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NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY
THE HONOURABLE MONTE SOLBERG
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION

“Building Our Nation One Dream At A Time”

Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council

– A World Of Experience:
Living The Dream –

June 3, 2006
Toronto, Ontario

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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your warm welcome.

Five years ago, the federal government and the settlement sector organized a national conference in Kingston. One keynote speaker shared a 20-year history of immigrant experiences that affected the audience deeply.

Those recollections spoke of a newcomer’s hope for a brighter future, of the inevitable fears, and of the themes that are necessary to the success story immigrants want to write.

I’d like to quote an excerpt for you:

“Settlement should not end at showing people how to find jobs; it should go with them into the workplace … we have to examine the capacity of Canada to successfully facilitate this participation. And we cannot do this … without concentrating on the ability of Canada to make this happen. Otherwise, it is like the unheard sound of one hand clapping.”

My friends, those are the words of none other than Ratna Omidvar.

Ratna, your memoir sets the stage for this gathering of people who still pursue the immigrant dream of successful settlement and full participation. I appreciate your inviting me to meet with the friends and colleagues you’ve gathered to explore how to realize that dream.

Today, no other developed country comes close to Canada’s per capita intake of immigrants. Every year, hundreds of thousands of newcomers place their faith in the promise of Canada. But just adding bodies does not make a country. Newcomers arrive here with a powerful desire to make a better life for themselves and their families — and when they succeed, we all succeed. When they succeed, Canada becomes a stronger and a better country.

Now, as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the question I ask myself is, what can we do to ensure that success? I know that newcomers to Canada at the beginning of the 20^th century faced different challenges than newcomers in the 1940s and 50s and 60s. For those who arrive today, the challenges are different again. The one thing that remains constant is the need to overcome challenges. Obviously, policy makers and government leaders just need to keep up with the changing landscape and obstacles.

But if this is so simple and obvious, then why has there been a decline in the entry wages of new immigrant workers? Why do we see new immigrants with PhD’s driving taxicabs? Why are we gathered here today?

Well, a part of the answer is governments can be pretty slow and hide-bound. Sometimes, by themselves, they just aren’t very good at getting results. That’s why it makes so much sense for governments to harness the energy and passion of local people in local organizations who are committed in their heart to getting results in the face of today’s challenges. That’s why we’re here. As participants in the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council’s networking and career strategy seminar, we’re all working toward the goal of having newcomers enter the work force more quickly, benefit from their talents and skills, and advance up the ladder.

CIC’s Groundwork

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has supported the hard work of settlement and integration agencies.

Through partnerships with governments, educational institutions and community groups, the federal government supports an extensive network of free language programs. It provides over $130 million every year in basic language training programs to help some 50,000 immigrants learn one of Canada’s official languages.

CIC also sponsors the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program, or ISAP. This federal partnership with many community-based organizations gives newcomers access to free services that are needed when they begin their new life in unfamiliar surroundings.

Immigrants can also receive a special welcome through CIC’s Host program. This program oversees the matching of volunteers familiar with Canada with new arrivals — people in need of a friend in their new community to help them adapt to different customs, values and ways of doing business. Needless to say, many of the local hosts are former newcomers who now want to return the favour.

The federal government has an important role to play, bringing together stakeholders in each community and sector to make the immigrant experience as fulfilling and enriching as possible. And we’re going to do more.

Settlement Funding

In the budget announced just one month ago, our government allocated an extra $307 million in settlement funding over the next two years. This investment will allow us to honour our commitment to the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, as well as provide additional funding to other provinces and territories, outside Quebec.

I think this audience will agree that, when new arrivals have access to people who want to help them, it is the difference between being welcomed by friends, resulting in stability, in communities ready to welcome them, versus simply being allowed in so you can shift for yourself.

Reducing the RPRF

Also in the budget was a cut to the Right of Permanent Residence fee. Our new government and Prime Minister Harper want to make it clear that Canada values immigrants. The Right of Permanent Residence fee of $975 per person was imposed in 1995. It was a burden for many newcomers just starting out in Canada. We have not forgotten what family life costs, so we promised this fee would be cut in half.

We have made good on that commitment and reduced it from $975 to $490, and frankly, I couldn’t be more proud.

Foreign Credentials

We also know that in order to welcome immigrants into Canadian society properly, we must work to ensure their skills are valued. The non-recognition of credentials is a huge barrier to settlement. Canada can do better — and it will.

We’re working to help knock down barriers that block talented people from pursuing opportunities in Canada. Our government committed $18 million in the 2006 budget to take on this issue. The money will help us to work with Human Resources and Social Development Canada and our provincial partners toward the creation of a new agency that will support the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials.

Canada’s Emerging Work Force

We’re also addressing the needs of the emerging work force. As of last month, foreign students in our universities and colleges can compete for off-campus jobs on an equal footing with Canadian students. Around 100,000 young people are eligible for the program.

My department has already started to stage campus information sessions. One held two weeks ago, at Memorial University in Newfoundland, drew an enthusiastic crowd of 200 students.

Initiatives like these help our international students gain Canadian work experience, help them to better integrate into Canadian society, and make it more likely they will choose Canada to make their home. Our labour market will be all the more diverse and vibrant for the expertise and financial self-reliance of foreign students.

Facilitating Citizenship for International Adoptions

As for other potential global decision makers, we can look to the next generation. On the International Day of Families, I was proud to introduce a new bill in the House of Commons to amend the Citizenship Act. The proposed legislation will allow children adopted abroad by Canadian citizens to obtain Canadian citizenship without first having to become permanent residents.

This is an important move because when Canadians adopt overseas and bring a child into their families, there should be no difference in the way the child is treated. The parents shouldn’t have to wait months and months and go through endless paperwork to make that child a citizen. This new bill will ensure that children adopted abroad by Canadians are put on a level playing field. It’s simply the right thing to do.

Helping Victims of Human Trafficking

Unfortunately, there can also be a very serious and tragic side of modern-day migration. That is why my government has adopted new measures to help victims of a terrible crime — human trafficking.

Earlier this month, I announced that immigration officers can now issue temporary resident permits for up to 120 days to victims of human trafficking. The permit helps these victims to begin to recover from the impact of this crime. During these 120 days, they can decide if they wish to return to their home country, or they can apply to stay in Canada.

As part of our commitment to them, we are waiving the usual processing fees and more than that, we have made them eligible for health-care benefits and counseling under our Interim Federal Health program.

Human trafficking is a scourge. These new measures are an important step toward helping the 600 to 800 people affected by this in Canada every year.

Conclusion

I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished in the short period of time that I’ve held this position. But let’s be clear — more must be done.

Our borders are spread far apart, and they frame a vast country that is full of potential. Our goal must be to give every newcomer a chance to tap that potential. We must clear away the barriers so that every newcomer has the opportunity to find a good job, with good pay, and with the chance to move ahead. We can achieve this goal, and we will. But we can’t do it alone, we need organizations like the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, and we need people like you.

My department will renew its efforts with community groups, government partners and corporate Canada to help you find solutions to problems. Our great country can only prosper through your efforts, as you symbolize the best and brightest that the world has to offer.

Thank you.