Bill Walters Executive Director Immigrant Integration Branch
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Transcript of Bill Walters Executive Director Immigrant Integration Branch
Bill WaltersExecutive DirectorImmigrant Integration Branch
Kelowna, June 23, 2009
Welcoming and Inclusive Communities and Workplaces: The role of immigration in
community and regional economic development
Thompson/Okanagan/Kootenay Region
Overview of the Presentation
• WelcomeBC Overview• Welcoming and Inclusive Communities and
Workplaces Program (WICWP)• Creating a Common Vision • Stages of the Journey• Survey Results• WICWP Program Elements and Initiatives• Conceptual Frameworks• Conclusions
*Launched in June 2007
Vision
British Columbia is home to welcoming and inclusive communities where:
• newcomers choose to settle and can achieve their full potential;
• multiculturalism is valued and celebrated; and• racism is eliminated.
*WelcomeBC: a Strategic Framework
• BC is committed to providing the best settlement and integration services possible
• Integration is a two-way process, which involves commitment on the part of newcomers to adapt to life in Canada and on the part of Canadians to welcome and adapt to new people and cultures
• Newcomers should become economically self-sufficient and be able to participate in the social dimensions of life in BC
• The ability of newcomers to communicate in one of Canada’s official languages is key to integration
• Communities in BC are essential to ensuring that newcomers have opportunities to participate in and contribute to the economic and
social life of BC• Newcomers and communities should share the principles, traditions
and values that are inherent in Canadian society, such as freedom,
equality and participatory democracy
WelcomeBC Principles
WelcomeBC Goals(and objectives)
Building a strong foundation for immigrant success
• Using English in daily life and in the labour market• Participating in the labour market• Participating in community life
Creating welcoming and inclusive communities• Welcoming and supporting newcomers• Supporting multiculturalism and addressing racism
WelcomeBC Programs
BC Settlement and Adaptation Program • The primary goal of BCSAP is to support the successful
settlement and adaptation of new immigrants and refugees to British Columbia
Welcoming and Inclusive Communities and Workplaces Program
• Inclusive, welcoming and vibrant communities in British Columbia where immigrants can realize their full potential, racism is eliminated and cultural diversity is valued and celebrated
Family is the reason why many come and quality of life is why
many remain
Top reasons for choosing to come to Canada
• Improve future for family
•Join family or close friends
•Education opportunity
Top reasons for staying permanently
• Quality of life
• Positive future prospects for family
• To be close to family and friends
4 years later…
Source: Stats Canada Longitudinal Survey of Immigrant to Canada, Wave 1
Family, friends and job prospects equally
important reasons behind settlement in smaller areas
Vancouver:1. Family and friends 41.3%2. Climate 20.0%3. Lifestyle 11.7%
Toronto:1. Family and friends 49.7%
2. Job prospects 23.4%3. Lifestyle 4.9%
All other CMAs and non-CMAs1. Family and friends 35.6%
2. Job prospects 32.3%3. Education prospects 12.1%
Montreal:1. Family and friends 31.3%2. Language 18.5%
3. Job prospects 15.8%
Source: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrant to Canada, Wave 1
Three most important reasons of settlement choice for economic
class principal applicants
WICWP Logic Model
Immigrant Integration Branch
Long Term Outcomes of WICWP
Ultimate outcomes a program desires to achieve or the most removed benefits that the program can reasonably expect to influence
• An enriched and strengthened cultural and social fabric of Canadian society where there is support for the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political life of Canada
• Communities and workplaces are vibrant and inclusive
• Immigrant newcomers view all BC communities as being welcoming destinations
• Community adopts integration as a two-way process, which involves commitment on the part of newcomers to adapt to life in Canada and on the part of Canadians to welcome and adapt to new people and cultures
• Public institutions and workplaces reflect the diversity of the population
Creating a Common Vision (with appealing benefits)
Sample of suggestions from a community forum held in Metro Vancouver
(June 2008)
• A safe, friendly community• Ready access to housing, food, shelter for all• Everyone’s assets and skills are welcomed and used• People living together and supporting each other at an individual and
community level• Shared community spaces that allow for interaction – e.g., community gardens,
healing centres, welcoming centres, block parties• Removing not just the physical walls that separate people, but also the
emotional, social and psychological walls• Respect for who immigrants are and vice versa• Intercultural representation on government and community bodies and
institutions
Summary of emerging dimensions: personal, public space, systemicFrom “Creating Welcoming & Inclusive Communities: What Will it Take?”
Accessibility to services and programs
• Infrastructure/ Resources
•Share experiences
•Dialogue initiatives
•Communities of interests
•Benefits of a Welcoming Community
•Assessing state of readiness
How do I prepare?
What are others doing?
