IRCC’s first Settlement Outcomes Highlights Report provides insight on the path to success for newcomers in Canada
July 14, 2021—Ottawa—A new report, the first of its kind, finds that new Canadians give high marks to the settlement services offered to them, and see these services as crucial in setting newcomers up for success in Canada. From improving their English or French, to assisting in finding work, to helping them connect with their communities, immigrants reported that settlement services are vital to their Canadian experience.
Issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) the report, entitled Settlement Outcomes Highlights Report, is a high-level analysis and summary of the immigrant experience in Canada. It examines the successes and challenges of newcomers from 2015 to 2019, with an emphasis on their use of settlement services.
The majority of newcomers who received settlement services reported they were useful and met their needs. Newcomers said that these services enriched their knowledge of life in Canada, improved their language skills in English or French, prepared them for the Canadian labour market and helped them connect with organizations in their communities.
The report also draws attention to areas where IRCC can improve. These include increasing awareness of settlement services and uptake by newcomers, filling gaps in information and further examining potential barriers. Another key finding of the report is that the settlement journey is different for many newcomers. Digging into settlement outcomes is a key part of IRCC’s efforts to improve services to meet the individual needs of newcomers.
Le 14 juillet 2021 – Ottawa – Un nouveau rapport, le premier du genre, constate que les nouveaux Canadiens sont très satisfaits des services d’établissement qui leur sont offerts et considèrent que de tels services sont essentiels à la réussite des nouveaux arrivants au Canada. Qu’il s’agisse d’améliorer leur maîtrise du français ou de l’anglais, ou encore de les aider à trouver du travail ou à établir des liens avec leur collectivité, les immigrants ont déclaré que les services d’établissement sont essentiels à leur expérience au Canada.
Publié par Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada (IRCC), le rapport, intitulé « Résultats en matière d’établissement – Rapport sur les faits saillants » est une analyse de haut niveau et un résumé de l’expérience des immigrants au Canada. Il examine les réussites et les difficultés vécues par les nouveaux arrivants de 2015 à 2019 et met l’accent sur utilisation qu’ils font des services d’établissement.
La plupart des nouveaux arrivants qui ont reçu des services d’établissement ont déclaré que ces services étaient utiles et qu’ils répondaient à leurs besoins. Les nouveaux arrivants ont affirmé que ces services enrichissaient leur connaissance de la vie au Canada, amélioraient leurs compétences linguistiques en français ou en anglais, les préparaient pour le marché du travail canadien et les aidaient à établir des liens avec des organismes de leur collectivité.
Le rapport souligne également les possibilités d’amélioration d’IRCC, notamment accroître la sensibilisation aux services d’établissement, augmenter la participation des nouveaux arrivants, combler les lacunes en matière de renseignements et examiner plus à fond les obstacles éventuels qui pourraient survenir. Une autre constatation clé du rapport est que les nouveaux arrivants n’ont pas tous le même parcours d’établissement et que l’analyse des résultats en matière d’établissement est un élément clé des efforts d’IRCC pour améliorer ses services et ainsi répondre aux besoins précis des nouveaux arrivants.
March 25, 2021 – Royal Society of Canada Brief on COVID-19 and Immigration released
Overview of Supporting Canada’s COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery Through Robust Immigration Policy and Programs
Canada has been seen globally as a leader in immigration and integration policies and programs, and as an attractive and welcoming country for immigrants, refugees, temporary foreign workers, and international students. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed some of the strengths of Canada’s immigration system, as well as some of the fault lines that have been developing and have deepened over the last few years. In this briefing, we provide an overview of Canada’s immigration system prior to the pandemic, and the policies and programs in place to support immigrant selection, settlement, and integration. We then discuss the system’s vulnerabilities as revealed by the pandemic, and explore a post-COVID-19 immigration vision.
