Libraries key to Simcoe County immigrants’ success

English: Town hall of Bradford West Gwillimbur...
English: Town hall of Bradford West Gwillimbury in Bradford, Ontario, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Barrie Advance
Lena Tawana left a life of fear behind in Syria, where her neighbours’ homes were lit on fire and her church bombed.
“We are Christian. Every Christian is killed, killed, killed. No safety,” said the mother of two. “They say, ‘We are coming to kill you.’ We close the door. The men scared; the women never leave the house. Maybe steal the children, maybe steal the woman. Now, nobody is in my village.”
As war continues raging in Syria and refugees flee in a mass exodus to find new homes, Tawana said she is happy to be living in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
“Now we can sleep. Now (my family is) safe, thanks God,” she said. “(It) feels like a bad dream.”

“As a county, we are leading a number of creative and impactful programs that further open our region to immigration, skilled labour and ultimately support our economic, social and community growth.” — Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall

Tawana said she loves living in a quiet, small town with her husband, Jony, and young children, George and Gabriella. Key to her success was finding a community with services for newcomers.
Bradford is one of five municipalities in Simcoe County chosen to be part of a provincially-funded pilot project to make local libraries welcoming hubs for new immigrants. The other locations for Library Link are Barrie, Innisfil, Midland and Wasaga Beach.  
The idea is to make libraries a one-stop shop for helping immigrants feel at home, access materials in different languages and find information on the community and referral services.


“As a county, we are leading a number of creative and impactful programs that further open our region to immigration, skilled labour and ultimately support our economic, social and community growth,” said county Warden Gerry Marshall in a statement.
Since Library Link began in Midland, no immigrants have come in looking for help, but a family of Syrian refugees recently moved to neighbouring Penetanguishene and a family is expected in Midland.
Midland Public Library circulation assistant Angie Blackwood, who was trained to implement Library Link, said she would complete a needs assessment for all immigrants looking for assistance.
If they need a job, want to better their education or join a conversation circle, library staff can direct them, she said.
Tracy Munusami, manager of the Barrie Public Library’s adult and community services, said staff was taught how to communicate better cross-culturally and be more helpful to newcomers.
She said the library has literature in many different languages, including Chinese, Dutch, German, Hindi, Tagalog and Punjabi as well as a large Basic English section.
The library also hosts a variety of programs for new immigrants, such as a weekly English conversation circle. The winter session begins at the city’s two branches Jan. 30 at 10:30 a.m., she said.
Georgina’s Irina Efimova emigrated from Russia nine years ago. Now, she is the mobile unit facilitator of the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services servicing Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Orillia, Alliston and upper York Region.
She said increasing the role of libraries to help immigrants is a “great thing” because it should help make their transitions to Canada smoother.
“They’re looking everywhere (for help) when they arrive in Canada. We didn’t have (a welcome hub); we had to do all the searching ourselves,” she said.
Marsida Dine, who emigrated from Albania to Bradford three months ago with her husband, Adriatik, and children, Amanda and Andi, said she often goes to the library.
Dine said it is a great source of community information, where she can learn about local events, many of which her family attends.
“You have to start somewhere. We can get information from here. For the newcomer, how much are they going to know about the country?” she said.
Libraries are important for the success of new immigrants and, if anything, she said they should host more events and activities.
“It would be nice if they add a little bit more,” she said. “Homework buddies, reading buddies — that would be helpful for us and the kids.”
“It’s not easy to live here in Canada,” added Lina Isho, who immigrated to Canada from Iraq in 2012 with her husband, Mohand, and kids, Maryan and Yousif.
Isho met Dine and Tawana at the Bradford Learning Centre, where they take an English as a Second Language (ESL) class.
“The library helps a lot,” Isho said, adding her family has taken advantage of many free activities in town, such as crafts programs and movie nights, which help them socialize in the community.
“It’s a small thing, but it’s nice.”
Thornton’s Yvonne Konrad, who has been working with immigrants for 30 years, is Isho, Dine and Tawana’s ESL teacher. She also runs a book club in Alliston for Syrian refugees and a regular lunch for immigrant women.
The book club includes people from all over the world, such as Germany, Serbia, Korea and Mexico, along with some Canadians new to Alliston, she said.
Konrad is thrilled Simcoe County has created Library Link because she has been trying to expand services for immigrants in South Simcoe, especially in rural communities, for years.
“You don’t have anything that brings people together. If you don’t belong to a church, what else is there?” she said, adding some small municipalities do not have meeting places such as community or recreation centres.
“I would love to see rural libraries in smaller areas doing more. A lot of these things can be very easily initiated. There’s a lot of opportunity.”
In 2014, Ontario was home to about 96,000 permanent-resident immigrants – more than any other province, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
That year, 351 of them resided in Barrie. In comparison, Toronto had 75,821.
Fifty-two per cent of immigrants who have lived in Canada less than five years participate in adult education programs, which is the same as people born here but higher than established immigrants (41 per cent), according to Statistics Canada.
As well, youth who immigrate to Canada before age 15 have higher rates of high school and university completion (40 per cent) compared to third- or higher-generation immigrants (26 per cent).
Immigrants are “very highly motivated to learn. A lot of them are internationally educated people. They want their children to be educated,” Konrad said. “Immigrants need a place. Libraries are critical for helping immigrants settle.”
It is particularly important for immigrant women who do not work to integrate into the community so they do not become isolated, she said.
“A lot of mothers will walk their children to the bus stop and the other mothers will say, ‘Hi, hello’ (and not much more). Libraries provide a place for people to talk and connect,” she said.
Konrad said she sees the involvement of libraries as part of a larger picture to encourage Canadians’ “cultural sensitivity.”

