Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 10th, 2019

[Kristin Crane]

This is a huge issue in our region as well. We are an agricultural hub. The number of temporary foreign workers we have is unknown, but estimates are at about 500, at the very least, and they're unseen, other than on the occasional shopping trip in the area.

I would like to see the definition broadened of who can access funded settlement services for temporary foreign workers. For our employers here in particular, we've had to help advocate for them to be able to keep their temporary foreign workers, and we've kind of stepped in to direct them to resources and the appropriate channels for them to apply for permanent residency for these temporary foreign workers.

It's not just that they come, but they leave and don't come back. Some of these people have been coming for decades to do that work. If they were given the opportunity to permanently settle in the area with their families, they would like to.

You hear stories from time to time about things that can happen that are quite atrocious, but for the most part, I think things continue on quite well and there are quite diligent employers. I do think there needs to be better monitoring of what's happening in these areas and then access to support and legal information—it's difficult to navigate and very expensive—so that employers can know the appropriate channels to go about applying for permanent residency. There also needs to be some sort of funding or federal support for that.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Thank you.

I now yield the floor to Ms. Jenny Kwan.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you to our witnesses.

Ms. Crane, I'd like to follow up on your response to that. I've heard from many migrant workers who have expressed interest in seeking permanent resident status here in Canada. In fact, there's a strong campaign that basically centres itself on the principle that if you're good enough to work, you're good enough to stay.

So I wonder whether or not you might comment on that. Is that something this committee should be recommending to government, to hold true to that principle with respect to migrant workers?

[Kristin Crane]

I believe so. I think the amount of process that needs to take place for an employer to bring in an employee from overseas and the dedication it takes for a temporary foreign worker to commit to an overseas position like that, leaving friends and family to come to a relatively isolated existence in Canada, demonstrates their commitment to their employer. Employers are impressed and want to keep these people.

If that is the choice of the temporary foreign worker, then why would we possibly deny them that? In our region, we are looking.... This is the opportunity for employers to connect to the skills they need. They have recruited for it. What more do we need? It's filling the jobs we have available. I think these people have proven to be very dedicated, diligent people, and they would make great Canadian residents.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much.

I wonder whether or not the other witnesses might have something to add, or even if they would just concur with the suggestion. Could we just move down the row of witnesses on that?

[Dustin Mymko]

I don't have a lot of experience with the migrant workers. Most of the people coming on work permits to our area immediately hit the ground and they want to stay. They're here to stay. Either they've come on a two-year term to work or a one-year term to work in a hog barn or an immigration consultant has helped them find a faster way to get their feet on the ground in Canada while they work toward permanent residency. The majority of the people with permits are here as a pathway to permanent residency, and I think supporting them early on just increases their chances of success.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Dupuis.

[Alain Dupuis]

Outside Quebec, there is currently a demographic crisis in the francophonie. As Statistics Canada indicated, simply maintaining the demographic weight of francophones in minority environments would mean that francophone immigration would have to rise to 6%. Temporary workers and international students are already in our communities and organizations. Facilitating their access to settlement services and subsequently to citizenship would be a good thing for us. It would be a good way for the federal government to support Canada's linguistic duality.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Speaking on the issue of resettlement support, I think one of the issues our government needs to step up on is providing the language training in communities, both francophone and anglophone. Also for women in particular, I'd like to touch on the need for child care support.

Is the current system that we have today sufficient for what is happening, or do we need additional resources and support to ensure that people resettle successfully in our communities?

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I would say pick one person. There are about 30 seconds. I'm going to give you extra time, so you have about 30 seconds even with extra time.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'll start with Ms. Crane.

[Kristin Crane]

Yes. In our region we don't have federally funded support, so it's provincial. It doesn't come with any child care support. Transportation and child care are the two things I hear about the most from service providers, namely, that these are detriments to people accessing the services. I don't think child care is sufficient. The women are the ones who are the most vulnerable. They're least likely to gain employment first and tend to be more isolated and have poorer settlement experiences.

[The Chair, Liberal, Rob Oliphant]

I'm afraid I need to end there.

Mr. Whalen, we're going back to seven minutes.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Thank you.

We have a group called the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador that is connected to a small organization named Compas, which provides settlement services in St. John's and all over Newfoundland and Labrador. A few weeks ago, their representatives spoke to me about the issues mentioned earlier by Mr. Mymko and Ms. Crane. They explained that there are people who devote 10 or 15 hours a week to that issue, but spend the rest of their time on other matters.

