OCASI Deputation to Province of Ontario: Budget 2004-2005
July 14, 2005
Introduction
The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) was formed in 1978 to act as a non-profit, collective voice for immigrant serving agencies in Ontario, and to coordinate response to shared needs and concerns. Our membership comprises more than 160 organizations that provide services to immigrants and refugees across Ontario.
OCASI asserts the right of all persons to participate fully and equitably in the social, cultural, political and economic life of Ontario. We affirm that immigrants and refugees to Canada should be guaranteed equitable access to all services and programs.
Background
The current structural deficit in Ontario promises to make the 2004-2005 Provincial Budget process a challenge. OCASI is mindful of the fact that the task ahead is difficult. At the same time, the Council strongly believes that the deficit should not be borne on the backs of marginalized communities in Ontario.
Ontario continues to receive the majority of all immigrants and refugees that come to Canada, and is home to a broad diversity of racialized and other immigrant communities. 27% of Ontario’s population is foreign-born according to the 2001 Census.
Ontario’s diversity is a source of the success and prosperity of this province, and in which immigrants and refugees do not have an equitable share. The high levels of poverty among racialized and recent immigrant communities has been established by numerous studies such as Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats (Ekuwa Smith and Andrew Jackson, 2002, Canadian Council on Social Development), Canada’s Creeping Economic Apartheid (Grace Edward Galabuzi, 2001, Centre for Social Justice), A decade of decline: Poverty and income inequality in the City of Toronto in the 1990s (2002, United Way of Greater Toronto), and Ethno-Racial Inequality in the City of Toronto (Michael Ornstein, 2000, City of Toronto)
Ontario’s recent immigrant and racialized communities have tended to settle in large urban centres such as Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa and other cities. 44% of Toronto’s population is foreign-born and arrived in Canada since 1991. In Hamilton, this population is 1/3 of the total population of the municipality, while in Kitchener it is 1/5, and 22% in Windsor.
Ontario’s minimum wage has been frozen for more than ten years, while cost of living has continued to rise. Large urban centres, which are home to recent immigrants and racialized communities, have seen the greatest increase in housing and associated costs. At the same time, members of these communities have not seen a parallel increase in income. They continue to experience high levels of unemployment, underemployment and growing poverty.
Issues
Immigration Settlement:
As noted above, Ontario receives a majority of the immigrants and refugees to Canada, resulting in a strong demand for services to assist them in settling and becoming a part of Canadian society. Adequate employment and labour market integration are fundamental components of settlement that have become increasingly difficult to achieve for most recent immigrants.
The situation of foreign-trained professionals who are represented in increasingly larger numbers in this population is made worse by barriers to accreditation and employment in one’s own field. The repeal of the Employment Equity Act by the previous provincial government has exacerbated the challenges that recent immigrants and racialized communities face in gaining entry to the labour market, and in securing adequate employment. Increasingly, recent immigrants are shuffled into contingent work that has little stability and provides low compensation for labour.
Settlement services are an integral part of the human services sector in Canada. Under the stewardship of the previous Ontario government, the settlement service sector sustained a serious loss of investment, contributing to a negative impact on services that are integral for successful settlement. Government funding patterns at all levels have shifted considerably over the last decade, as documented in Funding Matters: The Impact of Canada's New Funding Regime on Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (Katherine Scott, 2003, Canadian Council on Social Development). This lack of investment in society’s third pillar, the non-profit and voluntary sector, has impacted severely on the ability of community organizations to function efficiently to deliver much-needed human services.
Sustaining meaningful settlement services in Ontario requires investment in the human services sector. An agreement between the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada to deliver settlement services must give careful consideration to the recommendations made by the federal Parliamentary Standing Committee on Settlement and Integration, on the need for core funding to sustain the sector (Settlement and Integration: A Sense of Belonging--"Feeling at Home, 2003).
Recommendations:
- Provide core funding for settlement and other human services and include this in the anticipated Federal-Provincial settlement agreement. Ensure that Ontario obtains a fair share of settlement funds and invest these in settlement services.
