Posted by Wayves vounteer 5/02/2015

By Rainbow Refugees NS (RRANS)

We need your help - please consider signing our petition!

At the end of March, we risk losing a third of our funding. The Rainbow Refugee Assistance Program is a pilot project established by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to make a contribution toward the cost of sponsoring overseas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) refugees to Canada. The project is set to expire at the end of March 2015 and we fear that the end of this funding will seriously undermine the progress made in increasing the private resettlement of LGBTQI refugees.

The pilot project has helped boost the number of sexual minority refugees coming to Canada through private sponsorships, and has encouraged local LGBTI groups to get involved in meeting the orientation, accommodation, and other basic needs of refugees. To date, the funding has assisted 25 refugees fleeing persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Because of this funding, they have been able to resettle in Canada. Here in Halifax, we have assisted three people and we have two more refugees who will soon arrive.

We kindly ask you to please click here and petition The Minister of Immigration, The Honourable Chris Alexander to keep the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Program. We’re over halfway to our petition goal, but we need your help to keep this program alive. Please invite your friends, family and anyone who may be interested in LGBTQI issues to sign the petition too!

The Hon. Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Petitions are a great way to show your support, but a personal letter is even better (we've even included a template in the email link below!) We encourage you to write a letter to your local MP and The Honourable Chris Alexander to let them know that you’d like to see the program stay in place.

Mailing Details:
Minister@cic.gc.ca (<-- click here and template will load automagically!)
The Honourable Chris Alexander, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1

Once again, we’d just like to thank you for helping us make a difference in the lives of LGBTQI Refugees – we wouldn’t be able to do it without you!