CIMM - Settlement Services
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Key messages
- In the context of the pandemic, my Department is recommending that settlement service providers follow public health and provincial guidelines. This means that service providers may resume in-person services at different times depending on their location.
- In order to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, service provider organizations are focusing on delivering critical resettlement and settlement services until further notice.
- This includes providing income support and immediate and essential services to government-assisted refugees, medical referrals and interpretation, and offering crisis counselling to newcomers.
- When possible, service providers are also providing non-critical services by telephone, email or online, such as settlement language training.
- Settlement service provider organizations have access to both federal and provincial settlement funding. Provincially-funded services are used to support temporary residents, such as temporary foreign workers.
Supplementary messages
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has worked closely with Canada’s network of more than 500 settlement service provider organizations, including provincial/territorial counterparts, other federal departments, and key stakeholders to ensure newcomers continue to be well-supported and that services are adapted to meet their needs in the changing COVID-19 context.
Health, Safety and Security of Newcomers and Frontline Employees
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has supported requests to allow an increase of up to 15% in wages for front line staff delivering critical in-person services from April 1 to June 30, 2020, with the possibility of extension.
- To ensure the safety of resettlement workers, my Department has an agreement with the Public Health Agency of Canada to supply personal protective equipment for all 32 Resettlement Assistance Program service providers across Canada with enough supplies for a six month period.
- We continue to work with community-based settlement organizations to ensure that government-assisted refugees have access to accommodations and support upon arrival in Canada to respect the 14-day isolation period for travelers.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada continues to work closely with partners to ensure coordinated responses and service continuity for vulnerable newcomers and refugees, including women, youth, seniors and LGBTQ2 persons.
- The Department has issued new guidance and shared information and resources to support service provider organizations in safely providing critical in-person services to vulnerable clients, as well as to support newcomers at heightened risk of family and gender-based violence.
- To overcome language barriers in accessing up-to-date information and directives related to COVID-19, IRCC is translating information from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Finance Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada in key newcomer languages.
- My Department is also working with Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency to offer webinars to provide information on federal benefits and supports both to newcomers and settlement agency front line workers.
Flexibility in Settlement Program Delivery
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has allowed funding flexibilities to purchase of additional laptops and/or cell-phones that can be loaned to clients, to continue to receive settlement and resettlement services.
- Eligible newcomers can continue to be assessed and referred to available language training while eliminating physical interaction with service providers.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is also increasing the availability of distance language learning seats, and expanding supports such as teacher training and mentoring to help instructors who are actively developing online course options for newcomers.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has created a centralized email mailbox to respond to service provider organization questions regarding service delivery in the context of COVID-19.
- The Resettlement Assistance Program network is ready to start receiving new government-assisted refugees, as resettlement operations resume.
Ongoing Engagement with Settlement Agencies
- Provinces and territories are informed and engaged on developments related to settlement service delivery weekly.
- I have regularly engaged with the leadership of the national and provincial settlement organizations to understand the situation in communities across Canada, and to inform decision-making.
- To meet our obligations under Part VII of the Official Languages Act, my Department proactively consulted with Francophone settlement service providers to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of services in French and the needs and challenges of the Francophone sector.
- At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, my Department struck a joint task team with the Resettlement Assistance Program service provider organizations to open lines of communication, work jointly to address organizations’ needs, and reassure the sector of the Department’s responsiveness.
- The task team has concluded and on-going work will be transitioned to an existing working group.
Supporting facts and figures
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada provides funding to more than 500 settlement service provider organizations across Canada to deliver pre- and post-arrival settlement services, and to over 30 organizations to deliver immediate and essential services to government-assisted refugees under the Resettlement Assistance Program.
- We have added 79 new organizations to deliver settlement services across Canada, including new Francophone organizations. Under the 2019 Call for Proposals, 20 new Francophone organizations were recommended for funding, resulting in funding for 14 new organizations. A particular focus was placed on ensuring rural and remote communities were served, as well as the provision of targeted measures such as mental health supports, and supports for LGBTQ2 newcomers.
- The Department also added one new Francophone Resettlement Assistance Program service provider organization in Cornwall, Ontario.
- In 2018-2019, nearly 520,000 clients accessed at least one settlement service. We have seen a 29% increase in the use of settlement services over the past four years, demonstrating the importance to providing direct supports and services to recent immigrants and refugees.
Background
- On June 3, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada recommended that service provider organizations should continue to follow guidance from public health and instructions from the province in which they operate regarding business resumption. This will mean that service provider organizations across the country will likely resume offering in‑person services at different times depending on their location.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is recommending that when service provider organizations are able to reopen, that they focus on providing in-person services to the most vulnerable clients, while maintaining alternative service delivery options for other services.
- On March 16, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada advised service provider organizations to suspend all non-essential services and focus on the provision of critical services to vulnerable clients only, including government-assisted refugees, until further notice. They were also encouraged to provide non-critical services by alternate means (such as virtual delivery and telework), where possible.
- As of March 16, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has been communicating and engaging with Settlement Sector representatives through National Settlement and Integration Council teleconferences. The main objectives of the calls are to update the sector on the Government’s latest COVID‑19 announcements and provide an opportunity for the sector to raise concerns and engage in discussions.
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