MCC Canada Migration and Resettlement Program

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

MCC Canada Migration and Resettlement Program

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

  • MCC Canada Refugee Assistance Program
  • MCC Canada Refugee and Immigration Program
  • MCC Canada Refugee Concerns Program
  • MCC Canada Refugee Program

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1979 -

History

MCC Canada’s Migration and Resettlement Program was established in 1979 in response to calls from Canadian Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations to provide ways to help resettle Southeast Asian refugees in Canada. MCC Canada negotiated a two-year agreement with the Canadian government to create the private refugee sponsorship program – the first organization to establish such an agreement. While MCC Canada had a coordinating role to play, most of the work of welcoming refugees was split between each provincial MCC and the Canadian government; congregations were responsible for meeting the refugees upon their arrival in Canada, helping them settle, and providing them with financial assistance for up to one year while the government paid for healthcare costs, language training, employment services, and interest free loans for transportation to Canada. The sponsorship program proved to be so successful that MCC Canada and the Canadian government agreed to renew the agreement after the initial two-year period.

The Migration and Resettlement Program reported to MCC Binational’s Coordinator of Overseas Services until 1995 when it became part of MCC Canada’s National Program Department. The program went through several name changes: Refugee Concerns (1981-1985, 1988-1997), Refugee Sponsorship/Resettlement (1986), Refugees and Immigration (1987), Refugee Assistance (1997-2014), and Migration and Resettlement (2014-). While carrying out its own program activities, MCC Canada’s Migration and Resettlement Program also works closely with provincial MCC refugee assistance programs across Canada.

Places

MCC Akron Office; MCC Canada Winnipeg Office.

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

MCC Canada’s Migration and Resettlement Program negotiates with the Canadian federal government to facilitate refugee sponsorship on behalf of Anabaptist churches.

Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

Refugee Concerns reported to MCC Binational’s Overseas Services Department until 1995 when responsibility for the program was transferred to MCC Canada’s National Program Department. It has remained one of MCC Canada’s core national programs.

General context

Relationships area

Related entity

MCC Canada National Program Department (1981 -)

Identifier of the related entity

MCC CA

Category of the relationship

hierarchical

Dates of the relationship

1995-

Description of relationship

The Migration and Resettlement Program reports to the National Program Department

Related entity

MCC International Program Department (1920 -)

Identifier of the related entity

MCC CA

Category of the relationship

hierarchical

Dates of the relationship

1979 - 1994

Description of relationship

MCC International Program controlled the Migration and Resettlement Program from 1979-1994.

Access points area

Subject access points

Place access points

Occupations

Control area

Authority record identifier

MCC CA

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Draft

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created by Jared Warkentin, March 24, 2020

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Epp-Tiessen, Esther. Mennonite Central Committee in Canada: A History. Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2013.

Maintenance notes

  • Clipboard

  • Export

  • EAC

Related subjects

Related places