March 10, 2015 – Reported by CBC News – One of the people involved in helping to bring three gay men to Nova Scotia as refugees is happy the federal government has extended funding to the project for another two years.
However, Corrie Melanson is still worried over the long-term future of the Rainbow Refugee initiative.
“They’re extending for two years. They’re continuing it as a pilot. And so my mixed emotion is that it’s not becoming a permanent program,” she told CBC news on Tuesday.
“We’re not guaranteed that this will continue beyond the next two years. And there’s a real need for this program to be permanent.”
The Rainbow Refugee Assistance Program receives third-party funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to help cover the cost of sponsoring overseas LGBT refugees to come to Canada. When the program started four years ago, a total of $100,000 was set aside to help sponsor LGBT refugees within the private sponsorship stream.
A spokesperson with Citizenship and Immigration Canada said Tuesday another $100,000 will fund the program for the next two years…story continues below…
via Rainbow Refugee Assistance Program extended for 2 years – Nova Scotia – CBC News.