Ep. 68: Sabine El-Chidiac - What Helps Refugees Succeed?

The Curious Task

To celebrate Sabine’s time at the ILS and her work with the Curious Task, we’re revisiting Sabine’s first appearance as a guest on the podcast.

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Alex Aragona speaks with Sabine El-Chidiac as she explores the different ways civil society solutions help refugees succeed when they move to their new home.

References from The Curious Task Episode 68 with Sabine El-Chidiac

• You can find Sabine's work on this topic mentioned in the podcast at Police Options here
• The Government of Canada’s website contains a list of all the programs under which economic immigrants are admitted into Canada.
• Here is some more information about the express entry pathway.
• As Sabine noted in the podcast, admission under the Provincial Nominee Program is dependent upon what the destination province deems to be their biggest occupational and employment goals and needs. This link provides a brief overview of the program and hyperlinks to province-specific guidelines.
• You can read more about the UNHCR’s Refugee Status Designation process on their website here, as well as their procedural standards here.
• This is the link to the Government of Canada’s guide to the private refugee sponsorship process.
• Sabine mentioned the work of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto to accommodate and build a community for refugees by performing fundraisers and food drives amongst the parishioners. You can read their mission statement on their website.
• Sabine’s article, The success of the privately sponsored refugee system, discusses some of the themes from this podcast, such as the principle of civil society, and is available for reading on Policy Options.
• Here is a link to the Rapid Impact Evaluation of the Syrian Refugee Initiative developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2016. It compares the outcomes, living standards, and satisfaction of government and privately sponsored Syrian refugees between 2015-2016.
• This is a link to the joint statement to the UN General Assembly by the Ministers of Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, and New Zealand speaking in favour of community-led sponsorship approaches that Alex briefly mentions on the podcast.
• Here is a link to the official PSR cap published by the Government of Canada. Some examples of the lobbying against PSR caps include the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders Association.
• Alex and Sabine discuss Danby Appliances’ CEO Jim Estill’s sponsorship and hiring of over fifty refugee families in Guelph, Ontario. You can read more about this in the article linked here.
• On the podcast, Sabine shares the inspiring story coming out of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia with regards to how the refugees who were once sponsored to the area eventually became systems of support for new incoming refugees. You can follow the community work for refugees in Haida Gwaii through one of their local newspaper’s website.