I'd like to ask you whether an organization like yours could conceivably administer those services and create partnerships with service providers in small francophone communities throughout the country in order to provide better service.

[Alain Dupuis]

Fortunately, IRCC knows that francophone settlement services need to be beefed up. At this time, the support and capacity strengthening for this network are not equivalent to that of the anglophone side. IRCC has already made that a funding priority, thanks to the Action Plan for Official Languages.

Together with other national organizations, we want to strengthen this type of support with the partners who provide settlement services on the ground. We have to determine how to consolidate the work and strengthen capacity. Yes, that can be done by facilitating administration, but I also like the ideas that were proposed, for instance providing professional support in some specific situations. We have to continue to strengthen capacity for our settlement workers.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

On this same topic, the Compas organization representatives told me that the issue isn't necessarily the lack of communication among francophone community groups. It is, rather, the anglophone groups that do not know the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador well enough, and do not have sufficiently strong links with it when they deal with refugees or other persons who would really need French-language services. The challenge lies with explaining those services to the anglophone groups.

Do you think the federal government could do something to strengthen the links, not only among francophone groups, but also between the anglophone service providers and minority francophone groups, everywhere in the country?

[Alain Dupuis]

Absolutely. Quite simply, in the anglophone and bilingual contribution agreements, you could include the obligation to direct a francophone client to French-language services.

Too often, we hear about cases where a francophone immigrant arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland, did not know that there was a francophone community, and found out about it three or four years later, when he and his family had already completed the whole integration process. Those people have to be directed to French-language services as soon as they arrive.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Maybe if I can continue with Mr. Mymko and Ms. Crane as a bit of a focus group, are you guys aware of the types of francophone settlement services that might be available, either in Manitoba or rural Ontario? How do you work with those other organizations, if you're aware of them?

[Dustin Mymko]

I am aware of francophone organizations based out of Winnipeg. Off the top of my head, I'm not aware of any in rural areas. I haven't had occasion to have any sorts of interactions with them.

[Kristin Crane]

That's one thing that has worked quite well. We're based out of the London regional office. We do come together on a regular basis. We are connected with Collège Boréal that way. I do know a colleague who could provide French-language services.

What I have found really invaluable are the national conferences I've been able to participate in. There's a pathways to prosperity one. It brings the RIFs together—Réseaux en immigration francophone—and the LIPs. It's not entirely the same but it's very similar. I see those exchanges as really valuable because those are the groups tasked with pulling all of those partnerships together, creating those collaborative activities.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

You would say that if we're going to fund these types of collaborative activities, it would work well to grow this network.

[Kristin Crane]

I believe so. I know that right now, through the local immigration partnership, there are approximately 80 across Canada. A proposal is going to be submitted to create a national group of local immigration partnerships to advocate for things on a more national level. That issue could well be addressed between immigration partnerships and the RIFs, and how they can cross-refer and better support the francophone communities, especially the rural ones. When we're just looking at such small numbers, it's important to be able to access....

We've also learned that it's not just francophones. Some people choose to access it in French. If you're Spanish-speaking, French may very well be much easier.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Mymko, you spoke a bit earlier about your possible reluctance to engage in an administrative partnership with the group in Brandon, Manitoba. You've been coming around to it as an organization. Has the conversation we've had today either reinforced your desire to come into partnership with Brandon or made you rethink it? What might be your thoughts on these types of administrative partnerships?

[Dustin Mymko]

The reluctance on our part was just in the immediate term. After giving it some thought, it really does seem to be the way to go. For me, with the funding level I've had, one term that we've really referred to is the “administrative burden”. Dealing with the paperwork that's involved in a contribution agreement chewed up a lot of the time. That time could be better spent with clients.

With this partnership, we feel that we're not going to have to reinvent the wheel all the time. I've been trying to get a local conversation circle/group going in our community. I really don't know how to do that. We've been doing it by trial and error. I know Brandon has had success with those programs. They're going to train me up on how to get one going. Time's going to be spent more efficiently.

[Nick Whalen, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Congratulations. It sounds very much like if half of the children in the local school are either first- or second-generation newcomers and that it's really your efforts and the efforts of your group that have allowed that to happen.

I think that's my time.