Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Feb. 6th, 2019

[The Chair (Mr. Robert Oliphant (Don Valley West, Lib.)), Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I'm going to call this meeting to order with my apologies to the witnesses. We had a speech in the House that just ended at 3:30.

Thank you for joining us today. This is our third meeting on the study we are undertaking as a committee on settlement services across Canada. We're early on in the study, so we're still gathering information and data about the way settlement services work. We're also, however, very keen on getting recommendations from you on how the government could improve its services to newcomers in the country.

I think we have two witnesses by video conference and one by telephone conference.

We understand, Mr. Cadogan, that you had your flight cancelled, so you are with us by telephone. Because you're on teleconference, I think we're going to begin with your statement. Then we will go to the other witnesses who are joining us by video conference.

You have seven minutes in which to offer a statement.

[Carl Cadogan, Chief Executive Officer, Reception House Waterloo Region]

I appreciate the time and I'm sorry I can't be there in person. I had every intention to be.

Reception House Waterloo Region has been around...This is our 32nd year. We were started by a group of Mennonite church folk and for the first 20 or so years the organization was run by the congregation and a few staff. We have grown since then. In 2017, we celebrated 30 years.

As I reflected on what I was going to say, I first want to highlight what I call good practice.

Since November 2015, when the region of Waterloo started to respond to the government's strategy in resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees, Reception House Waterloo Region has never been the same. In one year we went from serving 250 to 300 refugees a year to over 1,000 plus. The experience pushed us to innovate, collaborate and discover efficiencies and best practices.

What did we learn from that experience? We have learned to be creative. We have learned to be more flexible. We have learned to have enough funding to serve 1,000, but not enough funding to serve 300. We have persevered. We have done what so many organizations in so many communities have done. We have responded in ways that focus on assisting those most vulnerable, those who are not paired with a family or church group deeply invested in their success, government-assisted refugees.

While our case managers are very deeply invested in the success of those we serve, the ratio of 1:100 versus 1:5 results in a very different outcome. We know the current government is in love with the privately sponsored refugee program as it is a way to shift the burden of refugee support to the community, but serving GARs also demands a community response, albeit a very different one.

One of the key responses we have used in the last couple of years is the family partnership program, which is a hybrid model of the privately sponsored refugee program. It's designed to create social integration and language support for refugee families by pairing them with local volunteers from the Waterloo region. The participants in the program meet weekly over the course of a year and participate in various activities together, including sharing meals, practising English and exploring their communities together. The primary purpose of the program is to provide newcomers with a sense of belonging and help build a social support structure through community networks and English language practice.

The family partnership program was recently evaluated by the community service learning project for political science at the Wilfrid Laurier University. Here are a few findings from that evaluation. The family partnership program offers vital life experiences to government-assisted refugees, including networking, employment and building mutually supportive relationships. It provides newcomers with opportunities to become more familiar with, and comfortable in, their communities, thereby helping to foster a sense of belonging. The program provides benefits to the Waterloo region community as a whole by having to counter xenophobia, strengthen community and social cohesion, and foster relationships between newcomers and local residents who may not have otherwise met.

I want to thank IRCC and we are really pleased to see that it is responding to discussions and recommendations from service delivery partners. We have been at the front lines of this work for over 30 years. Listening to our experience will help the government make the most positive impact on the people we serve. We applaud the modernization of the systems. It is certainly a step in the right direction. We look forward to the upcoming RFP for services for the next five years.

As a new member of the national RAP working group, I'm excited about the stories and opportunities we can share with all those involved in enabling newcomers to discover their potential in Canada.

I have several recommendations.

Continue to find ways to engage those organizations that are delivering services to GARs and recognize there are systems that work well. Supporting and promoting both systems is critical, especially as it relates to broadening the understanding of the public.

Recognize and establish initiatives and systems that better address systemic racism and provide support that allows organizations like ours to do more in this matter.

Continue to support creativity in the delivery of service to GARs, and continue to support initiatives such as SDI, service delivery improvement projects that IRCC has recently started.

Many GARs are arriving with health, mental health and physical limitations. IRCC must review the needs of these people and look to how we can better respond as they arrive. For example, our site is not accessible and this severely inhibits our ability to serve newcomers with mobility issues.

