CITY OF KINGSTON

REPORT TO ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES COMMITTEE

Report No.: AP-13-002 TO: Chair, Administrative Policies Committee

FROM: Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer

RESOURCE STAFF: Judy Reichstein, Research & Policy Analyst

DATE OF MEETING: February 14, 2013

SUBJECT: Kingston Immigration Partnership Welcome Gift - Update EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This report provides an update on the Kingston Immigration Partnership’s (KIP) one time welcome gift for newcomers to Kingston. The City first contributed to this gift in June 2011 (see report AP-11-020), which was considered a pilot, until which time a more holistic immigration strategy could be developed. This report offers some analysis on the usefulness of the welcome gift and the types of items offered. A request has been received from KIP (see Exhibit A) to expand the eligibility criteria from those who have settled in Kingston within their first year in Canada to those who have settled in Canada within 5 years but have been in Kingston 1 year or less. The development of an immigration strategy has been planned for 2013 in Kingston’s Strategic Plan. Until this strategy is completed staff recommends keeping the current pilot in place, with the modifications that are reflected in the recommendation section of this report. RECOMMENDATION:

1. THAT the Administrative Policies Committee recommend that Council approve the following changes to the city’s contribution to the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP) welcome gift: a. Expand the criteria for the KIP welcome gift for Kingston’s permanent residents and

refugees from those who have settled in Kingston within their first year in Canada to those who have settled in Canada within 5 years and have been in Kingston 1 year or less, including permanent and temporary residents, and refugees.

b. Approve the following items as the City’s contribution to the KIP welcome gift: i. 10-ride transit pass ii. 1-month Fit Pass iii. 1 voucher for 2 complimentary passes to select shows at the Grand Theatre iv. 1 family admission day pass to either the MacLachlan Woodworking Museum or 1

family admission day pass to the Pump House Steam Museum

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REPORT TO ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES COMMITTEE Report No.: AP-13-002 February 14, 2013

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AUTHORIZING SIGNATURES:

_______________________________________ Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer

CONSULTATION WITH THE FOLLOWING COMMISSIONERS:

Cynthia Beach, Sustainability & Growth

Lanie Hurdle, Community Services

Denis Leger, Transportation, Properties & Emergency Services

Jim Keech, President and CEO Utilities Kingston N/R (N/R indicates consultation not required)

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OPTIONS/DISCUSSION: In June of 2011 council approved the following recommendation regarding a one time welcome gift for newcomers to Kingston:

a) approve the request from the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP) to include one-time free passes to permanent residents and refugees who have settled in Kingston within their first year in Canada for the following City services in their welcome packages:

i. 10 ride transit cards for eligible adults and youth

ii. One month family wellness membership at the Artillery Park Aquatic Centre

b) approve additional passes for other City services including museum admissions, City Hall tours, recreational programs and activities and information on historical tours such as the Sir John A Macdonald Walking Tour may also be provided to KIP for inclusion in the Welcome Package

c) consider this a pilot policy, until which time a more holistic immigration strategy can be developed

1) BACKGROUND

In 2011 the FCM released a report titled Starting on Solid Ground: The Municipal Role in Immigrant Settlement. The backgrounder and key findings for this report are attached as Exhibit B and a backgrounder for facts and figures as Exhibit C. In summary, the FCM report concludes that municipalities are the first responders for immigrant settlement in Canada, and that “locally delivered services – such as housing, recreation, library services, child care and public transit – play a significant role in attracting, retaining and successful settling immigrants”. The report suggests that immigrants are at a significant disadvantage from their Canadian born counterparts in the areas of employment, housing and transportation. The FCM emphasizes in this report that “new Canadians use and rely on a wide range of core municipal infrastructure — from public transit, to libraries, to community and recreation centres — to successfully integrate into their communities. More specifically it states that “the lack of affordable housing and access to efficient public transit and community services are significant barriers to the success of new immigrants and the Canadian economy” and that public transportation is “one of the critical municipal services demanded by newcomers. Statistics Canada reports that recent immigrants are much more likely than Canadian-born residents to use public transit to commute to work”.

