Canadian immigration partner with Ontario to fund immigrant services
September 24 2009 by Matt Jones
Karen Farbridge on Canadian immigration
In two new initiatives Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration have partnered to provide funding to help immigrant families settle.
$459,000 has been announced as funding for the formation of a local partnership council for the city of Guelph. 7,000 immigrants who made the move to Canada chose to settle in Guelph over the last 10 years. The new council will plan ways to help immigrants settle into the community by working with employers, school boards and settlement services agencies.
The funding was provided though the Canada-Ontario immigration agreement where a total of $3million will be distributed across Ontario to help immigrants.
Karen Farbridge, Guelph's Mayor, said: “We are very pleased that, with the support of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, we will be able to develop an integrated, coordinated strategy to make Guelph and Wellington a more welcoming place for newcomers to Canada and our community.”
$146,397 of funding will go to the Regional Municipality of Niagara to help immigrant families settle there. The funding will be used in a similar fashion to the Guelph initiative. 11,000 immigrants have passed through Canadian immigration to settle in Niagara over the last 10 years.
Peter Partington, Niagara Regional Chairman, said: “The significant investment of federal funding through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement will provide new and improved opportunities for new Niagarans, further strengthening the fabric of our communities.”
These are not the first initiatives set up in Canada to help immigrants settle. $1.5 billion is being invested over five years for this purpose across Canada.
See the latest Immigration News
