1. Immigration Ottawa INitiative INITIATIVE
D'OTTAWA EN MATIÈRE D'IMMIGRATION |
That Council
approve the following:
1. Recognize
the importance of immigration to the City’s economic prosperity by endorsing
the establishment of an Immigration Ottawa Initiative (IOI) to facilitate the
development of a community-led, citywide labour market integration strategy for
immigrants, and that staff report back with a proposed governance structure and
detailed Terms of Reference within six months.
2. That the following three key
elements be integrated into the Strategy:
a. That
the differences and inequalities between women and men in immigrant populations
be integrated throughout the work of the initiative so as to address barriers
experienced by women, such as family responsibilities, safety and literacy
levels.
b. That
the initiative address the specific barriers of immigrants who face multiple
barriers due to race, religion and language, including that of francophone immigrants.
c. That
the City’s Employment Equity program be an integral part of this initiative so
that the City of Ottawa demonstrates leadership in this area.
Recommandations modifiÉEs du comité
Que le Conseil approuve la motion
suivante :
1. reconnaître l’importance de
l’immigration pour la prospérité économique de la Ville d'Ottawa en donnant son
aval à la mise en œuvre de l’Initiative d’Ottawa en matière d’immigration
(IOI), qui vise à faciliter l’élaboration d’une stratégie communautaire
d’intégration des immigrants au marché du travail menée à l’échelle de la
ville, et que le personnel soumette au Conseil, d’ici six mois, un rapport
dans lequel il proposera une structure de gestion publique et un cadre détaillé
sur la stratégie.
2. Que
les trois éléments clés suivants soient intégrés à la Stratégie :
a. Qu’il
soit tenu compte tout au long de l’initiative des différences et des inégalités
entre les femmes et les hommes au sein des populations immigrantes, de façon à
prendre en considération les barrières auxquelles les femmes se heurtent
(responsabilités familiales, questions de sécurité, degré d’alphabétisation).
b. Que
l’initiative tienne compte des barrières précises auxquelles les immigrants se
heurtent en ce qui concerne la race, la religion et la langue, notamment dans
le cas des immigrants francophones.
c. Que
le programme d’équité en matière d’emploi de la Ville fasse partie intégrante
de cette initiative, de façon que la Ville d’Ottawa fasse preuve de leadership
dans ce domaine.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Deputy City Manager report dated 26 March 2007 (ACS2007-CPS-EFA-0001).
2. Extract of Draft Minute, 5 April 2007.
3. City for All Women Initiative submission
dated 5 April 2007
Report to/Rapport au:
Community
and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires
et de protection
and Council /et Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis
par: Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager / Directeur municipal adjoint,
Community and Protective Services / Services communautaires et de protection
Contact
Person/Personne-ressource : Danielle Masse, Director/Directrice
Employment and Financial Assistance/Services
d’emploi et d’aide financière
580-2424 ext./poste 43080, danielle.masse@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Community and Protective Services Committee recommend that Council recognize the importance of immigration to the City’s economic prosperity by endorsing the establishment of an Immigration Ottawa Initiative (IOI) to facilitate the development of a community-led, citywide labour market integration strategy for immigrants, and that staff report back with a proposed governance structure and detailed Terms of Reference within six months.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de
protection recommande au Conseil de reconnaître l’importance de l’immigration
pour la prospérité économique de la Ville d'Ottawa en donnant son aval à la
mise en œuvre de l’Initiative d’Ottawa en matière d’immigration (IOI), qui vise
à faciliter l’élaboration d’une stratégie communautaire d’intégration des
immigrants au marché du travail menée à l’échelle de la ville, et que le
personnel soumette au Conseil, d’ici six mois, un rapport dans lequel il
proposera une structure de gestion publique et un cadre détaillé sur la
stratégie.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the emerging global, national and local issue of the labour market integration of immigrants. This issue encompasses critical challenges to economic prosperity, meeting looming labour shortages, maintaining and growing the tax base, and, helping immigrants to receive the supports they require (e.g. supports to employment) to successfully integrate into the workforce. By 2011, newcomers will account for 100% of the net labour force growth in Ontario[1]. Currently, the underutilization of newcomers accounts for a loss of between $2 and $3 billion dollars per year for the Canadian economy[2]. At the same time, there is increasingly fierce global and national competition for skills and talent and the need to compete against the rising economic strength of countries such as India and China, which have younger workforces.
