News Release - Government of Canada announces funding to help refugees and other newcomers in British Columbia

Vancouver, May 20, 2008 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced funding to help refugees and other newcomers succeed in British Columbia.

The Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia will receive more than $1.3 million to assist up to 800 refugees with temporary accommodations, food and incidentals, orientation sessions and counselling and referral services.

The Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB) will receive $104,000 to develop tools, activities and partnerships aimed at attracting and integrating French-speaking immigrants to Francophone minority communities outside Quebec. The funding for the FFCB is provided through the Government of Canada’s Official Languages Action Plan. In 2006, more than 1,553 French-speaking newcomers settled in British Columbia.

“The Government of Canada is committed to helping refugees. We have a proven history of welcoming those in need and today’s announcement supports that,” said Minister Diane Finley. “To help newcomers achieve greater success, which helps Canada achieve greater success, we’ve increased settlement funding and it’s having an impact in cities and communities across the country.”

“We are also pleased to support the efforts of the French-speaking communities to attract and integrate French speaking newcomers in British Columbia,” Minister Finley added.

“We are very pleased to continue our long association with CIC and are very appreciative of the funds that will assist us in ensuring services to are provided to the 800 government assisted refugees we welcome each year,” said Patricia Woroch, Executive Director of the Immigrant Services Society of B.C.

“This contribution is about capacity building and developing the broad, long-term partnerships within the community required to integrate Francophone immigrants into Canadian society, British Columbia and our Francophone community,” said Madame Padminee Chundunsing, a member of the conseil d’administration de La Fédération francophones de la Colombie Britannique.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is committed to supporting the vitality of francophone minority communities. In September 2006, the Department began working with partners to implement the five-year Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities. The plan aims to improve the capacity of these communities to receive and facilitate the settlement and integration of newcomers.

Settlement and resettlement services are an essential part of the federal government’s immigration program. For 2008-09, CIC has set aside funding of $6.5 million under the Resettlement Assistance Program to assist refugees in B.C. This is in addition to the funding provided to the province each year for programs and services aimed at assisting all newcomers, including refugees, settle and integrate into their new communities.

For 2008-09, British Columbia, which is responsible for the design of settlement programs in the province, will receive directly more than $109 million in settlement funding, an increase of more than $30 million over the previous year.

Budget 2008 also proposes changes to modernize the immigration system and to shorten the time it takes to bring newcomers and their families to Canada. The proposed measures would do a better job of responding to our economic and regional needs, and help reduce wait times for new applicants and the backlog. With these changes, newcomers could have more opportunities to find work sooner, to provide a better life for themselves and their families and to benefit more from life in Canada.

Newcomers can also look to the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), which helps internationally trained individuals find the information they need to get their credentials assessed and recognized more quickly. The FCRO was established in 2007 to provide information, path-finding and referral services to help internationally-trained individuals use their skills in Canada. There are now 320 Service Canada Centres across Canada offering in-person services to newcomers.

For more information on CIC’s programs, consult our website at www.cic.gc.ca.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Tim Vail
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064

Thérèse Vermette
Communications
British Columbia Region
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
604-666-8185