Action Réfugiés Montréal is pleased to announce the appointment of Ian Van Haren as Executive Director.
Ian is a former diplomat who has completed graduate studies on migration policy and social inclusion and is passionate about the role of civil society in welcoming newcomers to our country. He joins ARM after an extensive search process to identify a new Executive Director.
Before moving to Montreal in 2017, Ian worked as a diplomat for the Canadian government in migration policy and operations. This included postings in England, Lebanon, and South Africa. In the latter two countries, he led teams responsible for refugee resettlement programming and closely collaborated with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) as well as local governments to facilitate resettlement of individuals to Canada.
After finishing his assignment in South Africa, Ian relocated to Montreal to undertake graduate studies with a focus on studying the experiences of newcomers of diverse backgrounds as they adjust to life in Canada and on the role of civil society in welcoming newcomers. He has presented his research at national and international conferences and published policy briefs, research reports, and peer-reviewed articles on migration policy, refugee resettlement, and the experiences of newcomers. He is currently a PhD candidate at McGill and has a MA from the University of Toronto and BA(Hons) from Crandall University.
Ian has been involved in refugee sponsorship initiatives in Ontario and Québec and is currently on the board of Citizens for Public Justice, an Ottawa-based Christian public policy advocacy organization.
After a transition period with the Interim Executive Director, Paul Clarke, during October, Ian began full-time leadership on November 8, 2022. He is delighted to join the ARM team as it works to seek justice for asylum seekers and persons who have experienced displacement. He looks forward to meeting with faith groups and community organizations who support or are interested in this work.
Action Réfugiés Montréal (ARM) was founded in 1994 with support from The Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Anglican Diocese of Montreal. Since that time, the core funding received from these two denominations has been essential to sustaining ARM’s work.
ARM is currently the only organization that regularly provides support to individuals who are detained in the Immigration Holding Centre in Laval and a long-term sponsor of refugees officially recognized by the Government of Quebec in the community sponsorship program. ARM also offers innovative programming that matches newcomers to longer-term residents of the Montreal area through its twinning program and runs a men’s group.
At present, ARM employs seven staff who are complemented by interns, volunteers, partner agencies, and community members. As the organization has grown, it receives funding from individual donors, charitable foundations, local churches, and other religious groups and communities.
