OCASI Statement: Priorities For The New Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
November 5, 2015/Toronto
OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants congratulates Hon. John McCallum on his appointment as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
We offer our assistance as civil society partners in implementing the priorities identified by the new government with respect to immigrants and refugees, particularly the urgent need to meet the target of bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to safe resettlement in Canada.
OCASI looks forward to working with the Minister on fulfilling a renewed commitment to immigration including family reunification, refugee protection, citizenship and fairness for migrant workers. These priorities include:
Refugees
- Fully restore Interim Federal Health Program for refugees;
- Expand and expedite government and private sponsorship of refugees from other regions, particularly Africa;
- Remove the arbitrary and unfair Designated Country of Origin scheme, which has created a two-tier refugee determination system.
Family reunification
- Grant permanent resident status to sponsored spouses upon arrival;
- Restore maximum age for sponsorship of immigrant dependents to age 22 from 19;
- Double parent and grandparent sponsorship applications to 10,000 a year;
- Make family reunification faster by increasing resources to process sponsorship applications, particularly at visa posts with the longest delays; and by introducing Express Entry for family reunification.
Citizenship
- Repeal the revocation of citizenship of dual citizens, and remove barriers to citizenship introduced through Bill C-24 including longer residency period to qualify, expansion of language and knowledge test requirements and no right of appeal to courts;
- Reduce delays to acquire citizenship and reduce costs (which have tripled as a result of Bill C-24).
Migrant workers
- Give all migrant workers (at all skill levels) a pathway to permanent residency;
- Remove the four-year-in four-year-out limitation on migrant workers.
Francophone immigration
- Support more francophone immigration to Ontario and the rest of Canada, meeting the 4% target (outside Quebec) as a minimum.
Immigrant and refugee settlement
- Support immigrants and refugees to get jobs that match their experience and education through foreign credential recognition, enforcement of employment equity legislation and through bridging, mentoring and job placement programs;
- Reverse the deep funding cuts to settlement services in Ontario; and
- Address xenophobia and anti-immigrant and refugee sentiment in Canada through public education and other anti-racism and anti-discrimination initiatives.
We look forward to engaging with the new government on how it can best support the settlement and integration of refugees and immigrants and build future sector stability through sustained investment, including a review and necessary revision of the settlement allocation model.
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