CANADIAN
COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES
Federal budget cuts and their impact on
refugees and immigrants
Statement
The
federal government recently announced a number of
cuts to different programs that target various sectors of Canadian
society,
including the voluntary, social, justice and cultural sectors. As
organizations
promoting the rights of refugees and immigrants across Canada, we
believe it is
important to underline the impact these cuts will have on refugees and
immigrants and to assert the inherent value of seeking equity in
society. Knowing
that some cuts target programs aimed at guaranteeing equality for all,
we
demand that funding for such programs be reinstated and that the
contribution
of the not-for-profit sector in policy improvement be recognized.
Through
our daily work with people seeking justice, we
know how important it is that the Canadian government strive to make
real the
guarantee of equality for all people in Canada. As many studies show,
Canadian
society is not free of discrimination based on gender, racialization,
class,
sexual orientation, language, disabilities, etc. Programs
directed at the least privileged in our society offer
essential support to communities seeking equity. If
such programs are cut, how does the federal government intend
to tackle the equity challenges that people face from coast to coast?
The
government of Canada has made substantial
commitments through the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) Accord and
Codes of
Good Practice. These texts, which recognize the voluntary sector for
its unique
connection to communities, enshrine a set of principles and values that
should
guide the collaboration between the government and the not-for-profit
sector in
policy-making, such as active citizenship, equality, diversity,
inclusion and
social justice.
Among
its principles, the Accord affirms independence,
which includes the right of voluntary sector organizations to challenge
public
policies, programs and legislation and to advocate for change. Another
principle asserted is dialogue, which should be carried out in a way
that
builds and maintains trust. Hence we are deeply concerned that the
voluntary
sector was excluded from discussions leading to the decision to cut
programs
and that the government has withdrawn funding for programs that support
efforts
to change policy.
Canada
is a country committed to human rights and
democracy. The right to equality is protected by the Canadian Charter
of Rights
and Freedoms. To be made real, such
commitments and rights need to be backed up with appropriate means. The
current
government has identified as a priority making political institutions
and the
political process more accountable and more democratic. We therefore
urge the
government to reconsider the cuts that will affect people and groups
such as
refugees and immigrants who continue to suffer from discrimination. We
expect
that the Canadian voluntary sector will be included in present and
future
policy-making processes in accordance with the VSI commitments.
31 October 2006
Federal cuts affecting
refugees and immigrants
Background
The federal government announced on
September 25 a
total of $2 billion in cuts affecting many programs over the next two
years.
Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and John Baird, President of the
Treasury
Board, made the announcement at the same time that they reported a
$13.2
billion surplus for the last fiscal year. To justify the cuts, the
government
stated that it had “eliminated wasteful and ineffective programs,
reduced
government spending and paid down the national debt.” John Baird
declared: “We
are trimming the fat and refocusing spending on the priorities of
Canadians”.
These federal cuts
will affect refugees and immigrants, as well as other members of
minority or
disadvantaged groups, in particular ways. Even though cuts do not
direct target
refugee and immigrant services, some will have an impact on the defence
of
their rights. The government announced a $55 million cut to Youth
programs, a
$5 million cut to the Court Challenges Program (meaning the elimination
of the
Program), a $5 million cut to the Status of Women administrative budget
and a
$4.2-million to the Law Commission of Canada (meaning the closure of
the
Commission).
Status of Women
Status
of Women (SWC)
is being cut $5 million over 2 years from its annual budget of $13
million.
Although the grants and contributions arm ($11 million) of the
department was
not affected, there is serious concern about the reduced operational
capacity
the department will have given the administrative cuts. A change to the
mandate
of SWC has also been announced: SWC will no longer fund groups for
advocacy or
general research. The word “equality” has also been removed from the
mandate of
the Women’s Program.
SWC has previously
helped women’s organizations participate in the public policy process,
aided capacity
building for women of colour and also facilitated efforts to increase
public
understanding of women’s equality issues.
These initiatives have supported immigrant and refugee women’s
participation in Canadian society. (The
CCR’s Gender-Based Approach to Settlement received funding through the
Women’s
Program). This
type of support will no
longer be available from the federal government.
In a meeting with
women’s organization on 4 October,
Beverley Oda,
Minister responsible for SWC, told the representatives that new
financing
guidelines will from now on bar them from using federal grants for
lobbying or
advocacy activities. She also reaffirmed the government’s intention to
maintain
the $5 million cuts, despite the protests.
The Court
Challenges Program
The
Court Challenges
Program provides support for legal challenges based on the equality
guarantees
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by vulnerable persons
such as
refugees, people with disabilities, women, religious minorities and
gays and
lesbians. (The
Program also supports
tests cases for language rights.) The
Charter guarantees the right to equality and to equal protection and
benefit of
the law without discrimination. However, in order to enforce this
right,
individuals and groups need to have the financial means to access the
courts.
Groups suffering discrimination are necessarily the least privileged
and
therefore the least likely to have the money necessary to take a case
to
court. Without
access to the Court
Challenges Program, only people with the financial means will be able
to
challenge discriminatory laws and practices.
In May 2006 the
government used the Court Challenges Program as an example of Canada’s
commitment to human rights before a UN Committee in Geneva and defended
it in
these words:
The Court Challenges
Program (CCP) provides funding for test cases of
national significance in order to clarify the understanding of the
rights of
official language minority communities and the equality rights of
disadvantaged
groups. …
It is not possible for
the government to support all
court challenges, but this
uniquely Canadian program has been successful in supporting a number of
important court cases that have had direct impacts on the
implementation of
linguistic and equality rights in Canada. A recent evaluation found
that there
remain dimensions of the constitutional provisions currently covered by
the CCP
that still require clarification and the current program was extended
to March
2009.