- Reverse the repeal of the Employment Equity Act
- Invest in services that facilitate labour market entry for recent immigrants
- Dismantle barriers to accreditation and employment for foreign-trained trades-people and professionals
- Increase the minimum wage to match increases in the cost of living
Education
A strong education system is generally held to be a cornerstone of society and Ontario schools play a unique role in introducing children, as well as their families, to Canadian society. Urban School Boards, in particular, play a key role in the settlement process of recent immigrant families, by assisting in acculturation and adaptation to a new environment. This reality has received formal recognition over the last three years with the introduction of the Settlement Worker in Schools program in Ontario, funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Local schools address the unique needs of recent immigrant children and their families, through ESL and FSL classes, interpretation and translation, when necessary (particularly in schools in the Greater Toronto Area), additional classroom assistance and heritage language programs. Many such services that are essential to supporting full participation of these families in the education system have been gradually withdrawn due to a general lack of funds. The Rozanski report has identified some of these needs as priority spending areas.
Cutbacks in funding have also impacted tremendously on the ability of school boards to sustain Adult ESL programs. The ability to function in one of the two official languages is a key component of the settlement process, and essential to effective participation in the labour market. However, with the gradual withdrawal of support for Adult ESL, a large number of adults who do not qualify for federally funded language programs have been left with no recourse. Lack of access to an official language will also restrict participation in retraining programs for qualified individuals.
Recommendations:
- Implement the Rozanski report recommendations
- Restore support for programs that enable recent immigrants to participate effectively in the education system
- Restore support for Adult ESL programs
Municipalities
As mentioned previously in this submission, recent immigrants have tended to settle in large urban centres. Ontario municipalities such as Toronto, Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, Richmond Hill, Hamilton and Windsor among others have the highest proportion of foreign-born recent immigrant populations in the province. At 44%, Toronto has the highest population of foreign-born residents who arrived in Canada after 1991.
The loss of investment in municipalities over the last few years has had a significant impact on the quality of life for all residents, and particularly on the ability of recent immigrants to adapt and settle in Canadian society.
For example, the recent census shows that women and young people have the greatest reliance on public transit. As a demographic, these two groups also tend to have lower incomes. The steady erosion of financial support for public transit, resulting in higher fares and poor service has impacted inordinately on the most vulnerable populations in urban centres. Limited or lack of access to public transit has seriously affected recent immigrants’ ability to travel for work and for study.
In general, the lack of financial support for municipalities has negatively impacted the range of human services that are provided through cities. Recent immigrant and racialized communities that depend on city services such as community centres, libraries and recreation among others, are increasingly frustrated in their settlement efforts in Ontario.
Recommendations:
- Invest in public transit infrastructure, and restore support for service
- Restore investment in municipalities
Social Services and Housing:
Cuts in social assistance rates have remained in place for more than 8 years, while the cost of living has continued to rise in Ontario. With the elimination of rent control, the cost of housing has seen a steady rise especially in large urban areas, while the availability of low cost housing has continued to shrink.
These elements have contributed to impossible survival conditions for low-income recent immigrants. This includes individuals that are employed full-time, but at minimum wage employment that does not adequately cover the cost of basic necessities such as shelter, food and clothing.
Recommendations:
- Ensure that social assistance rates meet the allowance for housing and basic needs, which should be based on actual costs within a particular community or region, and make annual adjustments where necessary.
- Implement the recommendations from the Kimberly Rogers inquest
- Re-introduce rent control and invest in subsidized social housing
Conclusion
Funding cutbacks and changes in legislation and policy in Ontario have all had an inordinately severe impact on immigrants, refugees and racialized communities. While this submission highlights only a few key concerns, other areas such as healthcare and employment standards remain priorities.
OCASI urges the Ontario Government to be guided by principles of equity in preparing the 2004 budget, and to reverse the erosion of much-needed and essential services.
Summary of Recommendations:
- Provide core funding for settlement and other human services and include this in the anticipated Federal-Provincial settlement agreement. Ensure that Ontario obtains fair share of settlement funds and invest these in settlement services.
- Reverse the repeal of the Employment Equity Act
- Invest in services that facilitate labour market entry for recent immigrants
- Dismantle barriers to accreditation and employment for foreign-trained trades-people and professionals
- Increase the minimum wage to match increase in the cost of living
- Implement the Rozanski report recommendations
- Restore support for programs that enable recent immigrants to participate effectively in the education system
- Restore support for Adult ESL programs
- Invest in public transit infrastructure, and restore support for service
- Restore investment in municipalities
- Ensure that social assistance rates meet the allowance for housing and basic needs, which should be based on actual costs within a particular community or region, and make annual adjustments where necessary.
- Implement the recommendations from the Kimberly Rogers inquest
- Re-introduce rent control and invest in subsidized social housing