Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 3rd, 2019

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

I'm going to call to order the 151st meeting of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are continuing our study of settlement services across Canada.

Our apologies to the witnesses. Unfortunately, we had a vote in the House of Commons. We are doing our best.

Because we are faced with another vote, we are going to concentrate on getting the presentations in and maybe a very quick, lightning round of questions to make sure we can get both panels in today. We are expecting bells at 5:15.

[A voice]

It might be 5:30

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Okay, we'll check on that.

Today, we have a bit of an education theme that we're working on. We'll start with Ms. Hart from the Burnaby School District. Welcome.

[Heather Hart, Assistant Superintendent, School District 41, Burnaby School District]

Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm an assistant superintendent in the Burnaby School District, and I work in the area of settlement services, supporting both settlement workers in schools and language instruction for newcomers to Canada.

LINC began in Burnaby in 1992. It was federally managed and funded. In the year 2000, the federal government turned our funds over to the province to manage. In 2014 the federal government repatriated the language instruction as part of the settlement umbrella.

As with the SWIS, we feel that the current contribution agreement restricts the movement of funds and has onerous reporting schedules. We are not assured that enough funds or resources would be available for unexpected situations. We believe a more flexible model is needed.

Language training benefits newcomers by helping them develop the skills to successfully integrate and contribute to Canada, both socially and economically. Language is social currency.

From the graph, you can see that we have a diverse population of students from around the world. This is also reflected in the fact that 33% to 38% of our students are refugees and require more support for learning. A student is not a student, is not a student. They are funded the same way, but they need more time and resources. We're finding that more of our students arriving are unable to read and write and have no numeracy or literacy skills, or general knowledge.

The LINC classes have some options. Students can attend full-time or part-time, have face-to-face or blended programs—some are face to face, and some work online. They can attend day or evening classes. There are general language classes that focus on listening, speaking, reading and writing—from literacy to level eight. The instruction focuses on literacy and language for clients who have trouble reading and writing in any language, and on advancing job-specific language skills to help clients succeed in the workplace.

All LINC classes include a focus on real-world tasks and deal with practical topics and applications. Students are assessed on reading, writing, listening and speaking. Some tasks are designed so that more than one literacy component can be assessed at once. For example, you could take a 911 call, where the students are assessed on their ability to listen and speak. Reading and writing may also be required for this task.

Assessment is based on the evidence in the students' binders. Students are assessed on proficiency skills, as described in the Canadian language benchmarks guide, by completing the required number of successful artifact tasks. The goal is to have students take ownership and responsibility for their learning. Students also complete both self-evaluations and peer evaluations.

In the classroom, they have access to laptops and iPads, and are able to use their own devices.

Students improve their English language literacy through community involvement and making connections to Canadian culture. They go on field trips and have guest speakers. We've had the RCMP in and the British Columbia Institute of Technology and Nursing.

Students in one of the LINC classes took it upon themselves to raise money for the Fort McMurray fire victims. Although they have very little themselves, they raised $700 for this cause.

Licensed childminding provides a setting where young children are cared for down the hall from where parents are learning. This is extremely important for mothers and fathers who have lived through war and experienced trauma first-hand.

There are also situations where there are multiple children in the home, and it makes it very difficult for these newcomers to find child care and to be able to learn. We have Afghan families that have an average of seven children. Without this service, it would be impossible. Meanwhile, their children are down the hall in the childminding room, and they're learning how to work with other children and practise their English language literacy skills.

With regard to the benefits of a blended model, from September 2017 to June 2018 our district was involved in a research demonstration project funded by the IRCC to examine and demonstrate the effects of blended learning for students, teachers and the program. It involved three classes and 45 students. Students noted from this that they developed knowledge and confidence in using technology for language learning and settlement needs. They were more engaged and motivated in the learning process. Tasks had real-life application. Online platforms created both formal and informal learning opportunities and connections with other students. They could do advanced learning online to better prepare for face-to-face classes and learn new vocabulary and pronunciation. Flexible schedules allowed students to maintain much-needed employment while learning English. Online assignments teach students how to work on a platform. They in turn can help their own children with these things. Teachers noted a higher level of student engagement in learning and retention, better attendance rates due to flexibility in online learning and childminding, and improved student access to settlement and language with increased opportunities for blended learning. They felt it empowered the students in both English-language learning and technology skills. As one of the LINC students put it, it's the best method for learning in a modern society.

