Chris Friesen – Canadian Immigration Historical Society

Chris Friesen has had a long career in the area of immigration settlement in the mid-1980s, working with a variety of not-for-profit organizations. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer for the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (ISSofBC) and spent many years as the co-chair of the National Settlement and Immigration Council. He is also one of the founders and executive members of the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (ISSofBC).

In this interview, he speaks about the evolution of the not-for-profit and volunteer sector and its increasing importance in delivering services to refugees and other immigrants.

Interviewer: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Your name, how you got involved in settlement, and the years you worked?

Chris Friesen: My name is Chris Friesen. I’m currently the Chief Operating Officer for the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (ISSofBC).

But I also have been, for many years, the co-chair of the National Settlement and Integration Council, as well as one of the founders and executive members of Chief Operating Officer for the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia (ISSofBC), a national body that amplifies the diverse voices of the settlement sector across Canada. I’ve been involved with Canada’s settlement sector probably now going back, in various degrees, to the mid-80s, both as a student activist, later working under contract in community relations and fundraising, and then in East Africa for about three years, and with ISSofBC now since the early 1990s.

Chris Friesen: Let me first give you the historical context for Canada’s settlement sector.

Back in the fifties and sixties, as Canada’s borders were opening up to diverse immigration and responding to various humanitarian crises—in 1956, the Hungarian crisis, and then later the Vietnamese boat people—there was a number of NGOs across Canada that emerged. In those early days, some of them evolved out of organized faith communities, some came out of ethno-specific immigrant serving communities, and some like our own ISSofBC—we started as a volunteer-based in the late sixties, but then incorporated as a charity as a result of the Asian Ugandan refugees fleeing Idi Amin in 1972.

So, all of these NGOs across the country began emerging on the scene, and in those early days, they were driven by small grants, responding to different programming, community development, community capacity-building grants. But it wasn’t, in an organized way, until the early seventies that the Government of Canada announced its immigrant integration policy framework. And that was the beginning of what was the Immigrant Settlement Adaptation Program (ISAP), the English and French language training programs, and the host program—these all emerged in the seventies and early eighties, and so this is part and parcel of the evolution of Canada’s settlement sector and how civil society has organized to support new immigrants and refugees coming to Canada.

I think the other distinguishing evolutionary fact is that, in the late 1970’s, Canada created the private sponsorship program coming out of the Vietnamese boat people crisis. But we also saw a significant shift in the late nineties, whereby the government of Canada and IRCC at that time, began to download more services and programming that was delivered by federal civil servants to the NGO community and the biggest one, of course being the shift from what was called The Adjustment Assistance Program to the Resettlement Assistance Program, or RAP. And that really structured a new national program to support government-assisted refugees.

In the background to that as well, of course, beginning in the mid-eighties, was the emergence of refugee reception centers—new physical structures, started initially in Regina as the first refugee reception center, and are now spread across the country in different cities—permanent facilities to support resettled refugees coming to Canada.

So again, this story is one of [the sector] constantly evolving, driven by curiosity and pilots and evaluation, that really aims to ensure—to the best of our collective ability —that we are welcoming and helping newcomers in their settlement and integration pathways.

Interviewer: You touched on different policy changes, such as RAP and similar initiatives; how did these shifts in policy or programming affect your specific organization?

Chris Friesen: We at ISSofBC, which was formed in 1968 and incorporated as a registered charity in 1972, as a direct result of the resettlement movement from East Africa from Uganda and the Asian Ugandans, have been involved with refugee resettlement since that time.

And so that particular policy, what changed was that prior to 1998, federal civil servants were doing what we’re doing now—that is, working with government-assisted refugees on a one-on-one basis, helping them to find housing, helping them to find employment. So as employment counsellors or as settlement workers, that was being done by federal civil servants.

But it was in this context in 1998, with a shift from what was called the Adjustment Assistance Program or AAP to the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), is when we saw a significant shift and a downloading what was, at that point, called settlement renewal. That saw a number of services that had been delivered by federal government employees being transferred to the NGO and the not-for-profit sector. So that meant that those roles—helping, in this case, government-assisted refugees finding permanent housing, assisting in the transitional housing, supporting government-assisted refugees and labour market attachment, helping them get into language classes, —that all was part and parcel of what was done.

Going back again to the eighties, 1986 as an example, that was the year that the settlement language training program emerged in Canada. That same year is when the host program—the matching of newcomers with community volunteers—emerged as an established program. From the settlement language training program in 1986 came the emergence in 1993 of what is now called the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), which was initially focused on the lower levels—but expanded to levels one to eight, and linked in with the emergence of what’s called the Canadian language benchmarks.

Again, you’re seeing this movement towards organic grassroots and not overly organized, local responses to newcomers in their respective communities, to now—over time, a more structured system, structured policies, programming and funding to support the settlement and integration of newcomers. There has been an evolution of professionalization within the sector, and this has been part and parcel of what I have witnessed over the time I’ve been with the sector.

