The Role Of Immigrant Serving Organizations In The Canadian Welfare State: A Case Study

by
B. Saddeiqa Holder

CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM

Introduction to the Study

The social welfare objectives of the Canadian state are accomplished through a nexus of policies and programs delivered by three levels of government, a variety of voluntary organizations (also known as nonprofit organizations, or NGOs - nongovernmental organizations), and, of late, privately operated service deliverers. Community-based immigrant service organizations (ISOs) are key players in the arena of service delivery to recent immigrants. As will be seen their characteristic features are: governance by a voluntary board of directors, usually community representives; reliance on governmental funding primarily; and delivery of programs and services to particular ethnoracial communities by nonprofessionals.

Roughly speaking, regarding the relationship between this subset of voluntary welfare organizations and the Canadian state (the principal funder of these organizations), it may be said that there are three central perspectives. The "good news" perspective perceives in such organizations the humanization of the bureaucratic state and the accomplishment of the pluralistic objectives of the liberal democracy. The more critical "bad news" view is apt to investigate ways in which such organizations (inadvertently) aid capital accumulation and/or race, class and gender stratification. Lastly, "the good news and the bad news" perspective acknowledges both an emancipatory as well as a regulatory potential to this sector - the "otoh/botoh" (on the one hand/but on the other hand) perspective.

This thesis inquires into the role of immigrant serving organizations in the Canadian welfare state by presenting a case study of one such service deliverer - an immigrant serving organization in Metropolitan Toronto. Although descriptive, the study marshalls evidence for an assessment of the three competing perspectives noted above. The purpose of this descriptive effort is to produce a relatively full account of the forces operative in this area. Therefore the analysis herein attempts to link macro level factors such as the development of the Canadian welfare state and state/minority community relations with micro level practices within an ISO.

Background to the Problem

During the 1970s a service delivery infrastructure of non-profit agencies was put into place to provide so-called settlement services to recent immigrants. The establishment of ISOs was coincident with significant changes at the symbolic level in ethnic relations in a Canada, notably, the promulgation of a federal Multiculturalism policy in 1971. Since then profound changes have been wrought in Canadian society as a result of immigration. An aging Canadian population and declining birth rate have resulted in government policy to increase population through relatively high immigration levels. The push/pull factor of economic disparity between the industrial nations and the so-called Third World and the pressures of a rising world population in 'underdeveloped regions' have also contributed to increasing human migration.

The rapid expansion of ethnoracial services is noteworthy. The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants is an advocacy body to which most incorporated (Ontario) immigrant serving agencies belong. In 1978 its membership numbered 20. Today that number has grown to over 140. Until recently, funding for this sector expanded considerably and these agencies have come to play an important role in the delivery of social services. Nonetheless immigrant serving organizations see themselves as significantly underfunded and subject to inappropriate program criteria (especially at the federal level) despite the fact that they play an essential role in anti-racist service delivery by providing culturally sensitive services and advocacy on behalf of their communities (Beyenne, Butcher, Joe, & Richmond, 1996).

In addition to normative considerations of justice and equity, the availability of services to immigrants is a practical and relevant consideration given the nature of current immigration. Since about 1970 newcomers to Canada are largely: from non-English, non-French speaking backgrounds; racial minorities in Canada; and come from countries whose norms and traditions differ significantly from those in the Western world (see Table 1). Adequate and effective services can ease the transition that immigrants, refugees and their families must make. Research indicates that levels of utilization of services are low in relation to need, and further, immigrants, through taxation, contribute more to the economy than they use in services (Reitz, n.d.).

Statement of the Problem

As Jones (1977) recognized, social services are not as full and as perfect and complete, and systematic as wished. They are scarce resources, valuable in increasing people’s life chances and as such are a site of contention. The distinction of services for immigrants from those included in general welfare and the establishment of a separately funded sector (around 1966/67) resulted from the federal government's decision to administer services to newcomers through Employment and Immigration Canada, rather than Health and Welfare Canada which was concerned with social welfare provision (Lanphier & Olumskyj, 1992). Today the relationship between the two sectors is an uneasy one.

