As pressure on the federal government to do to more to address the global refugee crisis continues, more Canadian universities are committing to sponsoring refugees to come to Canada.
The University of Toronto (U of T), York University, and the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) are the latest to join Lifeline Syria, a Toronto-based initiative with a goal to sponsor the settling of 1,000 refugees in the city. The group began a partnership with Ryerson University in July.
Ryerson is now committing to sponsor 100 Syrians, up from an initial goal of 44. U of T, York, and OCAD have not yet announced how many refugees they will be sponsoring.
Lifeline Syria was inspired by the overwhelming efforts by Canadians to sponsor Vietnamese refugees in the early 1980s, according to chairperson Ratna Omidvar.
“We have to use some of those extraordinary measures [today] that we used then,” she said.
The universities are encouraging school community members to establish campus sponsorship teams. Teams at York must raise at least $27,000 each to sponsor a Syrian family, according to a press release from the school.
U of T’s Scholars-at-Risk program will also include new bursaries. One hundred bursaries of $10,000 will be offered over the next 10 years, with an initial focus on Syrian students.
A new scholarship for Syrians is being introduced at the University of Alberta (U of A). It will cover the tuition and living costs for up to 10 Syrian students.
Students who have been admitted to the university and who have Syrian citizenship will automatically qualify for the award, said Kiann McNeill, director of marketing and communications at the U of A, in an email.
The University of Ottawa announced Sept. 23 that it will spend $200,000 on scholarships, a program to provide legal aid to those interested in sponsor refugees, and a post-secondary certificate program for refugees in Lebanon. The school is asking the public to match its donation.
Queen’s University announced on Sept. 15 it will consider expediting admissions for students who may be affected by the crisis.
Algonquin College also announced it will spend $50,000 to cover the tuition of 10 Syrian refugees.
Canadian universities can respond to the crisis by addressing the “immediate human need” and provide “intellectual leadership,” said James Milner, a Carleton political science professor.
Milner said the crisis requires “a very comprehensive and a very global response.”