•Community Profiles
Engaged/involved in the community
Learning opportunities
•Marketing/ Showcasing the community
•Measuring your success
•Measuring progress
Possible Resources and Partners
•Creating and supporting regional partnerships
Where to start•Welcoming new
cultures•Putting a
welcoming program in place
•How to engage Decision Makers
Getting StartedMaximizing the Benefits
Building a Strong Community
Partnering for Success
Becoming Informed
Funding Programs & Specialized Resources
Accessibility to services and programs
• Infrastructure/ Resources
•Share experiences
•Dialogue initiatives
•Communities of interests
•Benefits of a Welcoming Community
•Assessing state of readiness
How do I prepare?
What are others doing?
•Community Profiles
Engaged/involved in the community
Learning opportunities
•Marketing/ Showcasing the community
•Measuring your success
•Measuring progress
Possible Resources and Partners
•Creating and supporting regional partnerships
Where to start•Welcoming new
cultures•Putting a
welcoming program in place
•How to engage Decision Makers
Getting StartedMaximizing the Benefits
Building a Strong Community
Partnering for Success
Becoming Informed
Funding Programs & Specialized Resources
Stages of the Journey and Key Activities
*From “WelcomeBC.ca Project Customer Segmentation Final Report” (not published)
22%
10%
15%
49%
4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
BecomingInformed
Getting Started Partnering forSuccess
Building aStrong
Community
Maximizing theBenefits
All Segments
Survey Results by Stage (n=452)
*From “WelcomeBC.ca Project Customer Segmentation Final Report” (not published)
Survey Results by Segment (n=452)
25%29%
8%11%
2%
11%
78%
14%
4%
10%
73%
4% 6%
86%
78%
0%3%
20%
27%
10%4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
BecomingInformed
Getting Started Partnering forSuccess
Building a StrongCommunity
Maximizing theBenefits
Municipal NGO Economic Development Educators Post Secondary & Researchers
*From “WelcomeBC.ca Project Customer Segmentation Final Report” (not published)
WICWP Program Elements
Community Partnership
Development
Communities may obtain support to
identify and coordinate key
sustainable partnerships and
collaborations with diverse groups and
stakeholders to work towards achieving a
common vision around fostering welcoming and
inclusive communities
Knowledge Development
and Exchange
Communities may obtain assistance to promote knowledge
development and sharing among
diverse groups and stakeholders, and
with the community members at large
Public Education
Communities may obtain
assistance to facilitate cross-
cultural understanding and increase
public awareness
among community members at
large
Demonstration Projects
Communities, groups or
stakeholders may obtain support to
design, implement, deliver and
evaluate projects that explore strategic and
innovative approaches to
fostering welcoming and
inclusive communities.
Current Community Engagement in WICWP
• 30 B.C. communities engaged; between 5 and 30 organizations per community depending on population size
• 52 organizations providing leadership• 29 organizations in community partnership
development• 38 organizations qualified for knowledge development
and exchange• 37 organizations qualified for public education• 38 organizations qualified for demonstration projects
Current Community Engagement in WICWP
• Lower Mainland/Greater Vancouver/Sunshine Coast = 27 organizations
• Vancouver Island = 6 organizations• Central Interior = 10 organizations• North = 5 organizations• Province-wide initiatives = 3 organizations
Examples of WICWP Projects and Initiatives
• Building Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbourhoods (13 Neighbourhood Houses)
• Safe Harbour (28 communities and 540 safe harbour locations)
• Community Dialogues (10 communities)• Multicultural Health Fairs• Research/Surveys of perceptions and attitudes
1.Urban Social SustainabilitySample definitions:• Development that is compatible with the harmonious evolution of
civil society, fostering an environment conducive to the compatible cohabitation of culturally and socially diverse groups while at the same time encouraging social inclusion, with improvements in the quality of life for all segments of the population ( Polese and Stren, 2000)
• Cities achieve social sustainability when citizens’ basic needs are met, when they have equal access to opportunities, when people live together in harmony and when everyone is able and welcome to participate fully in the economic, social and political life of the community. A sustainable city is a city that is fully inclusive. ... Inclusion means that each person’s participation and contributions are welcomed, recognized, and valued ( Orloff, 2005)
Placing WICWP Within an Appropriate Conceptual
Framework
From WICWP Research Framework (Wachtel, 2008)
2. Workplace Employee Engagement• Various models aimed at improving
organizational productivity and/or profitability
• Often uses survey methodology • Follow up actions can include: working
through the results; using the results to start conversations; making changes strategically; supporting each other through the change
Placing WICWP Within an Appropriate Conceptual
Framework
Conclusions
• Requires a common vision with appealing benefit statements
• Common elements along the journey• Stakeholders may be at different points of the
journey• Range of elements: from the personal to the
systemic• Comparative frameworks: Urban Social
Sustainability, Workplace Engagement• Welcoming and inclusive communities are for
everybody, not just the newly arrived
Thank you!Thank you!
Bill WaltersImmigrant Integration Branch
Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development
5th Floor, 605 Robson StreetVancouver, B.C. V6B 5J3
Telephone: (604) 660-2203 Fax: (604) 775-0670E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.WelcomeBC.ca