Thank you. There are a lot of questions there.
Mr. Bevilacqua, first of all, I share your preoccupation with the diminished economic outcomes that are experienced by many newcomers to Canada versus 20 years ago, for example. The overall focus of the government's approach to immigration is to improve economic outcomes for newcomers so that immigration works for them and for Canada. That has been the guiding principle in everything we've done.
I read the same editorial that you did. I'm actually sending a letter to correct my friends at the Globe and Mail because they missed the fact that budget 2010 continues the economic action plan's investment of $50 million in additional funds for the implementation of the agreement between the premiers and the Prime Minister, in January 2009, to accelerate and streamline the process of foreign credential recognition. And that $50 million, which we're continuing to invest, is what led to the very important development last November of the pan-Canadian framework.
The budget also includes the continuation of our substantial increase in settlement funding, Mr. Bevilacqua. In 2005-06, this ministry spent $188 million on settlement funding and this year, in 2010-11, it will be $652 million. So this government has more than tripled the investment in settlement services, including language programs for newcomers.
But may I add, Mr. Bevilacqua, that an index of success isn't just spending more, it's better outcomes. I've asked this committee on several occasions to consider studying best practices in settlement programming and it never seems to get picked up. Perhaps it's because it doesn't generate news stories, but I think it's absolutely essential. The taxpayers are spending three to four times more on settlement programming—yes, in Ontario, under COIA, and across the country—than any government did before. Yet we're concerned that we're not seeing a proportionate increase in enrollment in these programs or in outcomes. I've alluded before to the fact that only a quarter of qualified permanent residents are enrolling in the free language classes that we're now offering, which are far more expansive than they've ever been before. We are looking at some ways of innovation, like the voucher pilot program, but I would really encourage this committee to look more broadly at that.
So I reject the premise that we are not investing in newcomers. In fact, the $12 million expansion of the foreign credentials referral office for pre-integration programs abroad is a classic example of this. We want newcomers to get ready for the Canadian labour market, to get a head start on the credential recognition applications, and to make their job applications before they arrive here.
Finally, I think a lot of the expanded programs we have, such as the provincial nominee programs and the Canadian experience class, which is starting to pick up momentum, will lead to better economic outcomes.
In terms of your questions on COIA, I will refer this to our CFO in terms of the $88 million.