Citizenship and Immigration Committee on June 16th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Good morning. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on March 8, the committee will resume its study on the federal government's initiative to resettle Syrian refugees.

Appearing before us today are Ms. Adeena Niazi, executive director of the Afghan Women's Counseling and Integration Community Support Organization; Ms. Moy Wong-Tam, executive director of the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services; Mr. Aleem Syed, from the Scarborough Muslim Association, and Ms. Zaib Mirza, from the iTrust Foundation, both representing greater Toronto area mosques; and finally, by video conference, Mr. John Mandarino, executive director of LiUNA Canadian Tri-Fund.

Welcome to all the panellists.

We'll begin with an opening statement of seven minutes from Ms. Adeena Niazi.

[Adeena Niazi, Executive Director, Afghan Women's Counseling and Integration Community Support Organization]

First of all, I thank the standing committee on citizenship and immigration for the opportunity to provide our comments on the federal government's initiative to resettle Syrian refugees.

I will start by providing you with some information about the Afghan Women's Organization, and the significant role it has played in the settlement and resettlement of refugees, including Syrian refugees. I will then provide you with our comments on the government's initiatives.

The Afghan Women's Organization was established in 1990, in response to the particular needs of refugees and women, particularly Afghan women and their families. We began by offering English training and settlement services, and then soon expanded to include family members, men and boys. The AWO has significantly expanded its services and broadened the scope of its projects and programs. Currently, the AWO assists thousands of refugees and immigrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who have experienced war and violence back in their country of origin. That includes also Syrians. The AWO is also a sponsorship agreement holder, SAH, organization.

Over the past years, AWO has sponsored and successfully settled more than 3,000 refugees from various parts of the world. Our partners, particularly IDRF, greatly supported us in our efforts.

We support and applaud the Government of Canada for keeping its promise to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees from Syria to Canada. We are grateful that the government has restored the IFH, interim federal health, program for PSRs.

One of the many notable achievements of this government initiative was the ability to substantially increase public awareness of the plight of refugees and raise the profile of refugees in Canada. However, we are deeply concerned about the many other refugees around the world who appear to have been forgotten.

Unequal treatment of refugees can cause backlash against Syrian refugees. The Pretoria, Nairobi, Cairo, and Islamabad visa posts have been capped for the past few years, since 2012, and Islamabad had zero allocation in 2014. We understand that over 6,000 people in Africa, and many Afghans, including persecuted women, have been waiting for five to six years to hear an answer from Canada. There are 4,000 vulnerable Christians in Thailand who have four-year waiting times.

We urge the Government of Canada to treat the processing of all refugees equally.

There are thousands of Canadians who have already raised millions of dollars to resettle refugees. These Canadians are ready, willing, and able to sponsor hundreds of additional Syrian and non-Syrian families.

We call upon the Government of Canada to allocate additional resources in various visa posts to make sure that refugees can arrive in Canada quickly.

We strongly feel that family reunification should be given priority.

In terms of settlement services, while we first need to make sure that the help to other refugee populations is not diverted to the Syrian response, we are concerned about the many challenges that Syrian refugees face. While we welcome the government's plan to double—it's more than double, likely—its target to bring in refugees, we are concerned that the settlement budget has been cut by almost $2.5 million in Ontario. Six years of federal funding cuts to settlement services have already had a big impact on the settlement of refugees and on the settlement sector. Delay in providing proper settlement services for the Syrian refugees will cause numerous problems, including delay in participation in Canadian society and the Canadian economy.

We request that, while increasing numbers of refugees are being sent to Ontario, the budget be increased to accommodate the number, and sufficient and sustainable multi-year funds be allocated for up to five years for the settlement organizations in Ontario.

Also, many Syrian families have come with a high number of issues. One key concern at our organization, where we are focusing on women and their families, is gender in relation to immigration. You will agree that women's issues are distinct from those of men. There is a need to address the psychological and social needs of the women who are survivors of violence and trauma.