This report reviews how the federal and Ontario governments have responded to date and how other municipalities and the local community are responding. It recommends the mandate, objectives and approach for an Immigration Ottawa Initiative to facilitate the development of a community-led, citywide labour market integration strategy for immigrants.
RÉSUMÉ
Le présent rapport vise à donner un aperçu de
l’intégration des immigrants au marché du travail, un nouvel enjeu auquel
doivent faire face les communautés internationales, nationales et locales et
qui comporte des défis de taille, notamment assurer la prospérité économique, gérer
les pénuries imminentes de main-d’œuvre, maintenir et accroître l’assiette
fiscale ainsi qu’aider les immigrants à obtenir le soutien nécessaire
(p. ex, l’aide à l’emploi) pour s’intégrer à la population active. D’ici
2011, les nouveaux arrivants représenteront 100 p. 100 de
l’augmentation nette de la population active de l’Ontario1. À l’heure actuelle, la sous‑utilisation
des compétences des nouveaux arrivants représente pour notre économie des
pertes de deux à trois milliards de dollars par année2. En
outre, on assiste actuellement, à l’échelle nationale et internationale, à une
lutte de plus en plus féroce pour obtenir les meilleurs talents et compétences,
et le Canada doit être en mesure de concurrencer des pays qui connaissent une
forte croissance économique et dont la population active est plus jeune, comme
l’Inde et la Chine.
Le présent rapport porte sur les mesures prises
jusqu’ici par le gouvernement fédéral et la Province à cet égard ainsi que sur
les stratégies d’intégration adoptées par d’autres municipalités et la
communauté locale. Il renferme également des recommandations relativement à la
mission, aux objectifs et à l’approche privilégiés pour l’Initiative d’Ottawa
en matière d’immigration, qui vise à faciliter l’élaboration d’une stratégie communautaire d’intégration des immigrants
au marché du travail à l’échelle de la ville.
BACKGROUND
Successfully meeting the challenge of the global competition for labour will require both local leadership and collaboration across a broad range of community partners including the private, non-profit and educational sectors. The evidence shows that the successful social and economic inclusion of immigrants is a significant issue for this community.
While it is essential to ensure
immigrants succeed, the question arises:
what role should municipalities play?
Although settlement of immigrants is a federal responsibility, Gordon
Steeves, acting president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM),
is calling for a national strategy with long-term and predictable investments
in settlement services but acknowledging that municipalities are inevitably
involved:
While immigration enriches our communities
and strengthens our economy, it can also put a strain on municipal frontline
services. Municipal governments are
often the first places new immigrants turn for help. As a result local governments tailor their services to meet the
needs of newcomers, from providing culturally appropriate recreation services,
to translating everything from garbage pickup schedules to emergency services
information – a vital but unfunded role (Ottawa Citizen, March 23, 2007).
Municipalities and their community partners are in the frontline of provision of services for the net population growth that will come from immigration (e.g. housing, social assistance, job training, recreation and public health). Municipalities and their community partners are in the best position to coordinate services at the local level.
While a decision could be made to do nothing and allow market forces to correct the current imbalance of looming labour shortages and underutilization of immigrant, it is the communities that accelerate the integration of immigrants that will be in a better position to compete economically.
Appropriate roles for the City include the following:
The proposed Immigrant Ottawa Initiative (IOI) lays out a mandate, objectives and approach for the City to work with the local community to support a community-led, citywide strategy. The IOI will identify specific gaps and concrete actions required to address this challenge, including identifying a plan and priorities to respond to the gaps.
DISCUSSION
Global Overview
Global competition for skilled workers is intensifying. There is fierce global competition for talent amidst a rapid pace of scientific and technological change. While countries such as India and China have young populations and rapidly expanding economies, native-born youth in the U.S., U.K. and Canada will not fully replace retiring workers. In these countries, the ratio of retired-to-working population and retired-to-school-age population is lowering.
