Protest held at Vancouver college after cuts to English language program for newcomers
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada program to be cut as gov't plans to reduce immigration
More than 100 people rallied at Vancouver Community College (VCC) on Tuesday to protest the looming closure of a program that offers English classes for immigrants and refugees, part of a wider swath of cuts affecting newcomer services in British Columbia.
The Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program at VCC is among a number of immigrant services in B.C. that are losing federal funding, as the government moves to decrease immigration levels across the country.
Protesters at Tuesday's rally at VCC's campus on East Broadway said the cuts would affect vulnerable immigrants, and leave a major hole in enrolment that the college would struggle to fill once funding runs out on April 1.
"The government is abandoning the very people who come here seeking opportunity and hope, and leaving them ... unable to access a job and education, essential services," said LINC student Katie Nguyen.
"And this decision undermines the values of inclusivity and diversity that define our nation."
Nguyen has been in Canada for six years after moving from Vietnam. She told CBC News that she had planned to finish the Level 8 LINC program in order to advance her career.
Now, she won't qualify because her second term of classes — which was to start in April — will no longer go through.
Frank Cosco, the president of the VCC Faculty Association, said the cuts affect around 800 students, and have led to 30 layoff notices for staff.
"It's a very unprofessional, un-Canadian, way to treat students. It's actually terrible," he said. "A real professional college would never do something like that."
Cosco said he worries about the future of the college, saying that LINC was "one of the foundational programs" at VCC. He added that the college's president had gone to Ottawa to ask for leniency.
"From the college's point of view, it's like an automatic recruitment function because you get 1,000 students a year coming in that you didn't have to go out and find," the union president said.
Maureen Kelbert, department leader for VCC's LINC programs, said it often takes two or three terms in the LINC program for newcomers to build language proficiency.
She says there are other LINC programs in the province, but none would offer the college environment that VCC has.
"If it was a gradual cut, I could understand that because they are cutting the immigration numbers," she said. "But these are students who are here right now and they need support right now."
Immigration levels to be cut
A spokesperson with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CBC News that the federal government is reducing immigration levels over the next three years.
This year, the annual number of newcomers issued permanent resident status will go from 500,000 to 395,000, then to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
"The amount of resources available for settlement services depends on how many newcomers are expected to arrive. Since fewer newcomers are expected in 2025-2027, available resources have been reduced to match this decrease. This has resulted in a reduction in service providers," the IRCC spokesperson said.
They added that in 2024 and 2025, IRCC plans to invest $1.2 billion in settlement supports across the country, not including Quebec.
The ministry says $155.6 million for B.C. is included in that total, with language training and assessment services accounting for about a third of funding in recent years.
With files from Pinki Wong