Settlement Services for Syrian Refugees—Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Settlement Services for Syrian Refugees—Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
(Report 3—2017 Fall Reports of the Auditor General of Canada)
13 February 2018
Nancy Cheng, Fellow Chartered Professional AccountantFCPA, Fellow Chartered AccountantFCA
Assistant Auditor General
Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to present the results of our audit of settlement services for Syrian refugees. Joining me at the table is Nicholas Swales, the Principal responsible for the audit.
In 2015, the Government of Canada committed to help bring approximately 47,000 Syrian refugees to Canada over the next two years.
As of 30 April 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reported that almost 45,000 Syrian refugees had arrived in Canada since November 2015. This number was three times higher than the average number of refugees that have been admitted to Canada every year since 1995.
This audit looked at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s $257 million initiative to help Syrian refugees settle in Canada. The audit focused on whether Syrian refugees received selected settlement services funded by the Department that were needed to help them integrate into Canada. It also examined whether the Department measured the outcomes of its efforts to settle Syrian refugees.
This audit is important because the Syrian refugee initiative will succeed in the long term only if the people it brought to Canada integrate into Canadian society.
In the area of delivering settlement services, we found that most Syrian refugees received needs assessments, language assessments, and language training during their first year in Canada. More than 80% had their needs assessed, and 75% of those who received language assessments attended language classes.
We also found that the Department identified the settlement services that Syrian refugees needed, and allocated funding to the organizations that offered these services. The Department increased funding for services when it determined that refugees arriving under the initiative needed more settlement services than expected.
However, the Department did not allocate all of the additional funds early enough in 2017 to meet the needs of the service providers. The purpose of these funds was to sustain additional settlement services established in 2016. When they did not receive funding, some service providers cut settlement services for at least three months.
In the area of managing information for decision making, we found that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not have sufficient information to efficiently manage language training wait-lists for Syrian refugees. It also lacked information to ensure the consistent delivery of services to Syrian refugees in all regions. Although the Department expected the Syrian refugees to receive a standard and consistent level of service across the country, many of the contribution agreements we examined contained no service expectations.
These findings matter because many of the Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada needed extensive settlement services. It was therefore important for the government to have accurate and timely information about the demand for language training, and for it to set clear expectations for the services it funded to ensure that those services would meet the needs of clients.
Finally, in the area of measuring outcomes, we found that although the Department had developed a strategy for measuring the integration of Syrian refugees into Canada, it did not collect information from the provinces for some important indicators, such as access to health care providers and school attendance.
The Department is responsible for promoting the successful integration of permanent residents into Canada. To assess whether the Syrian refugees are successfully integrating into Canadian society, the Department needs to know that they have access to provincial services.
We are pleased to report that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has agreed with our recommendations.
Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening remarks. We would be pleased to answer any questions the Committee may have. Thank you.