About

Objective:

These special programs exist to rapidly respond to the urgent need for refuge for Afghan nationals. The programs will resettle approximately 20,000 Afghans to communities across Canada.

The objective of the Afghan Resettlement Programs is to ensure the safe, efficient, and respectful resettlement, settlement, and integration of arriving Afghan refugees through an effective collaborative approach to service delivery.

Resettlement Support for Arriving Afghans

Capacity

Working in communities across Canada, the Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) implementing the programs have expertise in resettling refugees through the Resettlement Assistance Program that supports Government-Assisted Refugees in Canada. Already an established network of service providers, we were able to mobilize quickly to respond to this call to action.

Drawing on decades of experience serving vulnerable newcomers from diverse backgrounds, Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) in Canada’s settlement sector are well equipped to support arriving Afghan families as they begin to establish a new life in Canada.

Approach

To maximize engagement and ensure a coordinated, collaborative, and proactive approach to service delivery across Canada, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) developed a national, regional, and local implementation framework for the Afghan Resettlement Programs. We are leveraging learnings and expertise gained from the response to the Syrian refugee crisis, and applying local, regional, and national best practices.

Strategic coordination is crucial given the urgency of resettlement needs, the complex and ever-changing situation in Afghanistan, and the scope of the programs. Refugee resettlement organizations across Canada are working closely with one another as well as regional and national representatives of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to implement the Special Programs.

For each region, there is a designated lead organization:

BC/Yukon
Immigrant Services Society of BC
D: 778.372.6504
Website: www.issbc.org
Email: jennifer.york@issbc.org

Prairies/NWT
Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
D: 403.298.8575
Website: www.ccisab.ca
Email: bnarula@ccisab.ca

Catholic Social Services, Immigration and Settlement Service
D:780.267.9533
Website: www.cssalberta.ca
Email: kathryn.friesen@cssalberta.ca

Atlantic
Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia
D: 902.406.8603
Website: www.isans.ca
Email: wgausdal@isans.ca

Ontario
London Cross Cultural Learner Centre
D: 519.432.1133 x (235)
Website: www.lcclc.org
Email: vmarochko@lcclc.org

COSTI Immigrant Services
D: 647.827.1290
Website: www.costi.org
Email: Mario.Calla@costi.org

Quebec

Please contact Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) for more information about how to support Afghan resettlement efforts in Quebec.

For a list of refugee resettlement organizations involved in the Afghan Resettlement Programs, please see our Partnering Organizations page.