As for the challenges, teachers reported that the type of planning needed for online lessons or for a blended approach took a lot of time. More time was needed for paid preparation and professional development. They also needed to learn how to teach students to read and write, because a number are at a low level. Students reported that more extended opportunities at LINC 7/8 would be valuable for them, as would more inclusion of blended activities accessed via mobile devices and apps.

I will leave you with a bit of a testimonial from one of our students. I won't read the whole thing, but the last line says, “We will do our best to help others and to contribute to Canadian society.” I'll leave it to you to read the rest.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Windsor and Ms. Reddy.

[Val Windsor, Chair, English Language Learners Consortium]

Thank you.

We recognize that Ottawa is located on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation.

I'm Val Windsor. I chair the ELL Consortium. I'm also an elected school trustee from Delta.

My colleagues are Jennifer Reddy, who is a Vancouver School trustee, and Heather Hart, an associate superintendent of Burnaby. We overlap here.

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to bring before you the concerns of the Metro Vancouver/Fraser Valley ELL Consortium about settlement service criteria and funding.

The consortium is an ad hoc committee of the B.C. School Trustees Association, consisting of elected school trustees and staff whose expertise is in the area of English language learners.

Imagine two students who are new to Canada sitting in desks in the same classroom. Both students are entitled to the same support that the school system has to offer through its professional staff. However, only one student's family is eligible for IRCC-funded settlement services.

In spite of this difference in eligibility for service, many of our school districts, through settlement workers in our schools and other staff, are doing their best to provide what services they can for ineligible families. Often, they are forced to prioritize the needs of these families and then refer them to external settlement agencies that are likewise stretched.

Funding is tied to specific goals and commitments made in the competition for contracts. Flexibility is needed in the funding for settlement providers to best meet the needs of an always-changing clientele and demographic. The newcomers we are assisting now will not have the same needs as those who arrive after the contracts have been awarded.

The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle represent the complexity of settlement needs. A single family with greater needs will access many of these services. Some of them will access hundreds of services, and yet others will need very few: 20 or so. Each service is necessary to help the family navigate not only a complex education system but other aspects of their lives that are equally challenging, as the jigsaw puzzle indicates.

In 2007, the federal government, through the Canada-B.C. Immigration Agreement, directed settlement funding to the Province of B.C. for distribution. The provincial government awarded contracts to school districts and other settlement agencies, giving them the flexibility to manage the funds as they were needed. If any funds remained at the end of the provincial fiscal year, they were carried over to the following year.

Newcomers were served by the Province of B.C. through settlement programs between 2007 and 2014. Permanent residents are those for whom the funding was targeted, but other newcomers were served as well because of the flexibility in the use of the funding.

In 2014, the federal government repatriated the funding for settlement programs and informed settlement service providers that while they were welcome to provide services for ineligible newcomers, the funding was specifically targeted for permanent residents—as it had always been—and they were changing the way the funding would be distributed and spent.

We are proud of of the wraparound settlement services provided in our school districts. With schools being the first point of contact for newcomer families, access to services can be arranged in a short period of time, which is a benefit to the student and the family as they are helped to integrate into their schools and communities.

We have concerns about the current funding model. School districts, like settlement agencies, now have to compete for funds through a national call for proposal process. Although the contract specifies a negotiated amount, some of it is received as supplemental funding that is released in small amounts, with little lead time and with rigid guidelines that impact a district's ability to plan for staffing and program delivery.

Another issue for school districts is that federal budgets do not align with provincial school calendars. Funding expires on March 31 and schools operate until June 30, leaving a three-month unfunded gap for students and families. This has caused significant anxiety in some of our school districts such as Surrey, for example, as ours is a unionized environment, and without a guarantee of a contract, they are looking at having to lay off staff in their settlement programs and close their welcome centres.

In spite of the increased numbers of newcomers from 2015 to 2017, settlement funds were cut. In 2017 the ELL Consortium lobbied the federal government to not only eliminate the cuts but to increase the funding. The funding was not cut, but it was not increased. This meant doing more with less.