The abolition of the
Court Challenges Program will deprive vulnerable refugees like Suleyman
Goven
of a recourse when they face discrimination. Thanks to support
from the
Court Challenges Program, Suleyman Goven has recently been able to
contest a
thirteen-year delay in granting him permanent residence. Mr Goven
was
recognized by Canada as a refugee in 1993 but the government refused to
give
him permanent residence. In November 2005, Mr Goven filed a
lawsuit
arguing that the government was violating his Charter right to
equality.
This apparently led to him finally receiving permanent residence in
September
2006, allowing him to get on with his life after thirteen years on
hold.
He will continue the lawsuit in order to seek compensation for the
damage done
and systemic changes so that others don’t go through what Mr Goven has
suffered.
The
Somali
community also obtained funding from the Court Challenges Program in
order to
contest the discriminatory impact of immigration legislation requiring
refugees
to produce “satisfactory” identity documents in order to receive
permanent
residence status.
This provision
particularly affected Somalis and Afghans, because of the lack of
functioning
governments in their countries of origin.
The legal challenge was successful in achieving a solution for
Somalis,
Afghans and others in a similar situation.
Law
Commission of Canada
The funding for the
Law Commission of Canada was eliminated, representing an amount of $4,2
million. Created
in 1997, the Law
Commission is an independent federal law reform agency that advises
Parliament
on how to improve and modernize Canada’s laws.
The mission of the Law
Commission is to engage Canadians in the renewal of the law to ensure
that it
is relevant, responsive, effective, equally accessible to all and just. It approaches law reform in a
multidisciplinary and participatory way that takes into account the
complexity
of social issues. In its 9 years of existence, it has conducted
research and
produced a number of important reports, and has become a model of best
practices for many law reform bodies around the world.
Without the Law Commission of Canada, the
federal government will be less equipped to ensure that Canada’s laws
and legal
system remain relevant and reflect the changes in our society.
Canadian Volunteerism Initiative
The federal
government
also eliminated support for the Canadian Volunteerism Initiative. This
program
is intended to facilitate networking and exchanges of knowledge and to
support
the voluntary infrastructure across Canada. The $9.7 million cut,
justified as
a “non-core program”, will affect many voluntary sector organizations.
It will
also have a direct impact on the involvement of the 12 million
Canadians who
provide 2 billion hours of volunteer work annually. The government
itself
relies on volunteers for program and service delivery. The cuts were
made
without consulting the sector, so it is not known how the government
intends to
support volunteerism in the future.
Investments
for Youth Employment
Human Resources
and Skills Development Canada’s funding includes programs under
Workplace
Skills Strategy as well as the Summer Career Placement program. The
former had
a great potential for supporting and enhancing the integration of
immigrant
employees and their contribution to their work environment. The latter
has
allowed settlement agencies for years to employ racialized immigrant
youth over
the summer, thus enabling them to acquire skills and experience for
their
future careers. The budget cuts amount to 50% of funds for this
program. The
government has said that it won’t reduce the number of jobs available,
so the
concern is that agencies will have to contribute a larger amount,
thereby
perhaps excluded many voluntary sector organizations.
For
more information:
General
Official
news release on the federal budget cuts
Department
of Finance Canada
http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-047e.html
“Conservative
budget cuts: an assault on Canada's levers for social justice”
Ontario
Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) media release on the
cuts:
http://www.ocasi.org/index.php?qid=905
“Why
the Conservatives are cutting spending now”
Editorial
by Ellen Russell, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, on the cuts generally and what to except in the future
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/Editorials/2006/10/Editorial1450/index.cfm?pa=AE5DAA5F
Open
letter
from the Muttart Foundation, a
private foundation which supports charities in Canada, primarily in
Alberta and
Saskatchewan, on the effect of the cuts on voluntary non-profit
organizations
http://www.muttart.org/download/Harper%20Letter%20Sept.%2029,%202006%20FINAL.PDF
About the
Court Challenges Program
“Government
Cuts Will Hurt Refugees and Immigrants”
CCR
media
release on the Court Challenges Program
http://www.ccrweb.ca/releaseccpoct06.html
Web site
of
the Coalition Save the Court Challenges Program of Canada
http://www.savecourtchallenges.ca/
“Reinstate
Court Challenges Program with Full Funding”
Canadian
Bar Association News release on the Court Challenges Program
http://www.cba.org/CBA/News/2006_Releases/2006-10-16_ccp.aspx
About
the Law Commission of
Canada
Open Letter to Minister
of Justice
about the Law Commission of Canada, published in The Toronto Star on
Friday 29 September 2006 http://osgoode.yorku.ca/media2.nsf/83303ffe5af03ed585256ae6005379c9/06275972c706a97c852571f80059811b!OpenDocument
“Law
Commission of Canada
Responds to the Federal Government’s Decision to Eliminate Funding”
News
release from the Law Commission of Canada
http://www.lcc.gc.ca/resources/news_releases-en.asp?id=113
About
Status of Women Canada
“Government
real priorities revealed”
Media
Statement on Status of Women Canada signed by 9 organizations”
http://dawn.thot.net/media-sept26-06.html
About
Canadian Volunteerism
Initiative
“October 2006:
Federal cuts hit voluntary
sector”
Message Volunteer
Canada on the Canadian Volunteerism
Initiative
http://cabm.cam.org/cabm-em/messages/66.html
