Since launching the We’re Better Together campaign, we’ve been inspired by so many people and groups rallying to push back against rising anti-refugee and anti-immigrant sentiment. From gathering and training hundreds of organizations across Canada on our research- backed strategy and messages, to speaking out with a unified voice in support of immigrants and refugees, we’ve built something hopeful together.
Now, it’s time to turn hope and momentum into impact. To turn the tide, we must come together in great numbers and make our voices loud, proud and visible, to remind people, including the Prime Minister himself, that the vast majority of people in Canada still support refugees and migrants and expect Canada to continue being a humanitarian leader in the world.
That’s what our upcoming Week of Action leading up to World Refugee Day on June 20th is all about: making sure our government hears the call to defend Canadian values against the global rise in xenophobia and scapegoating of migrants.
Our #1 way to do that is to add our voices to this open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling on him to uphold Canadian values as a global leader in welcoming refugees.
Some politicians are actively counting on social permission from the few and silence from the many to deflect blame and anger toward refugees and immigrants for problems decades in the making through neglect. To prevent the horrors we see playing out in the U.S., we need to end the silence now.
History shows that what starts as scapegoating migrants and vulnerable communities ends in the loss of humanity for all. As we remind the PM in the letter, “none of us is safe until all of us are safe.”
Please join a growing chorus of concerned people reminding Mark Carney that Canada is beautiful because we speak many languages, come from many places, and across our differences, we look out for each other.
Together, let’s urge him to:
- ensure Canada welcomes and resettles more, not fewer, refugees;
- protect fair hearings for those seeking asylum in Canada; and
- uphold and strengthen Canada’s global refugee leadership in defending human rights and gender equality.
In hope and solidarity,
Gauri Sreenivasan and the CCR Team