Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

The province requires greater influence in determining the policy that governs immigration to
meet Ontario’s specific needs. In addition, the federal government should provide the province
with the tools it needs to effectively integrate these newcomers by devolving immigration
services, with funding, to Ontario.
The federal government should also look to jurisdictional best practices, particularly in the
area of foreign credential recognition, where non-recognition too often gets in the way of
a newcomer’s ability to participate in the labour force. Australia’s Pre-Application Skills
Assessment is promising and an equivalent program should be piloted in Canada.
See Chapter 10, Immigration, for the full recommendation.
TABLE 20.3 Selected Examples of Federal-Provincial Immigration Agreements
Responsibility for immigrant selection and management of settlement services is
devolved to the province.
Province is responsible for planning and delivering settlement services on behalf of
the federal government; compensation is provided.
Planning of settlement services is co-managed by provincial and federal
governments, but federal government is responsible for delivery; formal consultation
mechanisms exist and partnerships with municipalities are identified as an objective.
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Quebec (1991)
Manitoba (1996)
British Columbia (1998)
Ontario (2005)
Alberta (2007)
Source: Nick Bradford and Caroline Andrew, “The Harper Immigration Agenda: Policy and Politics in Historical Context,” in How Ottawa Spends
2011–12, Christopher Stoney and G. Bruce Doern, eds., 2011.
Education for First Nations On-Reserve
There is an alarming gap in the educational attainment rate between on-reserve First Nations
and the non-Aboriginal population. Improving educational outcomes on reserves is crucial to
improving the social and economic outcomes of First Nations peoples. A serious investment
in on-reserve education has the potential to increase their economic inclusion and reduce the
long-run strain on public resources by reducing above-average demand for government
programs such as health care, social services and the justice system.
It is commonly noted that federal funding for on-reserve education falls short of the per-student
provincial average, making it difficult to achieve the goal of “provincial comparability.”
The <strong>Commission</strong> believes there is an urgent need to significantly reform the provision of
on-reserve First Nations education. The province should put strong pressure on the federal
government to provide funding for First Nations on-reserve education that at least reaches
parity with per-student provincial funding for elementary and secondary education. Barring
the action that is clearly justified and desperately needed, the province should step up and
fill this gap.
See Chapter 6, Elementary and Secondary Education, for the full recommendation.