These women are socially isolated. Many have a large number of children, and most of them have limited or no formal education. These women need special programs. For example, it would be very important to have women-only LINC classes. However, due to a lack of child-minding spaces, many women end up waiting for months before they are admitted to the program. Moreover, the program will be closed during the summer, although we hear there might be some funding available.

There is a need for women-centred programs and support groups for those women who are suffering from PTSD.

As a sponsoring organization, the AWO is the first point of contact for many refugees who arrive under PSR and BVOR. The combination of our experience as a SAH and as a settlement service provider makes us extremely well positioned to identify the needs and assist Syrian and other refugees who are entering Canada via both private and government sponsorships.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you.

I would now call on Ms. Moy Wong-Tam, executive director of the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services, for seven minutes, please.

[Moy Wong-Tam, Executive Director, Centre for Immigrant and Community Services]

The Centre for Immigrant and Community Services, CICS, is an organization that has been serving newcomers and immigrants in the GTA for the past 48 years. Our engagement in the Syrian refugee efforts includes airport reception services, where we coordinate with IRCC staff, airport personnel, and the umbrella organization for Ontario, OCASI, to deliver services to newcomers at reception.

I won't go into the details of the services, but they go from facilitating communication to giving them guidance for the first few days in Canada, or even for the first few hours in Canada, because it is a traumatic experience. Even though they're now in the safety of Canada, many refugees haven't really gotten rid of the psychological trauma they've brought with them.

We have a special program in Toronto. It's not unique to Toronto. In Ontario, we have the settlement workers in schools program, SWIS. CICS is one of the five organizations in Toronto that provide that service. We help newcomer children and their parents.

In terms of the Syrian refugees, we are all aware that the families are large, with anywhere from six to eight children. We help them settle in schools. We also help the school administration cope with the newcomers. There are cultural sensitivity and language issues, along with the routine of schools and conduct expected from children, which are not necessarily understood by newcomers or are new to the newcomers. We help them get familiarized with the routine.

We also help the parents. Actually, we serve just as many adults in the schools as youths, if not more, in giving them information. It is the most natural gateway to getting in touch with newcomers who otherwise would not be able to navigate the geography to find the settlement agencies. That's why this program was created about 17 years ago.

We help them find employment and refer them to colleges or universities, where they can have a good career transition. We provide cultural sensitivity sessions to the school administration. We assist the Syrian refugees in understanding the importance of certain documents, especially their PR card or any landing documents, because a lot of them haven't brought a whole lot of documentation with them. We also inform them about basic budgeting, banking, and even avoidance of fraud, because we have heard that several refugees, at least, have been defrauded by scammers. We heard about that in Alberta. I'm sure it happens in other provinces.

We also provide settlement services in-house in our locations. One of them is the Markham South welcome centre. Again, the welcome centre system is quite unique in York region. I think there are only two in Ontario, if not in all of Canada, one in York region and the other one in Durham.

We're very proud to run one of the welcome centres in York region. Each refugee receives a settlement plan. We have a case management system and a database that is all coordinated among the welcome centre systems. We also have many volunteers coming to us to assist in interpretation and befriending the newcomers.

We realize that for some of the refugees, because of the trauma they have experienced, it takes a really experienced caseworker to be able to tell what the underlying issues are. They may come with presenting issues, but they may not be aware of the other deeper issues they have. They don't necessarily know where to seek help, so it takes an experienced worker to help them unpack their issues and to know when to bring up traumatic incidents. One area that I'll touch on afterwards is emotional and mental health needs.

One of the major issues is language training. As we all know, immigrants come with much higher levels of official language capacity, whereas refugees don't necessarily come with any language ability, because they were not prepared. The majority of refugees, especially the government-sponsored ones, do not have any capacity in either official language. Many of them are actually on wait-lists for language classes funded by the federal government in a program called LINC. LINC classes are great, in that they also come with child care or childminding in the same space so that people can concentrate on studying.

