2021 Private Refugee Sponsorship Application Update

Be advised the 2021 ISANS Private Refugee Sponsorship selection process will remain the same as last year. ISANS is selecting applications from the interest forms we received in 2019. We will not accept new interest forms for 2021. Please note, ISANS Private Refugee Sponsorship staff are not involved in selection … Read more

Important Information: Private Sponsorship of Refugees in 2017

What is Canada’s commitment for 2017? Canada has committed to bring 16,000 Privately Sponsored refugees to Canada in 2017. These refugees have sponsorship applications that were previously submitted to the government. Many of them will be selected from the “backlog” that has built up over the years. Can we submit … Read more

6 Things Canadian Sponsors Love About Meeting Syrian Refugees

From UNHCR Canada.  Arriving in a new country can be a scary experience, but when Najwa and Reyad Al Hamoud arrived in Canada they were greeted with jumps of joy. Elaine Hofer, one of the Al Hamoud family’s sponsors, had driven two hours from a Hutterite colony near Brandon, Manitoba, … Read more

The Amazing Private Sponsorship Surge of 2015-16

This year has been an extraordinary year for Private Refugee Sponsorship. Canadians, overwhelmed by the intense media coverage of Syrians fleeing their homes, banded together to sponsor and bring Syrian families to their communities. Now – more than six months later – several articles have been published that follow the … Read more

Rainbow Refugee group helps toward settlement in Nova Scotia

The following article by Kyle DeYoung was published in The Society Record.
The Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia (RRANS) is a small non-profit dedicated to helping LGBTQ refugees settle in Nova Scotia and highlighting international LGBTQ issues. The group formed in 2011, after noted Ottawa-based activist David Pepper made a stop in Halifax to host a public information
forum as part of a 10-province advocacy tour…