Through the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP), funds are provided to deliver direct and essential services to newcomers. These services include reception and orientation, translation and interpretation, referral to community resources, para-professional counselling, general information and employment-related services.

ISAP also funds projects designed to complement or improve the delivery of settlement services. These include research projects on settlement and immigration integration, seminars and conferences to share information about settlement and integration activities, and training of ISAP-supported agency staff.

HOST PROGRAM

Funds are provided to recruit, train, match and monitor volunteers (individuals and groups) who help newcomers to adapt, settle and integrate into Canadian life.

The Host program is typical of the "two-way street" approach to immigrant integration, helping to establish friendships between newcomers and resident Canadians. It gives newcomers a friend who is familiar with Canadian ways to teach them about available services and how to use them, work with them to practise English or French, get employment contacts and participate in community activities. In return, Host volunteers make new friends, learn about other cultures and contribute to community life.

ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Financial assistance is provided to indigent Convention Refugees, generally Convention refugees and designated class persons admitted to Canada as government-assisted refugees. The funds help pay for temporary accommodation, necessary clothing and household effects, and living expenses for up to one year or until the newcomer is self-supporting, whichever comes first.

LANGUAGE TRAINING

The immigrant language training framework, implemented in June 1992, offers enhanced language training opportunities for adult immigrants. It consists of two programs.

Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), managed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, funds basic language instruction to meet newcomers' integration needs, regardless of whether or not they plan to get a job. LINC may include full- or part-time training, self-assisted and distance learning, or community or institutionally-based programs, according to the newcomer's abilities and needs. LINC is free to all immigrants but does not include training allowances.

Special initiatives also exist in co-operation with provincial governments and the voluntary sector to assist special-needs refugees, women at risk and unaccompanied minors. These initiatives can assist when resettlement is urgently needed or where government and non-government organizations need to combine their services to meet resettlement needs.