Immigration and Settlement

That:

1. The CCR urge CIC to review, in consultation with settlement agencies, the manner in which CIC contracts with agencies. The objective of this review is to establish accountability measures which promote the best possible services for clients and efficient, effective agency management;
2. The review address, inter alia, the following specific issues occurring in some regions:

   (a) the independence of agencies and the fact that they are already subject to annual external audits;

   (b) the importance of client confidentiality;

   (c) the fact that rigid enforcement of ISAP eligibility rules undermines the ability of agencies to offer services in a welcoming and client centered manner (noting that CCR has resolved in November 1995 that services should be available on the basis of need);

   (d) the necessity of agencies to respect employment standards and human rights legislation as employers (particularly with regards to cuts which lead to layoffs and the practice of forcing agencies to lay off, on the basis of national origin, settlement workers, many of whom serve diverse clienteles);

   (e) the provision of reasonable and consistent administrative and overhead costs and the practice of insisting that agencies subsidize ISAP services through private fund-raising and funds from other institutional funders (an unrealistic maximum of 15% administrative costs is set in some regions);

   (f) the need for a reasonable balance between CIC's obligation to monitor funds, the administrative burden of reporting and the usefulness of information to be collected;

   (g) the use of three month contracts with long established partners, making it impossible to plan services, rent facilities and manage staff and causing agencies to devote a disproportionate amount of time to contract negotiation.

That the CCR urge that:

1. Refugee claimants be included in any and all funding formulas as legitimate recipients of settlement services throughout Canada;
2. Additional funds be made available for settlement agencies to provide appropriate levels of services to this client group;
3. The provinces that receive fewer numbers of refugee claimants not be financially penalized by this reality.

That the CCR support the draft national settlement service standards framework and adopt the proposed development strategy.

That the CCR:

1. Write to the Federal Coordinator on Homelessness urging her to pay particular attention to the challenges facing homeless newcomers and especially newcomer families;
2. Communicate with the Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada and join with them in calling on the federal and provincial governments to immediately start increasing the supply of social housing;
3. Write to CIC urging that as part of the national strategy on homelessness:

   a) They implement information referral services at ports of entry to ensure that refugee claimants are not entering the homeless shelter system without appropriate resources to access the system and to ensure that a claimant's early months in Canada are the least traumatic possible and to ensure that they have an appropriate place to go when they leave the port of entry;

   b) They extend eligibility for ISAP services to refugee claimants;

4. Write to provincial governments urging them to raise social assistance rates.

That CCR write to CIC to stress that:

1. Services in small communities in Ontario should be based on regional realities of the province and should reflect the equality of services right across the regions of Ontario;
2. Current LINC contracts be reviewed and evaluated in the light of de-committals;
3. NGOs in rural areas be given special consideration to deliver high quality and equitable services;
4. The criteria for the renewal of LINC contracts be based on clear pre-established criteria, not arbitrary criteria introduced after contracts are signed;
5. CIC immediately begin a consultation discussion with community stakeholders before de-committals are implemented.

That the CCR write to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance asking them to raise their level of investment in settlement services with the intention of raising the investment up to a level comparable to other support services.

That CIC be requested to re-evaluate the reductions targeted for various provinces, specifically Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, taking into consideration the consequences of such reductions.

That the CCR request that CIC not interpret volunteer work as requiring an employment authorization.

That this National Settlement Service Standards Framework be adopted in principle and that the Steering Committee present an implementation strategy at the fall 2000 consultation.

That a task group be struck by the CCR to:

1. Facilitate information-sharing on pro LGBTQ practices and policies within the immigration and refugee sector;
2. Suggest amendments to existing settlement standards to include LGBTQ issues;
3. Urge CCR members to implement mandatory training and education within their agencies on unlearning homophobia and heterosexism;
4. Gather evidence about the refusal rate, processes and practices of the IRB in relation to claims based on sexual orientation.