Toronto / 10 March 2026
OCASI joined immigrant and refugee-serving sector umbrella organizations representing more than 500 community organizations from across Canada to in sending an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship – Lena Metlege Diab regarding funding cuts to federally funded settlement programs.
The organizations expressed concern that these measures will negatively impact immigrants and refugees, and are in fact contradictory to the government’s stated goal of strengthening Canada’s economy.
The umbrella organizations request:
- a meeting with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship;
- a commitment to ongoing collaboration and meaningful dialogue with the sector; and
- a review of the effects of 2024-2027 cuts before implementing further cuts in 2027–2029.
The letter was sent by the following sector umbrella organizations:
Atlantic Region Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (ARAISA) araisa.ca
OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants ocasi.org
Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations (MANSO) mansomanitoba.ca
Saskatchewan Association of Immigrant Settlement and Integration Agencies (SAISIA) www.saisia.ca
Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) aaisa.ca
AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC) amssa.org
(Note: Quebec has a separate settlement funding agreement with the federal government)