Federal funding shortfall leads to layoffs and massive waitlists at Calgary Centre for Newcomers

A stoppage in federal funding for the Calgary Centre for Newcomers (CNF) has resulted in the agency being forced to lay off more than 60 of its employees as the surge in inflation drives demand for services even higher.

A shortfall in federal funding for the Calgary Centre for Newcomers (CNF) has resulted in the agency being forced to lay off more than 60 of its employees as the surge in inflation drives demand for services even higher.

In May, the organization laid off 20 of its employees after being advised by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that its funding would run out.

CEO, Anila Lee Yeun says a $4 million hole in CBF budget meant 40 more employees unfortunately had to be laid off last week.

“We were hopeful that we would be able to negotiate and we'd be able to continue to keep people on, but as the days went by we started to realize that might not be the case,” Lee Yuen said.

“We haven't been given any indication by IRCC if the funding will return and we’re hearing from the federal government that they don’t have the money to give.”

Lee Yuen notes that her team’s relationship with Ottawa continues to remain positive, but the layoffs have stretched her staff thin and led to large waitlists for services such as English-as-a-second-language instruction.

“Pre-COVID I would get very nervous when I saw that our waitlist for our English language classes across the city was 400, that was really a lot back then, but now, we're looking at 4,000 in Calgary alone,” she said.