Immigrant serving organizations want funding to deliver a wider range of services beyond those narrowly conceived of as settlement services, arguing that the so-called mainstream services are inaccessible because they are unable or unwilling to meet the needs of non-English speaking Ontarians (Beyene, Butcher, Joe, & Richmond, 1996, p.3); and racial minority groups are arguing for culturally based service delivery (Lewis, 1992). "Community delivery," as the issue was termed in the Lewis Report, reflects a pervasive theme in current debates about service delivery.

For example, Muslim psychologist Dr. Bruce Ally asserts that the time has come for Toronto's Muslim community to have its own Children's Aid. Citing the growing numbers of Muslims in Toronto, and the limited human resources available through the Children's Aid (i.e., few Muslim foster parents and Muslim front-line workers), Dr. Ally stated, "The Catholics have the Catholic Children's Aid and there's the Jewish Family and Child Service. We pay taxes too. It's time" (Memom, 1994:A8). In addition ethnoracial communities have felt themselves to be excluded from the planning and development of mainstream services.

In "A time for action: Access to health and social services for members of diverse cultural and racial groups," Doyle and Visano (1987) described the human service delivery system in Metropolitan Toronto system as comprised of two solitudes -- mainstream organizations and ethnoracial organizations. The study concluded that, although there was an awareness of barriers, limited efforts had been made by the "mainstream" services to undertake strategies to increase access by diverse groups. In contrast, the other solitude -- ethnoracial agencies -- were perceived by key informants as more responsive to the service needs of a variety of racial, linguistic, and cultural groups. Further, ethnoracial organizations were expected to provide an array of service responses which they did not pretend to offer.

Another view is taken by critics who voice concerns about universality and the cost of developing and maintaining an extensive "parallel" service delivery system. Some argue that the service needs of immigrants and racial minorities in Canadian society are best met through the adaptation of existing mainstream organizations to meet the needs of the non-English speaking population. They contend that separate institutions may result in a continued marginalization of immigrant groups (Christensen, 1993), and an avoidance by mainstream institutions of their responsibility to respond to the diversity in Canadian society (Teram & White, 1993).

According to the Director of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto's Multicultural and Race Relations Division of the Chief Administrators's Office, ISOs challenge the traditional approaches to service delivery which envisioned delivery of service based upon a geographical area. Recently arrived immigrant communities want to deliver service autonomously. At the same time, "the mainstream" has been encouraged to expand its services to immigrants and refugees. Hence a new set of conception of the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between government and levels of service providers is required (M. Nakamura, conference remarks, October 18, 1993). Recent cutbacks in spending, devolution to lower levels of administration and privatization of some services present further challenges for the sector.

Burnaby (1992) poses the question of why it is so difficult to coordinate settlement services. She concludes that the settlement of immigrants is a "marginalized social concept" (Burnaby, 1992, p. 134) and argues that a lack of public consensus and government leadership to put settlement at the forefront, combined with the English/French debate, preempts a far-reaching discussion. Consequently there is public uncertainty about the value of immigration; there are tensions between central and local perspectives and activities, low levels of funding, fragmentation of service delivery, and unhealthy competition among service deliverers. The essence of this critique was stated much earlier on in a work on services for immigrants in the United States where Jenkins (1981) concluded that society's view of multicultural minorities is reflected in its services to them.

Purpose of the Study

This study will inquire into the role of immigrant serving organizations (the dependent variable, so to speak) in the Canadian welfare state (the independent variable). This phrasing accentuates the state and relations of dependence between the state and ISOs -- a warranted characterization of the subject, given the predominance of government funding for these organizations. However, as well as accomplishing state objectives, and being acted upon, the organizations are to some degree autonomous actors with their own motivations and aspirations. The limits and conditions of that autonomy should be revealed in the proposed study of the functions of a medium sized agency in Metropolitan Toronto.

A comprehensive look at this issue must link the discussion of ISOs to the general question of the role of voluntary organizations in the welfare state, thus identifying factors that impact ISOs and other voluntary organizations (e.g., dependence upon state funding, fiscal and accountability relationships, changing conceptions of the welfare state, etc.). Although the focus of the thesis remains immigration and settlement services (both responsibilities of the Federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration), the particular context of ISOs is illuminated by examining relations between the state and ethnic, linguistic and racial minority communities (e.g., multiculturalism, administrative measures that promote equity, the legacies of federal/provincial institutional arrangements, the effects of state actions upon minority communities and vice versa). Additionally, by sketching the evolution of immigration and settlement policy over time and by combining macro level policy description with a micro level examination of practices within organizations, ISOs are illuminated as both actors and policy beneficiaries.

