News Release - Government of Canada announces funding to help newcomers settle in Welland

Welland, May 30, 2008 — Rick Dykstra, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced funding for the Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre to deliver settlement services to immigrants in Welland and the surrounding area.

The funding of almost $700,000 is expected to help newcomers to Canada access a variety of settlement services including language training, referrals to community resources and help finding a job. The funding will also provide for eight child-minding spots so that parents with young children can participate in these programs and a mentorship program that will match newcomers with Canadian volunteers. In total, the funding is expected to help an estimated 180 newcomers integrate into the community.

“The Government of Canada is committed to helping immigrants get successfully started in Canada,” said Mr. Dykstra. “This funding will give newcomers in the Welland area access to a number of valuable services, providing the support they need as they integrate into the community.  Their success is good for Welland and good for Canada.”

“The City of Welland has become dramatically more diverse over the past couple of years,” says Claire Masswohl, Executive Director of the Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre. “The new funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada will allow us to implement new programs to help newcomers settle and integrate into their new communities, enriching our city as a whole.”

Settlement services are an essential part of the federal government’s immigration program. Through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), the Government of Canada has increased settlement funding for Ontario by a total of $920 million over five years, helping thousands of newcomers to Ontario. Under COIA, Citizenship and Immigration Canada works with the province and immigrant-serving agencies to make a real difference in the lives of immigrants. In total, since 2006, the Government of Canada has begun investing an additional $1.4 billion over five years in settlement funding across the country.

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. Under this proposed system, instructions would be issued to immigration officers related to the processing of applications, including in relation to the jobs available in Canada, so that people with those skills and experience can be brought to Canada more quickly. 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 to Canada 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 foreign credential referral services to newcomers.

CIC funds a number of programs that help newcomers settle, adapt, and integrate into Canadian society. These programs are delivered in partnership with provinces, territories and service-providing organizations and include the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program, which provides orientation, referrals to community resources, advice and guidance; Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada, which provides basic language training for adults; and the Host Program, which helps newcomers connect with volunteers who help them access services, establish contacts in their field of work and participate in the community.

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

Madona Mokbel
Communications
Ontario Region
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
416-954-7868