This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Antony Lyons
6 years ago
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1 A comparative evaluation of Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) and their role in the Syrian refugee resettlement process in three Ontario reception centres Research team Hamilton: Huyen Dam and Sarah Wayland (McMaster U/Hamilton City) Ottawa: Luisa Veronis (uottawa) Waterloo: Blair Cullen and Margaret Walton-Roberts (Wilfrid Laurier U) Policy Brief / scaling team: Marina Ghosh, Sasha Oliveira, Ahmed Mohamoud Elmi (Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo) This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

2 Outline Syrian refugee resettlement Settlement sector & Local immigration partnerships (LIPs) Research context Methodology Tale of LIPs in three communities Strengths & weaknesses Structures Involvement Effectiveness Challenges Policy lessons?

3 Syrian refugee resettlement As of January 2017 over 40,ooo Syrian refugees have been resettled in Canada Profile of accepted refugees is predominately less educated, some experience of trauma and poor health, and 46% are under 15. Federal representation at the local level was weak in this case compared to the Indo-Chinese case (Alboim 2016). Local context frames the nature of resettlement resources and the processes and outcomes of resettlement

4 Canada s settlement sector Internationally recognized, unique place-based approach State funded Diverse nonprofit organizations based in the communities they serve Welfare state or shadow state? Neoliberal state restructuring (1990s) Austerity agendas (2008+) New Public Management Short term project funding, accountability & transparency requirements, etc. (Wolch 1990; Stasiulis 2002; Trudeau and Veronis 2009; Shields 2014; Shields et al. 2016; Lowe et al. 2017;)

5 Local Immigration Partnerships Introduced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in 2008 Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement ( ) Attempt at coordinated local settlement policy Community-based councils responsible for executing settlement strategy Extends involvement to agencies not traditionally directly involved in settlement (Health, Education, Policing, Municipalities) Few studies have covered the impact of the LIPs (Burstein et al. 2012)

6 Research context Lack of research focusing on resettlement system in a holistic localized manner (Yu et al. 2007) Local context + resettlement resources available = resettlement process, community integration & long-term settlement outcomes (Sherrell et al., 2005; Hynie & Hyndman, 2016) The Liberal Government s Resettlement Plan A comparative case study on LIPs impact during the Syrian refugee resettlement (SRR) process Table 1: Three Ontario Reception Centres (Source: IRCC; * Data as of 29 January 2017) LIP Est. Total CMA Pop. (2015) % of Immigrants (2011) #GAR s #PSR s #BVO Rs Total Hamilton , Ottawa , Waterloo Region ,

7 Methodology Community review teams KI interviews (approx. 10 in each community completed) LIPs literature review and scaling proposals (draft completed) Policy brief scaling team Comparative analysis Team meetings (monthly). Feedback sessions and writing retreat (in progress)

8 Research Questions What was the level of involvement of the LIPs in the Syrian refugee resettlement process (including the LIPs role in the resettlement of the three different refugee streams; PSRs, GARs, and BVOR)? How did the regional context structure the nature and extent of LIPs involvement? How effective were the LIPs in terms of coordinating, mobilizing, communicating and managing public and immigrant and refugee serving sector responses to the resettlement process? What were the strengths and weaknesses of the LIP s structure in light of the Syrian refugee resettlement process, and how and why might these reflect differences in community context? What policy lessons can we learn from the role of the LIPs in the Syrian refugee resettlement process in these communities; what were the most effective strategies, structures and practices used and how can these lessons be scaled up nationally and even internationally?

9 Research Methods Study Sample in Ottawa N=10 Key Informant Interviews Semi-structured, 1 hour Interview List Developed collaboratively Interview questions: Service Providers structures, networks and resources level of involvement of LIPs and/or other local stakeholders OLIP staff & delegates City of Ottawa Experts IRCC Representative perceived effectiveness of LIPs in facilitating resettlement during the SRR process

10 Strengths & weaknesses Strengths prior to SRR Community histories of helping refugees LIPs were long established (2009) LIPs engaged multiple sectors Established working groups/ sector tables & relationships, even trust, among LIP members Challenges prior to SRR Unequal partnerships Key players absent from LIP Decreases in budget & staffing Conflicting interpretations of LIP

11 LIP Structures Figure 1: Structural layout of each LIP. (HIPC, 2016b; OLIP, 2017b; WRIP, 2016c) Similar functional structure across the communities : council, strategic or executive committees, and multiple working groups LIPs purpose to convene multiple sector leaders to coordinate and enhance services for newcomers, develop strategy All three LIPs function in an advisory capacity, and share responsibility to oversee and coordinate approved actions. Funding includes IRCC settlement program and other sources, in-kind and fund-raising.

