Funding axed for Toronto immigrant agencies

23 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2010-12-23 08:49

Maysie

Funding axed for Toronto immigrant agencies

Fucking hell fuck.

Quote:
At least 10 Greater Toronto immigrant service agencies have been told by Citizenship and Immigration Canada that their program funding will not be renewed next year, with up to 35 others across Ontario also facing "significant" cuts.

The settlement agencies, which offer language classes, help in finding jobs and other integration programs for thousands of newcomers each year, stand to lose tens of millions in funding. In all likelihood, most of them face closing next year, as the bulk of their funding comes from Ottawa

............

Ontario Immigration Minister Eric Hoskins held an emergency meeting with the management of seven of the 10 agencies Wednesday and has asked to meet with his federal counterpart to demand the decisions be reversed.

Hoskins noted the majority of the defunded organizations are ethnocultural agencies serving specific ethnic communities.

"Their specialties can't be replaced," Hoskins said. "They are upset at what they called the ‘blunt' and ‘brutal' manner the news was delivered to them, in a letter, two weeks before the holiday. None understands the justification and rationale behind it."

In total, $53 million is being cut from settlement programs across Canada, excluding Quebec. More than $43 million of that will come from Ontario, which will see its 2011 settlement funding down to $344 million.

Full story here. FUCK!

Thu, 2010-12-23 08:58

oldgoat

This is just fucking awful. My agency, and my team in particular works closely with a lot these organizations. They are great people who do vital work.

[QUOTE]

Immigration Canada spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said the department put out a call for proposals last spring and received more than 600 applications for funding.

“All the organizations had the opportunity to respond to the competition. These organizations were not being defunded. It’s just that their proposals were not being approved,” she said. [/QUOTE]

What a load of doublespeaking bureaucratic crap. And sneaking it in just before Christmas, hoping the story will be buried in the holidays. I don't think we've heard the last of this.

Thu, 2010-12-23 09:12

Maysie

Well, don't get me started on the structure of having to apply for the same fucking funding every fucking year for 20 or more years. Assholes.

By the way, the G8/G20 COST MORE!!!! Fucking hell fuck

I'm so angry.

As I hear more news about resistance and planning for overturning this bullshit, I'll post it.

Thu, 2010-12-23 11:33

Maysie

The Globe and Mail

Quote:
The federal government is cutting funding to immigrant settlement groups in Ontario by more than $40-million, a move several agencies say will lead to their demise.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada says the reductions - which total $53-million nationally - will more fairly redistribute money based on where newcomers choose to live.

But immigrant organizations and the Liberals say the government is forcing agencies that help the most vulnerable newcomers to close their doors or adapt to cuts of more than 50 per cent

.......

Tracie Leblanc, a Citizenship and Immigration spokeswoman, said Ontario received 63 per cent of settlement funding in 2010-11 but only 55 per cent of the country's total immigrants, excluding Quebec.

"They're making adjustments now to ensure other areas in Canada that are receiving more immigrants are getting the funding they need," she said.

Ms. Leblanc said the department asked groups that help immigrants for proposals to provide settlement services last spring. It received 700 applications, many more than they could fund, she said.

"The key feature to this whole process is ensuring taxpayers' money is properly and effectively spent," she said.

Fuckers.

Thu, 2010-12-23 12:15

1weasel

But, but Gloria Galloway assured us in yesterday's G&M that:

Marjory LeBreton, the Leader of the Government in the Senate, said it is important to emphasize how much effort Mr. Harper has made to diversify the Senate. He has appointed members of the Korean, aboriginal, Pakistani, Indian, and Jewish communities. Mr. Meredith, his recent appointee, was born in Jamaica.

“He is using the Senate to reach out to communities in order to have them represented in Parliament,” Ms. LeBreton said. “And he has tried to, as much as possible, appoint people who have actually held office or ran for office.”

These cuts must be part of Harper's way of reaching out to communities and we just don't appreciate the...

GAK!

Sorry, liver tried to throttle me while I wrote that. Continue on, Maysie.

Thu, 2010-12-23 12:21

remind

Wonder how much of this money is now going to go to the Pentecostal "movement"?

This is just all around nasty, but you know it is a huge divider amongst Canadians, whose implimentation will cause even greater diivisions.

Thu, 2010-12-23 12:44

Maysie

Thanks 1weasel.

As if ethnic diversity in the Senate has SHIT-FUCK-ALL to do with cuts to immigrant settlement organizations.

Damn it all fuckity.

P.S. The G20 cost over $1 billion. For three days. I might have to keep saying this. Or slam my head in a door. I'll get back to you all.

