Assiniboine College faces major cut to English language program funding

Assiniboine Community College in Brandon, Man. is facing a massive cut to funding for its English language programming, the college's president says.

According to Mark Frison, the federal government has proposed cutting funding for the school's English as a second language classes — which help newcomers to Canada learn English for work — from $730,000 this year to just $190,000 next year.

"I was shocked," said Frison. "It didn't initially make sense to me. This has been a growing area and certainly Manitoba has been a beacon for newcomers to Canada, so it was a real surprise."

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Funding changes haven't been finalized, though a college spokesperson said it expected to know late this month or early in April what future funding will look like.

ACC offers classes for levels five through eight on the Canadian Language Benchmarks system — the system used to measure standards for English and French in Canada. Levels one through four are offered by Westman Immigrant Services.

Frison said he believes the proposed cut is the result of a new federal government policy to concentrate funding on programs focused on lower-level benchmarks. 

But he said it's not good news for the students. 

"For some folks I think it'll mean that their ambitions will be delayed," he said. "They'll have to wait longer to get the type of training they require."

Jobs demand higher level English skills

Newcomers need to attain level four language skills, which indicates basic language ability, to obtain citizenship. Frison said newcomers need to attain levels five or six, considered intermediate language ability, in order to work in areas like retail, or in jobs like driving a bus or working as a security guard. 

Jobs in the health-care field demand a higher level. 

Frison said the ACC's ESL classes have experienced increasing attendance in the last five years. As of January, more than 450 students were enrolled in ESL classes, he said. 

A cut in funding will mean a reduction the number of classes — and students — for the next school year.

"It's likely that evenings and Saturdays would no longer be available like they were last year," he said. "We'd be down to day classes on Monday to Thursday."

Frison said the school might have to reduce the number of students accepted into classes to about 100.

Cuts benefit no one: consultant 

Ingrid Been is an immigration consultant who works in Brandon. She said cutting higher-level English training stands to benefit no one, and works against the Manitoba government's bid to build the province's economy.

"They [newcomers] need to improve themselves, they need to grow, the company needs to grow," she said. "For that reason it's very important that they have access to language courses that can improve the levels.

"If you cut education, special language education, it absolutely will affect the economic growth of the province," said Been, an immigrant herself who took advanced ESL classes when she moved to Canada six years ago. 

She said many newcomers are coming to fill jobs that require a higher level of English and not having the resources for those people to learn could leave some companies in a tough position — either leave positions empty or give workers time to complete English classes.

"If there is still space they [might] need to give the worker free time to go to English classes, they might need to pay for that," she said. "It might affect the company growth and it will immediately affect the economic benefits here in the province." 

She said it could lead to some newcomers becoming isolated without the proper communications skills. 

It's not clear how many other programs or schools that offer ESL training besides ACC are affected by the funding cut. CBC News has reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a response.

ACC hopeful for change of mind 

It's also not known at this point how many jobs may be affected at Assiniboine Community College. A spokesperson said the number of instructors depends on which courses are currently on offer. 

The number of instructors this year has varied from only one on a fixed term up to as many as seven contract instructors working at the same time. A cut in funding would affect how many contract instructors are hired for the upcoming year, the college said.

Frison said he is hopeful that minds will change and ACC will get the funding it needs before the next school year.