Toronto, December 3, 2010 - The Government of Canada is investing more than $2M for improved access to services to help newcomers successfully integrate, Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.
Through the federally funded Local Immigration Partnership, developed in collaboration with the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto, representatives from several sectors including employers, educational institutions and settlement and social service agencies will work together to research the diverse needs of newcomers in order to create a strategy to improve integration.
Through the City of Toronto Newcomer Initiative, settlement workers will be placed in Public Health offices, City child care facilities, shelters and community recreation centres to use city services to advance the social and economic wellbeing of newcomers to Toronto.
"The Local Immigration Partnership and Newcomer initiative programs will enhance the City of Toronto's ability to help newcomers integrate," said Minister Kenney. "By better understanding newcomers' needs, we can improve access to important services, like language training, that are key to successful integration. We are very much looking forward to working with the new Mayor of Toronto toward that end."
"I am very pleased to be here with my Federal and Provincial colleagues," said city of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. "Providing top notch customer service to our newcomer residents is something that is imperative."
"Attracting and retaining newcomers is part of our Open Ontario plan for economic growth for our province," said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. "This newest Local Immigration Partnership will ensure that our newcomers get the services they need to help them settle and find a good job right here in Toronto."
Since 2005, the Government of Canada has more than tripled its annual spending on settlement services for newcomers in Ontario. For 2010–11, the Government of Canada is allocating $428 million in Ontario for settlement services for newcomers, such as language training, job search workshops and placing settlement workers in schools.
For more information on CIC programs, please visit www.cic.gc.ca.
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For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister's Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
Media Relations
Ontario Region
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
416-954-7868
Ont-Communications@cic.gc.ca