Authors of the Report
Victoria Esses, Co-Chair of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership; Professor of Psychology and Director of the Network for Economic and Social Trends, University of Western Ontario
Jean McRae, Co-Chair of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership; Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria and Treasurer of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance – Alliance canadienne du secteur de l’établissement des immigrants (CISSA-ACSEI)
Naomi Alboim, Distinguished Fellow, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University and Senior Policy Fellow, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, Ryerson University
Natalya Brown, Associate Professor in the School of Business and the Department of Political Science, Philosophy and Economics at Nipissing University; Vice Chair of the Pathways to Prosperity Standing Committee on Immigration to Northern, Rural and Remote Communities
Chris Friesen, Director, Settlement Services, ISSofBC and Chair, Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance – Alliance canadienne du secteur de l’établissement des immigrants (CISSA-ACSEI)
Leah Hamilton, Professor, Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University; Member of the Advisory Council of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership
Aurélie Lacassagne, Associate Professor in Political Science at Laurentian University; Member of the Governance Committee and Advisory Council of the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership
Audrey Macklin, Director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, Professor of Law and Rebecca Cook, Chair in Human Rights at University of Toronto
Margaret Walton-Roberts, Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs
Canadian Diversity Vol 17: COVID-19 – IMMIGRATION IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC: CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGE
This issue has been supported by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
In this issue, you can find MANSO Regional Coordinator, Don Boddy, and his article “TRACKING NEWCOMER STORIES IN THE DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC IN MANITOBA” on page 69-71. Below is a short excerpt from the article that Don wrote:
In my role as Regional Coordinator with MANSO (Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations), I supportorganizations that provide settlement services to newcomers in Manitoba. These organizations assist with settlement services (housing, community connections, important documents, employment, etc.), provide official language training, support refugees in their resettlement, and guide their cities, towns and villages towards being welcoming and inclusive. Because I do not work directly with clients, I watch from a distance and I have the sacred honour of being a listener and collector of stories.
Don Boddy, MANSO Regional Coordinator
The issue is free and available to download online now, in ENGLISH and en FRANCAIS.
IRCC to launch expression of interest process for service delivery improvements projects
October 7, 2020—Ottawa—As part of its commitment to deliver high quality settlement services to newcomers, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is launching an expression of interest process for service delivery improvements (SDI) funding on October 15, 2020.
Since 2017, SDI projects have centred on developing innovative approaches to better support the settlement and integration of newcomers.
Le 7 octobre 2020 – Ottawa – Dans le cadre de son engagement à offrir des services d’établissement de haute qualité aux nouveaux arrivants, Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada (IRCC) lancera un processus de déclaration d’intérêt concernant le financement consacré à l’amélioration de la prestation de services (APS) le 15 octobre 2020.
Depuis 2017, les projets d’APS se sont concentrés sur l’élaboration d’approches novatrices pour mieux soutenir l’établissement et l’intégration des nouveaux arrivants.dans la société canadienne.
Celebrate #InternationalDayofFriendship with MANSO Friends membership!
The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. It is observed on July 30 each year.
So on this day, we want to acknowledge our beloved MANSO Friends, those are organizations that support our mission and vision of fostering a welcomes, supports and engages newcomers Manitoba. Thank you for being part of our network of the settlement and integration sector in Manitoba, and for your continuous support of our work.
La Journée internationale de l’amitié a été proclamée en 2011 par l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies avec l’idée que l’amitié entre les peuples, les pays, les cultures et les individus peut inspirer les efforts de paix et jeter des ponts entre les communautés. Il est observé le 30 juillet de chaque année.
Donc, en ce jour, nous voulons rendre hommage à nos amis MANSO bien-aimés, ce sont des organisations qui soutiennent notre mission et notre vision de favoriser un accueil, un soutien et l’engagement des nouveaux arrivants au Manitoba. Merci de faire partie de notre réseau du secteur de l’établissement et de l’intégration au Manitoba et de votre soutien continu à notre travail.
List of current Friends of MANSO 2020-2021 (as of August 2020)
- CareerPathfinders (prev. Alicia Rae Career Centre)
- TESL Manitoba
- Food Matters Manitoba
- Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership (PVLIP)
- BoLu Intermediary Services (The Aurora Project)
- Norwest Co-op Community Health
- Brandon Local Immigration Partnership
- Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM)
- Immigration Partnership Winnipeg (IPW)
- Conflict & Resilience Research Institute Canada (CRRIC)
If you are interested in applying for either Full or Friends membership, please contact us for a membership application.
Federal Court of Canada confirming that sending refugee claimants back to the U.S. violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
On July 22, 2020, the Federal Court of Canada has made a decision confirming that sending refugee claimants back to the US under the Safe Third Country Agreement violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The case was brought forward by the Canadian Council for Refugees, Amnesty International, the Canadian Council of Churches and a number of individual litigants who argued that by returning ineligible refugee claimants to the U.S., Canada exposes them to risks — including detention and eventual deportation to countries where they could face harm.
Read more:
Le 22 juillet 2020, la Cour fédérale du Canada a rendu une décision confirmant que le renvoi de demandeurs d’asile aux États-Unis en vertu de l’Entente entre le Canada et les États‑Unis sur les tiers pays sûrs viole la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés.