There is a preference for a lot of the Syrian newcomers to walk to their classes rather than take transit. Even if a transit subsidy is available, we find there is a phenomenon. Some classes will be fairly empty. They won't come because it takes transportation. It could be left over from.... We don't know all the reasons but they don't always go to classes that require transportation. We would recommend some workplace classes or classes that are focused on work-related vocabulary or learning. We understand that many of them are trained. When they were in Syria they were in construction, agriculture, or the food industry. Many have been hired by the food industry. They are not necessarily book smart. They learn much better in the work setting. They say that they are work smart but not book smart. If possible, we'd like to see more innovative classes in that area.

Regarding questions about integration challenges facing these refugees, many of them don't have any family in Canada. Some find people from their own community and they support each other. Some are fearful of liaising with people from their—

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

You have 30 seconds, please.

[Moy Wong-Tam]

I recommend that we revive the host program that the government used to fund, which was very helpful in helping newcomers.

I will skip the employment counselling. I'll go to health.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

You have 10 seconds.

[Moy Wong-Tam]

Okay, I think you will read what I have written.

Mainly there are a lot of health issues, from physical health issues to mental issues, and we recommend that there be holistic services for them to recover more fully from health issues.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you, Ms. Wong-Tam. All the committee members will have copies of your submission.

I will now proceed to Mr. Aleem Syed and Ms. Zaib Mirza, for seven minutes, please.

[Aleem Syed, Representative, Scarborough Muslim Association, Greater Toronto Area Mosques]

Thank you for having me here. I'm honoured to be participating in this study regarding the settlement of Syrian refugees in Canada.

The Syrian newcomer settlement initiative is so expansive that it requires a collaborative effort on many fronts. Some of the organizations that I work collaboratively with are the Scarborough Muslim Association, Masjid Al Jannah, Malton Masjid, ISNA, Pickering Islamic Centre, Muslim Welfare Centre, the Southeast Dental Clinic, as well as several hundred dedicated individuals, like Muzammil Mahmood, Tina Aseffa, Khadija Cajee, Humera Khan, Iqbal Shaikh, Fahad Hasan, Sameer Sait, Rashid Mohammad, and Dr. lkramuddin Syed, all of whom volunteer their time, their professions and their skills to make things happen on the ground.

I would first like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Canadian government on behalf of all the Syrian newcomers and numerous volunteers who are working on the ground for this cause and for the government's decision to bring in 25,000 refugees in a short period of time. There should not be an iota of doubt in anyone's mind that the decision to open our doors and hearts for Syrian refugees was a correct one. Despite the challenges and economic costs involved, a few years from now, history will witness this massive undertaking to be a monumental and honourable achievement.

Our first family of five arrived on February 6. Although it has been over four months now, it feels like only yesterday, and words cannot express the immense joy we all felt in receiving this family. The honourable Salma Zahid personally visited the family. This gave them a lot of encouragement and support. Thank you. It was a truly emotional moment as the family broke down in tears and were continuously thanking and praying for the sponsors and all Canadians. I can still hear the silence of that moment. Moving on, with a quick succession of social gatherings, outings, and community support, we were able to build trust and help them get adjusted to life in Canada.

We followed a planned curriculum for the families, including steps that were to be taken on their first day of landing to the tasks that had to be accomplished in the first week, the first few months, three months, six months, and so on. This also included medical and dental checkups.

I am happy to say that in about three months the family was independent and living life as common residents. They have received their OHIP cards. They have received their child benefits. They are enrolled in ESL, and their kids are attending public school, as well as evening spiritual classes at the Scarborough Muslim Association.

They know where Canada is located in the world. They know the emergency procedures, the rights of women, children, and others, the laws regarding smoking, driving, and drinking. They are able to do household chores. They know how to operate coin laundry machines and home appliances, use public transit, do banking transactions, and make and attend health appointments all by themselves.