In addition to that, not only have there been organizations that have emerged like ISSofBC, but additionally, new NGOs were created in response to increased diverse immigration to different parts of the country. It was also in the seventies when we saw the beginning of the provincial umbrella associations that are now in place in every province—working with immigrant serving agencies in each province to increase capacity for professionalization training, advocacy, sector resilience etc.

So, you’re seeing not only the emergence of more service delivery organizations but also new structures—such as the provincial and regional umbrellas, that are helping again to enhance the impact of our collective work in supporting newcomers to Canada.

Interviewer: What sort of relationship did your organization have with other NGOs, other settlement service agencies, and faith-based groups?

Chris Friesen: We were quite clear from the beginning of our evolution as an organization—it’s kind of unique in some ways.

In the seventies, through small grants—this was the time when the Multiculturalism Act was being introduced—so through what was then called the Secretary of State, grants were applied for and received for initiatives that we ran as an organization in different parts of British Columbia. What is unique, I think, to our history—in comparison to the birth stories of other NGOs across Canada—is the fact that in the seventies, as we were running these different programs across British Columbia, there was a period in time when a decision was made that once these programs reached a certain level they would be supported and spun off as separate legal entities. So as an organization, we were the direct supporter of a number of immigrant and refugee serving organizations in B.C.—as these ISSofBC programs evolved into separate legal entities.

Once again, in the seventies, we were the pioneers—there was no other organization, so we were working amongst ourselves—but in the early seventies, probably within a five-year period after we incorporated, we saw the emergence and creation of Mosaic and of S.U.C.C.E.S.S (our collaborative partners here in the Metro Vancouver region). But it wasn’t until the early seventies, I can’t recall exactly the year now, that AMSSA was structured as the provincial umbrella association, and AMSSA really became the convener—bringing these new and emerging immigrant serving agencies together and working collaboratively on a number of different areas: policies, advocacy, etc.

So again, this is an evolution of the sector over time, starting with isolated organizations working in different communities across Canada, and then later the emergence of provincial and regional umbrellas that are bringing the sector together. And then, as I said earlier, the emergence of new structures in the late nineties that saw a focused interest on bringing the sector together overall in what was called the Voluntary Sector Initiative or VSI. That was a three-year initiative that was launched in 1998 I believe, where all of the sector was brought together across Canada on a three-year capacity building project as part of a government of Canada initiative to support the capacity of what’s called a third sector—of a voluntary sector in Canada.

And so, in this context, it was specifically created to support the immigrant-serving sector through professionalization, through what was called the ‘settlement accord’—a new working relationship between the sector and government. The first and second ever national settlement conferences, bringing together all of the various programming and players across Canada to look at our work through a national lens.

Out of that was the birth of what is now called the National Settlement and Integration Council—that council is a legacy piece coming out of the voluntary sector initiative. And in fact, it is the only legacy project in Canada that has continued out of the Voluntary Sector Initiative.

Interviewer: You already touched on this, but can you tell us more about funding? Did your specific organization deal with funding issues?

Chris Friesen: As an immigrant-serving agency, looking over that timespan again, there has been an evolution of how funding has been secured and awarded for settlement and integration work.

It’s really hard to summarize, but as I mentioned in the past, the sector was initially funded through time-limited program grants. It wasn’t formalized in any significant way until the emergence in 1974 of the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program. This was the cornerstone of Canada’s immigrant integration framework. This program allowed NGOs, such as ours, to directly apply for funding to hire bilingual, bicultural settlement workers to deliver supports in first languages.

And then, in 1986, the beginning of the formalization of the volunteer program through the ‘Host Program’—engaging Canadian residents with newcomers, providing additional support, social networks, settlement mentors, employment mentors—that all came in 1986, along with the settlement language training program, so the precursor of what’s now called the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada.

So it was these, and along with refugee resettlement, these four clusters—language training, first language support, the humanitarian aspects, and AAP or what’s now called RAP—and the volunteer program, previously called the host program, now called Community Connections. These were the foundational pieces that define Canada’s immigrant integration framework. And they have continued to exist over time.

But of course, over time, there have been considerable new innovations and promising practices that have elevated and changed the way we support newcomers to Canada. It is not a static process—one size does not fit all, and one response doesn’t work with all. With the tremendous diversity of immigration to Canada—both from a source country but also from different immigrant categories—it has meant that organizations such as ours have had to adapt, modify, and customize programming tailored to specific needs. The needs of resettled refugees are very different than the needs of immigrant professionals. The needs of refugees from Afghanistan are very different than refugees from Eritrea.

So all of this has heightened the sophistication within the sector around the tailoring and customization of programming and services, as well as the emergence of employment programming. Initially, there was no targeted employment programming for immigrants and refugees—it was out of ISAP funding that we saw the emergence of what, in those days, was called the ‘job finding club’. This has now exploded into a range of employment and training and employer relations and job banks and various initiatives to support labour market integration. So, it is an evolving story with no endpoint.

I think the other thing that we haven’t talked about that has had a significant impact on this sector as part of the ongoing transformation has been technology. I mean, modern technology didn’t exist in the sixties, seventies and eighties. You started to see the emergence of desktop computers, then cell phones, to moving from manual client records to digitized client records, to client record management systems, to using some social media, texting, client services, and QR codes. I mean, there’s been an amazing transformation of service delivery within the sector—ensuring greater impact and accessibility—but also the need to look at and ensure that those with lower digital literacy skills are not left behind.

