The CCC community felt motivated to respond in Christian charity to the conditions represented by recent events in Syria, and to make plans for entering into a sponsorship of a Syrian refugee family. At the time of our last PC meeting, two Cathedral initiatives were involved with early stages of sponsorship planning, one through the Cathedral Justice Group, and the other, Vancouver Acts. At that time, PC appraised plans for entering into a refugee sponsorship, and created a sub-committee to work alongside these two efforts, to allow communication, and to offer support and assistance.
The Refugee Sub-Committee organized to meet its purpose over the last month. Today, PC is invited to review its actions, and assess current recommended strategies for co-sponsoring a Syrian refugee family.
In an effort to provide high quality support to our refugees throughout the immigration and integration process, we decided it best to form partnerships that would allow for shared responsibilities, in terms of our financial obligations, our volunteer resource base, and our planning efforts. With this in mind, the Cathedral Justice Group agreed to amalgamate their efforts with Vancouver Acts (VA), and allow VA to function as a co-sponsor within CCC.
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Peter Elliott provided PC with information on the legal aspect of the Cathedral’s refugee planning. This package included a letter from tax and trust lawyers, addressing our questions around whether or not Canada Revenue Agency would recognize gifts received for the sponsorship as charitable, tax-exempt donations. It also included a copy of a memorandum created by Amy Francis and Jennifer Choi, defining in draft the responsibilities and obligation that are required of the groups (the SAH and the constituent