12 Number of Ottawa Syrian Refugees Accepted Ottawa SRR timeline Critical events key International event National event Local event Total Ottawa Total Canada SEP 2-Image of Alan Kurbi goes viral. Interest in private sponsorship of Syrians in Canada spike. OCT 1-Ottawa Mayor s Forum. Official launch of Refugee 613 DEC 1-Governor General holds Forum on Welcoming Syrian Refugees to Canada (Ottawa) OCT 19- The Liberal Party is elected and plan to get 25,000 Syrians to Canada by the end of February. DEC 25-First large group of Syrian refugees arrive in Ottawa FEB 27-Liberals reach goal to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees. JUN 20-Refugee Forum (OLIP) JUN Welcome Ottawa Week 2016 (OLIP) Sep 15 Oct 15 Nov 15 Dec 15 Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 May 16 Jun 16 Jul 16 Aug 16 Sep 16

13 LIPs involvement in Syrian Refugee Resettlement Coordinate with other agencies Donations, arrivals, settlement services Communicate Media, inter-governmental, inter-sectoral-agencies, private sponsors Community building and diversity engagement Hamilton is ready (Hamilton media) I Am Waterloo Region (WRIP, 2016c, p. 2) Refugee Forum (June 2016) & Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW 2016)

14 Community response facilitated but not directed by LIPs Waterloo: Resettlement Steering Committee Hamilton: Mayor s Advisory Committee on Syrian Newcomers Ottawa:

15 Inform, Connect, Inspire Ottawa brand Built on Project 4000 Executive committee (5 members) Stakeholder Committee (25 members) 4 staff Task forces Health (Primary & Mental health) Housing Policy & Inspiring change Working groups Sponsorship Employment Community Outreach

Federal Provincial Local Community Media Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) City of Ottawa 4 School Boards Settlement agencies

16 Federal Provincial Local Community Media Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) City of Ottawa 4 School Boards Settlement agencies Schools Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP/PLIO) Refugee 613 Community Health and Resource Centres Landlords Sponsorship groups Faith-based groups Volunteers

17 OLIP was embedded in the formation of Refugee 613 in that the people forming Refugee 613 all knew about the LIP, and what its work was and were active participants in it... I think you could argue that because of some of the ground work, there's a foundational piece done by OLIP over the years to improve collaboration across sectors that made it easier at the start and it gave us a good foundation and then the work of being together at the Refugee 613 tables kind of pulled those relationships onto a whole other level. [Ottawa 6]

18 Effectiveness of LIPs Responsive to new trends and emergencies Help shape agendas of multiple sectors to support newcomers Coordinate between otherwise competing service providers Convene community actors to help create collaborative approaches Organizational structure of the LIPs can enhance intersectional networking LIPs relationship with Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) and municipal government differs.

19 Challenges Public transparency (website, minutes, information sharing) Failures in inter-sectoral communication and coordination Absence of effective inter-governmental relations-research suggests the strongest link was directly between the Immigration minister and the mayors, bypassing province and the LIPs why (cities primed, CIC not on the ground in Cdn)? Duplication of roles and responsibilities Source of authority: Who hosts the LIP, who s on council? Leadership, charisma and capacity of the LIPs leadership is important to success/relative failure to mobilise and organise. Cities took on role and responsibility of resettling hundreds more refugees than normal with no extra funding (health, education, housing etc.). Responsibility sharing by default Might this come back to haunt future resettlement events?

20 Take aways Local context and leadership LIP structures and partnerships LIPs can play a coordination role between different levels of government Provincial, municipal LIPs can build strong intersectoral networks Community awareness

21 Policy lessons? Model offers a local proactive response to humanitarian crises needing refugee resettlement Community advocacy to harness public support for humanitarian response convert it into tangible action Creates direct personal contact between host communities and refugees and migrants (UN Secretary General, 2016, 15) Become the platform for coordinating community sponsored refugee programs in the future? Combine PSR and LIPs ideals

22 Acknowledgements SSHRC-IRCC Research participants Research assistants Our partners: For more information:

23 Bradford, N., & Andrew, C. (2010). Ontario s Immigration Partnership Councils: Renewing Multiculturalism from Below. London, Ontario. Welcoming Communities Initiative. Burstein, M., Esses, E., Lacassagne, A., and Nadeau, J. (2012) LIP-Municipal IInteractions and CIC s Strategic Interests. Welcoming Communities Initiative. August. Available at CICs- Strategic-Interests-Report.pdf Fragomeni, C. (2015, September 12). Hamiltonians trying to help Syrian refugees. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved from: Hynie, M., and Hyndman, J. (2016) From newcomer to Canadian: Making refugee integration work. Policy Options Available at Macmillan, R., & Townsend, A. (2006). A new institutional fix? The community turn and h changing role of the voluntary sector. In C. Milligan & D. Conradson (eds), Landscapes of voluntarism: New spaces of health, welfare and governance. Bristol: Policy Press. Mukhtar, M., Dean, J., Wilson, K., Ghassemi, E., & Wilson, D. H. (2016). But Many of These Problems are About Funds : The Challenges Immigrant Settlement Agencies (ISAs) Encounter in a Suburban Setting in Ontario, Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 17(2), Peck, J., & Tickell, A. (2002). Neoliberalizing space. Antipode, 34(3), pp Sherrell, K., Hyndman, J. and Preniqi, F., (2005). Sharing the wealth, spreading the" burden"? The settlement of Kosovar refugees in smaller British Columbia cities. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 37, 3: Travis, J. (2016, February 10). Welcoming new Canadians: Hamilton is ready! The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved from: Wolch, J. (1990). The shadow state: government and voluntary sector in transition. New York: The Foundation Center. Yu, S., Ouellet, E., and Warmington, A., (2007). Refugee Integration in Canada: A Survey of Empirical Evidence and Existing Services. Refuge 24,2:

wesley.ca CANADA S REFUGEE SYSTEM The Canadian Refugee System has two main parts:

wesley.ca CANADA S REFUGEE SYSTEM The Canadian Refugee System has two main parts: CANADA S REFUGEE SYSTEM The Canadian Refugee System has two main parts: 1. Refugee Humanitarian Resettlement Program, for people who need protection from outside Canada 2. In Canada Asylum Program for