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NEWCOMER POPULATION IN KINGSTON

In 2011 CIC statistics showed that there were approximately 400 new permanent residents and refugees and 250 temporary workers would be eligible for the welcome gift. At Queen’s and St. Lawrence College approximately 475-550 students arrive annually that hold a student visa (estimate based on statistics from 2008-2012). RMC does not have any undergraduate international students as they must be Canadian citizens and members of the Canadian Forces in order to attend RMC. While RMC has accepted international graduate students, this number has been very low and only occurs with the concurrence of the Federal Government. Below is a breakdown of annual new client estimates for the following local immigration services in Kingston. Note that in some cases these organizations have shared clients and experience overlap. CIC: Citizenship and Immigration Canada ISKA: Immigration Services Kingston and Area ACFOMI: l’Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario – Conseil régional des Mille-Îles QUIC: Queen’s University International Centre SLC: St. Lawrence College International Students

annual estimates ISKA ACFOMI QUIC SLC

Kingston newcomers 300 75-100 350-400 125-150

2) WELCOME GIFT ANALYSIS

Between October 2011 and November 2012, 163 welcome gifts were distributed by KIP, which included 10-ride transit passes and recreation passes. The following provides a break down of the specific items distributed as well as the number of passes used by the recipient.

City Pass (type) # of passes

issued to KIP # of passes given

# of passes used as of May

# of passes used as of Nov

Transit– 10 ride pass 111 100 55 87

Recreation monthly pass 200 63 3 3 The recreation monthly passes were not used much. Out of a total of 63 passes distributed, 3 people made a total of 4 visits to a recreation centre.

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As of November 2012, 87 transit passes were used, the bulk of which were used to their maximum of 10-rides. Below is an analysis of the number of trips that were taken on each 10-ride pass. To help clarify the information in the table below, note that 32 people used all 10 rides by May and 63 people used all 10 rides by November.

NUMBER OF RIDES

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

NUMBER OF PEOPLE TOTAL

AS OF MAY 32 3 2 2 2 1 3 2 6 2 55

AS OF NOV 63 4 1 5 0 0 3 2 5 4 87

3) 2013 UPDATE

CHANGING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE WELCOME GIFT Based on research and in support of a request made by KIP, staff is proposing to expand the eligibility criteria from those who have settled in Kingston within their first year in Canada to those who have settled in Canada within 5 years but have been in Kingston 1 year or less. Research indicates that many newcomers settle in larger cities before coming to Kingston and as a result many of its newcomers are not eligible for the welcome gift. In KIP’s 2012 report card, a survey of nearly 100 of Kingston’s immigrants reported that “40% lived elsewhere in Canada before coming to Kingston (nearly half came from the GTA)”. The current eligibility criterion is limited to “permanent residents and refugees who have settled in Kingston within their first year in Canada”. In order to be eligible for the KIP welcome gift, a newcomer must have arrived in Canada within one year. Since new immigrants typically settle in a larger city such as Toronto or Montreal before migrating to Kingston, the one year eligibility criteria excludes many of its new immigrants. The FCM reports (Starting on Solid Ground: The Municipal Role in Immigrant Settlement):

Municipal governments play a key role in helping newcomers settle into Canadian life. In many respects, municipal governments are the nation’s first responders when it comes to immigrant settlement.

Canadian experience has shown the critical period of settlement and integration can last as long as 10 years.

It is becoming increasingly evident that a much broader range of services, beyond those provided by federally or provincially supported services like orientation, language training and employment, are needed to support immigrants in their first five to ten years to ensure long-term successful settlement and integration.

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The Ontario Ministry of Finance (Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services Report, 2010, Chapter 10)

Recent immigrants are also more likely to live in poverty. Nearly one-quarter (23.8 per cent) of immigrants who had been in Ontario for less than five years were considered low income in 2009, much higher than the overall low income rate of 13.1 per cent. Even among those in the province for less than 10 years, nearly one in five was living in poverty (19.1 per cent)”.

