Ontario will urge the federal government
for more support for the province's immigrants
By
Carl DeFaria
Ontario
Minister of Citizenship
TORONTO,
Oct. 11 /CNW/ - Ontario is the most popular destination for
Canada's immigrants. Almost 60 per cent of all newcomers choose to settle
in this province, enriching our social, cultural and economic life.
The government of Ontario welcomes immigrants, and we are proud
that many cultural communities call this province home. As a government,
we spend more than $52 million a year on settlement services, adult
language training and job preparation for newcomers. Thousands of
immigrant children benefit from English as a Second Language classes in
Ontario schools.
We believe immigration is important to Ontario's continued economic
growth. The diversity of our population and workforce makes Ontario more
competitive globally, giving us access to markets and investment from
around the world. Ontario's population of seniors is also expected to grow
significantly in the coming years -- meaning we will depend more on
immigrants to create and fill jobs in the future.
However, it is the government of Canada that controls immigration.
Federal Immigration Minister Denis Coderre recently indicated that Ottawa
wants to settle immigrants outside the traditional centres of Toronto,
Montreal and Vancouver. The Canadian government also proclaimed in June
2002 the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which, among other
things, could make it harder for skilled trades people to immigrate.
These issues and other federal strategies could affect Ontario's
ability to attract the immigrants our economy needs. I intend to raise
these matters on behalf of the Ontario government on October 16 at the
first meeting of ministers responsible for immigration. I will bring a
message that any federal plan to increase immigration must go hand-in-hand
with the appropriate federal support. Specifically, we will bring forward
the following issues:
Federal regional strategies: Ontario supports federal proposals to
spread the benefits of economic immigration across Ontario by encouraging
settlement in small and medium communities where jobs are available.
However, the federal government should first provide those communities the
necessary support to make them attractive to immigrants. Immigrants will
be drawn to communities where they can find jobs and settlement services.
Effective selection system: The federal government needs to improve
the overseas selection process for immigrants. It is too slow, and the new
points system is a barrier to many skilled trades people. We will lobby
for a better managed process.
Federal funding for settlement and job preparation: We will
encourage the federal government to put up new money to help immigrants
get training and enter the job market quicker -- for example, for language
training related to specific occupations. We would also like to see
funding for job re-training programs for newcomers, similar to that
offered by the federal government for employment insurance recipients.
Federal accountability for immigration costs: Because the federal
government controls the immigration program, we believe it should be
accountable for related costs. This includes costs incurred by provinces
and municipalities for legal aid and social assistance for refugee
claimants. We also will press the federal government to better enforce
family sponsorship agreements, and fully reimburse provinces for social
assistance costs provided to immigrants whose family sponsorship has
broken down.
Ontario wants to remain the destination of choice for immigrants
and their families. We will work with the federal government to make sure
Ontario and Ontario immigrants are fairly treated now and in the future.
Carl
DeFaria became Ontario's first Cabinet Minister of Portuguese heritage on
April 15, 2002, when he was named Minister of Citizenship and Minister
Responsible for Seniors.
Quick
facts on Ontario Immigration
In
the year 2001, Ontario welcomed:
-
148,244 immigrants, an 11 per cent increase over 2000.
-
59 per cent of all immigrants. British Columbia and Quebec were next
highest, tied at 15 per cent.
-
94,112 independent (economic) class immigrants and their dependants;
40,983 family class immigrants; and 12,139 refugees.
-
43 per cent of business immigrants to Canada. This included 3,039
entrepreneurs, 935 self-employed persons and 1,148 investors and their
dependants.
For
further information: Mike Campbell, Minister's Office, Ontario Ministry of
Citizenship, (416 )325-6218.