It’s been around 13 months since the first government-sponsored Syrian refugees started arriving in Saskatchewan. Now, Premier Brad Wall is asking for the federal government for $15 million to continue resettlement efforts.
“Training, English as a second language, education supports is part of it in addition to social assistance while they are finding their full employment. Finally, health care is an additional cost,” Wall said Monday in Saskatoon.
“We always want to be welcoming, but we also want the federal government to honour its commitment to be there and support refugees.”
Last year, Saskatchewan received $30 million in federal funding to help with the resettling of all immigrants coming to the province, including refugees.
Of the 2,000 refugees to come to Saskatchewan, around 650 now call Regina home according to the Regina Open Door Society (RODS).
RODS handles much of the resettlement work in the city, but was unable to provide an interview by deadline.
One of the biggest hurdles facing refugees, and other new Canadians, is learning English.
READ MORE: Syrian refugees reflect on one year in Regina
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The Regina Public Library’s literacy program, which provides English as an additional language (EAL) services, coaches clients from all over the world, primarily China.
Program supervisor Alice Samkoe said the library has seen a number of Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees use their services.
She said that people with a formal education background can pick up lessons quickly, but it can be a long journey for those who have spent up to 20 years in refugee camps.
“They’ve seen their children have children before they ever left a refugee camp. So somebody like that will take years to develop English skills,” Samkoe said.
The literacy program currently has “a couple hundred” learners on the waiting list to be paired with a volunteer tutor.
According to Samkoe, there are currently around 240 tutors, and the library does offer training.
“I’ve been in this office for 20 years, and I’ve never seen the need stop,” she said.
A lack of English skills can be a hindrance in the job market for refugees. The Regina Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a luncheon on February 13 to try and find jobs for refugees.
“We’ve asked some employers to come out and meet with the refugees and see if there’s some matches there in terms of employment,” Chamber CEO John Hopkins said.
READ MORE: Regina mayor offers support to those affected by U.S. refugee ban
Younger people traditionally have an easier time learning new languages. Over the past two school years, the Regina Public School Division has added 380 refugee students.
“It’s a lot of students. It’s not unmanageable, but we would welcome any additional supports that we would see,” RPSD student achievement deputy director Darren Boldt said.
Last year, the province targeted $5.4 million in the education budget for refugees. An additional $600,000 was spent to help assess newcomers for EAL support.
EAL plays an important role in the RPSD, Boldt said, adding that there are 4,800 EAL students in the division and 111 spoken languages.
Support takes many forms, from support teachers in classrooms to separate classes for kids with greater EAL needs.
Boldt said that RPSD has seen great success in integrating students through the EAL program.
“Once they get the language skills we quickly integrate them into regular classes. We see them do very well educationally,” he said.
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