Solicited call for funding to support airport orientation and community-based services under the Migrant Worker Support Program

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• Application period Closed
• Description
• Objective
• Organizations solicited for funding
• Eligibility
• Contact us

Application period

Solicited organizations can apply from April 21, 2022 to May 18, 2022 at 3:00 pm Eastern daylight time (EDT).

Description

The Migrant Worker Support (MWS) Program aims to support migrant workers in Canada to learn about and exercise their rights. In the context of this program, migrant workers are also referred to as “temporary foreign workers” (TFW).

Specifically, the MWS Program aims to:

• increase migrant workers’ awareness and understanding of their rights and responsibilities through educational activities and/or educational material
• empower migrant workers to exercise their rights by providing or assisting in accessing services available to them
• foster inclusion and welcoming of migrant workers through social, cultural and/or recreational events
• support migrant workers during emergency situations
• foster new partnerships or leverage existing partnerships/networks to support migrant workers, and
• develop and implement coordinated approaches among community organizations, and/or build their capacity and knowledge to provide resources and services to migrant workers

The MWS Program has a total funding envelope of about $30 million until March 31, 2024. There are 2 project streams:

• Stream 1 (Airport Orientation Services): Around $3 million in funding is available for Stream 1. We expect to fund up to 5 projects for this stream. The intent is to have 1 project per major Canadian international airport:
  • Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
  • Calgary International Airport (YYC)
  • Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
  • Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
  • Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)
• Stream 2 (Community-Based Services): Around $27 million in funding is available for Stream 2. We expect to fund 5 to 15 total projects under Stream 2. The intent is to have at least 1 project covering each of the following areas:
  • British Columbia
  • the Prairies
  • Ontario
  • Québec, and
  • The Atlantic Provinces

Eligible organizations can apply for up to $5 million dollars per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).

Objective

The objective of this process is to fund organizations to support migrant workers through airport orientation services (Stream 1) and community-based services (Stream 2).

• Stream 1 (Airport Orientation Services) projects will support migrant workers through orientation and referral services upon arrival at major Canadian airports. Your proposal should explain how your project will:
  • establish a first point of contact with migrant workers at the selected airport, such as:
    • how you might establish a physical presence at the airport
    • how you will identify when migrant workers will arrive at the airport
  • provide orientation and referral services in languages commonly spoken by migrant workers
  • disseminate information and resources on migrant workers’ rights, responsibilities, and the services available to them
  • support continued referrals and contact with migrant workers after they leave the airport
  • develop partnerships to support the project (for example, relationships with airports, border agencies, consulates, employers and representatives)

  For Stream 1, we may prioritize organizations that have experience in providing orientation or reception services to newcomers at the airport.

  Examples of newcomers include:

  • TFWs
  • permanent residents
  • refugees/refugee claimants
  • asylum seekers
• Stream 2 (Community-Based Services) projects will support migrant workers through community-based services. Funded projects will develop partnerships and redistribute funding to other organizations. This, in turn, will build the capacity of organizations assisting migrant workers and encourage collaboration. Your proposal should explain how your project will:
  • manage and redistribute funding to other organizations to support migrant workers
  • develop partnerships to support migrant workers, for example by:
    • harmonizing services among community organizations
    • leveraging community support to detect and deter the abuse of migrant workers
    • facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration activities
    • facilitating information sharing and networking
    • convening key stakeholders to address migrant worker protection issues
  • provide services to migrant workers, including:
    • informing workers about their rights and the resources and services available to them while living and working in Canada
    • supporting workers to access information and basic services (for example, outreach, interpretation to access health care)
    • supporting workers to exercise their rights (for example, legal advice, case management, assistance filing complaint with government agency)
    • assisting workers in emergency, transitional, and at-risk situations
    • improving workers’ well-being, helping them integrate into the community, and reducing isolation
    • developing information resources for migrant workers and the organizations that assist them (for example, webinars, info-sessions, brochures, events)

  For Stream 2, we may prioritize projects that demonstrate a plan to:

  • support a greater number of TFWs, relative to other proposals for the same region
  • support TFWs in remote/isolated regions where there are limited support services (for example, virtual services or mobile outreach)
  • cover a region(s) with high numbers of TFWs in Québec, Ontario, or British Columbia
  • quickly leverage existing networks and relationships to implement some or all of the project activities providing direct support to workers
  • engage a diversity of partners within the region of coverage. These could include, but are not limited to:
    • consulates
    • settlement services
    • faith-based organizations
    • labour organizations
    • industry and employer organizations
    • other government representatives

We expect that successful projects under both streams will begin in fall 2022 and end on March 31, 2024.

Organizations solicited for funding

We determined that a solicited call for proposals was the most appropriate process. We identified organizations and invited them to submit a proposal based on the criteria outlined in the section below.

If an unsolicited organization believes they meet the eligibility criteria for either stream, they may submit a request for consideration to ESDC. The request should explain how they meet the eligibility criteria.

Find information on funded grants and contribution projects in proactive disclosure.

Eligibility

Your organization must meet the eligibility criteria listed below to apply for this program. We will only accept 1 funding application per organization per stream.

Eligible participants

Eligible participants are foreign nationals (also referred to as “temporary foreign workers” or “migrant workers”) who:

• have or had been issued a work permit under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or
• have or had been issued an employer-specific work permit under the International Mobility Program

Eligible applicants

Your organization must meet the eligibility criteria of the program, as well as the eligibility criteria of the stream for which you are applying.

To apply to either Stream 1 or Stream 2, your organization must be a:

• Not-for-profit organization
• Indigenous not-for-profit organization (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities), or
• Provincial, territorial, and municipal government, institution, and/or agency (not including for-profit Crown corporations)

To apply to Stream 1 (Airport Orientation Services), your organization must also meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

• have at least 6 months of experience providing orientation or reception services to newcomers at any international airport in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal, or Halifax
  • examples of newcomers include:
    • TFWs
    • permanent residents
    • refugees/refugee claimants
    • asylum seekers
• have a core mandate and core activities focusing on supporting, informing, empowering, and/or protecting TFWs in Canada, through advocacy and/or direct services
  • this is as opposed to organizations whose mandates cover a diversity of newcomers to Canada or diverse community groups

To apply to Stream 2 (Community-Based Services), your organization must also meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

• have a core mandate and core activities focusing on supporting, informing, empowering, and/or protecting TFWs in Canada, through advocacy and/or direct services
  • this is as opposed to organizations whose mandates cover a diversity of communities or newcomers or diverse community groups
• have a core mandate and core activities focusing on supporting newcomers to Canada, and lead a coordinating, convening, alliance-building, and/or umbrella body comprising of other organizations to support newcomers to Canada, either to coordinate direct services, address service gaps, or conduct research or advocacy
• have experience managing a contribution agreement to collaborate with and redistribute funding to organizations supporting TFWs and/or newcomers to Canada
• have at least one year of experience providing services and information to TFWs in one of the following provinces:
  • Saskatchewan
  • New Brunswick
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Nova Scotia
  • Newfoundland and Labrador

Contact us

If you have questions, please email us at EDSC.PSTM-MWSP.ESDC@servicecanada.gc.ca before May 13, 2022 at 12:00 pm EDT.