Canada is improving settlement services for newcomers

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) works with many partners in the delivery of services to newcomers to Canada, and supports their integration into Canadian communities. 

IRCC is actively working to improve these settlement services through the service delivery improvements funding stream and will be providing funding of $400,424 to North York Community House (NYCH) to help deliver these important services.

Marco Mendicino, Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence, made the announcement on behalf of Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

This project will embed user-centred design and innovation methodologies, with help from social design firm InWithForward, and become part of the Grounded Space Collective. 

Grounded Space is a collection of social service agencies in Canada committed to making evidence and experimentation a core function of their organizations. NYCH will form a team of integrated researchers and cultural curators. Staff will be coached to do ethnographic field work with end-users, visualize trends, prototype new practice models, and develop new kinds of evaluation metrics and backend data systems for project execution.

IRCC’s Service Delivery Improvement Fund is a dedicated funding stream of over $30 million per year, devoted to service delivery improvement, innovation and experimentation to continue to find better ways to deliver services to newcomers, meet the needs of newcomer clients and support the integration process.

“I’m proud that the government of Canada is working with organizations like North York Community House to provide high-quality settlement services for newcomers across the country,” said Hussen. “Finding new and better ways to help newcomers succeed in their journey benefits all Canadians, by strengthening our labour force and the economy.”

“Thanks to the service delivery improvement fund, projects such as this one undertaken by North York Community House will improve IRCC’s understanding of newcomer needs and support their successful integration into Canadian communities,” said Mendicino. 

A few quick facts:

SDI funding is a dedicated stream within the settlement program of almost $150 million over five years. The funding was allocated to the department through the 2017 Immigration Levels Plan, and is devoted to testing new approaches to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Program.

IRCC is now funding over 100 projects across the country. All projects will be complete by March 31, 2021.

There are seven funding streams under the SDI: language acquisition; employment; youth supports; harnessing volunteers and supporting capacity building in the settlement sector; pay for performance; newcomer well-being and programming to support vulnerable clients; and research and analysis to drive innovation and understand the user experience.

Ontario seniors to receive tax-funded dental care

Financial constraints or obstacles prevent some seniors from  seeking the dental care they require. Ontario is protecting what matters most by providing low-income seniors access to quality dental care through a new publicly-funded dental care program that will begin in late summer 2019. 

Ontarians aged 65 and over with an income of $19,300 or less, or couples with a combined annual income of $32,300 or less, who do not have dental benefits, will qualify for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program. 

The services will be accessed thro-ugh public health units, community health centres and Aboriginal Health Access Centres across the province.  

“No senior should ever struggle to access the quality dental care they need, including those in my riding of Mississauga East-Cooksville,” said Member of Provincial Parliament Kaleed Rasheed for Mississauga East-Cooksville. 

“Our seniors deserve care and consideration, and that starts with ensuring quality health care is available to all seniors, regardless of their income. I am proud to say that our government is delivering on another key campaign commitment – we are investing nearly $100 million each year to provide quality dental care for low-income seniors across Ontario.”  

A few quick facts:

Two-thirds of low-income seniors do not have access to dental insurance. 

Once the program is launched, seniors will be able to get an application form from the ministry’s web-site or public health unit. 

Applications will be assessed, and eligible clients will be enrolled in the program. 

In 2015, there were almost 61,000 hospital emergency visits for dental problems, at a cost to Ontario’s health care system of approximately $31 million.

By winter 2019, the program will expand to include new dental services in underserviced areas, including through mobile dental buses and an increased number of dental suites in public health units.