Thu, 2010-12-23 13:38

absentia

On the bright side - yeah, i know, but what if there is one? Do you suppose this might cost the bastard a lot of votes? Like, a lot? of votes? And maybe the NDP can make a lot of hay out of it ?

Thu, 2010-12-23 13:42

Maysie

Head-slamming-in-door it is.

Thu, 2010-12-23 14:25

#10

A political

Well Harper is counting on the immigrant vote in the GTA. This seems a strange way to sway them!

Thu, 2010-12-23 14:37

#11

Papal Bull

This is awful. It is another excuse for reactionaries across the nation to point to the major migrant centres and shout 'look, these people aren't 'getting it!' multi-culturalism and tolerance have failed!' It will be another toy for nativist weirdos to play with and point out how POC can't 'talk english good like us johnsons and smiths'. Sickening, gross. This is an abrogation of human dignity and strips the last bits of bureaucratic integrity that our vaunted ministries may have had.

Thu, 2010-12-23 20:35

#12

Doug

It sounds like a false economy to me.

Thu, 2010-12-23 20:49

#13

Boom Boom

Anyone see the Con MP Tim Uppal on P&P tonight trying to justify this mess? He made a huge mess worse, couldn't communicate anything coherent about this flap. Olivia Chow completely skewered the bastard.

Thu, 2010-12-23 21:21

#14

takeitslowly

on another kind of unrelated note, my mom couldnt really have time to learn english even right now, alot of immigrants work from hand to mouth existence, we get any jobs we can take.. and alot of those jobs do not help us to assimilate or integrate into the greater society.

Fri, 2010-12-24 08:37

#15

Maysie

takeitslowly, that's exactly the point. Not unrelated at all.

These kinds of services are vital to people's lives. The list in the article in the OP includes clients I've worked with, some of whom have weekend and evening programming (such as ESL but including so much more) and they do things like match newcomers with "older" immigrants who've been here longer and know the ways in and around the MANY systems. All for relatively little funds, compared to the benefit to the individuals and the larger society. And compared to what was spent on, oh for example, "security" for a lavish elite-fest in June of this year in central Canada.

Ontario is demographically the most diverse province in Canada. To just go by the percentages of immigrants is the most idiotic and classically bureaucratic manner in which to understand funding formulas.

Not that we needed more evidence, but the Conservatives are short-sighted and just plain stupid.

Fri, 2010-12-24 08:56

#16

WilderMore

Are the cuts for immigrants or refugees?

Fri, 2010-12-24 09:01

#17

Maysie

The title of this thread and the article in the OP gives you that information, Wilder.

And refugees, if successful, become immigrants.

Fri, 2010-12-24 11:36

#18

WilderMore

So there won't be any cuts for refugee services?

Fri, 2010-12-24 12:06

#19

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

WilderMore wrote:

So there won't be any cuts for refugee services?

What's with your fixation? When I briefly worked with the Ottawa-Carleton Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO), our clients were both immigrants and refugees. I imagine it's the same for many of these organizations.

http://www.ociso.org/about-us.htm

I wonder if the GTA cuts include the Salvation Army Refugee Services. I'm guessing not since the Harper government has been falling overthemselves to find ways to give them $$$.

Of course, the bigots and racists feel emboldened enough to spew their hatred as they applaud this move.

Fri, 2010-12-24 12:39

#20

Maysie

My limited professional experience in this sector in Toronto is similar to laine lowe's. That there are no separate refugee services. Such services are generally provided by immigrant settlement organizations.

In other words, these drastic, devastating and wrong-headed cuts will affect refugees as well as immigrants.

Wilder, what's your point?

Fri, 2010-12-24 12:43

#21

WilderMore

It's just that refugees are in a completely different situation than immigrants. You only have to look at what happens to them when they finally reach Canada and end up in detention centers for months at a time. That doesn't happen to immigrants. There is a definite anti-refugee bias.

Fri, 2010-12-24 12:50

#22

Maysie

Wilder, thanks. Sorry I was a bit hostile.

And while the legal and bureaucratic experiences are different between refugees and immigrants, many other experiences are similar.

I don't think I'm going to hear anything about opposition and action against this bullshit nonsense, until after the Christian/pagan festivals are over in just over a week. But I will post anything I hear about.

Fri, 2010-12-24 14:14

#23

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

I'm sorry I was snippy too, Wilder.

It only very recently that the treatment of refugees by the Feds has become so draconian. From what I understand, immigrant communities basically help hire lawyers on behalf of some refugees, as in the case of the recent Tamils.