Edmonton Social Planning Council

Author: Justine Basilan

fACTivist Feature Article: Family Class Sponsored Immigrant Seniors in Canada: Income Dependency Challenges
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Note: this is excerpted from Summer 2020 edition of our fACTivist publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues within the sector, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with updates on ESPC’s activities and projects, including articles and initiatives that address a variety of pertinent issues that affect our community

Written by Jenn Rossiter, in collaboration with the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative and Age of Wisdom

Canada is a welcoming nation that embraces newcomers, and supports diversity and healthy families within its communities. However, when immigrants arrive they often encounter regulations and policies that make settling in a new country difficult. This can be especially tough for senior immigrants who face additional challenges to access income programs that could help them gain independence and security in their new surroundings.

Senior immigrants typically arrive in Canada through the Family Class pathway, which allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are aged 18 years or older to sponsor family members (e.g. a spouse, child, parent or grandparent, or sibling).

Every sponsorship is subject to a federal Sponsorship Agreement, which specifies how long a sponsor must financially support the incoming family member (called the undertaking period). This timeframe has been steadily increasing, causing undue stress and uncertainty for those involved. At the moment, parents and grandparents (PGPs) who arrive via Family Class sponsorship are required to remain financially dependent on their sponsor for 20 years. This affects their lives in countless challenging ways.

The undertaking period for Family Class sponsorships has changed four times since the Immigration Act, 1976. From the late 70s, the undertaking period was between 1-10 years. However, the government found that sponsorship breakdowns were too frequent, leaving immigrants to rely on federal supports and costing the government money. In 1997, new regulations were introduced that put stricter financial requirements on a sponsorship, and set the undertaking period at 10 years.[i] The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act replaced Canada’s Immigration Act in 2002, and changed the undertaking period to either 3 or 10 years, depending on the relationship between sponsor and applicant. For example, the undertaking period for a spouse was only 3 years, whereas the undertaking period for PGPs remained 10 years.

In 2012, the federal government realized that 70% of PGPs’ income came through the federal Old Age Security pension (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) programs.[ii] Of several amendments, the government doubled the sponsorship undertaking period for PGPs to 20 years, starting in 2014. This was meant to help ease government costs associated with federal and provincial social assistance programs, but also added financial responsibility to the sponsor—an annual increase of approximately 19% per household.2 Financial dependency can place a heavy burden on one family and household; these income supports could help alleviate anxieties, but program regulations are creating challenges.

Eligibility for OAS is based on residence and legal status requirements. Qualifying seniors must be over 65, be a legal resident, and have lived in Canada for at least 10 years. There are two levels of OAS: the full pension and the partial pension. In addition to the above requirements, recipients can qualify for the full pension if they have lived in Canada for a minimum of 40 years. The partial pension qualification, in addition to the basic requirements above, is determined by a calculation using the number of years lived in Canada, beyond the minimum of 10.[iii]

The GIS program is available to support seniors who qualify as low-income. Unfortunately, low-income rates among senior immigrants in Canada is nearly double that of non-immigrants, averaging at around 21%.[iv] Despite this, PGPs are typically not eligible to receive GIS until they have resided in Canada for a minimum of 10 years, are eligible for OAS, and their undertaking period has come to an end. For those immigrating after 2014, this means they cannot access GIS until they have been in Canada for a minimum of 20 years.

Generally speaking, PGP applicant eligibility (after 2014) could be summarized by the following:

For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for less than 10 years:
- Individuals are not eligible for OAS.
- Individuals are not eligible for GIS.
For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for 10-19 years:
- Individuals may be eligible for partial
- Individuals are not eligible for GIS.
For a senior immigrant who has legally resided in Canada for 20 years or more:
- Individuals may be eligible for partial or full
- Individuals may be eligible for GIS.
To illustrate this, consider a Canadian citizen who has just been approved to sponsor their 70-year-old mother. The mother will be 80 years old before she can apply to access any of these income supports, and could likely only access partial OAS at that point. She will have to wait until she is 90 years old to apply for GIS, and an incredible 110 years old before applying for the full pension! These extended wait times for seniors to access supports and benefits are inhospitable, and are negatively affecting families.

If the mother qualified for the partial OAS benefit after 10 years of residence, she would only receive ¼ of the full pension amount, meaning that, with current calculations, at the age of 80 she would receive a modest $153 each month[v]—an amount that would remain fixed for the remainder of her lifetime. All the while she will have been relying on her child to financially support her, paying for basic needs (food, shelter, clothing) and other necessities (health, transportation). Contributing such a small amount of money each month can leave PGPs feeling like a burden. This causes a lot of financial and emotional strain on a family, not to mention the impact of unexpected changes in health and income that are almost certain to occur in a household over a 10 or 20 year period.