L’affaire a été présentée par le Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés, Amnistie internationale, le Conseil canadien des églises et un certain nombre de justiciables individuels qui ont fait valoir qu’en renvoyant des demandeurs d’asile inadmissibles aux États-Unis, le Canada les expose à des risques – y compris la détention et l’expulsion éventuelle vers pays où ils pourraient subir des dommages.
Lire la suite:
MANSO Statement on Anti-Black Racism
“Being silent is not helping. We need your voice.”
“This needs to stop, now. Racial inequality impacts us all. We continue to recognize the need to have safe cities, spaces, and systems for members of the community of people of African descent in Canada, in the USA, and around the world. We have provided the education, resources, and knowledge – it is out there – it is now time for those outside the community to take action against the violence we are seeing and to choose change.”
This message was shared by organizers at a digital press conference on Thursday afternoon hosted by African Communities of Manitoba Inc. (ACOMI) in partnership with Black History Month Celebration Committee (BHMCC), Black Space Winnipeg, Congress of Black Women of Manitoba (COBW), and the Caribbean Council Organization of Manitoba (CCOM) to respond to violence against black people. We encourage our members and partners to read the full press release or view a recording of the full press conference if they were unable to attend.
The organizers called on members of their communities to step up into leadership positions in black community organizations and help them build safe and responsive community spaces. They called on allies to reach out and let these communities know they are there to help and support. They also encouraged everyone to attend or promote the June 5th rally taking place at 6pm at the Manitoba Legislative Building, which is being organized by #JUSTICE4BLACKLIVESWINNIPEG.
MANSO recognizes that black clients, leaders, staff and volunteers of newcomer serving organizations have been impacted by the recent police violence in Minneapolis and the state response to protests. We know that black people and other racialized people frequently experience both overt and subtle racism. We understand that these recent events are part of a long history of systemic racism that impacts black communities across North America, including in Manitoba.
As ACOMI, who is a MANSO member, and their partners highlighted in the press conference, it is not only immigrants and newcomers who need increased access to resources, there are black communities with longer histories in Manitoba still relying on unpaid community members to support them to overcome barriers caused by systemic racism. MANSO seeks to follow the lead of these communities to help tear down barriers, provide justice and opportunity, and build equity for all Manitobans.
MANSO’s staff commits to continue to educate ourselves on how to be an effective ally to communities impacted by racism and intersecting issues of oppression. We are not anti-racism experts, but we are learning from our members and partners. As the COVID-19 crisis has shown, we do have a strong platform to share resources, facilitate conversations and use our voice with all three levels of government to highlight the barriers so many people in our communities are facing. We want to use this platform to combat racism.
As our members and partners, please let us know how you are responding and how you think MANSO can best use our networks to combat racism. We will also look at how our own structures and practices as an umbrella can be improved to ensure an anti-oppression approach and support members in their work towards this goal. We know this is an ongoing conversation and we commit to engage even when media and public attention shifts.
Que des vies de personnes noires soient ôtées de la sorte au vu et au su de tout le monde, sans en craindre les répercussions, en dit long sur la société et nous rappelle que nous sommes toujours à l’ère où une personne est jugée par le degré de pigmentation de sa peau! – Salwa Meddri – MANSO Board Member
With the violence of many brothers and sisters and more recently we witnessed the death of an innocent man pleading for mercy that he couldn’t breathe ….. time and time again black folks have been told that they were insignificant.
Society has demonized Black people and created these implicit biases which are some of the reasons our brothers and sisters are losing their lives
It’s encouraging to see the world outpouring support for Black Lives and this is a positive step forward. As a community we would like to see less violence against innocent people just because they have different skin color or are less privileged….Each of us have the moral & civil obligation in taking a stand to end the undermining role that racism, oppression and injustice plays in our society. – Nina Condo – MANSO Board Member
Resources
A list of mental health resources for black communities was shared during the press conference. We encourage you to share these in addition to the resources we have within the sector.
- Mental Health Promotion for Black Canadians in Manitoba Project https://www.blackmentalhealthpromotion.ca/resources-black-mental-health/
- Project Heal: https://www.blackspacewpg.ca/project-heal
- BIPOC Mental Health Workers List https://cnwpg.org/bipoc-mental-health-workers-resource-list/
Many of our members and friends have compiled resource lists for learning about anti-racism, which we encourage you to explore. The first three have been compiled in response to recent events. We welcome suggestions of additional resources or resource lists.