A diverse workforce will provide competitive advantages such as enhanced creativity, expanded national and international business opportunities, and a greater ability to attract and retain talent. The Conference Board of Canada (Report on Diversity) stated recently that:
“Organizations that can position themselves – locally and globally – as
diverse and inclusive employers will have a competitive advantage. They will be able to tap into the skills of
current and potential employees; offer products and services that meet the
needs of a growing and diverse customer base; strengthen their ability to
innovate and respond to market changes; and increase their business
opportunities at home and abroad.”
The Conference Board also noted
the importance and timeliness of a shift in approach “from a compliance-driven focus on employment equity to a
business-driven focus on workforce diversity.”
National Overview
Currently immigration accounts for an estimated 70 percent of Ontario’s net labour force growth. Immigration will account for 100 percent of the net labour force growth by 2011 because of factors including the retirement of baby-boom workers and a low birth rate for natural repopulation.
Census data released in March 2007 confirms that immigration is clearly driving population growth in Canada. The top five source countries for immigration to Canada in 2002 were China (14.5%), India (12.5%), Pakistan (6.2 %) and the Philippines (4.8%).
One of the most pressing Human Resource issues for employers is a shortage of skilled labour.
Nevertheless, employers do not view the need to hire more immigrants with any urgency. For example, as found in a 2006 study by the Canadian Labour and Business Congress, managers and labour leaders tend to underestimate the importance of the integration of immigrants into the workforce as a means of managing successfully looming labour shortages. For example, among managers, 56 percent of private sector managers and 49 percent of public sector managers view hiring new immigrants to address the shortage as not important. Among employers, 15 percent cite hiring immigrants as “very important” to address future shortages compared to 39 percent of employers who cite hiring young labour market entrants as action that is “very important”. Other actions that were seen as very important were retaining current workers (45%) and mentoring young workers (38%). This approach is not sustainable if Canada is to be able to prosper.
The evidence to support the lack of effective integration of immigrants into the workforce to date is persuasive. While immigrants encounter several issues in the first six months after coming to Canada, the most difficult is finding employment (75.4%). Immigrants aged 25 to 44 years old who immigrated from 1996-2001 had a 73% labour force participation rate1 in 2001 compared to 90% for those Canadian-born. Employment rates2 for those age 25 to 44 years who immigrated from 1996-2001 at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after arrival in Ottawa were 55%, 63% and 69% respectively.
Immigrants
are more likely to be in jobs that underutilize their qualifications
(particularly immigrant women), polarized in low-wage or high-wage occupations
and have higher unemployment rates than their Canadian-born counterpart. For example, immigrants aged 25 to 44 who
immigrated between 1996- 2001 had a 14% unemployment rate in 2001 compared to
4%
of
those aged 25 to 44 who are Canadian born.
Groups of immigrants including women immigrants, those who speak only
French, and immigrants who are visible minorities face additional barriers and
have poorer economic outcomes than other immigrants.
According
to the Conference Board of Canada, in 2003, 73% of all newcomers to Canada were
visible minorities. In Canada, over 80%
of all visible minorities are immigrants.
For
recent newcomers with a university education who landed between 1996 and 2001,
their likelihood of experiencing low income was comparable to Canadian-born
individuals with no high school diploma.
Local Overview
The competition to attract and retain immigrants is intensifying not only globally but among different regions of Canada and among large Canadian municipalities. Most newcomers rely on reports from friends and family in their potential homeland to make their decision to immigrate to a particular community. If reports of local economic and social outcomes are poor, it will, in a competitive environment, negatively affect Ottawa’s ability to attract and retain immigrants to help meet looming labour and skills shortages.
Between 1986 and 2001, the Ottawa CMA received 85,930 immigrants. By 2017, immigrants will account for 27 percent of Ottawa’s population.
The characteristics of more recent immigrants are different from those who immigrated to Ottawa prior to 1986 in several ways. For example, there are more visible immigrants among those arriving after 1986. By 2017, visible minorities will account for 28 percent of Ottawa’s population. Among immigrants, visible minority immigrants were significantly more likely to be low income.
As well, over half of immigrants who have arrived in recent years were economic immigrants as compared to refugees or family-class immigrants Economic immigrants are destined for the labour force, are younger, at the prime working age and are more educated, especially in the physical sciences, engineering and trades.