Immigration to Canada: Last round for Quebec starts today

English: A photo of the flag of the province o...
English: A photo of the flag of the province of Quebec floating over the Parliament Building in Quebec City. Français : Une photo du drapeau du Québec flottant au-dessus de l'Hôtel du Parlement du Québec à Québec. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The last round of this year’s application cycle for the popular immigration stream the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) to the Canadian province of Quebec will open on Monday, 18 January.
With an expected ‘application rush’ those interested are recommended to keep their files ready and apply as soon as they can.
The QSWP is a programme similar to its federal equivalent but considered to be more lenient in terms of criteria, especially with the recent changes to the programme.
The stream enables the regular immigrant to move to Canada to live and work there, provided the person settles in the province of Quebec.
The intake round could run until March 31, 2016 at the latest, however, the intake cap is expected to be reached before this date. A maximum of 2800 applications will be accepted.

What is new?
Applications for this intake round will only be accepted through the new online system dubbed the Mon projet Québec online application management system. During the previous intake round, which was closed in November, the province accepted the last applications through post.
However, that is not all. In the first week of this year some changes were made to the programme, widening the window of opportunities for applicants.
Previously, recent work experience in the field of education had to be demonstrated of this education was completed more than 5 years ago. This is no longer the case; applicants will receive points for their diplomas regardless of when they were earned.
In August last year Quebec made another welcoming announcement stating that the adaptability interview, judging one’s capability to settle in the province, was scrapped from the requirements and would no longer determine the number of points for applicants.
Although the intake cap has been reduced, applicants have more chances to be accepted this year.

How it works
The programme uses a point-based system, where a minimum threshold applies in order to obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ).
A single applicant must score at least 49 points, while an applicant with a spouse or common-law partner must score at least 57 points.
Considerable emphasis is placed on language. An applicant can receive a maximum of 22 points for language. Up to 16 points can be awarded for French proficiency, and up to 6 for English.
However, French language proficiency is not a requirement.
Area of training can be allocated 6-16 points. Specifying which occupations are in demand, the Canadian province requires candidates to have qualifications in one of the training fields on the list.
Individuals who have degrees in areas such as computer science, computer engineering, accounting, translation, and banking and financial operations are in demand.
The programme operates on a first come, first serve basis.
 
Source: http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/immigration-to-canada-last-round-for-quebec-starts-today-2016-01-18-1.617612

The Liberal government’s new plan for Canadian immigration and economic opportunity

English: A Canadian Customs and Immigration se...
English: A Canadian Customs and Immigration service sign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Liberal party has outlined its priorities for reforming Canada’s immigration system. Here is an insight into the platform for immigration.The platform recognises that Canada's future success is largely driven by attracting talented people from around the world.

Central to the new government's platform is a commitment to compassion and the creation of economic opportunity within the immigration system. This includes expansion of current refugee quotas from Syria and Iraq and making family reunification one of the core immigration priorities, including the doubling of budgets for family class processing.
For business, the paper takes a swipe at the temporary foreign worker program – and the levels of temporary workers in Canada. This will continue to be a hot issue in the coming months. Business will need to continue to press the case for more open access to highly skilled workers through the international mobility program, intra-company transfers and trade agreements.
Some positive measures for business in the new government’s immigration agenda include:
  • Providing greater access to applicants with Canadian siblings, by granting additional points under the Express Entry system.
  • A commitment to conduct a review of the Express Entry program, ensuring that processing times are efficient.
  • Restoring the maximum age for dependents to 22 instead of 19.
  • Granting immediate permanent residency to new spouses entering Canada, rather than imposing a two-year conditional status.
  • A commitment to restore the residency time credit for foreign students and other temporary residents applying to become Canadian citizens.
  • A commitment to make changes to the Canadian Experience Class to reduce the barriers to immigration that have been imposed on international students.
  • Reverse the roadblocks in the immigration system that have created unnecessary inconveniences and costs for Canadians and Canadian businesses.
Source: CERC

Analysis: Do Migrants Take the Jobs of Native Workers?

An analysis published by researcher Amelie F. Constant in the Germany-based IZA World of Labortackles the question: Do migrants take the jobs of native workers?
The answer, Constant finds, is no. When immigrants do compete for jobs traditionally held by native works, the effects are small and not statistically significant. A more interesting challenge for policy makers may be the effects on productivity and technological innovation when low-skilled workers are used in place of physical capital.
Despite some downsides, Constant finds that overall, the positive effects of immigration far outweigh the negative. She writes:
“Neither public opinion nor evidence-based research supports the claim of some politicians and the media that immigrants take the jobs of native-born workers. Public opinion polls in six migrant-destination countries after the 2008–2009 recession show that most people believe that immigrants fill job vacancies and many believe that they create jobs and do not take jobs from native workers. This view is corroborated by evidence-based research showing that immigrants—of all skill levels—do not significantly affect native employment in the short term and boost employment in the long term.”
Other key findings include:
  • Immigrants who are self-employed or entrepreneurs directly create new jobs.
  • Immigrant innovators create jobs indirectly within a firm, leading to long-term job growth.
  • New immigrants fill labor shortages and keep markets working efficiently.
  • High-skilled immigrants contribute to technological adaptation and low-skilled immigrants to occupational mobility, specialization, and human capital creation; both create new jobs for native workers.
  • By raising demand, immigrants cause firms and production to expand, resulting in new hiring.
Read the full analysis.
Source: http://www.hireimmigrants.ca/resources-tools/reports/analysis-do-migrants-take-the-jobs-of-native-workers/

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