- West Central Women’s Resource Centre – Anti-Racism Resources for Manitobans
- Elmwood Community Resource Centre – Anti-Black Racism Resources
- Social Planning Council of Winnipeg – Anti-Racism Resources
- Immigration Partnership Winnipeg – see anti-racism tools (note that these tools were developed in response to incidents of racism linked COVID-19)
- Other Anti-Racism Resources on MANSO’s website https://mansomanitoba.ca/resource-tags/anti-racism/
Anti-Racism campaign “Manitobans: COVID-19 Doesn’t Discriminate. Nor Should You!”
The three key objectives of the campaign:
- Bring awareness of the racism, discrimination and xenophobia experienced by Asian community members, other racialized groups and newcomers due to COVID-19, while condemning the association of COVID-19 with any ethnic or racial group;
- Provide information and tools for these community groups and the general public to stay safe and respond to acts of racism, discrimination and xenophobia; and
- Highlight the key role many of these community members play in Manitoba’s response to COVID-19 as essential workers.
The campaign actions include:
- Poster Campaign: We are encouraging Manitoba businesses and organizations to support our campaign by putting up our campaign posters (available in English or French). If you would like a poster, please fill out this form, and we will deliver the posters (for free) to you!
- Resource Development: We are developing informational resources for responding to racism and discrimination for both those who experience it and those who witness it.
- Information Sharing: We are sharing related information through our social media accounts
- Social Media Challenge: our #EssentialinMB social media campaign highlights newcomers/immigrants/refugees who are front-line workers and essential to Manitoba’s response to COVID-19.
Facebook | Instagram| WEBSITE
Canadian Council for Refugees: COVID-19 Statement/ Déclaration COVID-19
On March 23, 2020, the Canadian Council for Refugees released a massage that urges everyone to remain open to people in precarious situations in Canada and around the world. These moments define our humanity: we must remain open to refugees and vulnerable migrants.
Le 23 mars 2020 – Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés. Ces moments déterminent notre humanité. Ne repoussons pas les réfugiés et les migrants vulnérables
Canada provides update on exemptions to travel restrictions to protect Canadians and support the economy
On March 20, 2020, The Government of Canada has provided an update on travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Exemptions to the air travel restrictions will apply to foreign nationals who have already committed to working, studying or making Canada their home, and travel by these individuals will be considered essential travel for land border restrictions.
These exemptions follow others announced earlier this week, for
- foreign nationals travelling at the invitation of the Canadian government for a purpose related to the containment of COVID-19
- close family members of Canadian citizens
- close family members of Canadian permanent residents
- a person who is authorized, in writing, by a consular officer of the Government of Canada to enter Canada for the purpose of reuniting immediate family members
- a person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act
- accredited diplomats and family members (including NATO, those under the United Nations Headquarters Agreement, other organizations)
- air crews
- any foreign national, or group of foreign nationals, whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Minister of Public Safety
- members of the Canadian military, visiting forces and their family members
- transiting passengers
Le 20 mars 2020 – Aujourd’hui, le gouvernement du Canada fait le point sur les restrictions de voyage en place afin d’arrêter la propagation du COVID-19.
Des exemptions aux restrictions de voyage aérien s’appliqueront aux étrangers qui se sont déjà engagés à travailler, à étudier ou à s’établir au Canada, et les déplacements de ces personnes seront considérés comme des voyages essentiels dans le contexte des restrictions aux frontières terrestres.
- Ces exemptions s’ajoutent à d’autres qui ont été annoncées plus tôt cette semaine pour :
- les étrangers voyageant à l’invitation du gouvernement canadien dans un but lié au confinement du COVID-19;
- les membres de la famille proche de citoyens canadiens;
- les membres de la famille proche des résidents permanents du Canada;
- une personne autorisée, par écrit, par un fonctionnaire consulaire du gouvernement du Canada à entrer au Canada afin de réunir des membres de sa famille immédiate;
- une personne inscrite comme Indien en vertu de la Loi sur les Indiens;
- les diplomates accrédités et les membres de leur famille (y compris l’OTAN, les membres de l’Accord relatif au Siège des Nations Unies et d’autres organisations);
- les équipages aériens;
- tout étranger, ou groupe d’étrangers, dont l’entrée serait dans l’intérêt national, tel que déterminé par le ministre des Affaires étrangères, le ministre de l’Immigration, des Réfugiés et de la Citoyenneté, et le ministre de la Sécurité publique;
- les membres des Forces canadiennes ou d’une force étrangère présente au Canada et les membres de leur famille;
- les passagers en transit.
