RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Panelists: Rick Herringer – CIC NHQ, Director, Resettlement Division
Loren Veitch – Sears Canada
Jackie Holden – CIC NHQ, Director, Program Policy & Business Management Division
Joy Baldwin – CIC NHQ, Manager of Interim Federal Health Program
Rick Herringer -CIC NHQ, Director, Resettlement Division
(See also word document – Speaking Notes)
Emerging challenges for refugee resettlement
On a per capita basis Canada has one of the largest refugee programs in the world.
Refugee situations change qualitatively and quantitatively – situations are becoming harder to resolve; more protracted situations.
There are more refugees where resettlement has become the only solution and where resettlement has become part of the solution.
Policy challenges – Ensuring response is effective and relevant
How we identify, select and offer services; refugee targets, client-centred approach.
Identification and selection of refugee
- What priority should be given to protracted situations 15 – 50 % could be devoted to protracted
- Multiyear commitment to specific protracted situations.
- Emerging population and trends:
- Iraq – we are working to ensure we are well equipped, flexible and able to respond
- Group vs. individual processes –
- Increased role for private sponsors – engaging this sector in group processing - Uptake from private sponsor community has been encouraging
- Increase the number of visa office referrals to private sponsor community.
Review of existing funding mechanisms
- More flexibility in program design and delivery in order to meet needs of protracted situations
- More flexible targets and funding from treasury board
- Enhancing funding
- Refugee pooling option – trying to identify funding to be used more effectively abroad to assist in identification and selection of refugees for Canada.
- Can we use RAP, ISAP more effectively?
- Rap is under funded – we can make the case – yes we can.
- 7500 – 10,000 is a more flexible target.
- Expand the PSR program – this is a first step in extending upper end of target to 500
- Need more money for operation sector
- Using IOM to get and distribute better information.
- Invest in camps before migrations – language, cultural orientation etc. prior to arrival in Canada.
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Integration of Refugee
- Not where we want them to be - refugees need specialized support but depending on where they are from may have further specialized group. i.e. women, children, senior. The disabled have additional needs not met by present programs.
- Need to enhance integration supports.
- Client-centred approach is a logical process which is holistic to bring together all integration services, all levels of government, community and education sector. Requires investment overseas and in Canada.
- A coordinated approach is needed to ensure government and overseas are able to provide targeted development and humanitarian assistance for protracted situations
- Specialized services, community mapping, facilitation access to services, building foundational programs
- Individual support – case manager – facilitates access to services, ongoing assessment, long term plans.
- Will be using the Karen refugees as a pilot project
- Cataloging services nationally
- Community based approaches
- Improved coordination
- Case management and specialized services
- Close refugee monitoring
- Pilot project is highly integrative – study in 2007 to identify measures of success in integration
New initiatives
- Ways of engaging services
- Sears Canada – presented great ideas of how Sears and Retail Council of Canada can integrate newcomers – also assist in the procurement of – provide valuable work experience
- Results re multifaceted – gains to Canada.
- This will inturn affect other aspects of integration.
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Loren Veitch: General Sales Manager Pacific Regions – Sears Canada.
Corporate, Federal Government and voluntary sector Collaboration
A Proposal To Support & Integrate Refugee Families.
Proposal focuses on 3 areas:
1.Support families, build lifelong relationship with Customer
- Develop simple product acquisition strategies through “Click, call or come in.”
- Help prepare families for basic needs to settle in Canada, e.g. warm coats and boots,
- Develop an economical program to provide necessities, e.g. home start-up, clothing, etc.
- Foster a relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada
- To help assimilate refugee children in communities, Boys and Girls Clubs work
- To establish programs that strengthen children, youth, families and community, e.g. after school programs
- Connect them with the Sears “Tree of Wishes” program (where religiously appropriate)
3.Develop a Retail work integration program
- Integrate people into the Retail workforce by developing a job strategy with the Government
- Educate and train Refugees and other newcomers for Retail support roles and front-line positions with a view of preparing them for careers in retail
- Utilize Retail Council of Canada education strategy to link government and school board education strategy for new Canadians
Jackie Holden – CIC NHQ, Director, Program Policy and Business Management Division
Current Settlement Programs and Approaches – Evolution & Challenges
-Economic performance is declining. As a result of the shift in source countries less people speaking English. Language and literacy skills are a key element in integration.
-It is important to examine what this means for future programming and to look beyond economic integration to societal participation
-Engagement and active involvement in communities is vital to the integration of newcomers.
-Funding is needed for new welcoming communities to encourage immigrant and refugee settlement.
-Funding is needed to allow for pilot projects to explore promising practices.
-Refugees bring different experiences to their new life in Canada – how do we address these needs in programming.
-How can exiting programs be more closely associated with meeting client needs?