Allocate funding for initial mental health assessments and support for clients who suffer from severe trauma. It might be a first step in dealing with this very serious issue. We have seen an increase in very serious and chronic health issues. We are trying to respond in ways that make sense, but our community is a small one. The health system isn't always ready and willing to be flexible, and we want to see ways in which IRCC can have a broader impact on the provinces to do more for those people who are coming to our region.

I think that's seven minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much. Stay tuned. You'll have some questions in a few moments.

Let's go to Manitoba next, to the Westman Immigrant Services. Which of you two is going to be speaking?

[Angela Mowbray, Acting Manager, Language Program, Westman Immigrant Services]

I will go first.

I'm Angela Mowbray, the acting manager of language programs. Our executive director is away on holidays somewhere warm this week, so Joy and I will cover for her and give her introductory warm-up. I'll talk about language programs, and then Joy will talk about the settlement programs and give Lois's concluding remarks.

Westman Immigrant Services envisions a community where diversity is valued and newcomers are accepted and supported in meeting their full potential. One of the greatest advantages we have as an organization is that we offer an array of services to our clients, all in one building. Clients are not required to travel to different locations for different settlement services or language classes at stage one. We're governed by a volunteer board of directors. WIS employs over 40 people, more than 55% of whom are newcomers themselves. We retain the service of more than 90 professional language interpreters and assistants, and we're supported by over 100 community volunteers.

I'll give you some statistics from the 2017-18 fiscal year. During that year, we served over 4,000 clients through our settlement program. We provided 2,315 language interpreters covering 23 different languages. We assisted 368 clients through employment facilitation, and we provided childminding services for close to 300 clients. We resettled 45 government-assisted refugees, or GARs, and 50 will be supported in the 2018-19 fiscal year. We delivered family and youth programs, providing support for newcomer families in a variety of ways. We were supported by 4,993 volunteer hours, so we're fully aware of how important our volunteers are to our programs. We maintained 20 classes for levels one to four throughout the school year, September to June, and we registered about 350 students. We conducted 496 language assessments using the Canadian language benchmarks placement test and also the CLB-LPT, which is the literacy test.

I'm going to tell you a story about one of our students to highlight some of the strengths and challenges of our language programs. I'll call her “Leila” for the purposes of this presentation. Leila is a GAR, and in August of 2016 she came to me for her CLBPT. In her country of origin, she never went to school. As the eldest daughter, she had to stay home to help her mother. Leila told me that every day her father would say to her, “I'm so sorry, Leila, no school for you today.” After her test, Leila was so excited to tell me, “But now I can go to school.”

Unfortunately, Leila ran up against two of our biggest challenges in providing English classes—child care needs and literacy needs. In 2016 Leila had a three-month-old son who was not eligible for child care. Luckily, we do have a family literacy program that Leila was able to attend with her son and that does have an English component, but it is not run with the same expectations as our other classes. As well, Leila is not literate in her first language. Literacy learners usually take a much a longer time to progress. Leila finally began regular English classes in September of 2018. While her listening and speaking have improved over the last two years, her reading and writing have not. She's currently two years behind where she could have been in attaining English-language proficiency.

Leila is an excellent example of how it would be of great advantage to our program if there were more child care spots and focused training and resource development for teachers of literacy learners, as students like Leila end up in almost every class.

That's Leila's story. At the other end of the spectrum we have students who have very high levels of English in comparison. In order to successfully settle in Canada, to attain advanced education and better employment opportunities, it's critical to have high levels of one of our official languages. The hospital in Brandon, for example, requires a completed level 6 to qualify you to work as a cleaner. Some of our retail businesses ask applicants to be at least a level 7. At present there are no evening or weekend classes for stage two students, in levels 5 to 8, to attend in Brandon. There can be long waiting lists for morning and afternoon classes.

Providing English classes to newcomers is one of the key factors in helping them settle successfully in their new community. We look forward to continuing to provide that service, working to ameliorate the challenges and build on our strengths.

[Joy Escalera, Manager, Settlement Program, Westman Immigrant Services]

To continue talking about the new initiative this year, we have the settlement workers in schools, or SWIS, which is a partnership initiative with the Brandon School Division that sees support staff providing guidance and assistance to students and their families as they settle into their new school.

