Immigration and Settlement

That the CCR call upon the Canadian government to ensure that foreign governments treat all Canadian citizens equally.

That the CCR:

1. Write to the minister of Human Resources Development Canada urging him to amend the Canada Student Loans Act to include Convention Refugees in their eligibility criteria;
2. Urge its members to raise this issue with their local Members of Parliament;
3. Encourage provincial governments to:

   a) advocate this change with the Federal government;

   b) make the same change in their provincial legislation.

That the CCR write to the Ontario Ministry of Education urging that eligibility for funding for language support:

1. be extended to at least five years;
2. be measured relative to the students' arrival in the Ontario school system to allow for adequate support for Canadian born children who start school without English skills and to allow for secondary migration from Quebec.

That the CCR call on the federal and provincial governments to ensure that there is a fair process whereby newcomers can gain recognition of the skills they acquired elsewhere and have:

1. access to training to meet Canadian standards;
2. a right of appeal from denial of such recognition or access.

That the CCR contact the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and request consultations with the CCR and representatives of new Canadian communities before proceeding further with the IMM 2000.

That the CCR:

1. Write to CIC National Headquarters asking that:

   a)The Federal Government cease active pursuit of negotiations on settlement renewal with the government of Ontario;

   b)CIC Ontario Region proceed as if settlement renewal will not go forward.

2. Suggest that CIC improve their management of ISAP, Host and LINC contracts by:
   • Reducing the micro management of contracts, by, among other things, moving from monthly to quarterly reporting and by being more flexible and, at a minimum, implementing the ISAP Handbook which states that "you may shift funds from one cost category to another without prior approval";
   • Respecting agencies' difficulties with cashflow and interest charges by systematically making reasonable advances of funds;
   • Paying salary and administrative costs, including benefits, at a just level of remuneration across the country;
   • Seeking substantive agency input into all of the above.

That the CCR urge its members to:

1. Actively encourage more civic participation by immigrants and refugees;
2. Explore the development of programming to facilitate this goal.

That the CCR adopt the above-mentioned position paper and communicate it to Citizenship & Immigration Canada with the request that it be considered and its implications discussed with members of the CCR.

Subject: Settlement in Canada of Refugees from Kosovo

Goal: To resettle in destinations across Canada those refugees from Kosovo now located in government "sustainment sites".

Principles: For refugees from Kosovo, as for all refugees needing resettlement in Canada, the CCR believes in a focus upon what is best for each, including:

1. Appropriate destining
2. Orientation to Canada
3. Orientation to community
4. Opportunities for refugees to make choices
5. Application of best settlement practices
6. Varied and creative approaches to successful settlement
7. Equity of services
8. Interdependence of the service-providing infrastructure

   While recognizing that the following principles can have general application to the resettlement of all refugees, with particular relevance to the refugees from Kosovo now arriving under "Operation Parasol", the CCR believes in:

9. The benefit of community involvement, and the opportunity to engender goodwill for these and other refugees
10. The need for appropriate training and support of volunteers
11. Access to the service-providing community's long experience
12. The mutually supportive roles of Sponsorship Agreement Holders and Service Providing Organizations
13. The commitment of both sponsoring and service providing organizations to "welcome the stranger", transcending and extending any contractual arrangements with government to provide sponsorship or services
14. The responsibility of the Federal government to provide adequate resources so that the commitment and obligation of the responding community can be fulfilled to the best standards developed over the past twenty years
15. The need for communication, partnership, consultation, and co-ordinated response among all levels of government, sponsoring organizations and service providing organizations in a spirit of goodwill and common objectives;

That the CCR demand that implementation of the Urgent Protection Pilot Project proceed without further delay.

That the CCR write to the Metropolis Secretariat and all Canadian national Metropolis centres urging Metropolis to:

1. Partner with the settlement sector in organizing a seminar highlighting research done by NGOs;
2. Provide mechanisms to facilitate the development of a network of NGOs, including community organizations serving immigrants and refugees, from the participating Metropolis countries;
3. Commit to helping community organizations serving immigrants and refugees participate by encouraging government and universities to provide funding for their meaningful participation, including national and international conferences;
4. Develop an effective process for the three partners, that is, government, academics and community organizations serving immigrants and refugees, to translate research results to policy change, and from policy change to policy implementation;
5. Enable newcomers themselves to be meaningful partners with government, academics and community organizations serving immigrants and refugees, and not just research subjects.