RURAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE COMMUNITY REPORT Immigration in 5 Rural Manitoba Communities with a Focus on Refugees: Portage la Prairie Case Study August 2016 I PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE CASE STUDY Rural Development Institute, Brandon University Brandon University established the Rural Development Institute in 1989 as an academic research centre and a leading source of information on issues affecting rural communities in Western Canada and elsewhere. RDI functions as a not-for-profit research and development organization designed to promote, facilitate, coordinate, initiate and conduct multi-disciplinary academic and applied research on rural issues. The Institute provides an interface between academic research efforts and the community by acting as a conduit of rural research information and by facilitating community involvement in rural development. RDI projects are characterized by cooperative and collaborative efforts of multi-stakeholders. The Institute has diverse research affiliations, and multiple community and government linkages related to its rural development mandate. RDI disseminates information to a variety of constituents and stakeholders and makes research information and results widely available to the public either in printed form or by means of public lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences. For more information, please visit www.brandonu.ca/rdi. Introduction Research Method In November 2015, a national resettlement initiative was This study follows the same method as the 2015 study. Five undertaken to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees across Canada. Since communities3 were selected that are distributed geographically November 4th, 2015 the Government of Canada has welcomed and represent a sample of the provinces’ smaller cities4. more than 29,700 Syrian refugees (August 1st, 2016) and the The five cases are: Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Boissevain- commitment to resettling more refugees to Canada is continuing Killarney, Steinbach-Kleefeld and Morden-Winkler-Altona- in 20161. More than 1000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Carman. Manitoba and, of those, 90 have settled outside of Winnipeg, in rural communities and small centres. This research project was In the five communities, data were collected through 30 initiated out of this experience and is funded by Immigration, telephone interviews with a senior official of the Service Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through Manitoba Provider Organizations (SPOs) or a representative of the Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations (MANSO). Refugee Sponsorship Group. The sample of participating service providers included both SPOs that have a primary The purpose of the project is to learn from the current mandate to serve newcomers (funded by Immigration, experiences in five rural communities in Manitoba and examine Refugees and Citizenship Canada or other sources) and the settlement and community capacity of these smaller centres community organizations supporting newcomers in some to resettle refugees. Selected communities are those who have capacity. This research did not include newcomers or refugees received newcomers and have recently received refugees or have and as such the findings are based solely on the opinions an active plan in place for the arrival of refugees. and perceptions of SPOs and refugee sponsorship groups’ representatives. This research project builds on the 2015 “Immigration Settlement Services and Gaps in CIC’s Western region”2 Once data were collected, a draft report was compiled for each study conducted by the Rural Development institute (RDI) community. Each was shared with the research participants and Immigration Research West (IRW). It offered a snapshot and other local stakeholders. Their feedback was incorporated of the immigration settlement services sector in 29 selected and reports finalized. rural communities across the western provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and in the three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut). 1 Government of Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (retrieved 3 Similarly as in the Ashton et al.(2015) study, the term “community” is conceptualized from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/milestones.asp). date accessed in geographic terms as either a “local community” that consists of a single August 8, 2016. municipality, or a “regional community,” comprising two or more neighboring municipalities and/or areas that are not incorporated as municipalities. 2 Ashton et al. (2015, May). Immigration Settlement Services and Gaps in CIC’s Western Region. Retrieved from https://www.brandonu.ca/rdi/publication/ 4 Winnipeg is excluded from the study together with the communities participated immigration-settlement-services-and-gaps-in-citizenship-and-immigration-canadas- in the Ashton et al. (2015) study with an exception of Dauphin, due to its recent western-region/ experience with refugee resettlement (15 individuals as of August 8, 2016 ). 1 PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE CASE STUDY Portage la Prairie Case StudyMANITOBA The Portage la Prairie case is a snapshot of perceptions from six participants. Organization representatives reported receiving funding for their operations from provincial, private, IRCC and other federal sources as well as the city of Portage la Prairie. Four participants and two additional stakeholders provided feedback to finalize the report. Community Context According to IRCC7 and confirmed by the research participants there hasn’t been an arrival of refugees in the Portage la Prairie (Portage) is the fourth largest city in community yet (four out of six participants said refugees Manitoba with a population of 12,996 (2011)5. It is located in hadn’t arrived in the community and the other two were Southern Manitoba between the province’s two major centres unsure). However, five of the six participants (one participant (Winnipeg and Brandon). Portage is a major service centre was unsure) confirmed that there is an active plan in place for the Central Plains region of Manitoba containing regional for refugees to arrive in the community before the end of government offices, retail and distribution services6. 2016. They are expecting two families from Syria (total of 10 individuals) under the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) and Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Programs (BVOR mentioned by three participants and PSR mentioned by two). MANITOBA Settlement in the Community Participants’ opinions were divided when asked how difficult or easy it is for newcomers (including refugees) to settle in Portage . Three participants perceived newcomer settlement as somewhat difficult and three as somewhat easy. An existing SPO network in the community and partnerships Dauphin among various organizations assist newcomers to have their needs met. Additionally, settlement is usually easier for those newcomers whose cultural group is present in the community, Portage but often these groups are not present in Portage. la Prairie The main concerns participants identified, which made settlement more challenging for newcomers in the community Carmen Steinbachwere finding affordable housing, mental health issues and Dauphin Boissevain Morden finding mental health support , low English language skills, PortageKillarney Kleefeldand acceptance by locals. Two participants mentioned that la Prairie Winkler Altonathere needs to be education for both newcomers and local Carmen Steinbach residents, so more exposure to each other’s culture is possible. Boissevain Morden Killarney Kleefeld Winkler Altona 5 Statistics Canada 2011 Census 6 Source: Portage Regional Economic Development, The Region of Portage la Prairie 2015 Community Profile. Retrieved from http://www.plprecd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RegionofPortage.pdf 7 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/map.asp 2 Table 1 – Settlement Services offered in Portage la Prairie as reported by the six research participants Aa Information Literacy and Support Services and Orientation Language Training • Needs assessment and • Language training • Childcare (during service referral (general) delivery) • Initial reception • Language assessment • Transportation (by • Job specific language volunteers) training • Interpretation/ • Additional language translation (in some training through cases by volunteers) volunteers • Women, youth and seniors focused programing • Services for parents and families • Supports to persons Job with disabilities Labour Market Community Access Supports Connections • Assistance finding a job • Initiatives that foster • Connections with interactions between employers newcomers and Canadians (taking newcomers to hockey game, curling league) • Mentoring program • Welcoming communities (cultural events, some events through churches) 3 PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE CASE STUDY Settlement Services integration (3) as the top needs. Participants believe that the long-term needs of refugees are: integration into the The settlement services offered in Portage as mentioned by community and getting a sense of belonging (4), improving the six research participants are shown in Table 1 (page 3). In education and having their foreign credentials recognized (3), Table 1, within each service category, services are reported in transportation (2) and improving language skills (2). the order of the frequency mentioned by the six participants, with the most commonly reported service listed first in each section and the least commonly reported services listed Community Capacity last. Most of the basic settlement