Despite
the influx of economic immigrants, currently economic
outcomes for immigrants in Ottawa are poorer than for those who are
Canadian-born. For example, based on
Statistics Canada Data for 2001, among all immigrants 23% were in low income
compared to 14% of the Canadian-born population in Ottawa. Immigrants accounted for 29% of the total
number of Ottawa residents in low income that year. The largest share (33%) of immigrants in low income was among
those 25 to 64 years of age that arrived between 1996 and 2001, while the
largest share (19%) of low income Canadian-born was among those 15 to 24 years
of age.
Local employers and immigrants alike identify a number of
barriers to the successful economic integration of immigrants, including
language difficulties, difficulties in evaluating/recognizing foreign
qualifications and foreign work experience, and workforce and workplace
discrimination and acculturation. There are also a number of barriers to social
inclusion as evidenced by the difficulties immigrants identify in finding
employment, housing, health services, and job training.
Ottawa’s real GDP is projected at 3.1%, compared to 2.9%
nationally, for each year between 2006 and 2009. Ottawa will need to aggressively accelerate the economic
integration of immigrants to meet this target and sustain economic development
and growth in the long term.
FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL RESPONSE
Municipal governments will have a more enhanced role in immigration under the new Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement signed by the Governments of Ontario and Canada on November 21, 2005. Under this agreement, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will invest $920M in new funding over the next five years for settlement and language training programs and services in Ontario. The new funding will increase federal funding from about $800 per immigrant to about $3,400 per immigrant. To guide this investment, the Governments of Canada and Ontario have developed a Strategic Plan for Settlement and Language Training.
An Enhanced Role for Municipalities
Under the new Agreement, municipal governments will have a more enhanced role to influence the strategies undertaken and guide the funding, development and implementation of actions to support the successful integration of newcomers. This enhanced role creates a new opportunity for the City of Ottawa to provide local leadership and collaborate with community partners to identify community priorities for the economic integration and social inclusion of immigrants and to create a City-wide strategy as well as the opportunity to communicate these priorities to the federal and provincial governments.
Most large Canadian municipalities have already begun the coordination and development of strategies for the economic integration of immigrants. The examples of Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver are discussed below:
City of Toronto
The
City of Toronto developed a Toronto Labour Force Readiness Plan in 2001. Based on the results of this study, the City
of Toronto has identified as a priority the development of an integrated and
coordinated labour force development plan that would involve the collaboration
of all three orders of government and include strategies to facilitate the
integration of immigrants into the Toronto labour market.
The City of Toronto is actively involved in the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) that was established in 2003 to effectively address the inclusion of immigrants into the labour market in the Toronto Region. The City of Toronto has two Council seats on TRIEC that has members from across a range of sectors.
City of Vancouver
The Mayor’s Working Group on Immigration (MWGI) was established in May 2005. The MWGI has established six priority areas, including recognizing and affirming the values and benefits of successful integration of immigrants and the promotion of the contributions that newcomers make to the City, implementation of a coordinated service delivery approach for settlement and integration programs and services for immigrants and refugees, advocating for increased funding from the federal and provincial governments, and collaborating with the Vancouver Economic Development Commission to identify potential strategies to address barriers to successful labour market integration and raise public awareness of the employment issues facing newcomers, including inter-community dialogue to reduce and eliminate discrimination toward visible minorities.
The MWGI is currently developing an action plan for the coming year and will be reporting to Council with recommendations for a proposed framework, including strategies and actions, in the spring of 2007.
City of Edmonton
In 2005, Edmonton’s City Council developed a Special Initiative on Immigration and Settlement. Stakeholder Consultations were held in 2006 that led to a report of 11 priority recommendations on immigration being developed and subsequently approved by Council. As a result, the City formed a partnership agreement with the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. The City of Edmonton is establishing a multicultural facility, and establishing internal corporate strategies such as an internship program to assist newcomers with gaining Canadian work experience.
LOCAL RESPONSE
The City and the community have begun to mobilize, tackling individual pieces such as increased hiring of foreign-trained skilled workers, undertaking an environmental scan to assess the “as-is” picture, developing an Ottawa Immigration Portal, and the attraction of new program funding for occupation-specific training for newcomers. While to date there is no broad Citywide strategy to set local priorities and coordinate efforts, the City has begun discussions on a need for a broader strategy through its participation on the International Trained Worker Partnership. The ITWP has expressed interest in participating in the development of a broader strategy.
