For several years, a persistent chain email (1) has been circulating claiming that refugees receive significantly more money in income assistance than Canadians collecting a pension.  The information, which is based on a letter published in the Toronto Star, is false.

The true picture is that:

• Refugee claimants and refugees recognized by the Immigration and Refugee Board receive no specific income assistance.  They may, depend on provincial regulations, be entitled, like other residents, to social assistance.
• Privately sponsored refugees are not entitled to governmental assistance (including provincial assistance) during the period of their sponsorship (usually for one year after arrival in Canada).
• Government-assisted refugees have access to financial assistance from the federal government through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP).  This financial assistance is generally for one year maximum and only if they do not have their own financial resources or income.  The exact rate depends on the size of the family and is tied to social assistance rates.  In Ontario, for example, a single person receives $580 per month.  In addition, government-assisted refugees are entitled to a one-time set up allowance, to cover such things as clothes, basic household effects and installation of a phone.  For a single person there is a maximum allowance of $885.

Bear in mind, too, that most resettled refugees arrive in Canada with a significant debt burden, since they are expected to repay the Canadian government for their transportation to Canada (as well as the cost of their medical examination undertaken as part of their processing to immigrate to Canada).  Refugee families therefore often begin life in Canada with a debt running to thousands of dollars.  Interest is charged at a rate set by the Department of Finance each year.

More information:

Explanation of the origins of the email by Toronto Star ombudsperson (below)

You Asked For It, article published by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Sept.-Oct. 2005, responding to the chain email

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Frequently Asked Questions about financial support to refugees

Information responding to the email provided by KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

For details on income assistance entitlements, please consult the Citizenship and Immigration Canada manual, IP 3, part 2 on RAP available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/manuals-guides/english/ip/index.html

The Toronto Star ombusdperson published the following explanation of the origins of the email:

"Today's rather sad and twisted tale began last March when the Star published a feature about plans to settle hundreds of African refugees in smaller Canadian cities. It was a simple story: Canada and the United Nations were flying asylum-seekers from a Somali refugee camp to new lives in centres such as Hamilton. As immigration/diversity reporter Nicholas Keung wrote, immigration officials hope to encourage (but not force) refugees to make new lives outside the magnet cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. "We hope by relocating them all together and resettling them as a whole to the same community, we can create a positive environment to help them integrate into the Canadian society successfully," an immigration official explained.

Fine and dandy. But halfway through the 1,500-word article, unforeseen trouble was lurking. In paragraph 16, the story said single refugees are eligible for $1,890 from Ottawa as a "start-up allowance, along with a $580 monthly social assistance, depending on how soon the person is able to find employment." In addition, they get "a night lamp, a table, a chair and a single bed from the government," the story said. In painful hindsight, those details could have been clearer. Actually, the $1,890 "start-up allowance" - including a $580 monthly social assistance cheque from Ottawa - was a one-time payment for basic household needs such as furnishings, pots and linens. The furniture is used. In quick order, two things happened after the article ran. First, a reader sent a nasty e-mail to the reporter. Among other things, it said charity begins at home and Canada should not "roll out the welcome mat" for refugees. The e-mailer assumed - erroneously - that the refugees would collect $2,470 a month. They'd be better off than Canadian pensioners.

More worrisome, the polemicist sent his rant to 100 recipients, some of whom likely spread the word to wider audiences. Ah, the wonders of the Internet! Alarmed by the e-mail, reporter Keung tried to contact the sender. It was too late. Having spread the misinformation, the e-mailer already had changed his address. At the same time, a second development occurred. The Star ran a letter to the editor that said the $2,470 "compares very well to a single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. "Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees?" reasoned the writer.

Readers may not realize that fact checking of letters to the editor is nearly impossible at most daily papers, given limited staff resources and unforgiving deadlines. Although many mistakes are caught, the occasional doozer gets through. That was definitely the case here. Over the next several months, it became increasingly clear a disturbing urban myth had been born. Various offices at the Star have been getting e-mails from around the world, usually one or two a week. Many quote from the erroneous letter to the editor, expressing varying degrees of curiosity, dismay, envy or anger. "Let's send this to all Canadians," one e-mail roared, "so we can all be p----- off and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the pensioners up to $2,470 and enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the government over the last 40 or 50 years." In hindsight, the ombud now wishes he'd issued a speedy clarification to help set the record straight. But with information (and misinformation) moving at warp speed on the Internet, I doubt there was a silver bullet for the problem. Maybe this column can help dispel a damaging misperception about refugees and pensioners. Please tell your friends."  (Toronto Star, Nov. 27, 2004.  Reproduced with permission - Torstar Syndication Services).