The United Church requests that you regard us as allies, not adversaries. Consider how many private Canadians were, are, or could be involved, and the difference it makes to the tenor and receptivity of the host community, Canada. Sponsorship is hands-on; it's civil engagement that extends to all parts of the country, costs the government nothing, and builds the cosmopolitan democracy of our future. This is how we learn about ourselves and others, and it's how we learn to embrace our differences.
We also urge you to adapt immigration and refugee programs to meet Canadian needs. We need some equivalent of an assisted relative class. There also needs to be room for unskilled labourers, like the ones who built this very country.