As suggested by the FCM and the Ontario Ministry of Finance newcomers need support, most especially for the first 5 to 10 years after arriving in Canada, to help them settle and integrate successfully in their communities. Welcome Gift Quantities

Based on the information reported for 2011-2012 under section 2) of this report (Welcome Gift Analysis), almost all 200 of the gifts were distributed (178) by KIP to newcomers from their office at the Kingston Community Health Centre. In 2013 KIP is planning on providing and distributing the welcome gift from other locations such as ACFOMI, Queen’s International Centre and St. Lawrence College. Also, if the new eligibility criteria are approved by council for 2013, more of Kingston’s newcomers will be eligible for the welcome gift. Although up to 400 newcomers are eligible, the City is not able to provide that many gifts for 2013, particularly transit, recreation and cultural passes. Staff is proposing to increase the number of welcome gifts from 200 to 300 to help accommodate the increase in eligible recipients. The number and types of gifts will be monitored for usefulness using a tracking system (quantitative data) and a survey (qualitative data) to determine recommendations for 2014. KIP Report Card

In December 2012 KIP released a report card, which outlines selected goals of the KIP Strategy (created in 2010) and provides results from 2 surveys of local immigrants in order to demonstrate whether “we are achieving our community’s goals”. It serves as a baseline for the newcomer experience in Kingston and is attached as Exhibit A. The following survey responses provide some rationale for the information that is included in the welcome gift.

37% of immigrant respondents use Kingston Transit as their main mode of transportation. Only 12% of Canadians use public transit on a regular basis (source: Statistics Canada).

23% of respondents said they faced a challenge getting involved in social activities, at a slightly higher response rate than the Ontario average of 21%

The above survey results as well as the research by the FCM would suggest that providing newcomers with opportunities in the areas of transit, recreation, culture and general municipal services would be the most helpful to settlement and integration. In support of this concept, the following information proposes some changes to the City’s contribution to the welcome gift.

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NEW AND ENHANCED ITEMS

In 2013 the City’s contribution to the KIP welcome gift will be enhanced by inserting the following items in a 2-pocket folder (with City logo and multi-lingual welcome message on front/back):

welcome letter from the mayor (French and English) 10-ride transit pass recreation Fit Pass voucher for 2 complimentary tickets for select shows at the Grand Theatre family admission day pass to either the MacLachlan Woodworking Museum or the Pump

House Steam Museum City services map for newcomers (designed by GIS staff in consultation with KIP) Kingston Strategic Plan (2011-2014) Recreation and Leisure Guide Waste Sorting Guide Kingston Transit Guide E-Recruitment Postcard IMPACT! (The Grand Theatre’s new youth pricing program) Community and Family Services Pamphlet (including housing information) City Hall and historic walking tours pamphlets

Other promotional materials, as available A notice about the welcome gift will be added to the Immigration Kingston newcomer website and some items such as the newcomer map will placed directly on the website. Transit Passes

Since the 10-ride passes were well used, staff is recommending keeping this part of the City’s contribution to the welcome gift the same. Recreation Passes

The recreation monthly passes were not used as much (3 people made a total of 4 visits). Since these passes were not very well used, staff is proposing a new Fit Pass as a replacement. The Fit Pass will give the recipient unlimited access to municipally owned recreation facilities/programs for one month.

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Cultural Passes

The Kingston Culture Plan (KCP), approved by Council in September 2010, identified a number of strategic directions, initiatives and recommendations for action over a 10 year period. The Cultural Services Department has based its strategies, priorities and actions on these recommendations. As referenced in page 31 of the KCP, “…the Cultural Service department’s programming mission should be to reach out to Kingston’s diverse communities and to foster inclusion through a variety of means…. Cultural Services should explore opportunities to facilitate outreach to children, youth and families through programming…” The KCP “envisions a city in which all sectors of the community work together to enhance Kingston’s distinctive identity, enrich the cultural life of residents and attract newcomers, audiences and visitors from around the world” (p. 8). Staff is proposing to include a voucher for 2 tickets per welcome gift for municipally booked (select) shows at the Grand Theatre, that are historically not sold out. The cost to provide these tickets, if any, will be minimal. Also, staff are proposing to include a 1-day pass (family admission) for either the MacLachlan Woodworking Museum or the Pump House Steam Museum. The museum pass will serve to introduce new audiences to the City’s community heritage resources and to share the multi-faceted and fascinating history of Kingston to its newest arrivals. The Grand Theatre Presents program includes approximately 50 performances annually that are curated by the City. The distinct make-up of the presentations include country music, contemporary dance, classical music, family programming, theatre, musicals and a carefully selected mix of experiences that will appeal to a broad audience. All of these performances offer something important for the community, such as school presentations that deal with youth-based issues and international performers that have never been to Kingston. Based on historic data, staff can predict the tickets that will be sold for each show, and often can foresee that there will be empty seats for a number of performances throughout the year, but see these shows as an important service to our citizens. Instead of keeping these seats empty, taking the opportunity to introduce a newcomer to Kingston through the live performing arts is a great way to fill them. Since staff expect to have these tickets unsold, there is no cost to provide this offer. In addition, since the 2 civic museums are open 9 months of the year, free or reduced admission cost to newcomers would not have a significant impact on the budget. For the Grand Theatre, staff will identify a number of selected shows once the season is announced and send a number of vouchers to Kingston Immigration Partnership. These vouchers can be distributed as is appropriate and the vouchers can be redeemed for the performance specified for a ticket. The success of the program can be tracked by the number of redemptions. NEW SURVEY