The pie charts on the next slide graphically illustrate the concerns we have about the numbers of IRCC-ineligible individuals who are receiving services from the five school districts pictured. These just a sampling of impacted school districts. The ineligible numbers have been steadily increasing over the years, to the point that they outnumber the eligible newcomers in many districts. As you can imagine, staff and resources are stretched to provide these services, often off the side of their desks. Our mandate is to support and educate students in our schools, but their families need support, too, if their children are to succeed.

I'd like to leave you with the image of the two students in a classroom whose families have similar settlement needs, but who actually receive different levels of service. If you had to choose between giving more support to one student and their family over the other, could you do it? This is a choice some school districts in B.C. are being forced to make.

The ELL Consortium urges the government to allow for inclusion of all those needing settlement support, regardless of their immigration status, and to not only increase funding but to allow for more flexibility in its use so we can meet the needs of a changing newcomer population. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll go to the Toronto District School Board, with Mr. Green and Ms. Germanakos.

[Garry Green, Senior Manager, Business Development and Community Services, Toronto District School Board]

Thank you so much for having us here and for the opportunity to speak to the committee. I'm also very happy to have the opportunity to meet some colleagues from British Columbia and to learn more about what is going on there.

I am the senior manager of business development and community services, as well as student transportation, for the Toronto District School Board.

My colleague here, Toula Germanakos, is the program coordinator with the language instruction for newcomers to Canada program.

TDSB has operated LINC through its legacy board since 1992. Since 2009, TDSB has also operated a suite of other programs including newcomer services, welcoming communities and enhanced language training, among others. The board, through its continuing education department, also offers provincially funded ESL programming.

I noticed from the previous slides that the funding is done differently, provincially, between Ontario and British Columbia, which is some of the challenge there.

TDSB recognizes the importance of strong and healthy communities and supporting the social and economic development of our neighbourhoods and our city. The LINC program and other settlement services have played a vital role in this development. We are proud of the work that our team has done in assisting the integration and settlement of landed immigrants and refugees and supporting them on their path to citizenship.

Our LINC program operates out of 13 locations and serves approximately 5,000 learners per year who speak over 40 different languages. At any given time, up to 250 “care for newcomer children” attend our childminding supports.

TDSB LINC stays current with demand by providing service in areas where the largest population of newcomers resides. This sometimes moves over time. Some of our schools are facing a large influx of students. Local hotels have the students and then we're bussing them to the local schools, so at any given time a school that had only 200 or 250 students now has 70 or 100 more students. You can imagine how this could be changing the entire dynamics of the community. The principals sometimes are single administrators, so at that particular location they are scrambling to try to meet needs. Having additional programming that is “just in time” can assist with that. We don't quite have that, but we are trying to make do as best as we can.

An attempt is made with our TDSB LINC programs to move as demand increases. We try to have locations that are large and have multiple services and conveniences nearby. Our Centrepoint LINC program, for example, is located in a mall bordering Toronto and York Region, with convenient access to bus and subway. The helpful childminding program allows newcomers to ensure that all the immediate needs are cared for and they can focus on their language instruction.

As a best practice, we have also co-located with the enhanced language training program for when learners move on from the program and are seeking employment, as well with as Francophone service providers in the area, such as Collège Boréal and Centre francophone. This also allows the learner to complete their learning from beginning levels to completion all under one roof. From a pedagogical standpoint, being able to share with colleagues at different levels and share best practices for learning has also been very helpful.

Some best practices that our program employs include working in consultation with the assessment centre to identify service provider gaps in the city through environmental scans, employing only trained instructors certified in teaching English as a second language and portfolio-based learning assessment—you may hear us refer to that as PBLA—and ensuring that all learners sign contracts available in their preferred language outlining the class schedule, term end dates and expectations. Modules are developed using the LINC curriculum guidelines and aligned with Canadian language benchmarks as well as the settlement needs of learners, as determined by conducting needs assessments in the classroom. As mentioned by my colleague, task-based assessments and activities are aligned to PBLA using real-world goals.

The assessment is evidence-based and transparent, so it's not just the instructor's judgment of how the person is doing. That has been a great enhancement to the program. It is based on evidence or artifacts collected in the learner's portfolio.

All of this is to ensure that there is a learner-centred approach. Every effort is made to ensure that all learning styles are accommodated. Continuous feedback is provided through one-on-one conferencing with the learner at the end of each term.