If anything can wipe away the images of a young child washed ashore from our minds, it will be the tears of joy and the smiles on the faces of these families and kids who have been given a new chance at life.

The iTrust Foundation collaborated with the Scarborough Muslim Association and Masjid Jannah, and conducted a survey to inform the newcomers of the settlement checklist and also to plan for what's beyond six months.

We found the following elements in the settlement process to be encouraging: the interim federal health coverage, the one-year financial security, the child benefits, public awareness and community support both material and social, supplementary payments by Scarborough Muslim Association for its families, and spiritual education being offered at no cost.

Aside from mental health and the language deficiency, challenges like the lack of availability of language instruction, affordable housing, and what have you are quite similar to those faced by the general immigrant population. Nevertheless, with time, patience, and hard work, we believe these challenges can easily be overcome.

This group of Syrian newcomers are significantly different from the usual immigrant population that arrives in Canada every year, in that they have experienced significant trauma and stress, including physical torture, personal loss, and forced separation from their loved ones, homes, communities, and livelihoods.

This presents a huge responsibility on society at large to embrace and welcome them. The general community has done a spectacular job in this regard by organizing social events, family outings, workshops, and so on in an effort to reach out and ease the refugees' resettlement process.

The sheer number of hard-working volunteers speaks to the scale and the magnitude of this initiative, and iTrust Foundation is launching a new app to help streamline the coordination effort and assist in effective utilization of resources.

I will move on to recommendations.

Nations that progress always seek for areas to develop and improve. The following are some considerations for the committee.

One, examine modern digital service delivery. It will be beneficial to study and validate the standards, processes, and systems that were employed to assist in the settlement process for relevance in this modern changing landscape.

Two, undertake early intervention for success. If the ultimate goal of the settlement process is to ensure that newcomers are successful in integrating with society and start to positively contribute to its welfare, it is important that settlement be perceived and be looked at from the newcomers' perspective, and that is as an end-to-end process. While government may be organized into different levels and different ministries, it is essential that participating entities at all levels, including agency-sponsored groups, have access to information in a timely manner so that early engagement can happen.

Three, establish new partnerships. Governance in the digital age requires us to effectively partner with individuals, community organizations, and private sponsors. The journey over the last six-plus months is a testament to how this partnership, if formalized, can help build stronger communities more effectively and more efficiently.

Four, make language training accessible. Looking at alternative channels of providing language instruction as well as at other programming will provide better returns on investment. Virtual learning, self-paced learning, PowToons, non-verbal media, infographics, and the use of mobile technologies, which are prevalent regardless of the literacy of newcomers, should be explored.

Five, extend the support period for families—

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

You have 15 seconds.

[Aleem Syed]

—with critical illness to help them cope with the additional stress and anxiety.

Six, increase support for youth and women's initiatives.

Seven, provide affordable housing.

In closing, keeping the Canadian spirit of humanitarianism alive, as we did in this case, is the most important essential element that can provide us with inner satisfaction and the drive to promote peace, universal brotherhood, and global citizenship.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you, Mr. Syed.

Mr. Mandarino, go ahead for seven minutes, please.

[John Mandarino, Executive Director, LiUNA Canadian Tri-Fund]

Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to address you today.

My name is John Mandarino. I'm the Canadian national director with the Laborers' International Union of North America, or LiUNA. The department and area of LiUNA that I direct is the Canadian Tri-Fund, and among the responsibilities of the Canadian Tri-Fund is training and recruitment for the organization.

We represent approximately 110,000 union workers across Canada, predominantly in the construction sector. LiUNA has 19 training centres across Canada and 10 training centres alone in Ontario. Since our inception in 1903, LiUNA has prided itself on keeping our doors open to skilled immigrants. Through our comprehensive training infrastructure, we have trained tens of thousands of immigrant workers, and they in turn have become the foundation of our membership. In fact as an organization, LiUNA depends upon healthy, robust, and steady immigration to recruit and train our future workforce. We have come to rely on immigrant recruits to build the strong union that we have today.

