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History of Federal-Provincial Relations in Immigration and Integration

History of Federal-Provincial Relations in Immigration and Integration. Presentation by Robert Vineberg to a Metropolis Seminar February 16, 2009. Purpose. Illustrate the long-standing provincial involvement in immigration Provide a survey from Confederation to the present day

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History of Federal-Provincial Relations in Immigration and Integration

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  1. History of Federal-Provincial Relations in Immigration and Integration Presentation by Robert Vineberg to a Metropolis Seminar February 16, 2009

  2. Purpose Illustrate the long-standing provincial involvement in immigration Provide a survey from Confederation to the present day Illustrate the various phases of the immigration relationship Examine the legislative and working relationships between the two levels of government 2

  3. Structure • Prelude • pre-Confederation • Confederation • sorting out responsibilities in the first half century • Interval • WWI through WWII • Postwar • 1946 to 1966 • Reawakening • 1967 to 1977 • The Era of Consultation • 1978 to 1985 • The Era of Devolution and Regionalisation • 1985 to the Present Day 3

  4. Prelude • In each Province the Legislature may take Laws in relation to Agriculture in the Province, and to Immigration into the Province; and it is hereby declared that the Parliament of Canada may from Time to Time make Laws in relation to Agriculture in all or any of the Provinces, and to Immigration into all or any of the Provinces; and any Law of the Legislature of a Province relative to Agriculture or to Immigration shall have effect in and for the Province as long and as far only as it is not repugnant to any Act of the Parliament of Canada. • Section 95, Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly British North America Act 1876) 4

  5. Prelude BNA Act provision not revolutionary People and agriculture two key concerns. In a new country too important to leave to one (untested) level of government Colonial provinces experienced in the field 5

  6. Confederation - 1 • First Federal-Provincial Conference on Immigration – October 30, 1868 • To define spheres of action of the two levels of government • First FP Agreement on Immigration • Dominion government to establish agencies in London and on continent but provinces can retain their agents as well • Dominion government to administer quarantine stations at Grosse Isle, Halifax and Saint John • Conference to occur annually 6

  7. Confederation - 2 • 1871 FP Conference also attended by new provinces of Manitoba and BC • 1868 agreement updated • Dominion government to commit to a “liberal policy for the settlement of Manitoba and the NWT” • 1874 FP Conference acknowledged rivalry between federal and provincial agents detrimental • Provincial agents to be sub-agents of Dominion immigration agents 7

  8. Confederation - 3 • BC lobbying effort finally results in Chinese head tax in 1885 • Next FP Conference nearly 20 years later – in 1892 – when immigration moved to Department of the Interior • Major issue was provinces not paying rent for offices of sub-agents in Dominion offices • Apparently Ottawa never sent any bills and provinces were happy not to pay 8

  9. Interval - 1 WWI ends period of massive immigration to the Canadian west Immigration offices in UK & Europe closed & staff assigned to war effort Need for passenger vessels to return servicemen after the war precluded mass immigration until spring of 1920 FP Conference on immigration publicity in 1920 but governments’ focus was reintegration of servicemen 9

  10. Interval - 2 • 1928 – Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization review • Recommends greater role for provinces in “placement, settlement and supervision” of immigrants • Recommends that Dominion government defray costs to the provinces • Observes selection must “rest solely and exclusively” with the Government of Canada” 10

  11. Interval - 3 • The Great Depression ended the revival of immigration in the 1920s • Provinces lose interest in face of other pressing issues • Department of Mines and Resources submission to Rowell-Sirois Commission stated “no provincial organizations exist for any of this work” • Many provinces, especially Québec, lobby against Jewish immigration 11

  12. Postwar - 1 Government learned the lessons from WWI demobilization and the return of troops did not lead to recession People wanted to come to Canada and Canada wanted them Government embraced “DPs” in propitiation of previous sins First Department of C&I created in 1950 with mandate to expand operations to meet the demand 12

  13. Postwar - 2 • C&I created without any apparent concern for role of provinces • Requirement to consult with provinces but department interpreted it to apply only to settlement • Welfare and hospitalization cost-sharing agreements concluded in the 1950s • 1952 Immigration Act drafted without serious consultation with the provinces 13

  14. Postwar - 3 • Led by Ontario, Alberta and BC also launch marketing efforts in UK and Europe for skilled trades • Hungarian Refugee Movement forced C&I to seek help from the provinces • C&I offers to care for refugees for first year with provinces taking over afterwards • Immigration peaks in 1958 with Suez Crisis but then recession reduces immigration and provincial interest 14

  15. Reawakening - 1 • Economic recovery by the mid-1960s brought higher immigration levels (about 200,000/year) • Immigration White Paper in 1966 created more interest • Manpower and Immigration (M&I) Department created • Provinces getting more involved • QC, ON, MB, SK and AB all have small provincial immigration bureaux 15

