September 2007 - Nr. 9
McGuinty Government Helping Ottawa Attract Skilled Newcomers
Investing $3.6
Million in
Municipal Immigration Portals
OTTAWA, Aug. 22 /CNW/ - The launch of a new web portal will help Ottawa showcase itself to newcomers as a great place to live, work and invest, MPP Phil McNeely announced today, on behalf of Ontario Citizenship and immigration Minister Gerry Phillips.
"We welcome newcomers to our communities," said McNeely, MPP for Ottawa-Orléans. "We're putting Ottawa on the global map with the launch of this new portal, www.ottawa.ca/residents/immigration, and the province's own OntarioImmigration.ca site. These tools will help attract skills and investment to Ottawa and Ontario."
"By 2011, when the first of the baby boomers turn 65, immigrants will be essential to our labour force growth and an asset to Ottawa's economy," said Councillor Diane Deans. "As Canada's high tech capital, Ottawa will be looking to replace workers in the information technology, health and science and finance sectors. By providing immigrants access to important skill development resources, we can help ensure a smooth transition for these new residents and our city."
The province's $200,000 investment in the Ottawa portal is part of a more than $3.6 million investment to date in municipal immigration portals. The portals will give newcomers practical information about settling and working in the province. All portals are linked to www.OntarioImmigration.ca, the province's first-ever website for newcomers.
The first five cities to be showcased are Ottawa, London, Toronto, Windsor-Essex, and Greater Sudbury. The next wave of municipalities will include Waterloo Region, Sault Ste. Marie, Lambton County, Peel Region, Chatham-Kent, York Region, Niagara Region and Brantford.
The $3.6 million investment to date in municipal immigration portals is part of the landmark Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, which provides an additional $920 million of federal funds for language training and settlement services over five years.
Up to 140,000 newcomers arrive in Ontario each year - more than half of all immigrants to Canada. Immigration accounts for an estimated 70 per cent of Ontario's net labour force growth, and will account for all of the province's net labour force growth within the next six years.
Ottawa's new portal is just one more example of how the McGuinty government has achieved results in helping to break down barriers for newcomers. Other initiatives include:
- The Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act, 2006, which became law in March 2007. The Act ensures a fair, open and transparent process for obtaining registration and licensing in regulated professions for internationally trained individuals;
- Creating Global Experience Ontario, an Access and Resource Centre for the internationally trained;
- Establishing the first-ever Office of the Fairness Commissioner which is responsible for assessing registration and licensing practices;
- Increasing opportunities for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) from 90 to 200 annually, including 218 new IMGs offered training and assessment positions in 2006/07 and 211 offered positions to date in 2007/08;
- Establishing the first provincial Internship for the Internationally Trained. Newcomers with a minimum of three years international work experience will be placed for six-month paid assignments within the Ontario Public Service and Crown Agencies;
- Creating a Foreign Trained Professionals Loans Program providing up to $5,000 per person to cover assessment, training and exam costs.