Personal and Theoretical Approach to the Study

My academic interest in this area is rooted in my extensive work in settlement services during the past fourteen years, mostly in community based service and advocacy organizations, and for a brief period in government. Formative experiences included working for the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) for many years in outreach and training. I became familiar with the range of ISOs, from small associations in northwestern Ontario to large multi-service agencies in Metropolitan Toronto. As a trainer I met settlement workers serving many different communities. Another influential experience occurred working in government when I had the opportunity to coordinate a funding program and work on a cabinet submission on settlement policy.

The impetus for this study was my conviction that ISOs are not merely service deliverers, sources of community support and advocates. Instead their existence represents the allocation of public goods and services to immigrant communities and as such, are part of the power base of immigrant communities. As will be seen, the academic literature on ISOs offers a less sanguine view. I also see the tale of ISOs and mainstream services as a tale about the limits of liberal democracy and its ability to respond to the needs of those considered outsiders. I am a reluctant advocate for ISOs, suspicious that their existence may undermine the goal of intergroup contact necessary for participatory democracy, yet I am cognizant of the role they play in extending the boundaries of prevailing conceptions of social welfare provision.

Framing the research question has entailed an interdisciplinary investigation into several literatures, notably, political science and sociological approaches to the voluntary sector in the welfare state, sociological and cultural studies approaches to race and ethnic relations, and public administration and policy studies of immigration and refugee policy.

This approach to the topic is rooted in my earlier training in political economy which favours certain categories of analysis, state, class, and dependence (Andrew, 1994), hence the Canadian state as the independent variable and immigrant serving organizations as the dependent variable. However as Andrews points out, there are new areas demanding attention such as: relations between genders, and among race, ethnicity and socio-political identities; and analysis of culture and ideas; and an analysis of action. We should also add inequality in power and social relations between dominant and subordinate groups.

During the 1970s debates within Marxism took a poststructural turn, drawing attention away from determining social structures such as the economy, and focusing instead upon the relative autonomy of the state and the role of ideology in the reproduction of capitalism. With this emphasis on ideology (and later on, culture) and the way it operates, interest shifted to the individual as a feeling, thinking, acting subject capable of both reproducing and contesting hegemonic practices (for an overview of these developments from a metatheoretical perspective, see Cocks, 1989; Weiler, 1988). More functional strands of thinking accentuate the interrelatedness of social institutions, their mutual sustenance and stability of the overall system. Politically, the accenting of human agency allows for an understanding of change and resistance. This emphasis on lived experience was pivotal to the women's movement of the 1970s.

Feminism's understanding of the personal as political extended the boundaries of political inquiry into what had hitherto been considered the private sphere. Additionally, feminism identified how an understanding of gender relations is crucial to political economy issues such as the paid work-force, and the development of the union movement (Andrew, 1994). Further, feminist scholarship has responded to the challenge posed by minority groups (e.g., Lorde, 1984)--minority by virtue of their lack of social and political power--by examining the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexual preference and the resultant multiple social identities. Political economy by contrast stems from a tradition that privileges class as an analytical category, suspicious that other categories are manipulations, and products of false consciousness.

An analysis of culture and ideas requires that political economy recognize a multiplicity of levels (and topics) of exposition. The final challenge Andrew perceives is that of incorporating the study of practice or action. Studies of micro level interventions, that is, by individual social actors, are as important as macro political economy concerns such as policy initiatives that regulate access to goods and services. According agency a place in political economy analyses allows for an understanding of how domination is reproduced (and contested) in, for example, direct service delivery and other micro level practices. The challenges Andrew has identified are played out in my attempt to integrate theory on the Canadian voluntary welfare state, writings on race and ethnic stratification, and studies of community organizations.

Research Questions

Given varied perspectives on the role of ISOs in the Canadian welfare state, this case study of an immigrant women's centre will ask the following questions: 1) what do ISOs do above and beyond service delivery; 2) what is the impact of the organization upon clients and mainstream society; 3) what is the agency’s relationship with government, its primary funder; and 4) what are the implications of the study for welfare state theory?