For settlement program considerations, we see the need for support services. It is important to eliminate barriers for clients when accessing programs. We provide various support services, including child care, transportation, interpretation and crisis counselling, but we have limited capacity at present.

For child care, we provide on-site care for newcomer children 19 months and older. We currently have a capacity for 10 children. There is always a wait-list for this program. Current challenges include space to expand and lack of infant care. Leila, for example, could have accessed English classes sooner if we had a program for infants.

In Brandon, public transportation is not prolific and for newcomers our harsh weather conditions are a challenge to their leaving their homes, especially for newcomers who have young children. Providing them with access to free transportation has proven to increase enrolment and attendance in programs. Unfortunately, the demand far exceeds the funding that we have available.

Another support service is interpretation. We know that many of our newcomers arrive with low levels of English, which makes it a challenge for them to attend appointments and participate in programs. That is why language and cultural supports are offered in our agency. We are unique in having paid certified interpreters available within our organization and the community. However, the importance of interpreters is not always recognized outside of WIS. For example, we see clients go to their family doctors and use children to interpret important medical information.

The next support service is crisis counselling. It is inevitable that all newcomers experience culture shock which can lead to mental health issues. Some of our newcomer clients have also experienced significant trauma. Having our facilitators provide culturally sensitive support counselling delivered in their home languages has proven to be helpful. Increased access to professional development for our staff and a greater availability of culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practice, with language support within the community, would help to address the specific mental health needs of newcomers.

We also see some ineligible clients. We are mandated to only provide services to clients with permanent residency status. There are non-permanent resident newcomers who seek help from our agency for language classes and settlement programs. Unfortunately, we have to deny them services as they are ineligible. We see the need and the value in providing services to these clients as well to help them settle successfully in Canada.

In conclusion, Westman Immigrant Services, together with settlement agencies across the country, work tirelessly to support refugees and newcomers as they settle in their new home, and provide supportive connections within their new community. In response to the 2019 call for proposals, WIS is proactively working to forge partnerships with settlement and language offices throughout the region to provide a regional response in delivering flexible, responsive settlement services with an enhanced focus on employment.

Limited support from provincial government funders and a disconnect between the provincial and federal government with regard to supporting newcomers has proven difficult for the entire sector in Manitoba. We continue to explore and build community partnerships that will enhance our services and provide meaningful, proactive support to refugees and newcomers in western Manitoba.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to our witnesses from the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C.

[Katie Rosenberger, Executive Director, Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC]

Good afternoon. I'm Katie Rosenberger, the executive director of AMSSA; and I'm with my colleague Sabrina Dumitra, who is our manager of settlement and integration programs. I'm going to begin and then Sabrina will take over. We'll go back and forth.

The Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia, AMSSA, is the provincial umbrella association for agencies serving newcomers. Our organization strengthens its 70 member agencies as well as hundreds of community stakeholders with the knowledge, resources and support they need to fulfill their mandates to serve newcomers and build culturally sensitive communities. AMSSA provides support to a broad range of settlement service providers and other stakeholders in B.C.

Each province has an umbrella association, with the four Atlantic provinces being represented by one umbrella. Not all IRCC-funded organizations are AMSSA members. Conversely, not all AMSSA members are IRCC-funded, as we were established in 1977 and have been working in the field of multiculturalism and diversity for over 40 years.

AMSSA works with our members to provide a common voice to funders, policy-makers, community members and external stakeholders on issues such as immigration, resettlement, settlement, integration and diversity. AMSSA works with our colleagues across the country through representation on the National Settlement Council.

As the umbrella organization for B.C., AMSSA is uniquely positioned to build the needed partnerships between the settlement sector and all four levels of government—municipal, provincial, federal and indigenous—as well as the private sector. AMSSA's funding comes from IRCC through the B.C. settlement programming, as well through an IRCC national contribution agreement. We are also funded by the Province of British Columbia to provide sector support to organizations that work with non-IRCC eligible clients and have project funding from different organizations such as Canadian Heritage, Western University and Dalhousie University, to name a few.

At this time, we are also in negotiations with ESDC for a contract to enhance sector knowledge and information-sharing for those organizations that serve temporary foreign workers.

