Hon. Jim Munson:

Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and is also in relation to Toronto-based immigrant services agencies.

Could the minister shed any light on a mysterious memo that appeared after Christmas, when these cuts were made and while Parliament was not in session?

Honourable senators, this memo was sent to the groups, and they had planned to have a meeting to talk about the cuts, or proposed cuts, or moving the money around, but they were horrified to receive this memo from a federal settlement officer from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Part of the memo reads:

I don't believe that CIC settlement funding is a topic for the . . . meeting and therefore it should not be an agenda item.

This was a meeting that was supposed to provide a fuller picture of the extent of the cuts and how they would impact services. It sounds like a gag order to me.

Why is the government bullying community organizations trying to help newcomers to Canada?

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