1. CASE STUDY: Group of Five Sponsorship
Scenario 1
Assessing Eligibility
Mr. Saud Isaac lives in Mississauga, Ontario, together with his wife, Catherine White, whom
he met at work and married two years ago. Catherine was born in Barrie, Ontario. Saud is an
engineer by profession and gainfully employed by Bell Canada. His wife also works at Bell
Canada. Saud is very worried about his brother because of the political crisis in his country of
origin – Iraq.
His brother, Sam Isaac (DOB: 21/05/1970), lives together with his wife Hanna Isaac (DOB:
01/06/1978), son Robel Isaac (DOB: 03/07/1999), daughter Zora (DOB 18/05/2006) and
father-in-law Ayad Yousif (DOB 02/07/1948). On May 12, 2008, Mr. Sam Isaac left Iraq
together with his family and went to Syria because he had received threatening phone calls
from unknown people. His brother thinks he was targeted because he was working with MBC
- Contractors, an American based company in Bagdad. Before he escaped from Iraq, Sam had
received a threatening letter that read “you traitor, stop helping the occupiers or you will be
killed.”
Sam has been living in Damascus since leaving Iraq and is finding it more and more difficult
to care for his family.
Saud wants to bring Sam and his family to Canada through Group of Five sponsorship. Mr.
Saud has two cousins (Angela, 25 and Farid, 27) who live in downtown Toronto, and an aunt,
Amina, who lives in Scarborough. His aunt owns a house, and her basement is finished with
vacant rooms, a washroom and a separate entrance.
Discuss the following questions among your group. Identify one representative of your group
who will report back to the plenary about your findings.
Questions
I.
• Would Sam and his family be considered refugees?
• Would they be eligible for resettlement to Canada as privately sponsored refugees?
Please explain.
• In the above case scenario, what would be the implication if the father in law, Ayad
Yousif, was a high ranking member of the Baath Party during the Saddam regime?
II.
• Is Saud along with the assistance of his relatives eligible to form a Group of 5 and
submit a sponsorship application? What information are you missing?