  16. Reawakening - 2 • Québec would assume lead in seeking provincial involvement • Quiet Revolution led to openness to immigrants and decision to push feds to select more francophone immigrants • In 1965, Québec Immigration Service created in Ministry of Cultural Affairs • Immigration seen as cultural tool to preserve a French Québec 16

  17. Reawakening - 3 • In 1968 Québec creates immigration ministry • Lang-Cloutier Agreement in 1971 • First modern federal-provincial agreement • Québec allowed to place officers abroad to counsel immigrants destined to Québec • Andras-Bienvenue Agreement in 1975 • Required immigrants destined to Québec to see QIS officer 17

  18. Reawakening - 4 • In 1973, Minister Andras launched immigration review/Green Paper • Green Paper stated • there is no constitutional bar to more active and widened collaboration between the central government and the provinces, the purpose being to make immigration policy more sensitive to the provinces' and territories’ requirements 18

  19. Era of Consultation - 1 • 1976 Immigration Act (in force 1978) • required consultation with provinces on levels and settlement and (s. 7) • provided for federal-provincial agreements (s. 109) • First provincial consultations in spring and summer of 1978 • Ontario gave no opinion as it considered levels setting a federal prerogative • Resulted in 1979 levels of 100,000 19

  20. Era of Consultation - 2 • But plans are only plans • Southeast Asian Refugee Crisis • In July, federal government announces it will take 50,000 refugees • In 1982, consultations expanded to include Yukon and NWT • Government determined to conclude s.109 agreements with more than just Québec 20

  21. Era of Consultation - 3 • Cullen-Couture Agreement (1978) • Real selection power for Québec • Landing of an independent immigrant requires QIS approval • Clearly federal government wanted to demonstrate that federalism could work • Agreements with other provinces • NS and SK signed at same time • Not as substantial as the Québec agreement but important nonetheless 21

  22. Era of Consultation - 4 Over next year, agreements signed with Newfoundland, New Brunswick and PEI Alberta signed agreement in 1985 but allowed it to lapse in 1990 Manitoba, BC and Ontario did not conclude agreements at this time 22

  23. Devolution and Regionalisation - 1 • 1984 – Election of Mulroney Conservatives • Committed to “bringing Québec into the Constitution” • Immigration a key issue for Québec • Wanted Cullen-Couture enshrined in any new Constitution • Immigration provisions includes in Meech Lake Accord in 1987 23

  24. Devolution and Regionalisation - 2 • Meech Lake fails in 1990 • Federal Government decided to pursue a further round of Constitutional talks (Charlottetown) • But also offers Québec chance to negotiate a new immigration agreement at the same time • Charlottetown Agreement rejected by national referendum 24

  25. Devolution and Regionalisation - 3 • Canada-Québec Accord signed by Ministers McDougall & Gagnon-Tremblay in 1991 • Confirms control over selection of independent immigrants • Federal withdrawal from settlement programs and funding transferred to Québec • Controversial funding formula – always goes up – cannot go down... 25

  26. Devolution and Regionalisation - 4 • 1990s - The Prairies are restless • Concerned not getting their fair share • Movement led by Manitoba • Seeks regionalization of immigration and • Selection system that works for Manitoba • CIC did not want 10 Canada-Quebec agreements but needed to be responsive • Developed Provincial Nominee concept • Originally a pilot with a 1000 national maximum 26

  27. Devolution and Regionalisation - 5 • PNP was impetus for a new round of federal-provincial agreements • First new agreement signed by Manitoba in October 1996 • Framework agreement with annexes for PNP and Settlement Realignment • PNP annexes/agreements concluded: • 1998: MB, SK and BC • 1999: NB and NL • 2001: PEI and YK • 2002: AB and NS 27

  28. Devolution and Regionalisation - 6 • Settlement Realignment was driven by Federal Government’s Program Review • $62.3M added to settlement budget as an incentive • MB and BC begin delivering settlement programs in 1999 • But increasing anger with funding disparity with Québec • QB funding increasing annually and no change everywhere else 28

  29. Devolution and Regionalisation - 7 • Ontario leads the charge and includes settlement in multi-billion dollar “fiscal imbalance” argument • In 2005 with an election approaching, Martin government put big $ on the table • First ever immigration agreement with Ontario concluded in November 2005 • Almost $1B in settlement funding over 5 years • Surprise, surprise! Other provinces want the same deal. 29

  30. Devolution and Regionalisation - 8 • Alberta and BC demand the same deal • 2006 Federal budget goes part way with an increase of $77M • In 2008 an additional $121.6M created rough parity with Ontario and Québec • FPT Ministerial Meetings resume after almost a century • Denis Coderre convened first in 2002 • Now being held more or less annually 30

  31. Ends and Means • History of FPT relations in Immigration has been one of ebb and flow • Provinces & territories now engaged • New immigration agreements have no expiry date • recognized as a permanent element of managing immigration in Canada • Regime of consultation & cooperation not easy to manage but better for immigrants and better for Canada 31

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