Importance of the Study

The changing ethnoracial composition of large Canadian urban centres and recent developments in federal settlement policy make ISOs a topical area of study. According to a senior official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (C & I), the recent federal program review and the federal government's strategy document, "Into the 21st Century: A Strategy for Citizenship and Immigration," determined that there are more effective ways of delivering services to immigrants than the current mechanism of federal purchase-of-service, ways that avoid duplication and overlap of services. Through a process termed "settlement renewal" the federal government will continue to play a role but will withdraw from providing/purchasing direct services. How these changes will be operationalized is not yet known. The federal goverment will continue to fund settlement services but will be seeking to establish "partnerships" in the provinces over the next two to three years. According to government officials there is a belief that local communities know what is expected of them and can respond more effectively than the federal government. Local priorities will determine spending. C & I will work with partners to ensure continuity and accountability for public funds (P. Gaulin, conference remarks, March 3, 1995).

Thus this case study is timely in illuminating the relative importance of questions about who provides the service and how the service is provided. Further, what are the implications for intersectoral planning given the experiences of collaboration between ISOs and generic/mainstream agencies with vastly different functions, domains, interests, and resources?

From a social welfare perspective there is much to be learned. Social programs attempt to achieve many objectives besides provision for needs (Musyzinski, 1992). In a recent comparative study of welfare states, Esping-Andersen asks whether welfare states enhance or diminish existing status or class differences, whether dualisms, individualism or broad social solidarity is fostered (Esping-Andersen, 1990). Orloff extends the question beyond such gender neutral categories to ask whether there is potential for the welfare state to alter gender relations, and proposes core criteria for making such an assessment (Orloff, 1993). The delivery of services to diverse communities is also about accommodating difference in a multicultural society, a key feature of contemporary societies. What is opened up therefore is the way ethnicity and race operates in Canadian social welfare policies and institutions.

Definition of Terms

Core concepts or terms germane to this discussion are the delineation between "settlement services" and "counselling services;" and between "mainstream" organizations and community based immigrant organizations.

Settlement services refer to those services provided to immigrants and refugees upon their arrival to facilitate their reception and settlement in a new country. Official (i.e., governmental) definitions of settlement services are contested by ISOs. The essence of the debate concerns the precise delineation of settlement services. ISOs argue for an expanded understanding of the range of services required to facilitate settlement while governments (especially the federal government) categorize settlement services more narrowly. Most notably, neither the provincial nor the federal government funds ISOs to provide in-depth, or long term, or clinical counselling.

The following descriptions of government funding programs delineate what services are seen to be required by immigrants in the initial period following arrival in Canada. The Province of Ontario, through its Newcomer Settlement Program (NSP), replacing the Ontario Settlement and Integration Program (OSIP) as of April 1997, makes available operational funding to community based agencies for the provision of the following direct services: assessment, information and orientation, and general settlement assistance essential for early settlement. Indirect services such as training for settlement workers and volunteers, and enhancement of the of settlement service sector are also funded, as was language training until recently (May, 1997). Under the Progressive Conservative government funding for the settlement sector has been radically decreased.

The federal government supports settlement services through the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP). Funding is available to provide direct services such as: reception; orientation; translation and interpretation; referral to community resources; para-professional counselling; general information and employment related services; other activities which will improve settlement services. The eligibility for receiving these services has changed over the years. At one time services were limited to newcomers who had been in the country for less than three years. This continues to be the ISAP priority currently, although landed immigrants who have been in the country for longer than three years are eligible. Canadian citizens and refugee claimants are ineligible for services.

According to a provincial civil servant (E. Allmen, personal communication, June 28, 1993), this distinction between initial settlement services for immigrants and refugees from those included in general welfare, rests on a differentiation between those services that are required as a result of immigration and the personal and family service needs that do not result from immigration -- as if immigration and other life events are disconnected. This dubious distinction is the subject of debate between government and community based service deliverers.