-Focus on refugee and immigrant needs and partnerships are essential to policy program design and development.
-Expertise of SPO is central.
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Joy Baldwin – CIC NHQ, Manager of Interim Federal Health Program
(see powerpoint at
Role of Medical Services Branch
- Protection of public health andsafety
- Preventing excessive demands on Canadian health system
- Mitigating risk due to migration
- Contributing to successful integration
Responsibilities include:
- Immigrationmedical examination
- Refugee management pre andpost arrival
- Quality assurance of designated health practitioners
- Public health surveillance program
- Focus on emerging needs
- Overseas – health of diplomatic community and emergency response
Areas of focus
- Capacity to develop strategic health polices
- Effective health risk mitigation strategies
- Facilitating seamless health integration framework/continuum
- Providing Client-centred approach to meeting needs of high risk clients.
IFH would like input on how we can work collaboratively withinitiatives taken by other refugee receiving countries.Epidemiological evidence and recent experience with group processing of Karens are compelling reasons for an enhanced immigration health management.
Enhanced immigration health management of Karen Refugees – Promising Practices
- Pre-departure and post-arrival initiatives
- Enhanced TB management:
- Shorter validity date of the immigration medical examination (IME)
- All children under 10 years referred to Public Health (PH) authority
- All cases of Pulmonary TB-inactive (PTI) referred to PH authority for an urgent assessment
- Fitness to fly assessment within 72 hours pre-departure
- Strengthened communication with provincial health authorities and timely sharing of information
- Enhanced coordinator role for CIC
- Comprehensive medical examination covered by the Interim Federal Health (IFH) program
Implementation and coordination
- Establish contact with high level Public Health officials in each province
- Establish communication network of local CIC, Public Health and SPOs
- Establish and maintain contact with IOM personnel conducting Fit to Fly assessments
- Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recommendations to public health
- Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recommendations to primary care physicians
- Interim Federal Health billing instructions
- Letters to clients
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
- Prepare sealed medical files on each client and with instructions to primary care physicians to be sent to local CIC offices and distributed to each client prior to their comprehensive medical examination
- Provide local Public Health with lists of children prior to their arrival
- Copy and send files and films on all PTI cases to local Public Health as soon as destination is confirmed
- Ensure post evaluation information is collected from local CIC, Public Health and primary care practitioners where possible
What We Learned:
- Enhanced immigration health management leads to success
- Timely support and advice by stakeholders such as the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Tuberculosis Committee (CTC)
- Close collaboration amongst CIC Branches involved in the Karen refugee resettlement process
Principles of the client centred approach
- Evidence based
- Flexible and adaptable
Comprehensible
- Integrated & seamless
- Consultative and coordinated.
Enhanced immigration health management of Karen Refugees: challenges
-The need to refine criteria defining non fitness to fly
-Process challenged by a recent outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis
-Operational challenges due to the fitness to fly assessment location
-Facilitation of the process if done within the refugee camp
-Late involvement/awareness of Medical Services Branch, CIC in the Karen Refugee resettlement process
-MSB to work in early and close collaboration with other CIC Branches for future refugee group processing
Communication challenges
-Wide audience: international, national, provincial, municipal and non-governmental organizations
-Need to develop network of contacts at multiple levels
-Timely communications with all stakeholders
Next steps
-Analyse the impact/benefits of the enhanced immigration health management of high risk populations
-Review and refine the medical content of the protocol
-Pre-departure initiatives
-Post-arrival initiatives
-Develop criteria defining high risk populations
-Not limited to refugees
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Questions (Q), Responses (R) & Comments (C)
Q. Is the IOM background information provided during the Karen group processing going to be expanded to become universal/? Canada takes too long to process – and as a result is becoming the country of last choice. In terms or providing pre-departure information can settlement workers from Canada be involved in doing group processing in camps? Is more going to be done with blended initiatives? The Iraq situation may potentially become a huge problem can we start planning?
R. Yes to all of the questions. It will take sometime to put that in process. With respect to processing times we would like to able to speed up our times. We have been meeting with CBSA with respect to the security clearance to address the issue of processing time and have presented a proposal which they have accepted them in principle. Canada is just as fast as other countries. We have been meeting our target in the last few years. We will continue to do cost sharing and continue to work with private sponsors. We need to be able to manage changes within the RAP budget. Iraqi refugee numbers will be enhanced in 07 and probably in 08 and 09. UNHC capacity is limited however the U.S will be taking the lion’s share.
Q. At a time when training and education is so critical to anyone dealing with refugees are we balancing the increased numbers and increased expectations of volunteers with their training needs? The health issues are a major challenge. Many volunteers from faith communities are older and have health issues so putting them in a place to be interacting with communicable diseases –what do we do to make them comfortable and to mitigate liability?
