CIMM Committee Report

Government of Canada Response to the

Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration 2^nd Report

Best Practices in Settlement Services

Recommendation One

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada develop a proposal for an interactive website on best practices in settlement services. The aim of the proposal should be to have an operational website in fiscal year 2011-2012.

The Government agrees with this recommendation and welcomes the opportunity to engage in additional interactive media in order to engage stakeholders and better service clients. CIC supports enhancing existing on-line resources in order to be more responsive to the needs of clients and stakeholders, engage new partners, share lessons learned and fuel innovative settlement and resettlement programming. The sharing of best practices and lessons learned are integral to fostering innovation and shaping future settlement initiatives.

To support current FPT priorities on Foreign Credential Referral (FCR) and the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications (the Framework), the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) is developing a Pan-Canadian Information website to share innovative foreign credential recognition practices among key FCR stakeholders in Canada. The objective of this initiative is to provide a one-stop information site for FCR activities. This will provide Canadian organizations the opportunity to leverage and capitalize on promising practices across Canada to advance their own FCR needs. The Government will explore other on‑line tools for sharing best practices and will build on this web platform to house and share promising practices in settlement and resettlement services among service providing organizations (SPOs), governments, academia and other stakeholders.

Recommendation Two

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, through Citizenship and Immigration Canada, judge joint proposals for settlement funding favourably and indicate this clearly on the application form.

The Government agrees with this recommendation and is actively moving forward to encourage joint funding arrangements.  Through its Call for Proposal (CFP) process, CIC already strongly encourages joint proposal applications as exemplified through the Atlantic Region’s recent CFP for settlement projects, which encouraged partnerships and cooperation on joint proposals, and British Columbia’s, which resulted in the clustering of service providing organizations in the delivery of services. 

In addition, CIC is currently developing a template to be used for all future CFPs under the Modernized Approach. This will include a directive indicating that joint proposals will be judged favourably.

Recommendation Three

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada continue to support and expand Local Immigration Partnerships in Ontario and explore the potential of local immigration partnership pilot projects in other interested provinces.

The Government agrees with this recommendation and remains committed to supporting Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) and its 34 initiatives throughout Ontario. In addition, the principles of the LIPs are in line with government priorities identified in the Speech from the Throne, namely that the Government of Canada will take steps to support communities in their efforts to tackle local challenges by involving various players to partner on new approaches to address regional challenges that bring together communities across Canada. LIPs are the best example of existing projects that foster partnerships and facilitate the participation of municipal governments and community stakeholders to address local immigration issues and generate opportunities, while recognizing the community’s unique needs and circumstances.

The lessons learned from LIPs in Ontario and similar models identified in other jurisdictions will help to shape future engagement in this area and forge new innovative partnerships with municipalities, businesses, the health sector, schools and libraries.  Some LIPs’ efforts have also involved examining the mental health needs of immigrants and refugees in order to render mainstream services more responsive.

Recommendation Four

The Committee recommends that, subject to provincial jurisdiction, Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Modernized Approach to Settlement Programming should be flexible such that business and self-employment support programs can be included in the theme of “labour market participation;” and mental health and family counselling can be included in the theme of “support services”.

CIC agrees with this recommendation and is committed through the Modernized Approach to provide the needed flexibility for the design and support of the recommended soft skills training, business and self-employment programs, as well as support in the area of mental health and family counselling.

The Government has made significant strides in responding to the multiple needs of newcomers through the evolving settlement program.  Since 2005, the Government began allocating an additional $1.4 billion over five years in settlement funding to support newcomers in their efforts to successfully integrate. This resulted in the tripling of settlement funding invested across the country. Consequently, over a short period of time, the Settlement Program witnessed an exponential growth of both SPOs and contribution agreements. 

Business development and self-employment activities are growing areas for CIC.  However, CIC does currently fund a number of activities focused on fostering positive economic outcomes such as business start-up, diversity training in the workplace, mentorship and job shadowing.

