Ten years ago, the NZ Initiative brought a Canadian diplomat to Wellington to explain how Canada let ordinary citizens sponsor refugees. Dean Barry told us that when Canadian communities pledged to support one more refugee, Canada admitted one more. Civil society helped decide how many refugees Canada accepted.
Dean Barry visited in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis. New Zealanders who wanted to help people had to spend their time lobbying the government to increase the quota. Canadians who wanted to help could fundraise and get on with the job of helping people.
