What we examined (see Focus of the audit)

In November 2015, the Government of Canada committed to bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by February 2016. Subsequently, it committed to bringing about 10,000 additional Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of December 2016.

The federal government also committed to processing—by early 2017—approximately 12,000 privately sponsored Syrian refugee applications that had been submitted by 31 March 2016 to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

This audit focused on whether Syrian refugees received selected settlement services funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada that were needed to help them integrate into Canada. It also examined whether the Department measured the outcomes of its efforts to settle Syrian refugees.

Why we did this audit

This audit is important because the Syrian refugee initiative will succeed in the long term only if the people it brought to Canada integrate into Canadian society.

What we concluded

We concluded that Syrian refugees were provided with selected settlement services funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada that were needed to facilitate their integration into Canada. The Department identified and funded the settlement services Syrian refugees needed to help them integrate, and most Syrian refugees received needs assessment and language services during their first year in Canada. However, funding delays resulted in cuts to some settlement services for at least three months, and challenges in collecting provincial data on health and education made it difficult to fully monitor the refugees’ progress in integrating into Canadian society.

What we found

Delivering settlement services

Overall, we found that most Syrian refugees received needs assessments, language assessments, and language training during their first year in Canada. More than 80 percent had their needs assessed, and 75 percent of those who received language assessments attended language classes. Syrian refugees received settlement services at a higher rate than other refugees who arrived in Canada during the same period.

We also found that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not allocate all of its available funds to service providers at the beginning of the 2017–18 fiscal year. The purpose of these funds was to sustain additional settlement services established in 2016. When they did not receive funding, some service providers cut settlement services for at least three months.

These findings matter because for Syrian refugees to integrate into Canadian society, they must be able to access the settlement services they need when they need them.

• Syrian refugees received needs assessments and language services

  Recommendation. We made no recommendations in this area of examination.

• The Department provided additional funding to settle Syrian refugees, but this funding was not always timely

  Recommendation. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should improve its planning and approval processes to ensure the timely transfer of funding to service providers in order to meet urgent programming needs resulting from such events as the Syrian refugee initiative.

Managing information for decision-making

Overall, we found that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not have sufficient information to efficiently manage language training wait-lists for Syrian refugees. It also lacked information to ensure the consistent delivery of services to Syrian refugees in all regions. Although the Department expected the Syrian refugees to receive a standard and consistent level of service across the country, many of the contribution agreements we examined contained no service expectations.

These findings matter because many of the Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada needed extensive settlement services, and the federal government had allocated about $257 million to deliver these services. It was therefore important for the government to have accurate and timely information about the demand for language training, and for it to set clear expectations for the services it funded to ensure that those services would meet the needs of clients.

• The Department did not have the information needed to manage language training wait-lists efficiently

  Recommendation. To more efficiently manage and meet the demand for language training, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should improve its management of wait-lists in consultation with service providers.

• Most contribution agreements with service providers did not establish expectations for quality and consistent program delivery

  Recommendation. To ensure that the quality of settlement services across Canada is consistent, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should include clear service expectations in contribution agreements for services delivered by settlement service providers.

Measuring outcomes

Overall, we found that although Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had developed a strategy for measuring the integration of Syrian refugees into Canada, it did not collect information from the provinces for some important indicators, such as access to health care providers and school attendance.

This finding matters because measuring outcomes of the Syrian refugee initiative allows the Department to assess whether the Syrian refugees receive the settlement services they need and whether they are successfully integrating into Canadian society.

• The Department had not fully implemented its strategy to measure the integration of Syrian refugees into Canadian society

  Recommendation. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should update and implement its performance measurement strategy for the Syrian refugee initiative to ensure that the Department can fully and consistently monitor the integration of Syrian refugees into Canada.

Entity Responses to Recommendations

The audited entity agrees with our recommendations and has responded (see List of Recommendations).

Related Information

Report of the	Auditor General of Canada
Type of product	Performance audit
Topics	Economic Development Education and Training Financial Management and Government Spending Public Administration Public Service
Entities	Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada
Completion date	18 September 2017
Tabling date	21 November 2017
Related audits	Report 3—Preventing Corruption in Immigration and Border Services, 2017 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada Report 2—Detecting and Preventing Fraud in the Citizenship Program, 2016 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

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