Before 1980, immigrants got about zero in govt support, now they get about $3000 per head per year, or about $800 million dollars for settlement and language costs, and that's not enough. They need more. I say no more, in fact, much much less.
The following quote from the article means people from Asia and Africa who don't speak English well enough to get jobs and or may be uneducated family members.
"Federal and provincial settlement programs have not caught up with changing immigrant
settlement patterns, including a growing shift to suburban communities," the report says.
The study states that currently the federal govt has three year settlement plans, the study suggests this be increased to ten years. Before 1980 when immigration was part of Manpower and Immigration the fed govr had no settlement programs for immigrants, they found work upon landing and paid taxes rather than consumed them. Call me old fashioned if you like.
That said, the fed govt ought to be more involved in social housing as the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.
Immigrants need more affordable housing, transit: study - CTV News
Immigrants need more affordable housing, transit: study
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A TTC subway train pulls into a station in Toronto on July 21, 2011.
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The Canadian Press
Date: Wednesday Sep. 14, 2011 10:34 AM ET
OTTAWA — The federal emphasis on integrating immigrants through language training and recognition of foreign credentials is far too narrow, says a new paper.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is proposing a new strategy for integration that would broaden the focus to include affordable housing and public transit.
"Federal and provincial settlement programs have not caught up with changing immigrant settlement patterns, including a growing shift to suburban communities," the report says.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is in the midst of public consultations on how to best reshape the intake of immigrants, so that the country attracts the kind of people it needs to sustain its workforce.
The federation hopes to play into that process with its paper, released Wednesday after months of research.
But the paper also comes as Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, the country's largest city, eyes cuts to some of the key services newcomers rely on -- social housing, libraries, transit and childcare.
The thrust of the report and the political turmoil engulfing Toronto are no coincidence, says Michael Shapcott, a social policy researcher at the Wellesley Institute in Toronto.
Cities find their finances strained by years of downloading from other levels of government, he said. And at the same time, mounting poverty among a growing population of immigrants increases the pressure.
The federation's policy proposals are "an enlightened response" to the pressure, while the turmoil in Toronto "is a much more sharpened response," Shapcott said.
Newcomers take longer and longer to catch up to the standard of living of the rest of the population at a time when the country's labour force needs fresh blood, the paper points out.
A traditional, short-term policy focus is no longer sufficient, the researchers argue.
Federal settlement plans usually assume a three-year time frame, but in reality, newcomers need five to 10 years of help before they find their feet, the report says.
Plus, settlement services are often concentrated in urban cores, far from their targeted population and they don't focus enough on the immediate needs of the newcomer population, the paper argues.
It points out that newcomers are far more likely than long-time Canadians to be "core housing need" -- spending more than 30 per cent of their income on shelter.
That's because almost two-thirds of newcomers are renters and they often say it's difficult to find and qualify for affordable housing.
The paper points to research by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., showing that 44 per cent of recent immigrant renters are considered to be in core housing need. For non-immigrant renters, less than a quarter are in that danger zone.
"Without stable housing, immigrants and their families experience even greater difficulties finding jobs, enrolling children in school, participating in language training and becoming part of community life," the paper explains.
Affordability for newcomers is especially severe in York Region, north of Toronto, and in Ottawa, the report says.
But at the same time, the federal commitment to supporting affordable housing has been spotty.
The federal stimulus program helped build new social housing, and federal and provincial governments recently signed a three-year pact for more spending. But Ottawa is also allowing other operating agreements to expire -- a move that will mean $1 billion less per year in federal funding by 2020, the report.
As for transit, newcomers are about twice as likely as long-time Canadians to take the bus. But bus routes don't necessarily follow the flow of the immigrant population, with so many jobs and newcomers moving to the suburbs, the report says.
"Federal and provincial governments must provide long-term, reliable funding so that transit systems have the financial certainty they need to meet the needs of all Canadians, now and in the future," the report urges.
The federation argues that municipal governments are on the front lines of a crumbling system to integrate immigrants, helping out with housing, recreation, library services, child care and public transit.
And yet they are not included in policy deliberations and direct funding agreements, nor do they have the money to pay for these services in a way that keeps up with demand, they point out.
The following quote from the article means people from Asia and Africa who don't speak English well enough to get jobs and or may be uneducated family members.
