News Release

New funding to increase English-language training for newcomers in Hamilton

Hamilton, August 9, 2007 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced $12.5 million in funding for the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, to be distributed among seven partner agencies in Hamilton, Ontario. The funds will allow the agencies to expand their English-language training services for new immigrants in Hamilton.
 
The seven partner agencies are the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Circle of Friends for Newcomers, the Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, the St. Joseph’s Immigrant Women’s Centre, the Settlement and Integration Services Organization and the Hamilton Public Library.

“Canada’s new government is committed to helping newcomers succeed and build new lives for themselves and their families in Canada,” said Minister Finley. “That’s why we’re so pleased to announce funding that will enable new immigrants in Hamilton to improve their language skills and find a job. Newcomers will have an opportunity to become more productive members of this growing community.”

The new funding will also expand the language training services in Hamilton to include higher-level LINC services so that graduates of these advanced classes will have attained the equivalent of high school graduation English. Through the various contribution agreements, it is expected that upwards of 2,000 newcomers will be assisted and a significant number of people, including teachers, administrators and childminders, will be employed.

“The landscape of the Hamilton-Wentworth region has shifted dramatically as more and more immigrants have settled in our area,” said Bob Goodwin, principal of St. Charles Adult and Continuing Education Centres. “It is with great pleasure that we work in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which recognizes the urgency of meeting the demands of our newcomers. The monies that the federal government has allotted through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement will provide new opportunities for service providers to implement innovative LINC programs so as to build on the future success of our new Hamiltonians.”

Through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, the Government of Canada has increased funding to Ontario for settlement and language training by a total of $920 million over five years. Overall, the federal government is providing increased funding of $1.3 billion over five years to support newcomers as they seek to integrate into our society and economy.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, in partnership with provinces, territories and service providers, delivers a number of programs that help newcomers settle, adapt and integrate into Canadian society. These include the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program, which offers orientation and interpretation services as well as referrals to community resources, counselling, general information and employment-related services; the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada, which provides basic language training; and the Host Program, which assists immigrants by matching them with volunteers who help them access services, establish contacts in their field of work and participate in the community.

For more information on these CIC programs, visit www.cic.gc.ca.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Tim Vail
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064

Lonny Kates
Spokesperson, Media Relations
Ontario Region, Communications
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
416-954-7868

Backgrounder

• Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement and Hamilton LINC Funding