These issues only begin to explore some of the extensive financial obligations and stresses that fall on PGPs and sponsors, and the challenges that PGPs face in trying to become independent residents in Canada. Canada is a country that welcomes newcomers, but this financial stress should be reduced to benefit its population, in a way that truly does support healthy families and communities.

References

[i] Citizenship & Immigration Canada (1998), http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/Ci51-86-1998E.pdf

[ii] Government of Canada (2013), http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2013/2013-05-18/html/reg2-eng.html

[iii] Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security/benefit-amount.html#h2.2-h3.2

[iv] Statistics Canada (2019), https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2019001/article/00017-eng.htm

[v] Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security/guaranteed-income-supplement/eligibility.html

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July 31, 2020
fACTivist Feature Article: A Lesson from COVID-19 about Early Learning and Care

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Note: this is excerpted from Summer 2020 edition of our fACTivist publication. The Edmonton Social Planning Council, in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues within the sector, strives to provide stakeholders and community members with updates on ESPC’s activities and projects, including articles and initiatives that address a variety of pertinent issues that affect our community.

Written by Jeff Bisanz

Stressful times create difficulties, but they also afford opportunities for learning. So far, stresses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have caused us to learn, among other things, that how we respond to public health crises needs improvement, and that employment and family income are precarious in many parts of our economy. We also need to attend to the lessons of COVID-19 for our youngest citizens, their families, and those who care for them.

By now we all should realize that early learning and care for young children and their families is not only a nice option—it is a core component of our communities and our economy. This point is obvious to working parents with young children; to newcomer families who struggle to learn the culture and find jobs; to elementary school teachers who can see the benefits of high-quality early learning and care as children enter school; to employers whose employees miss work when they cannot find child care; and to economists who study the short- and long-term effects of early learning and care. The point was made obvious by our provincial government, which closed all early learning and care centres mid-March as a public health measure, but then, a fortnight later, encouraged some to re–open after realizing that many essential workers, such as health care professionals, cannot do their work unless they have access to child care.

We are now beginning to realize that there can be no economic recovery without early learning and care (Bezanson, Bevan, Lysack, & Hammer, 2020). Moreover, parents and communities should not, and will not, accept facilities, however safe, that simply warehouse their children. Child care options must be affordable and easily accessible, and they must be high in quality to support children’s social and intellectual well–being and development.

Affordability and accessibility have long been major concerns in Alberta, and the situation may well be worse after the pandemic. A combination of factors has created an enormous amount of uncertainty and financial stress for those who operate early learning and care centres. The contributing factors include lengthy closures, rules that (rightly) limit class sizes on reopening, ambiguity about compensation for safety precautions, uncertainty about staff retention and participation as parents struggle financially, and limited financial support to sustain centres during the public health emergency, as compared to other provinces.

Unless the picture changes, these financial burdens are likely to lead to increased costs (which work against affordability), cutting corners (which works against quality), and/or business failures (which work against accessibility). Quality is of particular concern. Prior to the pandemic, the provincial government decided to discontinue accreditation, an important means of monitoring and improving the quality of child care centres. Nothing was done to support quality during the pandemic and no plan has yet emerged to ensure high quality in the future.

So, do we try to return to normal, or do we recognize that the old normal was not really working all that well? Maybe the situation can be patched with adjustments to subsidies for low-income families, temporary financial incentives for operators, and minor revisions to legislation and regulations. Many long-time observers do not believe that these patches will work and, in fact, that we do not have a system of early learning and care at all, but rather a fragmented and, as COVID-19 has taught us, fragile patchwork of services that does not work well for a great many families. Our “system” is almost entirely market-driven, without the kind of overall planning and management that could provide stable, sustainable services through pandemics, economic downturns, and other disruptions. Such disruptions tend to compromise vulnerable families most severely, and it is precisely these families that tend to be most in need of early learning and care that is affordable, accessible, and high in quality.

The COVID-19 experience has underscored the reality that early learning and care is important for the well–being of our communities and our economy. An effective system of early learning and care requires appropriate public planning and management at a systemic level, as well as effective delivery by caring and well-educated providers—be they public, private, not–for–profit, or private for–profit. At various points in our history we evaluated other critical services, such as health care, education, policing, and firefighting. We decided that, for the sake of personal and community well–being, these services required appropriate public planning and management. The question now is whether we have the community and political leadership necessary to do the same for early learning and care.

Reference

Bezanson, K., Bevan, A., Lysack, M., & Hammer, K. (2020, April). From stabilization to stimulus and beyond: A roadmap to social and economic recovery. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jplKknjy9ON_ItnbEtQTxW602AKTIhqJ/view

Jeff Bisanz is co-chair of the Edmonton Council for Early Learning and Care, a member of the Stewardship Round Table for EndPoverty Edmonton, and professor emeritus at the University of Alberta.