Immigrant Serving Organizations

"Immigrant serving agencies" is the term currently used by the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants to refer its more than 140 member agencies who serve immigrants primarily. Previously the agencies were referred to as settlement agencies. The adoption of new terminology reflects the view of immigrant serving agencies that they are providing a wider range of service than those defined by government as settlement services. The term also refers to so-called mainstream service agencies who have a significant immigrant clientele. The terms "immigrant serving organization" and "immigrant serving agency" will be used interchangeably within this document.

"Mainstream organization" is the term usually used to denote organizations that provide generic services based on need (such as shelter, health care, etc.), not on client characteristics such as race or ethnic origin. In contrast, for immigrant serving organizations, cultural, racial and/or linguistic factors determine the clientele (Allmen, 1990). Some question whether the mainstream is in fact mainstream, given the number of agencies that have implemented programs for ethnoracial communities.

As Beyenne et al. (1996) point out, the term "ethno-specific" is generally used to denote services or service organizations dedicated to serving members of a particular ethnic, linguistic or racial group. The term is complex since in many instances an organization may be serving a particular language group whose members originate from many different countries. For example, Mandarin speaking persons may come from Vietnam, Hong Kong, or the People's Republic of China. Instead the term "ethnoracial" will be used to refer to programs or services designed to meet the needs of groups on the basis of characteristics such as culture, race, or language.

In this discussion the word immigrant(s) will be used to denote both immigrants and refugees. Persons who have been granted refugees status by the Canadian state become permanent residents upon arrival in Canada and validation of identity papers. If that status is granted inland, they generally become permanent residents upon satisfaction of medical admissibility criteria and validation of identity papers.

The distinction between refugees and immigrant is often mantained to emphasize an essential difference between the two groups: that refugees emigrate by force of circumstances and not by choice. In terms of entitlement to general social services, service needs, and availability of programs, there are differences between the two groups. Refugees are either government or privately sponsored (i.e., by individuals or voluntary associations) and may benefit from a number of programs for which immigrants are ineligible. These include, for example, government loans for travel to Canada, government loans to pay the $975 Right of Landing fee, and the Adjustment Assistance Program which provides income maintenance for government sponsored refugees for up to one year. In contrast, sponsored immigrants are entitled to greatly reduced social assistance benefits as a consequence of having a sponsor in Canada who is responsible for providing income support. Service needs of the two groups may also vary considerably.

The term minority communities is used herein to denote immigrant or entry communities whose minority status is predicated upon their ethnic, racial and linguistic backgrounds and who possess limited access to social, economic, and political power, in contrast to the so-called Charter groups, the English and the French. Aboriginal or First Nations peoples are not entry groups and are excluded from this definition.

Limitations of the Study

The study's drawback is its single agency approach. Given the large number of organizations, the different types of agencies and the diversity amongst immigrant groups in Metropolitan Toronto a multiple case study might have captured this variability. Because the amount of data and variables generated by qualitative studies is large, a single rather than a multiple case study was undertaken. Similarly some aspects of a case study in a large urban centre may have limited relevance for communities where there are smaller populations of immigrants.

As will be discussed in Chapter 4, case study researchers may seek to only to understand the particular, or they may wish to make wider extrapolations from the particular. I am interested in using this particular case to illuminate the nuances in relationships among key variables identified in the literature. Further, the study is instructive in describing the evolution of an agency which, over a twenty year period, has grappled with the dynamics of organizational growth, fluctuations in government programs and policies, and changing client needs. The agency selected for study serves two ethnoracial communities, Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking women and their families. Thus some of the diversity in immigrant needs and in immigrant communities is captured.

Structure of the Thesis

The major themes in this study are addressed in Chapters Two and Three. Chapter Two provides an abbreviated review of: recent comparative literature on voluntary organizations and the welfare state and state/minority community relations in Canada. This condensed review serves to introduce the major conceptual frameworks and perspectives in the two fields of study. The last part of the chapter introduces a discussion of entitlement to rights and benefits from the perspective of social and political theory, a topic I will return to in the final chapter. Chapter 3 presents a summary of writings on immigrant serving organizations in an international perspective, followed by a consideration of the Canadian ISOs including a description of the making of Canadian immigration and settlement policy. Chapter Four describes the case study methodology utilized in the study, with findings presented in Chapter Five. Chapter Six offers conclusions and recommendations. Interview protocols are contained in Appendix I.

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