OTTAWA, December 11, 2003 -- The Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Dr. Marc Renaud, President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, announced today the creation of a new research centre in Atlantic Canada that will focus on immigration and diversity issues. This newest Metropolis Centre will benefit from over $1 million in federal funding over the next three years and will complement the four existing centres in other regions of Canada. It was created following extensive consultations in the Atlantic region over the last three years.The Atlantic Metropolis Centre aims to stimulate, promote and support productive partnerships among academic, government and non-governmental organizations in pursuing policy-relevant research agendas related to immigration, population migrations and cultural diversity. It aims to build linkages with the existing Metropolis centres in Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver to address the national policy priorities of the Metropolis Project. It also aims to pursue research agendas identified as distinctive to the region in both official languages. The twin administrative sites in Moncton and Halifax, and the large concentrations of the Acadian French-speaking population in the Atlantic region will stimulate interaction between these communities, as well as among the diverse language communities of its immigrant population.Minister Coderre has emphasized the importance of exploring regionalization to attract and retain newcomers to Canada. At the launch of the Centre, he said, "The creation of an Atlantic Metropolis Centre is an important step in exploring partnerships in Atlantic Canada that can help attract the highly skilled work force it needs in the future, and retain the newcomers who have already settled in the region.""Metropolis is an example of how research can inform policy and assist in the development of Canadian communities," said Dr. Renaud. "By creating a Metropolis Centre in Atlantic Canada, we ensure that local decision-makers and researchers can work together on issues such as the impact of globalization and immigration and diversity in this region of Canada."Facing the challenges of building networks across the boundaries of four provinces and researchers from up to 17 universities, the Atlantic Metropolis Centre acts as a catalyst for greater integration within the region. Given the region's population distribution, it places more emphasis than centres in Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver on issues of immigrant integration, population migration and multiculturalism in smaller cities and rural areas.-30-For more information (media only):CIC:Sarah BainPress SecretaryOffice of the Minister(613) 954-1064Simone MacAndrewMedia RelationsCommunications Branch(613) 941-7021SSHRC:Yves Y. PelletierManager, External RelationsPublic Affairs DivisionSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada(613) 943-1144BACKGROUNDER The Metropolis Project was initiated in 1994 by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. A consortium of federal partners supports the project in general and the creation of an Atlantic Centre in particular, including Canadian Heritage and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.Metropolis responds to the pressing need for research and policy formation related to globalization, population migrations across borders, and associated factors. These include economic restructuring, communications networks, ethnic and political conflict, human security issues, social integration and social services, education, health, youth, and issues of cultural, social and religious heritage and diversity. In its first phase, the Metropolis Project established four national university-based centres of excellence (Montréal, Toronto, the Prairies and Vancouver).The Atlantic Centre will have two administrative nodes, one in Halifax and the other in Moncton; four lead universities (Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, the Université de Moncton and St Thomas University); and a distributed model of operation that will facilitate participation by universities, non-governmental organizations and government workers from across the region.