The City will work with KIP to develop a survey to determine the effectiveness of the City’s welcome program. The survey will be included in the KIP welcome gift in 2013. The results of the survey will be reviewed and will be reported to the ARCP in 2014 and will be used to determine the content of future welcome gifts.

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STUDENT WELCOME PACKAGES

Kingston’s Town-Gown Strategic Plan (TGSP), in the area of student engagement includes goals to promote two way communications, encourage community citizenship, help students establish roots and connect students to public service communities. Also, in the area of quality of life the TGSP has a goal to promote inclusiveness and equality in near campus neighbourhoods. The City will work with KIP to provide welcome packages for international students at St. Lawrence College and Queen’s. The student packages will contain a welcome letter from the mayor (in English and French) as well as various flyers, brochures, maps and guides about municipal programs and services but will not include transit, recreation or cultural passes. EXISTING POLICY/BY LAW: Report AP-11-020 approved recommendations

NOTICE PROVISIONS: Not applicable

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The cost to provide the 2-pocket folder, which will enclose the City’s contribution to the welcome gift, will be approximately $270 for 300 folders. The mayor’s welcome letter and other materials can be printed in the City’s print shop and will have no direct impact on the operating budget. The cost to provide the complimentary passes being proposed in the welcome gift will not have a direct impact on the operating budget. The passes represent a way of promoting City services (transit, recreation, culture) to newcomers and helping them to become familiar with, and welcome in, their new community. This might encourage new memberships and increased revenues to the City for these services. Below is the approximated value of the passes: type of pass value per pass value for 300 10-ride transit pass $21.50 $6,450 Fit Pass $38.00 $11,400 Grand Theatre voucher (for 2 tickets) $50.00 $15,000 Museum pass (family) $12.35 $3,705 Total Value (no budget impact) $36,555

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CONTACTS:

Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer, ext 2205 Judy Reichstein, Research & Policy Analyst, ext 2424 OTHER CITY OF KINGSTON STAFF CONSULTED: Jeremy DaCosta, Manager, Kingston Transit Colin Wiginton, Manager, Cultural Services Julie Fossitt, Marketing Administrator, Cultural Services Paul Robertson, City Curator, Cultural Services Marielle Laplante-Wheeler, Manager, Client Services Sheldon Laidman, Director, Housing Jayne Culbert, Manager, Recreation Programs Wally Ferris, Director, Recreation and Leisure Adele Lafrance, Director, Community and Family Services Derek Ochej, Public Education and Promotion Coordinator, Solid Waste Christina Thomson, Assistant to the Mayor Sherry Cruise, Manager, Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources & Organization Development Other Community Agencies

Scott Clerk, Program Manager, Kingston Immigration Partnership Ruth Noordegraf, Coordinator, Kingston Immigration Partnership EXHIBITS ATTACHED: Exhibit A: Letter from KIP, including 2012 Report Card Exhibit B: FCM Report Starting on solid ground, Backgrounder/Key Findings Exhibit C: FCM Report Starting on solid ground, Facts and Figures

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11

2012REPORT CARD

12

Origins of Immigrants

Africa and Middle East

Europe

Central & South America

USA

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

Fastest growing languagesin Kingston since 2001

Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census

In a survey of nearly 100 Kingston residents who immigrated to Canada:

had lived elsewhere in Canada before coming to Kingston. • Nearly half came from the Greater Toronto Area. • The main reason they listed for coming to Kingston: Education

Only of survey respondents were likely to leave Kingston within a year. Of those, 65% listed lack of employment opportunities as the probable reason for leaving.