[Sabrina Dumitra, Settlement and Integration Manager, Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC]

In B.C., 28.3% of residents are immigrants, which is the second-highest proportion of immigrants in Canada. In addition to having a high newcomer population, B.C. is also home to a large population of second-generation immigrants. As well, B.C. has a high population that has a significant linguistic diversity. Approximately one in three B.C. residents has a mother tongue other than English or French, which exceeds the national average. Between 2006 and 2011, 78% of newcomers self-identified as belonging to a visible minority.

Immigration is an issue that has a tremendous impact on our province and is noticeable in B.C.'s provincial economic growth and public institutions and in the growth of rural and urban centres. The opportunities that immigration provides this province necessitate a clear strategic vision for immigration, social inclusion and economic growth. Leadership and active engagement with the settlement sector is needed to harness the positive impact that immigration has on this province.

[Katie Rosenberger]

Between 1998 and 2014, the Government of B.C. oversaw the design and delivery of newcomer settlement and integration programming, with federal funding being transferred from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Repatriation happened for B.C. in 2014 and for Manitoba in 2013, so I know that our colleagues from Manitoba are familiar with this process. In April 2014, the federal government repatriated this responsibility, leaving a vacuum in B.C. as federal and provincial governments began to grapple over which jurisdiction was responsible for meeting certain settlement needs such as mental health counselling, foreign credential recognition and housing supports, often leaving newcomers in the middle without the support they needed.

In Canada's unique model of newcomer settlement, community-based settlement organizations have developed the expertise and the capacity to serve newcomers over time. Settlement organizations and AMSSA believe that newcomers are best supported to become successful members of our communities through a robust system of settlement and resettlement supports. Settlement service provider organizations in B.C. have seen federal funding cuts for each of the previous two years, while provincial contributions have seen a slight rise only in this past year.

As with many other social services sectors, the settlement sector has seen an increase in staff turnover and staff burnout as funding challenges and the increasing stress of working with highly vulnerable groups take their toll. AMSSA believes that our current governments, both federal and provincial, understand these challenges and are working with the sector, as well as their government counterparts, to identify ways to address these issues.

[Sabrina Dumitra]

AMSSA works closely with settlement-providing organizations to provide capacity-building opportunities by delivering, for example, webinars and e-learning modules, and creating Migration Matters information sheets. As well, AMSSA provides the settlement sector in B.C. with convening opportunities, so that best practices can be shared, but also challenges and gaps in service delivery can be discussed.

AMSSA has heard from our member organizations about some of the gaps and challenges. For example, Canada's immigration model is built on the concept of a two-way street of integration. In order for newcomers to successfully settle and integrate in B.C., it is imperative that initiatives promoting multiculturalism and anti-racism are properly resourced.

In recent months, a number of agencies have reported increased discriminatory incidents and are concerned about the impact on B.C. communities.

Many newcomers to B.C. are not eligible for federally funded settlement supports, including refugee claimants, international students, naturalized citizens, temporary foreign workers and other newcomers who are not permanent residents of Canada. AMSSA believes that eligibility for settlement support should be determined by need rather than by immigration status.

AMSSA and the B.C. settlement sector are appreciative of how B.C. funding has been used to enable some or all of these groups to access settlement supports this way, but unfortunately, current levels of investment are totally inadequate for the demand. As an increasing number of temporary residents transition to permanent residency, it is more important than ever that these clients have access to settlement supports to enable a smooth transition.

In a just and equitable society, everyone should have access to basic supports and protections. AMSSA has heard from a number of organizations that the lack of access to language learning opportunities is a particular challenge for migrant workers. The refugee claimant-serving sector is also being squeezed, as demands for services increase. A large number of refugees who recently resettled to B.C. struggled to access appropriate mental health and trauma services, while low-income newcomers from all immigration streams found it difficult to access acceptable housing, which is one of the most basic aspects of settlement.

[Katie Rosenberger]

As the settlement sector prepares to write a call for proposal for up to five years of funding, AMSSA is working closely with our provincial counterparts to see consistency in funding for service delivery across the country, while also recognizing the unique jurisdictions that we all live in.

