HANSARD: Why are Liberals punishing newcomers, settlement services agencies and VCC's wildly successful language training program?

Debates of Dec. 12th, 2024
House of Commons Hansard #388 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session
Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Mr. Speaker, settlement services agencies have received notice of massive funding cuts of up to 70% to their budget. This will decimate the delivery of critical services to help integrate newcomers. Two NDP provinces, B.C. and Manitoba, seem to be targeted with the deepest cuts. As a case in point, after three decades of providing essential language training to newcomers, Vancouver Community College will lose all of its funding even though 92% of the students get employment afterward.

Why are the Liberals punishing newcomers, settlement services agencies and VCC's wildly successful language training program?

Marc Miller Minister of Immigration
Liberal

Mr. Speaker, every five years we review the funding model for the settlement services to welcome newcomers, to make sure they learn English, to make sure they learn French, to integrate them to a new country and to help them to overcome trauma. This is something we can be very proud of as a country. Obviously, this year we have reduced the levels of people we are welcoming to the country. That comes with some cuts and some readjustments, but clearly, this is a sector that is critical to the integration of newcomers. We will continue to fund it generously and continue to help people integrate to this beautiful country that is the best in the world.

https://openparliament.ca/debates/2024/12/12/jenny-kwan-1/

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