Settlement services

That the CCR urge that:

1. Refugee claimants be included in any and all funding formulas as legitimate recipients of settlement services throughout Canada;
2. Additional funds be made available for settlement agencies to provide appropriate levels of services to this client group;
3. The provinces that receive fewer numbers of refugee claimants not be financially penalized by this reality.

That the CCR support the draft national settlement service standards framework and adopt the proposed development strategy.

That the CCR write to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance asking them to raise their level of investment in settlement services with the intention of raising the investment up to a level comparable to other support services.

That CIC be requested to re-evaluate the reductions targeted for various provinces, specifically Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, taking into consideration the consequences of such reductions.

That this National Settlement Service Standards Framework be adopted in principle and that the Steering Committee present an implementation strategy at the fall 2000 consultation.

That the CCR encourage Citizenship and Immigration Canada to:

1. Develop the framework in a transparent, accountable manner by:
   a) engaging in meaningful two-way consultations;
   b) ensuring benefits from frontline and academic expertise in the provision of adult education, employment and settlement services;
   c) conducting business in an open and transparent manner, including posting on the internet such documents as, inter alia, studies, reports and meeting minutes; holding regional meetings with open invitations to contract holders; and reporting to all relevant umbrella groups;
2. Develop the framework in such a manner as to strengthen, facilitate and improve service delivery;
3. Develop the framework acknowledging the complexities of managing both large and small NGOs and with the intent of facilitating sound, efficient management thereof;
4. Clarify the distinctions and interconnections between: performance measurement/ program evaluation; outputs/outcomes and quantitative/qualitative indicators.

That the CCR seek funding to enable the National Settlement Services Standards Steering Committee to complete the following tasks:

1. Develop tools to assist workers and agencies in adopting and using the NSSS framework;
2. Research and develop a peer review support model for agencies using the NSSS framework;
3. Explore the concept of a national registry of settlement agencies having successfully completed a peer review process.

That the CCR call on CIC to be accountable to the service providers and newcomers by implementing timely application and approval target dates to ensure that new contribution agreements are signed and new year advances are released before existing contribution agreements end.

That the CCR:

1. Call on CIC to do a survey of working conditions in the sector and act to improve funding levels to allow agencies to provide reasonable working conditions;
2. Investigate disparities in salary contributions in agreements with, inter alia, HRDC and Health Canada, with the objective of making a human rights complaint on discrimination in contracting.

That the CCR:

1. Verify with the Privacy Commissioner and the Canadian Human Rights Commission and seek independent legal advice on the ethics of:  (i) agencies releasing client information without explicit, voluntary, informed client consent.  (ii) having newcomers sign blanket release of information forms upon arrival, raising significant issues of informed, voluntary consent and raising issues of how agencies will be able to know which clients may have refused release of information;
2. Request that CIC do a cost-benefit analysis of moving from aggregate data collection to individual data collection;
3. Urge CIC to heed the suggestions in the Kathleen Stevenson report;
4. Urge CIC to enter into a discussion with the sector about the desired outcomes of settlement services and base the performance measurement and program evaluation framework on these outcomes.