News Release
December 1, 2006
McGUINTY GOVERNMENT INVESTING IN NEWCOMER SUCCESS
Minister Colle Announces $25,000 Funding To Help Newcomers Succeed
MARKHAM — The McGuinty government is providing up to $25,000 to the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) to gather information that will help ease newcomers’ transition into life in Ontario, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle announced today.
“Newcomers bring with them an enormous potential and drive to succeed when they come to this province,” Colle said. “Our government is providing funding to gain a greater understanding through a needs assessment of how we can provide the services that can help newcomers settle into their new communities more easily.”
Colle made the announcement at a news conference today at the Markham Board of Trade. He joined representatives of the local business and social services communities in championing the value of investing in newcomer success.
“We are pleased that the government recognizes that integration can be stressful for newcomers and the importance of providing assistance to help ensure an easier and faster transition into Ontario society,” said Howard Shen, President, Chinese Professionals Association of Canada.
This initiative is just one of the ways the McGuinty government is working to strengthen Ontario’s economy and break down barriers to newcomer success. These include:
- Increasing funding by 29 per cent from $4.1 million to $5.3 million for the Newcomer Settlement Program to support 81 community agencies that provide settlement services for newcomers.
- Negotiating the first ever Canada-Ontario immigration agreement, which quadruples federal funding for language training and settlement programs in Ontario to $920 million over five years.
- Investing $130 million annually in services that help newcomers get established, find jobs and housing, learn English or French, and access community resources. That is more than any other province.
- Introduced Bill 124, the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, which if passed, would require 34 regulated professions in Ontario to have licensing processes that are fair, open and transparent.
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Contacts:
Rick Byun, Minister’s Office, (416) 325-3460
Karen Ras, Communications Branch, (416) 314-7012
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