Through our commitment to training and the hard work we have put into establishing comprehensive training programs to develop a safe and productive workforce, we've established the tools to overcome many of the obstacles that might seem to be a hurdle in delivering training to new Canadians. Through partnerships with community groups and government agencies, we have overcome language barriers and worked to embrace new cultures.

The construction industry has been in an economic boom. The need for trained and skilled labour has perhaps never been greater. There is a labour shortage that has to be addressed. LiUNA, along with our employer partners, continues to recruit and train to fill these shortages. As we have done since the mid 1900s, LiUNA has embraced wave after wave of new Canadians to bring them into our membership to build a strong construction industry that remains a key factor in Canada's economic growth and strength.

LiUNA represents workers in 32 different sectors of construction and five major industries, including manufacturing and hospitality. We've made a commitment to our employer partners that we will recruit and train workers to build our highways, our schools, and our homes, to fabricate our machinery, and to serve conferees and visitors to our great city. It is because of the diversity of work we represent there is a need in LiUNA to constantly recruit, train, and embrace new Canadians as new members in our union and in our workforce. The diversity of our representation is also one of the reasons that there is great opportunity for work.

I am the son of Italian immigrants who came to Canada in their early fifties. Without the opportunity to enter this country and prove that we could contribute and enrich Canadian society, I don't know where my family would be. Syrian refugees deserve the same opportunity, and it is our turn to embrace the next wave of new Canadians, train them, and provide them with the opportunity to contribute and enrich our Canadian society.

LiUNA is prepared to offer new Canadians work opportunities. Through local unions and training centres across Canada, we can provide outreach and connection to jobs. As I said, new Canadians provide an opportunity to fill labour shortages and strengthen the workforce in key areas of the economy while providing themselves with a new life, a career, and a chance to build a future for their next generation.

The Laborers' International Union of North America is prepared to be a partner in this opportunity. A strong and successful immigration program must provide newcomers a foundation upon which they can build their new future. LiUNA, through our training programs and industry partnerships with employers, is prepared to be a partner in providing the materials and tools to help the Syrian refugee community build that foundation in Canada.

I'm proud to be speaking to you here today on this issue and I am excited about our country's future. As a first generation Canadian, I'm proud of the opportunity that Canada is providing to Syrian refugees and excited at the infinite possibilities this opportunity will provide for their generations of Canadians.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you here today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Borys Wrzesnewskyj]

Thank you, Mr. Mandarino.

Mr. Sarai, for seven minutes, please.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I want to thank you all for being here today and giving your great thoughts on this important subject that we're studying.

I'm going to question Ms. Niazi, first.

Finding employment is one of the greatest challenges facing new arrivals. Some refugees feel a tension between working and taking time to learn English or French. What are some of the innovative ways your society is working on reconciling that issue of helping people learn one of the two official languages while working in Canada?

[Adeena Niazi]

First of all, I have to mention that all refugees, including Syrian refugees, when they come here, are already a hard-working population and they want to get into the workforce as soon as possible.

One of the main problems the refugees are facing and that we are identifying is the language program. It's easy to get them employment if they don't go into a language program, but once they get into those types of jobs, not in their own profession, they will stay there for the rest of their lives. They will not be productive members of society, and it will cause lots of emotional and psychological problems for them.

First of all, we assist them with their language programs. We have all-women classes, which I find very useful for women because they feel very comfortable. We also have some mixed classes in the evening. We assist with the language. If they need language training, we can place them in the language classes. However, I also need to mention that we have long wait-lists for learners to be accommodated because there are not enough places.

We also have somebody who works with job placement. For those who are ready for a job, we do an assessment. Most of the refugees have transferable skills. They may not realize that, because when they come here they are told that everything is different, but we do encourage them to maintain their self-esteem and to realize that they have lots of transferable skills and things they can do.

We sit with them and we work on short-term and long-term jobs in Canada. For the short term, if they need to upgrade and go to classes if they are ready and can take an upgrading program, they do something part-time and they do some upgrading programs to fit in with the job.

