A Thank You to Canada’s Private Sponsors of Refugees

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise to pay tribute to the thousands of private sponsors of refugees in Canada. Vinay and Poonam Sarin serve as excellent examples and proxies for them.

In 2015 they joined a team of 17 other like-minded individuals to create Team Everest, an appropriately named sponsorship team, because sponsoring two families, comprising 16 refugees ranging in age from 2 to 48, was not exactly a stroll in the park.

The easy part, the first task, was raising the money; and with their help, Team Everest raised close to $100,000. In hindsight, in fact, raising the money turned out to be the easiest part of the challenge. The hard part was the thousand mundane tasks.

Vinay found housing in a scant seven days for a family of 12, when Canadian houses are typically built for a maximum of 6. OHIP cards were registered, bank accounts were opened, hospital visits and immunizations were taken care of, dentists and doctors were found, and school registrations were completed — and all this with no common language between the families and the sponsors.

Poonam was adamant that the families know and understand the rule of law in this country. She arranged for a local policeman to talk to the families about the dos and don’ts. And to balance it with a sense of Canadian fun, she then introduced them to hockey.

When the time was right, drivers’ lessons and licences were taken care of. The first income tax return was filed, and with the very careful shepherding of the finances under Vinay’s careful eyes, Team Everest was able to contribute to the cost of a vehicle for each of the two families.

Most important, Vinay made sure that the working members were introduced to employers, to services and to unions, utilizing the significant social capital inherent in the sponsoring team. One received apprenticeship training at the local carpenters union, and today he earns close to $30 an hour in his trade. The other found work at a hardware store and drives an Uber to make extra cash.

When they reflect on their work over past three years, both Poonam and Vinay marvel at the impact it has made on their own lives. Frankly, their lives have been full, professionally and socially, but this, they say, is by far the best thing they have ever done.

Honourable senators, they are not alone. Recent research has found that 7 per cent of Canadians are private sponsors, which is roughly 2.4 million Canadians, spread over our country, cities, towns and, in fact, even our villages. This is an incredibly hopeful finding. No wonder, then, that this wonderful made-in-Canada public-private partnership is finding its legs in the U.K., Australia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Ireland and Germany. Perhaps it is a new and modern expression of nation building. Vinay and Poonam are but proxies and examples.

Please join me in thanking all private sponsors for their contribution to this country.