Immigrant and Refugee Integration

1
Immigrant and Refugee Integration The Canadian
Way Concepts and Context San Jose, Costa
Rica June 23, 2005

2
OVERVIEW

• Katharine Cornfield
• Director, Integration Promotion
• Integration Branch, CIC

3
MANAGED MIGRATION TO CANADA

• Government establishes annual plan for
  immigration and reports to Parliament
• Goal is to select and admit approximately 225,000
  permanent residents each year
• Balance of economic immigrants, family members
  and refugees is intended to facilitate successful
  integration
• Canada also admits thousands of temporary
  residents each year

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TYPES OF MIGRATION

• Temporary Residents
• Students
• Temporary Workers
• Permanent Residents
• Economic
• Non-Economic (Family Class)
• Refugees
• Resettled
• Asylum
• Without Status

5
THE IMMIGRATION ACT

• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
  affirms fundamental principles of
  non-discrimination and universality
• The Act articulates three basic goals for
  selecting immigrants for permanent residence
  based on our economic, social, and humanitarian
  values
• The Act also defines visitor status for students
  and temporary workers.

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IMMIGRATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

• Constitutionally, immigration is a shared
  jurisdictional responsibility
• federal government responsible for entry,
  asylum, processing and removal
• activities
• some provincial involvement in immigrant and
  overseas refugee selection
• and in settlement and integration services
• Constitutionally, health, education and social
  services are provincial responsibilities with
  federal transfer payments.
• Permanent residents, including refugees, have
  full access to social services, health services
  and education.
• Federal government provides some specialized
  services to permanent residents and refugees.

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A SNAPSHOT OF DIVERSITY IN CANADA

• 40 years ago, the top 10 immigrant source
  countries were European
• In 2003, the top five source countries for
  immigrants were Asian
• The characteristics of Canadas population are
  changing

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CLUSTERED IN THREE CITIES

• Canadas immigrant and refugee population largely
  urban
• 73 of the immigrants settle in - Vancouver,
  Toronto and Montreal
• Resettled refugees also destined to medium-sized
  and large communities
• Key tool to social cohesion effective immigrant
  integration

9
SOCIAL COHESION - THE CANADIAN CONTEXT

• Canadas history is built upon three key elements
  of diversity
• Census 2001 5.4 million individuals born
  outside of the country 18 of our population
• Four million individuals identified as visible
  minorities 13 of our total population of 29.6
  million
• Diversity presents the country with opportunities

10
CANADAS SHARED CITIZENSHIP MODEL

• Canadians have developed a unique model of
  shared citizenship
• Key success factors shared core values, shared
  rights and responsibilities
• Common goal of building an inclusive society

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ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

• Multiculturalism fosters cultural participation,
  active citizenship and participation in Canadas
  civic life, and strengthens connections among
  Canadians
• In 10 years 100 of our net labour force
  growth will come from immigrants
• In 20 years 100 of our net population growth
  will come from immigration

12
CANADAS LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• Canadas comprehensive legal framework provides
  essential constructs to support social cohesion
• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  supported by
• the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960)
• the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
  (1962/2002)
• the Official Languages Act (1969/85)
• the Canadian Human Rights Act (1977/85)
• the Citizenship Act (1985)
• the Employment Equity Act (1986/95)
• the Multiculturalism Act (1988)

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PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF MIGRATION

• Public support is essential to sustain Canadas
  immigration and integration programs.
• Canada measures public attitudes at regular
  intervals through opinion polling and research.
• To maintain public support, Canada actively
  promotes basic understanding of the economic and
  social benefits of immigration, supports
  successful integration of newcomers and combats
  racism and discrimination through public
  education and outreach.

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CANADAS INTEGRATION MODEL

• Katharine Cornfield,
• Director, Integration Promotion
• Integration Branch, CIC

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WHAT IS INTEGRATION?

• The Federal Immigrant Integration Strategy (1992)
  defines integration as
• The ability to contribute, free of barriers, to
  every dimension of Canadian life economic,
  social, cultural and political.
• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002)
  states as an objective
• 3. (1) e to promote the successful integration of
  permanent residents into Canada, while
  recognizing that integration involves mutual
  obligations for new immigrants and Canadian
  society

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INTEGRATION THE CANADIAN MODEL

• Facilitate newcomers to settle, adapt and
  integrate into Canadian society
• Two-way process requires active participation of
  both newcomers and society
• Ultimate objective- acquisition of citizenship

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POLICY UNDERPINNINGS

• 2-way process rights and responsibilities
• Acknowledgment of shared values
• Language proficiency
• Financial self-sufficiency
• Socio-economic participation

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PARTNERSHIP
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CANADIAN INTEGRATION MODEL
1- Canadian Orientation Abroad
Services Abroad
A

• 2- Reception in Canada
• Welcome to Canada at Ports of Entry
• Refugee Reception at Ports of Entry

Services In Canada
B

• 3- Settlement
• Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP)
• Private Sponsorship
• Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program
  (ISAP), including ELT
• Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada
  (LINC)
• Host Program
• Partnerships with other government departments,
  other governments, international/national
  and local organizations
• 4- Citizenship
• Citizenship Preparation
• Grant of Canadian Citizenship
• Full Participation in Canadian Society

Integration Programs Partnership
Delivery Community Capacity Building
C
Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
Certificat de Citoyenneté Canadienne
John Doe
Citizenship Services D
Is a Canadian citizen under the provisions of the
Citizenship Act and, as such, is entitled to all
the rights and privileges and is subject to all
the duties and responsibilities of a Canadian
citizen
est citoyen canadien aux termes de la Loi sur la
citoyenneté et, à ce titre, jouit de tous les
droits et privilèges et est assujetti(e) à
tous les devoirs et responsabilités d'un citoyen
canadien.
MINISTER - MINISTRE