Environmental Scan
In order to gain a clear picture of the emerging issue, particularly locally, the City undertook the development of a report entitled Faces of Ottawa: a Snapshot of Immigrant Labour Market Integration (Highlights in Document 1 to be distributed separately and on-file with the City Clerk) focusing on the labour market situation of immigrants in Ottawa and employers’ perspectives. The intent of the report was to summarise information from existing sources such as reports, surveys, and Statistics Canada data in order to develop a benchmark. The most recent Statistics Canada Census data available was for 2001. However, it is noted that in February 2007 Statistics Canada released the most recent in a series of reports on immigrants. Detailed data from the 2006 Census data will not be available until 2008. However, a Statistics Canada report releasing some preliminary data (February 2007) confirms the trends identified in the Faces of Ottawa report.
The ITWP comprises a number of partner organizations, including the United Way, the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, Regroupement des gens d’affaires, and Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI). The ITWP was formed in 2002. Its overall goal is to identify, unify and coordinate activities and projects designed to improve the outcomes for newcomers to Ottawa. The Partnership brings together employers, business associations, labour, governments, education institutions and immigrant serving organizations from across the city.
Some achievements of the ITWP to date include:
·
United Way/Centraide Ottawa (UW/CO) and LASI/World Skills along with the
Canadian Labour and Business Centre produced a statistical profile of Ottawa’s
immigrant workforce in 2002, followed by a comprehensive analysis of the Ottawa
labour market.
·
The ITWP convened a series of roundtables in 2003/2004 to examine the
barriers facing immigrants in Ottawa and to explore solutions to their unique
employment issues. As a result, the
formation of a council of community leaders was recommended as a key strategic
platform. A Community Forum of more
than 120 participants endorsed this strategy.
·
In 2005, OCRI TalentWorks and the ITWP conducted joint research into
labour market needs of Ottawa employers, entitled Ottawa@Work: Large
Employers Workforce Needs Analysis. At the same time, the ITWP conducted parallel
research into the needs of small and medium sized enterprises.
In
recent months, the City has brought the idea of a broad citywide strategy
forward for discussion at the ITWP. As
a result, the ITWP has expressed interest in participating in the creation of a
coordinated community-based strategy that will support the inclusion and
successful labour market integration of immigrants. Other interested community
stakeholders also support this approach.
Hire Immigrants Ottawa, the first project of the ITWP, was launched in
May 2006 with project funding from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and
Immigration flowing through the United Way.
One of the objectives of the project is an employer engagement
initiative with the goal of increasing the number of Ottawa employers who hire
skilled immigrants.
On April 12, 2007, HIO will launch Ottawa’s new Employer Council of Champions (ECC), a local leadership council of key employers that will champion the issues of skilled immigrant integration from an employer perspective. Members of the new Employer Council of Champions will include major employers from across Ottawa, specifically from the IT, finance, health and public sectors. Two representatives from the City of Ottawa will participate on the ECC. ECC will support all the various employment initiatives under the ITWP.
New Program Investments
As a result of the Canada-Ontario Agreement
on Immigration, the provincial government has announced substantial investment
of funding in the national capital region for programs designed to provide
newcomers with occupation-specific training and other supports needed to work
in various professions. For example,
the Catholic Immigration Centre Ottawa is developing opportunities to engage
retirees to mentor immigrants, the YM-WCA is providing services to help
newcomers develop pathways to employment commensurate with their education and
skills, Algonquin College and La cité collégiale is providing Bridge Training Programs
in health and trades.
Ottawa Immigration Web Portal
The City has received funding of $200,000 from the province to develop an Ottawa Immigration Web Portal within Ottawa.ca. The portal will provide an Ottawa-specific one-stop, bilingual immigration website containing settlement and labour market information for immigrants, as well as information aimed at attracting potential immigrants with the skill sets reflective of employers’ needs within the region. The website is intended to be simple in design, easy to navigate, with optimal download time and appropriate links between sections or to other websites. Ottawa specific settlement information will include the following topic areas:
The Ottawa Immigration Portal will go live in early June 2007.
The mandate of the IOI is the facilitation and coordination of the development of a citywide, community-based strategy for the integration of a wide range of immigrants in the workforce.
