Evidence of meeting #25 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.
A recording is available from Parliament.
November 21st, 2006 / 9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Good morning, and thank you for coming.
The work you do is excellent.
I have a couple of questions for you. Can you please tell us about extra settlement funding in the last five years? Has there been a growth in funding for settlement services?
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
There's been no growth in funding for settlement services. It remained static in the previous 12 years prior to the announcement in April of this year from this government, and we are now beginning to see those funds roll out.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Are there any restrictions on how those funds are distributed? Is there a caveat to it?
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
As we were saying earlier, the caveat is immigration agreements that do or don't exist with certain provinces. For example, the minister was in B.C. announcing these new funds to British Columbia, but because they're going to go to the province and because of the B.C. and federal immigration agreement, those funds go into general revenue.
Only 47% of immigration settlement funds in B.C. go to programs and services for immigrants. The rest is distributed through general revenue.
9:55 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
Exactly, and we're very concerned about that. This is a prime example of what we believe is something the federal government needs to take another look at in terms of how we fence in those dollars.
9:55 a.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
In Ontario there's a completely different federal-provincial agreement. Fortunately for immigrants who come to Ontario, federal government programs are still delivered through the federal department.
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
I think the system in Ontario of the agreement signed last year is one of the very positive agreement models, at least from the community perspective. I believe the federal and provincial governments have shared the same opinion on that. There is a limitation in that regard, but overall it works, because right now 80% of the funding goes to the language training, and 20% of that goes to the other settlement services that communities need.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Would you be aware of how much more funding has gone to Ontario over the last year?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
Based on the agreement, it was supposed to be $50 million last year, and this year I believe $175 million, but there has been some delay. The information is that the money is going to be there this year.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Have you been hearing anything from your community partners and your members about whether new individuals can access these funds, or is it the same people who have programs that were there before who are accessing the funding?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
Actually, before new money came in, the Ontario region developed a new system, and as a part of that system right now there is a call for submitting a letter of interest. Basically they have asked individuals, private organizations, community groups, municipalities, and umbrella organizations that they send by November 30 a letter of interest with a series of criteria that determine if these organizations or groups are going to be eligible to access. Apparently they're going to evaluate these and choose a number of the groups and—
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Morteza, have you been hearing from any of your community partners, any of your members? Has there been any dissatisfaction as to the way this system is functioning right now?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
There is a hope it's going to improve in the near future. I'll put it this way. Yes, the current system has limitations because of the money and because of a number of issues, and because 90-something organizations in Ontario deliver it, but the new system they are implementing right now was developed with involvement of the sector. Hopefully it's going to improve that.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Can you share with us some of the dissatisfaction or some of the disgruntlement that you've been hearing on the ground?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
Yes. One is the limitation of the money the last few years. There never was an increase in the money, although there was an increase in the number of the newcomers who are coming. Also, there is the issue of the new immigrants or the refugees who may need more advanced services. One is in that area.
The second area is that one of the concerns has always been that any federal funding has the criteria—
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Morteza, let me just get back to it again, please. Have you heard any specifics that you can share with us?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
I am talking about specifics. For example, eligibility criteria for refugee claimants, they cannot access this through the federal government funded services.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
I have heard on the ground that some organizations are turning people away if they don't belong to “that particular community”. If you are from another ethnicity, and you go to that particular organization, you get turned away. Have you heard anything like that?
9:55 a.m.
Member, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA)
I haven't heard. But is that a possibility? Yes, because we have some organizations that were funded based on the ethnic-racial specific community they are supposed to serve, but that criterion has changed. It should not happen. Is it possible that it happened? Yes.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Nina Grewal Conservative Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for your time and your presentations.
Ms. Young, you mentioned in your presentation that it takes about eight to twelve months in B.C. for language training, and six weeks in Ontario. Please, could you explain why there is a difference?
