History of FederalProvincial Relations in Immigration and Integration

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History of Federal-Provincial Relations in
Immigration and Integration

• Presentation
• by
• Robert Vineberg
• to a
• Metropolis Seminar
• February 16, 2009

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 CI created in 1950 with
  mandate to expand operations to meet the demand

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Postwar - 2

• CI 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

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Postwar - 3

• Led by Ontario, Alberta and BC also launch
  marketing efforts in UK and Europe for skilled
  trades
• Hungarian Refugee Movement forced CI to seek
  help from the provinces
• CI 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

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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 (MI) Department created
• Provinces getting more involved
• QC, ON, MB, SK and AB all have small provincial
  immigration bureaux

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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...

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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

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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

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Devolution and Regionalisation - 6

• Settlement Realignment was driven by Federal
  Governments 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

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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.

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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

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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

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