Immigration and Settlement

That the CCR join the National Housing and Homelessness Network and the Urban Core Support Network to persuade federal, provincial and territorial governments to support the one percent solution which will create quality and affordable housing for all Canadians and that specific amounts of all new funding be identified for housing for newcomers.

That the CCR call on the Government of Canada to:

1. Tell the people of Canada about the potential impacts that demographics can have, as detailed in, and as recommended by the 1998 report of the Auditor General;
2. Devise a long-term strategy for increasing immigration as a response to the demographic challenges described by the Auditor General.

That the CCR:

1. Call on the government of Canada to advocate for a Durban plus 5 Conference and monitor the progress that has been made since WCAR;
2. Bring forward refugee and immigrant concerns to any shadow report prepared on Canada for the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on the progress since WCAR;
3. Continue to promote the involvement of youth and aboriginal people in CCR anti-racism work;
4. Continue membership in the National Anti-Racism Coalition (NARC), including serving on the steering committee.

That the CCR urge Citizenship and Immigration Canada to undertake a review of the ISAP program, in consultation with service providers, other experts and stakeholders, with the intention of:

(a) examining what services are needed to help immigrants and refugees settle successfully.

(b) defining outcomes and standards for those services.

(c) reviewing reasonable case loads to assure an appropriate level of service.

(d) significantly raising the level of funding to settlement services in Canada.

That the CCR:

1. Request clarification from CIC regarding:
   a) What staff CIC believes need a security check and why.
   b) What credit checks are envisaged, whether they include volunteer board members who have bank signing authorities, and why.
   c) Why there is a rush on checks on staff using a computer system which we had been assured was secure and through which agencies would only have access to data regarding their own clients;
2. Urge the Prime Minister to address this issue as an example of systemic racism and the targeting of immigrants by the federal government;
3. Examine the Human Rights implications of this matter with the Human Rights Commission;
4. Explore the possibility of a charter challenge on this issue;
5. Bring the issue to the attention of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

That the CCR bring forward to CIC National Headquarters, in advance of the re-negotiation of the BC-federal agreement on settlement services, the concerns of members over the compromising of service delivery in BC.

That the CCR work with the Charities Branch to effect policy changes regarding the interpretation of the Charities Act as it affects the status of ethnospecific and women ’s organizations, so that these organizations are recognized to be part of general Canadian society; and that advocacy is recognized as an essential tool for democratic participation in civic societies and that the work of these groups is recognized to be beneficial to Canadian society.

That the CCR call on its members to sensitize themselves to trafficking issues and consider adapting their services or their mandates, as appropriate, to respond to the needs of those who have been trafficked.

That the CCR call on the federal government to:

1. Facilitate the establishment of an inter-departmental working group to develop an anti-racist analytical framework in consultation with NGOs representing equity-seeking groups/communities;
2. Establish a process for implementation, monitoring and reporting back to civil society on an annual basis.

That the CCR:

1. Continuously raise the level of awareness of the needs of immigrant and refugee youth through CCR networks and consultations;
2. Advocate for the rights of immigrant and refugee youth in Canada.