Their overall satisfaction with the level of immigrant services in Kingston was a 3.6 out of 5 rating. The average for Ontario was a 3.7 out of 5 rating.

When asked ‘how welcoming is Kingston?’, respondents gave our commu-nity a 3.8 out of 5 rating. The average for Ontario communities was also a 3.8 out of 5 rating.

International Student enrollment at Queen’s University grew from 2007 – 2011, and at St. Lawrence College grew 20% from 2008 – 2012.

In the 2010 report “City Magnets II: Benchmarking the Attractiveness of 50 Canadian Cities”, the Conference Board of Canada graded Kingston with an overall “B” – with “A” grades in Health and Education, but with a “D” in Diversity

Hiring Immigrants in Kingston: the Employer’s PerspectiveLocal employers’ recruitment within the last 3 years:

63.6%

15.9%

15.9%

13.6%

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%

education, training, and or credentials

Recruited / hired directly from overseas

Hired an internationally-trained / immigrant

Challenges with internationally-trained new

364 Twitter Followers and 148 Facebook ‘likes’2000+ Kingston Multicultural Arts Festival visitors581 KIP newsletter recipients9 Diverse City TV episodes

12 Women’s Network meetings52 Entrepreneurs participating in the KIP Business Network5 Conference presentations35 Multicultural Roundtable participants14 Immigrant Employment success stories published564 views of the ‘Call Kingston Home’ promotional videos2541 visits to our website: www.kipcouncil.ca

Our 2012 in Numbers

40%

18%

26%

13

Heal

th &

Wel

lnes

s

: 84% of respondents had contact with a medical doctor in the past year, compared to 80% for the total Kingston population (source: Statistics Canada).

: 80% of respondents agreed with the following statement: “My doctor makes

: Only 47% of respondents agreed that “health services in Kingston are better quality than those in my country of origin”, and only 30% agreed that “health services in Kingston are delivered more quickly than those in my country of origin”.

Goal: Newly-arrived immigrants have equal access to health and dental care

These tables outline selected goals of the Kingston Immigration Partnership Strategy, created in 2010, and provide results from twosurveys of local immigrants in order to demonstrate whether we are achieving our community’s goals. The Report Card also highlights

newcomers’ experiences in Kingston, and also as a new model for tracking our progress.

KIP

KIP

KIP

In a recent study commissioned by KEDCO, nearly two-thirds (63.6%) of surveyed

training or credentials.

: 48% of surveyed immigrants listed “Finding Employment” as a challenge in Kingston – by far the #1 local challenge. However, that number is lower than the 62% of immigrants in Ontario who listed employment as a challenge.

Empl

oym

ent

GOAL: Information systems and community networks ensure that newcomers and newcomer families have access to the local job market

: Of surveyed immigrants who work or have worked in Kingston, 47% have used networking as a job search tool.Of those that engaged in networking, 96% had a positive opinion of networking, and 46% called it “essential” to their job search.

KIP

MOH

Racis

m &

Disc

rimin

atio

n

Goal: The Kingston community acknowledges the racism and discrimination faced by visible

: “I have close friends who were born in Canada.” – 61% of immigrant respon-dents agreed with the statement, while 26% disagreed. The response pattern was similar for those who had been here for a short period and those who were longer-settled.

: Asked to cite challenges or problems faced in Kingston, 23% of immigrant respondents said they had experienced discrimination, while the Ontario average was only 14%.

KIP

MOH

Socia

l Sup

port

s & Co

mm

unity

Conn

ectio

ns

participate in the community

here in Kingston

: 50% of respondents participate in the community as volunteers, compared to 47% for all Canadians (source: Statistics Canada). As well, 36 % participate in an organized group, club or association.

: 23% of immigrant respondents said they faced a challenge getting involved in social activities, at a slightly higher response rate than the Ontario average of 21%.

KIP

MOH

Educ

atio

n &

Trai

ning

which they were originally trained outside of Canada.

: Only 38% of immigrant respondents felt that they were working at their desired professional level, while 63% felt that they were making progress towards their long-term career goals.