We also make them ready by preparing them for an interview. For most of us, including me—I also came here as a refugee—talking about my own qualifications feels as if I am boasting. You have to talk about the qualifications you have, what talents you have. Also, we prepare them and we have mock interviews. We also work with employers and we connect them with employers.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Mandarino, I want to thank you for your support to help secure employment and train Syrian refugees or other refugees who want to integrate and get jobs in the labour sector or the construction sector.

How have you been working out language training, or at least work-ready language training? Have you been successful in getting the refugees to learn the language simultaneously or contemporaneously while you're getting them job skills, or has that been a challenge?

[John Mandarino]

It has been a challenge, to be honest with you, and we've employed several different approaches to it in order to achieve some success.

In partnering with some of the community agencies that are either sponsoring or working with the community, we've established some early education or English as a second language education prior to going into training programs. That's for the very fact that it's key to being productive and a safe worker that you understand the language, because so many regulations and so much of what goes on in construction sites is done in English right across the country. It's also true for English-speaking parts of Montreal, of course, in Quebec.

That's the approach we've had, but there is also a lot of language that we find in recognition of English that happens right in the training program by just being subjected to it every single day.

As I said, it's multipronged. We're looking for new answers every single day, and finding new avenues that lead us to success in overcoming language barriers.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Syed, you said you've had great success in helping the refugees settle, get their medical cards, bus transfers, etc., and integrate and get housing.

Can you tell us a bit of the key to that success? Some people have had challenges, but it seems that you're doing a great job and you're getting the resources that are required from the government. Maybe your agency can tell us how your system has been successful.

[Aleem Syed]

Before the arrival of the families, we met as a group and actually planned out what activities would have to be undertaken. Starting from day one, we had a list of activities that needed to be taken care of. From a planning perspective, we started off by identifying and understanding the refugee families. We're working, not only at the Scarborough Muslim Association but also at our masjids, with approximately 120 families.

In terms of the success story we mentioned, 90% of them have the same progress rate of settlement: 90% of them have received all of these, and they are doing things on their own. The only questions for them right now are on continuing with their LINC or ESL classes and on starting to look for employment.

We actually conducted a survey with regard to employment. We found that 85% of the population surveyed so far are in the skilled trades. Only a few are professionals. Some of them are lawyers. Some of them are teachers from back home. We're identifying those groups. In the next month or so, we are planning to have skills-related workshops in a private setting with them so that we can have focused communication and focused workshops with them for more successful implementation.

For those who are in the self-employment business, we are looking at business models and investors who can look into investing in business, whether it's a shawarma place, a restaurant, or a dry-cleaning place where tailors can be put to work. We are looking at those models where it works for not only the investors but also the refugee families, who will be able to prosper and start contributing to the economy of the country.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you.

Ms. Wong-Tam, you wanted to complete something about the host program. Perhaps you can let us know what the former host program was, and the benefits, quickly.

[Moy Wong-Tam]

The former host program was a way to befriend newcomers. It matched an established Canadian with a newcomer. It had the same concept as private sponsorship, where you have a Canadian showing the newcomer the ropes of daily living, from how to cross the road safely to what size of diapers to buy, anything that people need to know. You can't really ask those questions of those in professional services.

We know that the huge difference between the success rate of government-sponsored refugees versus privately sponsored refugees is really due to the network that the private sponsors can provide. The program really helped them create a social network. Many of them became friends. There was a screening process and a matching process under a supervised setting. The newcomer, especially for the many without a family, benefited from having instant friends in Canada.

Those were basically the key social benefits. There were also occupational benefits. In some mentorship programs we matched them with people who had the same occupation or a similar occupation and who showed them how to get back on their feet in terms of finding a job.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Was this administered through settlement agencies or through the government itself?

[Moy Wong-Tam]

Through settlement agencies; it was defunded about four or five years ago.