Case Study: the Realigned System of Settlement Service Delivery In
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Case Study: The Realigned System of Settlement Service Delivery in Manitoba 1999 to 2013 For Immigration Research West (formerly, The Western Canadian Consortium on Integration, Citizenship and Cohesion) by Gérald Clement Thomas Carter Robert Vineberg March 30, 2013 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2. Timeline .................................................................................................................................................. 11 3. Background ............................................................................................................................................ 18 4. The Agreement ....................................................................................................................................... 21 5. The Transfer of Resources ...................................................................................................................... 23 6. Provincial Administration ....................................................................................................................... 25 7. The Settlement Experience in Manitoba ............................................................................................... 30 7.a. Challenges for Service Delivery ....................................................................................................... 30 7.b. Manitoba’s Integrated Service Model ............................................................................................ 33 7.c. Immigrant Services: A High level of Satisfaction amongst Stakeholders and Arrivals ................... 37 8. Analysis and Observations ..................................................................................................................... 46 8.a. Implementation ............................................................................................................................... 46 8.b. Impact on Clients ............................................................................................................................ 50 8.c. Intergovernmental Considerations ................................................................................................. 56 8.d Key Decision Points .......................................................................................................................... 59 9. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 61 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 63 Appendix A. The Canada-Manitoba Immigration Agreement Settlement Annex ................................. 64 Appendix B. Immigration and Settlement Data ..................................................................................... 73 Appendix C. Procurement Process for ENTRY, WELARC and START ...................................................... 75 Appendix D. List of Respondents ........................................................................................................... 80 Appendix E. Questions for Respondents ................................................................................................ 82 Appendix F: Key Reference Documents ................................................................................................. 83 Appendix G. Manitoba Annual Report on Settlement 1999-2000 ......................................................... 85 Appendix H. Manitoba Annual Report on Settlement 2011-2012 ....................................................... 105 Appendix I. About the Authors ............................................................................................................ 160 3 Executive Summary Background Settlement Annexes with the provinces of Manitoba and British Columbia will be cancelled, effective April 1, 2013 (for Manitoba) and April 1, 2014 (for B.C.). Accordingly, it is appropriate to examine the development and evolution of settlement program delivery in these provinces since they assumed that responsibility on April 1, 1999. The planning and delivery of the settlement program in these two provinces can provide a useful counterpoint to CIC’s delivery of settlement programs in other provinces. Settlement ‘Realignment’ was offered to all provinces (except Quebec, which had been delivering settlement programs since 19911) as part of the Federal ‘Program Review’ in the mid-90s. Only Manitoba and BC eventually concluded agreements. In April, 2012 the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney served notice to Manitoba and British Columbia that the Federal Government was cancelling the settlement realignment agreements with those two provinces. The Manitoba agreement was subject to one year’s notice by either party, so it would terminate on April 1, 2013, whereas the BC agreement had a two year notice provision so it will terminate on April 1, 2014. The Federal Government argued that immigrants need to have access to a more consistent level of services regardless of where they choose to settle in Canada. The Agreement The Agreement is an Annex to the Canada-Manitoba Immigration Agreement (CMIA). The original CMIA was signed on October 22, 1996 and while it did not include a Settlement Annex, it foresaw the possibility of both a Settlement Realignment Agreement and a Provincial Nominee Agreement. The Settlement Annex was negotiated in 1997 and 1998, signed on June 29, 1998 and came into force the on April 1st of the following year. 1 Pursuant to the Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens. 4 Notwithstanding the transfer, the Federal Government envisaged an “enduring federal role” that would include involvement in priority setting, encouragement of research on integration, and a return to offering counseling to immigrants prior to their departure for Canada. In addition, the agreement requires both Canada and Manitoba to abide by the principle that, “Settlement and integration services across the country will be flexible, responsive and reasonably comparable.”2 While assuming primary responsibility for the design and delivery of settlement programs, Manitoba undertook to ensure comparable services to those delivered in the rest of the country. The agreement incorporated requirements for the submission of an annual ‘Service Plan’ to CIC and an Annual Report but the initial 1998 agreement did not specify in great detail what should be in the reports. When the CMIA was renegotiated in 2002-03, CIC requested and Manitoba agreed to a more detailed reporting regime especially for the Annual Service Plan and the Annual Report. The new agreement also provided more flexibility for financing administrative operations in support of the settlement program. Resources A total budget of $3,550,000 in settlement funding and $200,000 in associated administrative funding, including the salaries of 4 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions were transferred to Manitoba. By 2012-2013, the amount had grown to over $36,000,000 and Manitoba Settlement staff numbered about 25. The growth in funding was due both to a significant investment by the Government of Canada (roughly tripling the national settlement funding envelope over this period) and also to growth resulting from the federal allocation formula matching settlement funding to individual provinces with their landing numbers. So, as immigration to Manitoba increased dramatically, so did the settlement funding and the related funding for administration. Provincial Administration Manitoba assured service providers that the transfer would be seamless and business would continue as usual. Change would come but it would be incremental. The result 2 Canada-Manitoba Immigration Agreement, Annex A Settlement Services 1.3.f. 5 was that, at the time of the transfer, staff and service providers involved were generally reassured by the process and the messaging from both CIC and the Province. Manitoba’s Growing through Immigration Strategy combined with the “integrated approach MB took in linking PNP with Settlement services and the positive results related to retention have been the major drivers of increased immigration to the province. Since realignment the number of immigrants and refugees arriving in the province has increased by 328 percent, rising from 3,725 in 1999 to 15,962 in 2011, before falling slightly to 13,391 in 2012. In addition to increasing numbers the diversity of arrivals has also increased: a growing number of nationalities and ethnic groups, increasing language diversity and differences in language capacity, a wider range of income groups, increasing cultural diversity, life styles and living preferences. Numbers alone placed significant pressure on the settlement services a system but in addition to numbers the increasing diversity of arrivals created new service needs and challenges. Manitoba has also been working to achieve a better regional distribution of immigrants within the province. Attracting labour and investment through immigration to grow regional centres has been a major policy objective of the Manitoba government.