Engagement with communities is absolutely essential, as it is the community where the newcomer settles and connections develop through robust settlement organizations, local immigration partnerships, settlement workers in schools and our community partners, which all form the foundation for the successful integration of newcomers.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much.

We're going to begin questioning now. We may get interrupted with bells for a vote at some point.

We'll start with Mr. Ayoub.

[Ramez Ayoub, Thérèse-De Blainville, Lib.]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for being here.

It's always good to recognize your work to welcome new immigrants, who will swell the ranks of the country and contribute to the Canadian economy and culture.

My question is for all the witnesses.

How do newcomers hear about your services? Is it only once they've arrived and are being looked after? If not, do they receive any information before they arrive, either through embassies or the Canadian immigrant integration program? Do immigrants who decide to settle in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario or other parts of Canada know about your services?

Who wants to answer first? It's up to you.

Don't fight to answer. Just go ahead. It's first come, first served.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

We'll go in reverse order. Let's start with B.C., then Manitoba and then Ontario.

[Katie Rosenberger]

Excellent.

Really how newcomers find out about services depends on the pathway through which they come to Canada. Those who come through as a GAR, as a government-assisted refugee, find out about services pre-arrival through the International Organization for Migration.

We also have a robust pre-arrival program now. A pre-arrival program for settlement services just recently finished negotiating their contribution agreements. After years of really intensive evaluation, now with these new organizations being funded, there are 16 organizations that are doing pre-arrival in many different ways. They're doing pre-arrival in core countries, in China, the Philippines, India and Morocco. There are online pre-arrival services being delivered, and there are also pre-arrival services targeting specific occupations. I know the B.C. Construction Association is targeting individuals to come in and work in the construction industry. There's one for technological supports. There's one that's focusing on nursing.

There is a lot of work being done pre-arrival and the department has put a great focus on that. We're really looking forward to seeing how that develops.

My understanding is that—

[Ramez Ayoub]

I will just interrupt you, because I want to leave some room for the others also to answer that question. I have only seven minutes, so we need to be quick.

[Joy Escalera]

We actually have the same answer as theirs. We make use of the pre-arrival programs. Also, for the economic migrants, most of time the point of entry is where they would hear about our services.

It's the same with GARs. It's prior to them coming here. They already know about us.

[Ramez Ayoub]

Do you know whether immigrants shop, meaning choose in advance where to go? For example, they may choose to settle in British Columbia or Manitoba for economic reasons or to join their families. Does this type of shopping occur?

[Angela Mowbray]

In terms of the type of newcomer who is going to be arriving in Canada, sometimes people come because they have family members already here and it is a family reunification process. Sometimes if they're a GAR or coming through a pre-arrival process such as that, they're told, “This is where there's room for you to be.” Sometimes they choose because of economic reasons, because they know there are jobs they could possibly do once they get here.

I'm guessing that, in most smaller communities anyway, all the different organizations that exist are very well known. Often word of mouth is very helpful in letting people know that we exist and the types of programs we have. I'm sure most programs across Canada actively seek out immigrant groups and newcomer groups as well, to talk about the services we can offer.

[Ramez Ayoub]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I want to make sure Mr. Cadogan has a chance to get in on that first question.

[Carl Cadogan]

It's okay. My comments are very similar. Kitchener-Waterloo is a high-tech community, so universities and the tech community have made a lot of effort to attract immigrants and students to the community.

In terms of government-assisted refugees, as was mentioned, most of the people we see have come from refugee camps. They come via Pearson, take a shuttle to Kitchener and land at our place. As was said, sometimes people choose the community because of their family or friends or because they heard about it. However, a lot of people don't know anything about the community, so a lot of people who come here are just trying to understand what Canada is like. People don't know very much about Canada.

[Ramez Ayoub]

Thank you.

Once the newcomers have learned English or French and have integrated, do employers draw from this labour pool to fill positions? We're hearing about a labour shortage in Canada. Is this the case in Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia?

Since I have only 30 seconds left, I would like you to keep your answers short.

[Carl Cadogan]

Yes, in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, manufacturing needs a lot of employees. If people have the language skills, there are many jobs to get connected to. We work a lot with employers to connect people to jobs in the community. Manufacturing is in dire straits in K-W.

[Ramez Ayoub]

Thank you very much.