Through the Settlement Program, newcomers are provided with the required assistance to find employment commensurate with their skills and education. CIC works with other federal departments, provinces, territories and other partners in the coordination and delivery of settlement services in the area of employment. There is momentum across jurisdictions to work together to improve and maximize the use and benefits of settlement services. For example, current FPT arrangements such as bilateral Labour Market Agreements (LMAs) that support provincial and territorial labour market priorities have been instrumental in creating positive labour market outcomes for newcomers.

When it comes to mental health issues facing newcomers, the Government is strongly committed to the higher needs of refugees. The Government is aware that higher needs clients will require additional supports and resources and is cognizant that mental health issues arise for many refugees and their families.

The Government funds a number of health and mental health activities and continues to build partnerships with stakeholders and organizations in the health sector. However, the Government is mindful that health care is under provincial/territorial jurisdiction and thus has a limited role to play in the direct delivery of health-related services for newcomers. The Committee recommendations pertaining to mental health initiatives are currently being addressed under the various streams of the Modernized Approach and will continue to develop and evolve as new projects are approved. Consequently, gaps in culturally and linguistically-appropriate health care initiatives for newcomers may be overcome through initiatives under the Employment-Related stream such as cross-cultural communication training for internationally-educated health professionals and for those in the mainstream health care sector. This will result in the increased ability of newcomers to receive responsive and culturally-sensitive health services.

The Government recognizes that newcomer families require additional supports and resources at different stages of the integration process.  The Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) initiative, which is being delivered across the country, has been instrumental in assisting immigrant and refugee children and their families to adjust to school culture and increase parent involvement in their children’s education. Through the range of options available under the Modernized Approach, SPOs can build on similar existing supports by developing resources that are more responsive to the integration and settlement needs of newcomer families.

Recommendation Five

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada permit greater flexibility in determining the length of time individuals are eligible for particular settlement services.

The Government does not concur with this recommendation; however, the government welcomes an opportunity to share recent updates to CIC’s Terms and Conditions (T&Cs).  In 2008, CIC amended its T&Cs under the Settlement Program to allow for the expansion of eligibility criteria overseas, thus lengthening the period of time newcomers can receive services.  CIC also broadened support services which are now available to all eligible clients. This includes provisions for transportation and childminding which greatly increase access and uptake of settlement services, especially for immigrant and refugee women with young children and those with other caregiving responsibilities.

Through CIC’s Needs Assessment and Referral stream, early interventions are provided in order to identify and respond to settlement needs and increase awareness of services, including eligibility. Research has shown that early settlement interventions for newcomers have resulted in improved settlement outcomes and increased uptake of services. In addition, the knowledge and language requirements to obtain citizenship encourage permanent residents to access settlement services soon after arrival in order to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to meet these requirements of citizenship and, as a result, to become fully participating members of Canadian society.

Recommendation Six

The Committee recommends, subject to provincial jurisdiction, that the Government of Canada include trauma counselling and school support as eligible activities under the Resettlement Assistance Program.

While the Government supports the principle of this recommendation, it notes that the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) would not be the appropriate provider of these services because RAP services are focussed on the first 4-6 weeks after arrival; trauma counselling may require significantly more time. As described in the response to the fourth recommendation, RAP refugee clients are also eligible to access mental health services funded by the Government. RAP is intended to meet the immediate and essential needs of resettled refugees and to help them access additional programs and services available to all immigrants. 

The higher needs of refugees can be met through the array of potential settlement services available under the Modernized Approach. For example, needs assessments and referrals to the appropriate professional services have been successful in enabling refugees to access the longer-term support that they require.

The Government continues to examine ways to enhance settlement and resettlement services for this group. In particular, the Modernized Approach is expected to enhance settlement services designed to meet the specific needs of many resettled refugees, through projects such as the previously-mentioned SWIS initiative and service bridging to mental health supports. In addition, CIC is conducting an external evaluation of the Government-Assisted Refugee Program and the RAP in preparation for the renewal of RAP’s terms and conditions by September 2011. While RAP is limited in scope to meeting the immediate and essential needs of government-assisted refugees (such as arranging temporary accommodation upon arrival), lessons learned from the evaluation will help to shape Government priorities in this area.