Canada funds the YMCA of Greater Saint John
News release
Improving the lives of newcomers as they settle into their new communities
June 26, 2019—Saint John, NB—Canada is providing funding for the YMCA of Greater Saint John to help newcomers better integrate into the community by improving the accessibility and quality of settlement services.
Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint John–Rothesay, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
This new project will improve employer engagement to better address workforce challenges. It will also determine which type of language training best meets the needs of newcomers and is most helpful for finding a job.
The YMCA of Greater Saint John delivers a traditional Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada English language training program. They also offer a program that focuses on specific employment sectors and provides newcomers the opportunity to develop their language skills while they prepare for a job in sectors such as hospitality, child care, finance and accounting, wood manufacturing, and retail and sales.
Canada has a dedicated service delivery improvements fund to improve, innovate and experiment to find better ways to deliver services to and meet the needs of newcomers and support their integration into Canada.
Quotes
“The YMCA of Greater Saint John does a fantastic job providing high-quality settlement services for newcomers. Finding new and better ways to help newcomers succeed in their journey benefits all Canadians.”
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
“Thanks to the dedication of local service providers like the YMCA of Greater Saint John, this project and others like it will improve our understanding of newcomer needs and support their successful integration into Canadian communities.”
– Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint John–Rothesay
“We are excited to put our homegrown employment language solutions to the test with this project. We have seen tremendous outcomes over the past three years, with more than 100 newcomers securing gainful employment in their field of interest. This funding will help us evaluate and improve the customized language supports we provide clients and also equip employers to ease their transition in the Canadian workplace.”
– Shilo Boucher, President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Saint John
Quick facts
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More than $1.2 million will be provided to the YMCA of Greater Saint John to deliver this new project.
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This new project is part of Service Delivery Improvements funding, a dedicated stream within the Settlement Program of almost $150 million over 5 years.
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Following the first expression of interest process for Service Delivery Improvements launched in fall 2017, more than 100 projects are now funded across the country.
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There are 7 funding streams under the SDI:
- language acquisition
- employment
- youth supports
- harnessing volunteers and supporting capacity-building in the settlement sector
- pay for performance
- newcomer well-being and programming to support vulnerable clients, and
- research and analysis to drive innovation and understand the user experience
Contacts
Contacts for media only
Mathieu Genest
Minister’s Office
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-954-1064
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-952-1650
IRCC.COMMMediaRelations-RelationsmediasCOMM.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
Nicole Vair
Manager of Marketing and Communications
YMCA of Greater Saint John
506-634-4852
n.vair@saintjohny.ca
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