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OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to overhaul an immigration program designed to help newcomers find work and adjust to life in Canada which, despite having its budget nearly tripled in 2015, is being used by fewer than 10 per cent of immigrants.

The changes come after an audit earlier this year pointed to problems with the pre-arrival services program, including ineffective promotion and low uptake, since the government expanded funding to 27 service providers in 2015, up from just three. That number has since dropped to 23.

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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is now planning to further scale back the number of organizations that offer pre-arrival services, which have served as few as 13 clients in a single year, at a cost per client of up to nearly $28,000.

“Currently, there are too many service providers with very small client numbers and overlapping services, as the program grew rapidly from 3 to 27 providers in 2015,” reads an April 2018 memo to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, obtained through access-to-information. “The department anticipates funding a smaller number of providers and also expects quality proposals from new players.”