Settlement Services: Ottawa

Jason Kenney Dept: The first salvo in the spat over dollars and cents came from federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who visited Winnipeg as part of his plan to sell Ottawa's move to take over settlement services. While Ottawa funded those services, Manitoba has delivered the program that includes language classes and job search skills for more than a decade, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "We're funding 97 per cent of the costs of these services in Manitoba. In that period of time, the last five years, we've seen Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. all significantly increase their investment in settlement services. If the province Manitoba really believes that these are important programs, it's one thing to say that, it's quite another to actually prioritize it in terms of their budgetary choices." MANITOBA and Ottawa were locked in a fight Monday over who cares more about immigration based on how much each level spends making it happen. "We quadrupled the federal investment in settlement services in Manitoba, going from $8 million to $36 million in the past five years," Kenney said during an online interview at the Free Press News Cafe. "In that period, Manitoba's funding has basically been frozen at around $1 million to $1.5 million. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.