071/1920-7336.40266Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?Shauna Labman0University of ManitobaCanada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program commenced before the Indochinese refugee flow began, and it has continued for almost 40 years since it subsided. Although conceived of as a complementary partnership, private sponsorship plays out more as a tug-of-war between the conflicting interests of government and sponsors over selection control and numbers. While guided by additionality, sponsors have been confronted with administrative and regulatory changes that challenge them to do more with less, and the fear that overall Canadian resettlement will reduce if their efforts are not expanded. A federal election and change of government in October 2015 may have reset government-sponsor relations but highlights the vulnerability and interpretative malleability of the program. With the pillars of the Indochinese and now Syrian resettlement efforts bookending the analysis, the article provides a historical and contextual understanding of recent changes to private sponsorship and the tensions and conflicting interests in maintaining a voluntary program premised on the resettlement of additional refugees.https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40266
spellingShingle Shauna Labman
Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
Refuge
title Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
title_full Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
title_fullStr Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
title_full_unstemmed Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
title_short Private Sponsorship: Complementary or Conflicting Interests?
title_sort private sponsorship complementary or conflicting interests
url https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40266
work_keys_str_mv AT shaunalabman privatesponsorshipcomplementaryorconflictinginterests