"Federal and provincial settlement programs have not caught up with changing immigrant
settlement patterns, including a growing shift to suburban communities," the report says.
The study states that currently the federal govt has three year settlement plans, the study suggests this be increased to ten years. Before 1980 when immigration was part of Manpower and Immigration the fed govr had no settlement programs for immigrants, they found work upon landing and paid taxes rather than consumed them. Call me old fashioned if you like.
That said, the fed govt ought to be more involved in social housing as the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.
Immigrants need more affordable housing, transit: study - CTV News
Immigrants need more affordable housing, transit: study
.slideImage{filter
rogidXImageTransform.Microsoft.Fade()}
A TTC subway train pulls into a station in Toronto on July 21, 2011.
.fb_share_count_top{font-size: 15px!important; font-weight:bold} .fb_share_count {font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif!important} .storyUserTop {border-top: 1px solid #cecdcb; border-bottom: 1px solid #cecdcb; border-left: none; border-right: none; background-color: #edecea; height:60px} .storyUserTop a:hover {text-decoration:underline!important} .storyUserTop a {color: #006699!important; font-size: 11px} .fbtw {margin-left: 195px; position:absolute}
The Canadian Press
Date: Wednesday Sep. 14, 2011 10:34 AM ET
OTTAWA — The federal emphasis on integrating immigrants through language training and recognition of foreign credentials is far too narrow, says a new paper.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is proposing a new strategy for integration that would broaden the focus to include affordable housing and public transit.
"Federal and provincial settlement programs have not caught up with changing immigrant settlement patterns, including a growing shift to suburban communities," the report says.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is in the midst of public consultations on how to best reshape the intake of immigrants, so that the country attracts the kind of people it needs to sustain its workforce.
The federation hopes to play into that process with its paper, released Wednesday after months of research.
But the paper also comes as Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, the country's largest city, eyes cuts to some of the key services newcomers rely on -- social housing, libraries, transit and childcare.
The thrust of the report and the political turmoil engulfing Toronto are no coincidence, says Michael Shapcott, a social policy researcher at the Wellesley Institute in Toronto.
Cities find their finances strained by years of downloading from other levels of government, he said. And at the same time, mounting poverty among a growing population of immigrants increases the pressure.
The federation's policy proposals are "an enlightened response" to the pressure, while the turmoil in Toronto "is a much more sharpened response," Shapcott said.
Newcomers take longer and longer to catch up to the standard of living of the rest of the population at a time when the country's labour force needs fresh blood, the paper points out.
A traditional, short-term policy focus is no longer sufficient, the researchers argue.
Federal settlement plans usually assume a three-year time frame, but in reality, newcomers need five to 10 years of help before they find their feet, the report says.
Plus, settlement services are often concentrated in urban cores, far from their targeted population and they don't focus enough on the immediate needs of the newcomer population, the paper argues.
It points out that newcomers are far more likely than long-time Canadians to be "core housing need" -- spending more than 30 per cent of their income on shelter.
That's because almost two-thirds of newcomers are renters and they often say it's difficult to find and qualify for affordable housing.
The paper points to research by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., showing that 44 per cent of recent immigrant renters are considered to be in core housing need. For non-immigrant renters, less than a quarter are in that danger zone.
"Without stable housing, immigrants and their families experience even greater difficulties finding jobs, enrolling children in school, participating in language training and becoming part of community life," the paper explains.
Affordability for newcomers is especially severe in York Region, north of Toronto, and in Ottawa, the report says.
But at the same time, the federal commitment to supporting affordable housing has been spotty.
The federal stimulus program helped build new social housing, and federal and provincial governments recently signed a three-year pact for more spending. But Ottawa is also allowing other operating agreements to expire -- a move that will mean $1 billion less per year in federal funding by 2020, the report.
As for transit, newcomers are about twice as likely as long-time Canadians to take the bus. But bus routes don't necessarily follow the flow of the immigrant population, with so many jobs and newcomers moving to the suburbs, the report says.
"Federal and provincial governments must provide long-term, reliable funding so that transit systems have the financial certainty they need to meet the needs of all Canadians, now and in the future," the report urges.
The federation argues that municipal governments are on the front lines of a crumbling system to integrate immigrants, helping out with housing, recreation, library services, child care and public transit.
And yet they are not included in policy deliberations and direct funding agreements, nor do they have the money to pay for these services in a way that keeps up with demand, they point out.
