qathet Regional District’s board will consider writing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regarding the negative impact of denying funding for refugee services in the region.
At the January 29 committee of the whole meeting, directors reviewed correspondence from Lift Community Services executive director Kim Markel regarding the loss of funding for the organization’s immigrant services program. According to a statement to the Peak from Lift, the cut amounts to about $220,000, or 85 per cent of the funding for Lift’s immigrant services. The province supplies the other 15 per cent.
City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott indicated the qRD board should write a letter to the IRCC funding program to let them know why the decision to cut funding is going to impact the community. She said people can’t travel to get the same services in another community.
“I want to object to the people who do the funding about this decision, and how it impacts our community,” said Elliott. “I would like to recommend to our board a motion to write a letter.”
Electoral Area D director and committee chair Sandy McCormick said when she read the letter from Markel, it made her think about funding here for immigration services. She asked if the funding in question was meant to be one-time funding to help immigrants get settled, or was it meant to be ongoing?
“If it’s meant to be ongoing, it is really disrespectful, and it’s critical to those people [who use the service],” said McCormick.
City director Rob Southcott said the funding has been an ongoing operationally funded service for many years.
“It’s thought that this is political,” said Southcott. “To roll it back to 15 per cent means almost decimating what has been an extremely valuable service here. We have more immigrants in this town, many of whom have benefitted in big ways over the years. Lift has done an amazing job over the years in a very quiet way. I would really support director Elliott’s motion. I hope we can bring this to the city, too.”
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he finds the matter concerning. He said one of the big concerns, politically, around immigration, is that when there are immigration issues, quite often it’s because everyone is concentrated into an urban centre. He said in small towns, it’s not as big an issue, and that is where a community like Powell River has a good history of being so inviting, and having connections being built.
“I’m really disappointed to see the funding being cut,” said Gisborne. “I would support some kind of motion to bring it back.”
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox said it’s a tragedy that the funding is being withdrawn. He said it is appropriate to have a response about the directors’ dismay.
Elliott said IRCC has suggested that Powell River immigrants be serviced out of the Comox Valley, so she wanted to make sure that directors explain the realities of the region, and the fact that Comox and Courtenay are not just a drive away.
She made a motion that the committee recommend the board to write a letter to IRCC regarding the negative impact to this remote and inaccessible community by denying funding for the immigration services provided in the region, given the high ratio of immigrants and refugees. The motion carried unanimously.
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