TORONTO, November 21, 2005 — The Honourable Joe Volpe,
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and the Honourable Mike Colle,
Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today signed the Canada–Ontario
Immigration Agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Government of Canada will invest an
additional $920 million over the next five years in Ontario. This is the
first comprehensive immigration agreement between Ontario and Canada, and it
is intended to help more newcomers reach their full potential in Ontario by
increasing the funding for services to help them settle, integrate and access
language training.
By formalizing how the two levels of government will work together in the
area of immigration, the agreement signals a shared desire to optimize the
economic benefits of immigration and ensure that immigration policies and programs
respond to Ontario’s social, economic development and labour market priorities.
“This is a significant milestone, laying a foundation for the governments
of Canada and Ontario to work together in collaboration with municipalities
and official language minority communities to improve the social and economic
integration of immigrants in the province,” said Minister Volpe.
“This is truly a landmark agreement for our province and a history-making
investment in the successful integration of the 125,000 new immigrants Ontario
welcomes each year,” added Minister Colle.
Ontario welcomes more than half of all new immigrants coming to Canada every
year. Increased settlement funding for immigrants in Ontario will help Ontario’s
newcomers successfully start their new life here.
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For more information:
Government of Canada
Stephen Heckbert
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(613) 954-1064
Greg Scott
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(613) 941-7028
Government of Ontario
Danna O’Brien Mary
Minister’s Office
Ontario Ministry of Citizenship
and Immigration
(416) 325-3460
Dowding-Paré
Communications Branch
Ontario Ministry of Citizenship
and Immigration
(416) 314-7230
Visit the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Web site: www.citizenship.gov.on.ca
BACKGROUNDER
HIGHLIGHTS OF CANADA–ONTARIO IMMIGRATION AGREEMENT
On November 21, 2005, the governments of Ontario and Canada signed the
first Canada–Ontario Immigration Agreement. Through the agreement, the
federal government will provide $920 million in new immigration funding
over five years to help newcomers successfully integrate more quickly into
Ontario communities and achieve their full potential. The agreement outlines
how the governments of Canada and Ontario will work together to expand language
training and settlement programs.
Settlement Services
Under the agreement, the existing federal (Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation
Program) and provincial (Newcomer Settlement Program) settlement services will
be better coordinated. The goal is to expand the range of services for newcomers.
A joint strategy will be established so that organizations providing settlement
services can help newcomers more easily locate and access community services
such as orientation, information, referrals, assessment and job search assistance.
Language Training
Language is an important factor for the successful integration of newcomers.
The federal and provincial governments will work together to expand language
training. For the first time, English as a second language classes will include
occupation-specific language training, helping immigrants reach the level required
to work in their fields or to enrol in post-secondary education.
Partnership with Municipalities
The Canada–Ontario Immigration Agreement is the first agreement to involve
municipalities in planning and discussions on immigration. For the first time
all three levels of government will work together to make sure programs are
in place to meet the needs of immigrants in regions and municipalities across
Ontario.
Almost 30 percent of Canada’s immigrants settle in the city of Toronto.
This agreement recognizes the unique challenge this creates for Toronto. The
agreement establishes a mechanism within nine months for all three levels of
government to discuss immigration and settlement to meet their respective objectives.
Provincial Nominee Program and Temporary Foreign Workers
Over the next twelve months, Ontario will develop a pilot Provincial Nominee
Program. As well, during this time, Canada and Ontario will develop the terms
of a Temporary Foreign Worker agreement. These programs will give Ontario the
opportunity to identify newcomers who will help meet its economic priorities
and labour market objectives. A number of provinces already have provincial
nominee programs in place.
Immigration Portal
The Ontario government will launch the first Ontario Web site to provide potential
newcomers with timely information on Ontario’s communities, labour markets,
skills accreditation and other important information to successfully start
their new life in Ontario. It will help newcomers access the information they
need from all levels of government to settle, upgrade their language skills
and get a job. Beginning with approximately 300 links, the site will expand
over the next two years to include more information and features and become
a virtual one-stop gateway for newcomers to Ontario. The Web site will complement
and link with the Government of Canada’s Going to Canada portal.
Newcomer Statistics
Ontario welcomes more than half the newcomers to Canada and has the most diverse
population in the world. According to the Statistics Canada 2001 census, 27 percent
of Ontario residents and 42 percent of residents in the Greater Toronto
Area are foreign-born. Statistics Canada also reports that immigration is expected
to account for all the net labour force growth in the province within the next
decade.