R. The point is important and valid but we don’t have an answer for you at this point. Training and trying to provide supports is a key priority when we go back to treasury board to ask for additional resources.
Q. With regard to processing applications – can you tell us what is a reasonable expectation of the amount of time that an application should be staying in our local CIC offices? Can you look at increasing resources in some of the local offices? Presently taking about 3 – 4 months for the processing.
R. Resourcing is always an issue – it is part of the planning process when we go and ask for funding for the program not just RAP program. This is part of the process.
Q. In terms of Client Needs Assessment, what is happening after the process? Can SPOs get access to the outcomes of the needs assessment so they can better respond? Can they receive a copy of the needs assessment?
R. Needs assessment are not done for every refugee. We would like to expand the process to include all refugee but this is not as easy to do and fairly costly. We do want to expand the process and make sure that the regions are getting that information. This is the point of this exercise.
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Q. Inactive TB cases must refer themselves to Public Health within a prescribed timeframe. SPOs only know about it when the client brings the letter - other clients who may be receiving letters may not be responding due to language issues.
Many provinces have a 3 month waiting period before new residents can access provincial medicare – relying of IFH does not meet the needs – no family doctors accepting new clients – clinics will not accept IFH, only option emergency room – hard for workers to sit for 9 – 10 hours and wait to provide interpretation etc. Can there be a doctor(s) designated to assist GARS upon arrival?
R. The Karen model has really brought to forefront the need for this type of approach. Delivery mechanism needs to suit the region – that kind of communication and sharing of information needs to occur.
It has been difficult for IFH because no matter what we did we were criticized – it didn’t work to try to treat all refugees in the same way. We need to stop responding to all of those individuals in the same way. We are looking at approaches that will allow us to treat these populations differently. Local coordination – communication seems to be the biggest issues. We are trying to work to address these issues locally – develop communication mechanisms within the professional bodies. Work to develop an inventory of services – Fredericton will be the first areas of focus.
C. Misinformation to refugee in Sierra from UN – i.e. mentioning that they should not report dependants who were not on the original application because it will jeopardize there changes of coming to Canada. It is important that people not be afraid to report changes in status if something happening during processing.
R. Communicating with UNHCR – always a challenge – we are trying to maintain as a close a relationship as possible – sometimes there are miscommunications and people are given the wrong advice. We have tried to work with the UNHCR to make sure the proper information is being given – doesn’t happen as well as we would like. We raise this on a regular basis as well as encouraging all missions to keep close working relationships with UNHCR – we just need to keep trying.
Q. IFH is a big challenge especially in relation to dental problems. IFH does not pay quickly. Doctors and dentists are a business and can’t wait for months to receive payment. $350/person is not enough.
R. Regarding dental, this issue has been raised and presently there is no limit on the amount. Once we get policy decision we can then move towards separating our client base. With respect to billing – currently claims administration using electronic billing for dental – hopefully we’ll have medical and pharmaceutical added to this soon. We are instituting measures to ensure more accountability so that the wait times will be reduced.
RAP Conference Plenary #2: Strategic Program/Policy Direction for Refugee Resettlement Program (cont’d)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Q. How does initiative presently being pursued relate to housing issues, which is an important aspect of settlement? Although I appreciate all initiatives in employment and language –in terms of key findings 73% of clients have no pre-existing family and friends – housing workers struggle to find them suitable accommodation – money still not enough – Large families – no capacities in cities to house such large families and to look for accessible housing. Are you going to table some business related to housing – and provide more flexible deadlines.
Q. Single women – coming from refugee camps – leaving boyfriend or partner back home –they create relationship they may even get married – cannot report this to immigration for fear of having to wait longer. The process needs to be speeded up so they don’t have to wait. There is an ongoing struggle in terms of the measures people will take to not report because of the being put further back on the list.
R. We will raise these questions with immigration – hard to address these issues because people make information based on inaccurate information – they are individual case assessment so that UNHCR staff are more sensitive to these issues.
Q. When will the program with Sears and Retail Council of Canada begin? According to our experience in Saskatoon - it’s good for clients to have a job but the workplace is not always welcoming or sensitive. What is the plan to provide cross-cultural training for Sears employers and staff in order to make the environment supportive and welcoming especially for traumatized clients?
R. There is an education strategy going on – not sure what the particulars are at present because the conversation between Sears and CIC was at a macro level – don’t have and didn’t discuss a lot of details.
In terms of when such a program may start - hopefully sooner rather than later.
Sears' presentation was really to start the dialogue here at the RAP conference in order to begin to speak about the proposal. CIC will be speaking to the Retail Council of Canada. Your ideas will be very much welcomed.
1
National RAP Conference (Feb.19-23, 2007 – Vancouver B.C.)