Objectives
The objectives are to:
1. Increase coordination and alignment of services provided to immigrants by the community and the municipality;
2. Work in collaboration with the community to identify gaps, raise awareness and develop priorities and concrete actions to address the economic integration of immigrants;
3. Improve the ability of Ottawa employers, including the Corporation of the City of Ottawa, to meet their workforce needs;
CONSULTATION
Staff has consulted with the Health and Social Services Advisory Committee, the Business Advisory Committee and the Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee in the development of this report. In general the report was well-received by the three Advisory Committees and the idea for an Immigration Ottawa Initiative was supported.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct financial implications associated with this report.
DOCUMENT 1: Highlights of Faces of Ottawa: A Snapshot of Immigrant Labour Market Integration (distributed separately and held on file)
DISPOSITION
Employment and Financial Assistance Branch to coordinate preparation of the report to be submitted for Committee and Council consideration within six months.
IMMIGRATION
OTTAWA INITIATIVE
Initiative d’Ottawa en
matière d’immigration
ACS2007-CPS-EFA-0001 CITY WIDE / À L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager
introduced Danielle Masse, Director of Employment and Financial Assistance
(EFA), Suzanne Gagnon, Manager, Labour Market Integration, EFA and Michael
Murr, Manager of Economic Development, Planning, Transit and Development
Department. A PowerPoint presentation detailing the report
was presented and a copy is held on file.
In response to questions and concerns raised by Councillor Bédard, the Director provided the following details:
· to assist those who have French as their second language, there will be a work plan developed which would eventually address the problems francophone immigrants experience
· there is no financial implication to the City at this time; staff are trying to develop a strategy with the community, to be in a position to lobby the Federal and Provincial Government for funding; staff have not received any confirmation as to how much funding would be forthcoming, but it is the Federal and Provincial Government’s responsibility and the intention to fund this initiative
Councillor Bédard hoped that the Federal Government would recognize, according to its own bilingualism policy, and ensure that the program is offered in a parallel fashion for the two bilingual groups.
Councillor Cullen referred to the barriers
faced by new Canadians to participate in the economy because of the control of
professional designations and asked whether the work plan will include a strategy
to deal with this concern. Ms. Gagnon
confirmed this initiative would be examining all of the barriers and the action
plan would then be based on that. The
councillor hoped that when staff begin to develop the strategy, that they would
include recommendations for the Committee’s consideration not only to be a
‘best practice employer’ but also to lobby on behalf of the community.
Councillor Feltmate asked why Ottawa is only
just developing an immigrant strategy when other major Canadian cities have previously
done so. The Deputy City Manager
explained that up until this point, the City had a fragmented approach to how
it dealt with this issue and so it was determined that this should be a
priority for the City and Council and staff should take the leadership on the
issue, working with community partners.
Nubia Cermeño and Cecile Mbaya, City for All Women Initiative spoke in strong support of the staff report, particularly as it related to employment and training. They noted that it is only by working in partnership with the community that such ambitious aims can be achieved. They recognized the impact that the inability to find jobs has had on their families and communities. For many, it has meant their hard earned skills and education are un-utilized, thereby
contributing to poverty, depression and family disintegration. They spoke about the challenges faces by immigrant women including:
· the difficulty to access employment and training if affordable childcare is not available
· the lack of literacy skills or the education to obtain a good job
· the difficulties of shift-work
· limited opportunities for francophones to learn English
· not having their diplomas and credentials recognized for potential jobs.
They suggested that the following key elements be part of the initiative:
1. That differences and inequalities between women and men in immigrant populations be integrated throughout the work of the initiative so as to address barriers experienced by women, such as family responsibilities, safety and literacy levels.
2. That the initiative address the specific barriers of immigrants who face multiple barriers due to race, religion and language, including that of francophone immigrants.
3. That the City’s Employment Equity program be an integral part of this initiative so that the City of Ottawa demonstrates leadership in this area.
A copy of their written submission is held on file.
Moved by D. Holmes
That the
following three key elements be integrated into the Strategy:
1. That
the differences and inequalities between women and men in immigrant populations
be integrated throughout the work of the initiative so as to address barriers
experienced by women, such as family responsibilities, safety and literacy
levels.
2. That
the initiative address the specific barriers of immigrants who face multiple
barriers due to race, religion and language, including that of francophone
immigrants.