We find it's very important to enforce an attendance policy. We don't want people coming and going with great regularity. We want to help guide them through their entire learning journey. If they're away, they're expected to call in. Again, if they're taking a spot that could otherwise be used by somebody else, we do have wait-lists at our sites, so we manage that closely. Our wait-lists are managed and updated weekly at all sites, and at larger sites, such as the Centerpoint one or Albion mall, it is managed on a daily basis to ensure it is current and learners are accommodated as quickly as possible.

Quarterly meetings are held with other service providers in the city of Toronto to collaborate and consult with one another.

As to blended learning, all TDSB LINC sites have computer labs. This is very important. This allows learners to go at their own pace and access various computer assisted language learning software. Many instructors also use EduLINC, and this allows learners to stay current who have missed class due to illness or caring for a family member. These digital literacy skills also assist learners to enter into the workforce.

Every site has a visible program charter that is offered in 17 languages, including both official languages, and this outlines our customer service expectations. It also provides an email and phone number where they can provide feedback. We value the input of every single one of our learners. We want to make sure they have ready access to let us know what we could do better.

A variety of class schedules are offered: full-time, part-time and evening. Learners with disabilities are welcomed and accommodated.

It's very important that we keep current with learning opportunities for our staff, so all staff attend professional development annually, and all TDSB staff complete mandatory training, such as AODA, anaphylaxis and others, and those are offered in kind through the Toronto board.

PBLA leads ensure—

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I need you to come to a close quickly.

[Garry Green]

Okay. Thank you.

I'll just close by saying that some of the challenges we're currently facing are around funding. It has remained static while costs have gone up significantly over time. Another is the coordination between different levels of government and the programming—ESL and LINC as examples.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

That may be the most important part of your presentation for the committee. If you would like to submit something in writing, that would be helpful—

[Garry Green]

Absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

—because the other part is narrative that we already have.

I'm going to suggest that we have a four-minute round. I'm trying to do the math here. We'll have four folks with four minutes each.

Mr. Sarai.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I'll try to be quick, but I want to say thank you. My family has received services from three of four of the presenters here. My mother came in 1957 and took ESL at John Oliver Secondary School in Vancouver. I grew up in Burnaby and went to elementary and high school there—Windsor Elementary and then Burnaby South Secondary—and saw a lot of my friends take it. Fortunately, I didn't have to, but they came out amazing individuals. Some of them are owners of large conglomerates, large corporations or small and medium-sized businesses, and have done amazing things in life because of the English language training they got at such a young age.

Maybe if I can go to Ms. Windsor, in Surrey we had this issue about the welcome centre in the first year, where the cut-off for funding from the previous was ending in March, and I understand it's a unionized environment so you had to give a certain period of notice, before we intervened. We were fortunate enough to give them bridge funding in between. I'm just wondering. Is the new model now, where you can apply for funding for up to five years, better and much easier for planning, leasing, hiring and retention, aside from that March 31 date versus the school year end date?

[Val Windsor]

I'm going to turn that over to Heather Hart, who is an assistant superintendent in Burnaby. She has the details on that.

[Heather Hart]

My answer is yes and no, because I believe we are hearing that there will be some modifications to the five-year funding model but not significant changes that we're expecting. We have heard that we'll be able to retain some of the slippage that has been before being taken back. We've also heard that the reporting requirements will be a little bit different, but we're waiting to find out about significant changes around this.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Okay.

My second question—and I think Ms. Windsor or Ms. Hart can answer—is that in the graphs we saw, they showed IRCC eligible versus IRCC not eligible.

What is the quick definition of eligible versus not eligible?

[Val Windsor]

I will go back to the slides, and there it is.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Naturalized citizens after they have been....

I see. Okay.

[Val Windsor]

Yes.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

What is the backlog in LINC classes in Burnaby, and can you also give me the numbers for Surrey as well?

Are you seeing any backlog or wait-list times, and if so, how long is the wait-list in general?

[Heather Hart]

There are significant wait-lists. I'm not able to give you an exact number on that for both the childminding piece and the inclusion in instruction.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

So it's both for the childminding piece and the others.

[Heather Hart]

Yes.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

What percentage of your students require childminding?