News

CIC Ontario e-News - December 2009 - Volume 1, Issue 6

CIC Ontario e-News is published regularly for Ontario region stakeholders and partners. It delivers news about initiatives, services, programs, events, publications and requests for proposals. We encourage stakeholders and partners to provide feedback and story ideas that meet the needs of our readership.

In this issue:

• Improving the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
• A modernized approach to CIC’s settlement program
• Local Immigration Partnerships tap into local knowledge
• Remembering Andy Orlowski - the spirit of volunteerism

Improving the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program helps address temporary labour shortages by allowing employers to hire foreign workers when sufficient numbers of Canadian workers are not readily available. With an aim to strengthen the protection of temporary foreign workers, CIC has proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The proposed regulatory amendments include:

• A more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer.
• Limits to the length of a worker’s stay in Canada before returning home.
• A two-year prohibition from hiring a temporary foreign worker for employers found to have provided significantly different wages, working conditions or occupations than promised.

For more information on the proposed changes see the CIC news release.

A modernized approach to CIC’s settlement program

Streamlining processes is the new competitive advantage. That message resonated loud and clear at the 2009 Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants Executive Director’s Forum and follow up session for language and skills sector partners where the modernized approach to the settlement program was shared last month. Representatives from more than 200 service providing organizations (SPOs) from across the province were in attendance.

In May 2008, CIC received approval to implement an improved settlement policy, program and funding framework known as Settlement Modernization. This new outcome-based approach groups activities from separate programs (e.g., LINC, ISAP and HOST) into one settlement program. Within this model, service provider organizations can provide a range of settlement services under a single contribution agreement, enabling them to respond more efficiently to newcomers’ needs. The modernized approach will benefit both CIC and immigrant-helping organizations by:

• Providing greater flexibility in the design and delivery of services.
• Strengthening accountability and improving outcomes for newcomers.
• Improving planning and assessment activities based on local needs.
• Promoting innovation in program design and service delivery.

For example, if a service provider organization finds that clients will benefit from a new service that combines job search with language training, they can ask for CIC approval to design and deliver such a program.

“The modernized approach to settlement programming is a welcome response to the immigrant and refugee-serving sectors longstanding call for flexibility and creativity in program and services design and implementation,” said Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI). “As the new approach is rolled out, we look forward to on-going collaboration with CIC towards improved settlement and integration outcomes for new residents in Canada.”

CIC is committed to ensuring that our staff and stakeholders are prepared for the upcoming changes. This new shift in the Settlement terms and conditions will be implemented in a phased-in manner. A number of training events for CIC staff and our partners have been held and CIC will continue to facilitate local follow-up information sessions when needed and possible.

CIC’s plan for a smooth transition and implementation of the program has three main components:

• Provide training and support the sector.
• Extend the current agreements to 2010-2011 to give everyone time to adapt and implement the modernized approach.
• Post a new Call For Proposals with the language and terms and conditions of the modernized approach in the winter of 2010.

“There has been a lot of positive feedback around the planned roll-out of the new approach,” said Darlyn Mentor, Acting Regional Director of Settlement and Intergovernmental Affairs in Ontario Region. “During this transition period, we are committed to keeping the doors open for communication both internally and externally, so that we can continue to achieve our goals together and help newcomers successfully integrate into our communities.”

Click here for more information on the modernized approach.

Immigration Partnerships tap into local knowledge

Who has the most up-to-date on-the-ground knowledge on how to help Ontario’s immigrants integrate into their community’s economic and social life?

It’s obvious – local school boards, post-secondary institutions, settlement agencies, municipalities, chambers of commerce, employers, social services agencies and other local organizations.

Local Immigration Partnerships in Guelph, Niagara Region, York Region, Peterborough, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton are tapping into the expertise of exactly these organizations as part of a pioneering Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) initiative. Many more local partnerships are taking shape across the province.

These partnership initiatives are receiving $3 million in funding through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement to help their city, region or municipality and its service provider organizations develop its own comprehensive, coordinated approach to helping its newcomers settle and succeed. CIC developed this initiative in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, based on strategic direction in the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement and in consultation with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the City of Toronto.

For Phase 1, each community has put together a Local Partnership Council comprised of a diverse range of representatives knowledgeable about its local service delivery landscape. Each council is gathering information on challenges, strengths, needs and gaps in services – from newcomers and service providers, and through community consultations. “The expertise of local service providers on Local Partnership Councils,” explains CIC Settlement Regional Program Advisor Shana Getty, “will be key to facilitating the development and implementation of sustainable local and regional solutions. Together they can build logical, clear, and coordinated access to the very services newcomers require for successful integration into the Ontario community where they live.” Next, she says, each region’s Local Partnership Council will develop its own settlement strategy, along with a work plan, that responds to local needs. This strategy will help each community:

• Improve access to, and to coordinate effective immigrant integration services.
• Support immigrants in more effectively accessing their local labour market.
• Strengthen local awareness and capacity to integrate immigrants.
• Establish and/or enhance partnerships and coordinate multiple stakeholders in delivering services and programs that help newcomers get jobs.

Then it will be on to Phase 2 – implementation of the settlement strategy and work plan. “Our immigrants are important to Ontario’s economic and social prosperity,” explains Ms. Getty. “ Communities that are organized, welcoming and committed to helping them settle and succeed can only benefit us all.”

Remembering Andy Orlowski - the spirit of volunteerism

Fifteen years ago Sergeant Andy Orlowski became an integral part of citizenship ceremonies at the Mississauga Citizenship and Immigration Canada Office. He proudly represented the Ontario Provincial Police Force at more than 2,800 citizenship ceremonies.

Sergeant Orlowski was devoted and dedicated to the citizenship program, not missing any ceremonies over the 15 year span of his volunteerism. He stood witness to over a quarter of a million immigrants who proudly became new Canadian citizens.

Sergeant Orlowski was born in Poland, moved to England and fought with the British Forces during the Second World War. In 1954, he immigrated to Canada and became a Canadian. Being an exemplary citizen, he believed in giving back to the community. He was the epitome of decency, commitment, loyalty and kindness. As he stood at attention during the ceremonies and afterwards posing for pictures with the new citizens, he quickly became an icon in our Mississauga office representing the OPP’s role of protecting the fundamental rights of all people in Ontario.

Sadly, Sergeant Orlowski passed away on October 30, 2009. He was indeed a cherished part of our citizenship ceremonies and he will be dearly missed.

View past archives of CIC Ontario e-News.