Interviewer: Are there any moments that stand out during your time working in settlement?

Chris Friesen: Wow. I mean, there are so many, so many moments—it would be hard to isolate.

I think that for me, the key moment goes back to the late nineties, with the voluntary sector initiative. That three-year government of Canada-funded project that brought the settlement sector together with IRCC was a significant milestone in the collaborative relationship between IRCC and the settlement sector.

And as I reflect, and as I mentioned earlier, the evolution of what is now called the National Settlement and Integration Council. The fact that we have brought together IRCC, the settlement sector, provincial/territorial governments, and other national bodies is unique in the world. That collaborative structure—looking at immigration-related policy and programming—is such an innovative approach. And I think that collaboration has really reinforced the notion that we can have greater impact when we collaborate together. We may not always agree with one another and with the stances of the government, but when we come together, we can have far more impact.

Looking at 1998, 1999 and the early 2000s, around again settlement renewal, the Voluntary Sector Initiative and then fast forward to now—with as an example, operation Ukrainian safe haven and how the various Federal Government departments, provincial, territorial Governments, the settlement sector, and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, have quickly come together to support the post-arrival phase of displaced Ukrainians. And the fact that we have collectively structured a national steering committee with over 70-80 people meeting every week and since this past, mid-September bi-weekly, is a testament of the relationship, the trust and the communication that is so important in the midst of humanitarian crises [this interview was conducted in December 2022].

And I think that the structure again goes back to those early days, and the establishment of those working relationships between the sector and government, and the increasing role that provincial and territorial governments are playing, as immigration is a shared jurisdiction.

Interviewer: How satisfied were you with the services that your organization provided, or is there something you would slightly alter?

Chris Friesen: You have to look at the context at that time; immigration levels were far, far lower than they are now, right?

The numbers of humanitarian immigration were far lower. The world was very different than it is now. And so, it is really hard to compare because the context is so different. I think that in that time there was a lot of experimentation—there were a lot of unstructured responses, and there wasn’t the same degree of professionalization as there is now. We didn’t have the same structures around confidentiality, privacy, self-care, and work-life balance, so it was a time of tremendous grassroots and evolving practices that are now much more structured within a professional context.

We’re now seeing more and more individuals come into the immigrant-serving sector as a career. I think with that has come better compensation, better benefits, and better retirement packages. These didn’t exist in the past, and so over time I think the immigrant serving sector has really found a distinct place within Canada’s social service sector.

Do we have more to do? Absolutely! I think there are continued challenges around pay equity and the fact that many people working in the sector are racialized women and people of colour, so there is a lot more work that we need to do. But when you look back, when you have that ability to reflect over you know, three decades, you really understand where we’ve come from and how far we’ve come and with great excitement looking ahead to the future. And some of the discussions that are happening now that we never imagined in our wildest dreams—in my context in the late eighties, early nineties—for example, the use of artificial intelligence in matching newcomer resumes with employers.

So, the whole area of technology is dramatically transforming the sector. And to add to that, of course, we’ve all survived a global pandemic—and that pandemic has also really accelerated change within the sector when it comes to technology, the digital transformation, hybrid service delivery, and remote online services. Going back to the early nineties, it didn’t exist. It was all in-person services or by telephone—technology that exists today was not even envisioned at that time, so that’s where you see the tremendous acceleration of change.

Interviewer: So, services are more accessible now, you’d say?

Chris Friesen: So, services are way more accessible now, and again, I haven’t commented on, but the other area, of course, is the whole area of pre-arrival services.

Attempting to prepare primarily refugees in the resettlement program, but more and more now with immigrants coming from major source countries. Helping to prepare them before they come to Canada. And so, this is a whole other area that has seen both the emergence of a formal pre-arrival program for your arrival partners around the world but also influenced by technology and online pre-arrival services. Immigrants who have been approved and are coming to Quebec can start their French language training online before they arrive.

So, this is all part this continued story that has no endpoint but is seen as a beacon of promise around the world—how we have structured, as a society, the settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees. The fact that we now have an over one billion dollar settlement program targeting the integration of newcomers to Canada with all of the innovation and evolution of the sector, you know, stands out in a world where immigration has been politicized and the newcomers are not always welcomed, and where integration and pathways to citizenship don’t exist.

This is why our model, although far from perfect, continues to stand out within the global community. As an outstanding promising practice when it comes to issues of social cohesion, nation building, how we’re approaching things like anti-racism.

I think the other thing is, going back to where we are now, not only have we come out of this pandemic, and we’re all focusing our greater attention on digital transformation, the use of technology and service delivery. But I think we’re also at a point in time with contemporary social justice issues. We’re now much, much more involved in issues related to truth and reconciliation and Canada’s indigenous peoples, particularly in the past decade and as well as more and more work around diversity, equity and inclusion.

And so, these are anchors that, I think, are guiding our service delivery and are part of our ongoing evolving story of Canada’s settlement sector.