Kai Sheffield, a partner in Osler’s Corporate Group, has been recognized by Catholic Crosscultural Services in Toronto for his work assisting a Syrian refugee family obtain refugee status in Canada. The 34-year-old father of the family suffered arbitrary arrest, detention and torture by the Syrian government. The family is seeking to come to Canada to avoid further persecution by the authorities.
The organization serves as a hub for refugee sponsorship applications and works with the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program (SSP), a national program across Canada that trains lawyers to provide free support to individuals and groups seeking to privately sponsor refugees.
Last year, through the SSP, Kai volunteered to help a group of five Canadians who wished to sponsor the Syrian family’s application for refugee status. Over the course of three months, he worked with the sponsoring group and relatives of the refugee family to prepare and submit the family’s refugee application, including crafting a narrative describing the persecution suffered in Syria, gathering and translating supporting documents, and navigating the other paperwork required to complete the application.
“You have to show persecution and that there is a legitimate threat if the person has to go back to their home country,” explains Kai who put in about 40 hours of time on the case. “It can be hard to do because refugees often don’t have access to the relevant documents or witnesses. You have to make sure the applicants have done everything they can to strengthen the credibility of their case.”
While the outcome of the family’s application is still pending, the organization expressed its gratitude to Kai in a recent video posted by Refugee SSP that highlighted his work.
“Kai ended up being the greatest blessing of all,” said volunteer Fran Greenbaum. “He immediately looked at our applications and directed us to a different strategy and wrote an incredible narrative to help us. Kai worked on it diligently … I couldn’t believe the devotion and the time that he gave. It was a very long and difficult process, but Kai led the way. I am so grateful to Kai – I know we wouldn’t have had a chance of getting the correct application in if we hadn’t had the benefit of his work. I don’t know what’s going to happen to our family – they are in a very difficult position. But I do know their chance has been exponentially increased by the dedication, time and expertise Kai gave us. We can’t thank Kai enough. We are very grateful and to Refugee SSP for the support they gave us when we needed it.”
With the help of lawyers like Kai, Catholic Crosscultural Services assisted 60 sponsoring groups to support 259 refugees in resettlement applications last year.
It’s the second time Kai has helped a group of five sponsor a refugee through the SSP. A few years ago, he helped another group sponsoring a Syrian refugee who had fled to Egypt and was seeking entry to Canada.
He encourages other lawyers to get involved.
“The organization is always looking for help and the firm gives you billable credit,” he says.
Other Osler lawyers acknowledged by the organization include D’Arcy White, Kate Rusk and Reba Nauth.