Canada hopes to help newcomers settle into their new Canadian community in the best way possible. As Ahmed Hussen, the country’s immigration minister said, it is an international leader when it comes to settlement and integration. He also revealed that they believe the country benefits when it helps immigrants learn their language, find employment, and fit in the job market to create a better life.
To do so, the immigration department in Canada has created 824 projects that are distributed all across the country. Their primary purpose is to provide effective settlement and integration services to various newcomers in the state. They will be operated by different organizations over the coming five years.
These will include those in all levels of the government, banks, youth clubs, and even grocery stores. With them, the more than a million immigrants who are set to arrive there will be able to blend into their new society.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Settlement Program
This is one of Canada’s new program created to help settle and integrate immigrants. It is responsible for giving eligible new immigrants critical information that they might require. For instance, it could inform them about the main categories of Canadian immigration so that they can know which one caters for them. Telling the potential immigrants about the set requirements of each helps them prepare everything that they will need.
The Resettlement Assistance Program
Under this new program, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will give help to any refuge who is assisted by the government. Others who will receive their assistance are all eligible individuals.
The support will be provided in four main areas. These are language training, assistance in securing jobs, help building relationships with the immigrants who are already established and the Canadian life and their new society.
According to a statement from the IRCC, the services will not only help immigrants build a new and prosperous life in Canada but also help organizations take part in the creation of new societies. Below are some of the projects that were selected:
- Employment services to encourage newcomers to become entrepreneurs and work with employers in the Canadian private sector.
- Support for all new immigrants who are well versed with French. This would allow for the creation of stronger bonds with the French-speaking minority groups that are situated outside Quebec.
- Provision of language training, including in workplace-related languages, to help the newcomers integrate into their new communities. It would also enable them to attain relevant skills that can come in handy in their places of work.
- Programming that is designed to show why the mental health, as well as the well-being, of the new immigrants is critical.
Assimilation of the vulnerable groups in the population/society. These include women, children, the elderly and members of the LGBTQ community. - The IRCC disclosed that these new projects are created to complement those that were selected through the Pre-Arrival Services Program, Service Delivery Improvement Program as well as the Visible Minority Newcomer Women Program.
In February 2019, the IRCC started receiving project proposals for direct integration services while the indirect proposals were accepted in March. The financing for all the projects is set to happen between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2025