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July 23, 2020
2019 Annual Report of the Edmonton Social Planning Council
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»Download our 2019 Annual Report«

Read our Annual Report and learn about our origins, who we are, our work in 2019 that show our continued dedication to encouraging the adoption of equitable social policy, supporting the work of other organizations who are striving to improve the lives of Edmontonians, and educating the public regarding the social issues that impact them on a daily basis. Some highlights from the report include:
- Update on our 80th Anniversary
- Keep Alberta Strong
- FCSS-funded Project Coordinator
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July 17, 2020
The fACTivist – Summer 2020

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In this issue, we feature out statement on the impact of racism on income inequality and low-income households in Edmonton, the impact of COVID-19 on many aspects of our community, income dependency challenges of immigrant seniors in Canada, and many more![/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ custom_padding=”0px|20px|0px|20px|false|false” border_color_left=”#a6c942″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Posted by:” job_title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsIm5hbWVfZm9ybWF0IjoiZGlzcGxheV9uYW1lIiwibGluayI6Im9uIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl93ZWJzaXRlIn19@” portrait_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfcHJvZmlsZV9waWN0dXJlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnt9fQ==@” quote_icon=”off” disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”job_title,portrait_url” _module_preset=”default” body_text_color=”#000000″ author_font=”||||||||” author_text_align=”center” author_text_color=”#008ac1″ position_font=”||||||||” position_text_color=”#000000″ company_text_color=”#000000″ background_color=”#ffffff” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”0px|0px|4px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”32px|0px|0px|0px|false|false”][/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|off|off” _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_text_align=”left” header_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.65)” header_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||50px|||” custom_padding=”48px|||||”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jYXRlZ29yaWVzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiUmVsYXRlZCBjYXRlZ29yaWVzOiAgIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6ImNhdGVnb3J5In19@[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

July 13, 2020
Blog: Impact of the pandemic on the LGBTQI2S community

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Egale Canada, in partnership with INNOVATIVE Research Group recently released a report, Impacts of COVID-19: Canada’s LGBTQI2S Community in Focus, which highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the LGBTQI2S community in Canada. The results from this research have been disseminated to the government to create changes in policies that help one of our most vulnerable communities.

Their research found that “53% of LGBTQI2S households have been affected by lay-offs and reduced hours as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This compares to 39% of overall Canadian households” (p.3). Furthermore, a proportion of the respondents don’t believe that they could get another job if they wanted to. This means barriers that LGBTQI2S individuals encounter in the labour market are further exacerbated during the pandemic, creating additional stress like housing and/or food insecurity.

Moreover, the LGBTQI2S respondents are not just disproportionately impacted but they also perceive that the pandemic will negatively impact their mental health, physical health, household finances, and overall quality of life, at an exponentially higher rate than the average Canadian. The research also found that LGBTQI2S respondents are more likely to be living with a chronic health condition or physical disability; as such, they are more worried that they could transmit the coronavirus to a vulnerable person. Similarly, the impact of COVID-19 is particularly acute among those LGBTQI2S individuals with chronic illness.

Systemic barriers in the health care system may also prevent these individuals from seeking medical assistance, especially during the pandemic. According to ESPC’s report Needs and Gaps in Services of Edmonton’s LGBTQ Population and Norquest College’s report Provider Perspectives: Understanding Support Barriers for LGBTQ2 People, the gaps in services and front-line training have not been addressed or properly implemented. The lack of knowledge among health care providers and front-line workers about how to care for these community members exacerbates the gap in quality of health between LGBTQI2S individuals and the general Canadian population. Further, the mistrust of LGBTQI2S individuals over health care providers due to previous encounters of discrimination prevent them from seeking health assistance or even receiving follow-up care. The pandemic will further alienate these individuals with underlying health conditions who need these services, especially when a higher percentage of LGBTQI2S persons choose to self-isolate to protect themselves and others (Egale, 2020).

Furthermore, a report by the Standing Committee on Health of the House of Commons, The Health of LGBTQIA2 Communities in Canada, found that inequities in health are heightened when factors such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity, and sexual orientation intersect. Their report also found that LGBTQI2S individuals have higher rates of chronic illnesses, like asthma. Ailments such as these increase the risk and severity of a COVID-19 infection.

These reports push for similar mandates: improving data collection to provide a clearer picture of the lives of different gender and sexual identities; providing better training in provision of care; consulting LGBTQI2S individuals and organizations so that government policies and programs include targeted measures and funding to ensure current services can continue to provide support to these communities made vulnerable by inadequate systems.

Please support local organizations that continuously provide essential services to the LGBTQI2S community.

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July 13, 2020
Board Minutes for 2019-2020 Term
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Select a date to view minutes:
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June 30, 2020