KIP

KIP

GOAL: Kingston is recognized as a welcoming and diverse community

Info

rmat

ion,

Orie

ntat

ion,

&

Wel

com

ing

immigrant respondents agreed with the statement, while 9% disagreed.KIP

: “I feel more comfortable in Kingston than I did when living in other cities in Canada” – approximately half of the respondents to the KIP survey have lived elsewhere in Canada; of those, 65% agreed with the statement, while 16% disagreed.

KIP

When asked “how welcoming is your community?” respondents scored Kingston with 3.8 out of a 5-point scale, or as “somewhat welcoming”.MOH

GOAL: Newcomer youth feel welcome in the school system and receive the support they need to excel

transit system

Hous

ing,

Tran

spor

tatio

n,

Fam

ily Se

rvice

s

groceries at least once a year; 23% do so regularly (at least once every other month).KIP

: Of the 40 respondents with school-age children:

child’s school”.

: 37% of immigrant respondents use Kingston Transit as their main mode of transportation. Only 12% of Canadians use public transit on a regular basis (source: Statistics Canada).

: Of those respondents who are bus riders, 76% agreed “the bus drivers are

KIP

KIP

KIP

14

“Placement Program includingEnhanced Language Training and Socio-cultural Competency”

CanPlace is a project of Limestone

work placements to participants in their Workplace English program.

Global Talent Local Business, KIP’s

who have succeeded in the local workplace.

“Identify and publicize successful transitions to the Canadian workplace in KIP Council’s communications”

“Regular networking events fornewcomers”

What the plan called for: What we accomplished in 2012

The KIP Survey was held Sept – Oct 2012, with 80 respondents.KIP

Our Research: the indicators of progress under each of the goals are primarily drawn from two surveys of Kingston residents who have immigrated to Canada.

The Making Ontario Home Survey was held Feb – March 2011, with 93 local respondents. The MOH Survey, commissioned by OCASI, was open province-wide, and further results for across Ontario are available at www.ocasi.org.

MOH

Highlights

Creation of the “Networking on the Move” business visits that allows local employers to host networking activities for newcomers at their workplace.

“Newcomer entrepreneur support circle;Networking for entrepreneurs”

“Networking for Francophonenewcomers to connect withemployers with bilingual needs”

KIP Business Network for immigrantentrepreneurs was launched Spring 2012.

“Promote Kingston to potentialimmigrants and promote our

The ‘Call Kingston Home’ promotional videos share the stories of successful immigrants in their own words and language, including in Arabic,Spanish, Mandarin, and English.

Local agencies partnered to provide a“Networking on the Move” business visit

“Promote Kingston’s culturaldiversity to the broader community”

Diverse City: Kingston’s Multicultural Connection, a KIP & TV Cogeco co-production received a Star Award for highlighting stories of cultural diversityhere in Kingston.

engineering and technology”

In fall 2012, St Lawrence College opened

(OSLT) program aimed at newcomers with a background in technology.

“Create a ‘self-management forchronic disease prevention’

immigrant communities”

Kingston Community Health Centres piloted

designed for the Chinese and Indian communities.

CouncilKIPC

.

We thank our 2012 outgoing Council members for their invaluable contribution and ongoing support to the KIP:

Chander Datta – Cancoil Thermal CorporationSandra Wright – 1000 Islands Workforce Development BoardRuth Kennedy – First Baptist ChurchSamia McFee – Francophone Immigration Support NetworkMary Kloosterman – Kingston Family YMCAMicki Mulima – Kingston General HospitalAntje McNeely – Kingston Police ForceLaura Patterson – Limestone District School Board

The continuing council members for 2012-2013 are:

Catarina Macedo – Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario – Mille-Îles (ACFOMI)Marielle LaPlante-Wheeler – City of KingstonMatt Hutcheon – Greater Kingston Chamber of CommerceStephanie Simpson – Queen’s UniversityBarry Keefe – St. Lawrence CollegeMichael Harris – KEYS Job CentreHersh Sehdev – Kingston Community Health Centres

Corporation

Sahiza Hossenbaccus – Zycom TechnologyDonna Perrin – Kingston Literacy and SkillsKaren de Libero - Stantive Technologies GroupAnn Chen – Teachers of English as a Second Language TESL - KingstonVikram Varma – Community Foundation Kingston and AreaWilma Pettingill - Limestone District School BoardMarion Wright – Frontenac Community Mental Health ServicesMalika Seguin-Gervais - Francophone Immigration Support NetworkLouise Richer – Province of Ontario

We welcome the 2012-2014 Incoming Council members:

Our Report CardThireport on the work of the Kingston Immi-gration Partnership and, more broadly, on

thrive, and build a more prosperous and vibrant Kingston. This document aims to demonstrate our progress on the KIP Strategy, Kingston’s community plan for immigration, through the lens of the lived experiences of local immigrants. The Report Card includes the input of newcomers to Canada, collected through two separate surveys, and also highlights key community achievements.