3. That
the City’s Employment Equity program be an integral part of this initiative so
that the City of Ottawa demonstrates leadership in this area.
carried
Immigration Ottawa Initiative
Community and Protective Services
Committee
April 5, 2007
Deputation presented by:
City for All Women Initiative (CAWI)
Initiative:
une ville pour toutes les femmes (IVTF)
Nubia Cermeno and Cecile Mbaya
Good morning members of the committee.
My name is Nubia Cermeño I am with the Latin American Women’s Organization and the Steering Committee of the City for All Women Initiative. I am joined today by Cecile Mbaya, coordinator of Karibu Canada. We speak today in representation of women and organizations who are part of the network of the City for All Women Initiative. You will see some of us here wearing our peach scarves.
In June 2005, the Health and Social Services Committee renewed the partnership of the City for All Women Initiative and directed the Community and Protective Services Department to work with CAWI so as to ensure that the goal of integrating gender equality into city practices was realized. Since that time, CAWI has coordinated city staff and community in the development and pilot of the Gender Equality Guide, for using a Gender Equality Lens in developing programs. This Guide is currently under review for implementation city-wide.
We are here today to shed some light on the importance this report has for immigrant women and the barriers that must be overcome if the City of Ottawa is to make a real difference in the lives of immigrant families in our communities. In the months leading up to the Municipal Election, employment and training was one of the key issues that women in our network identified as an issue to raise with the candidates.
You may have heard some of us asking candidates to develop a collaborative approach between the City and women’s organizations so as to help remove barriers that keep immigrant women from obtaining employment and training.
We strongly support this proposal. It is only by working in partnership with the community that such ambitious aims can be achieved.
We know the impact that the inability to find jobs has had on our families and communities. For many, it has meant that our hard earned skills and education are un-utilized, which in turn has contributed to poverty, depression and family disintegration. The men are driving taxi cabs; while the women are cleaning the offices at night. In some cases, the men in our families have returned to our home countries to find jobs, while the women are left alone to raise the children. This results in a disintegration of our families; while the city does not benefit from the skills we have to offer.
The report mentions that women immigrants face greater challenges. We wish to name a few that we have experienced:
· If we have children, it is especially difficult to access employment and training if affordable childcare is not available.
· If we have children, we are more likely to remain in the home than attend language classes, which in turn keeps us from acquiring jobs.
· If we came from countries where women did not have the same opportunity as men to be educated, we are more likely to lack the literacy skills or educational to obtain a good job.
· If we are Muslim and wear a hijab, we encounter suspicion or a questioning of our abilities.
· As we often hold jobs at night or at irregular hours, it becomes unsafe and difficult for us to get to work when bus routes and hours are reduced.
My organization, Karibu Canada, serves women who are immigrant, francophone and black. We know what it means to be up against multiple barriers. In addition to the barriers mentioned above:
· If we are a woman of colour, we often encounter racial prejudice in seeking employment.
· Many of us already speak several languages from our home country as well as French. However, we are not considered employable without the English and we find there are limited opportunities for francophones to learn English.
· All of these factors are compounded when our diplomas and credentials are not recognized.
As immigrant communities, we know very well what is needed to help us integrate, but when we present funding proposals to address such needs, we face further discrimination as the funding is often denied.
In order to be successful, Immigrant Ottawa Initiative must address these barriers,
There are three key
elements we ask be part of this initiative:
1) That differences and inequalities between women and men in immigrant populations be integrated throughout the work of the initiative so as to address barriers experienced by women, such as family responsibilities, safety and literacy levels.
2) That the initiative address the specific barriers of immigrants who face multiple barriers due to race, religion and language, including that of francophone immigrants.
3) That the City’s Employment Equity program be an integral part of this initiative so that the City of Ottawa demonstrates leadership in this area.
We urge the Committee to support this important initiative.
We look forward to working with you to create a more inclusive work force in our city.
[1] Fact Sheet, November 21, 2005. Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/about/f211105.htm
[2] Report on Diversity: Priorities, Practices and Performance in Canadian Organizations, Conference Board of Canada, November 2006
1 Labour Force Participation Rate includes those who are employed and those who are looking for work
2 Employment Rate includes only those who are employed.