KIP is guided by a Partnership Council which is selected to represent a broad cross-section of the community.

k

Mandate: to provide leadership to the

attract, welcome, include andintegrate immigrants

Initiated in 2009, the KIP aims to bringpeople and organizations together tocreate a Kingston where newcomers cansuccessfully build their new lives as fullmembers of the community. Our work in the community touches on all issues of immigrant settlement, includingEmployment, Education & Training,Community Connections, Health & Wellness, Housing, Transportation,and others.

the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP)

About

www.kipcouncil.ca15

CouncilKIPC

.

We thank our 2012 outgoing Council members for their invaluable contribution and ongoing support to the KIP:

Chander Datta – Cancoil Thermal CorporationSandra Wright – 1000 Islands Workforce Development BoardRuth Kennedy – First Baptist ChurchSamia McFee – Francophone Immigration Support NetworkMary Kloosterman – Kingston Family YMCAMicki Mulima – Kingston General HospitalAntje McNeely – Kingston Police ForceLaura Patterson – Limestone District School Board

The continuing council members for 2012-2013 are:

Catarina Macedo – Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario – Mille-Îles (ACFOMI)Marielle LaPlante-Wheeler – City of KingstonMatt Hutcheon – Greater Kingston Chamber of CommerceStephanie Simpson – Queen’s UniversityBarry Keefe – St. Lawrence CollegeMichael Harris – KEYS Job CentreHersh Sehdev – Kingston Community Health Centres

Corporation

Sahiza Hossenbaccus – Zycom TechnologyDonna Perrin – Kingston Literacy and SkillsKaren de Libero - Stantive Technologies GroupAnn Chen – Teachers of English as a Second Language TESL - KingstonVikram Varma – Community Foundation Kingston and AreaWilma Pettingill - Limestone District School BoardMarion Wright – Frontenac Community Mental Health ServicesMalika Seguin-Gervais - Francophone Immigration Support NetworkLouise Richer – Province of Ontario

We welcome the 2012-2014 Incoming Council members:

Our Report CardThireport on the work of the Kingston Immi-gration Partnership and, more broadly, on

thrive, and build a more prosperous and vibrant Kingston. This document aims to demonstrate our progress on the KIP Strategy, Kingston’s community plan for immigration, through the lens of the lived experiences of local immigrants. The Report Card includes the input of newcomers to Canada, collected through two separate surveys, and also highlights key community achievements.

KIP is guided by a Partnership Council which is selected to represent a broad cross-section of the community.

k

Mandate: to provide leadership to the

attract, welcome, include andintegrate immigrants

Initiated in 2009, the KIP aims to bringpeople and organizations together tocreate a Kingston where newcomers cansuccessfully build their new lives as fullmembers of the community. Our work in the community touches on all issues of immigrant settlement, includingEmployment, Education & Training,Community Connections, Health & Wellness, Housing, Transportation,and others.

the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP)

About

www.kipcouncil.ca16

Starting on solid ground: the municipal role in immigrant settlement Key findings

Our economy: By 2015, 100 per cent of Canada’s labour growth will come from new immigrants. This reality ties our nation’s economic future directly to attracting, and successfully settling, immigrants. The global race for talent, investment and jobs is intensifying. Canada will need cities and communities with a high quality of life, modern transportation networks, and decent housing that new workers can afford.

Immigrants falling behind: New immigrants are falling behind their Canadian-born counterparts. They are also taking longer to catch up, economically, than immigrants who arrived more than 10 years ago.

The municipal role: Municipalities welcome more than 500,000 permanent residents, temporary workers and foreign students every year. Locally delivered services – such as housing, recreation, library services, child care and public transit – play a significant role in attracting, retaining and successful settling immigrants.

Housing: Canadian cities are scrambling to provide housing for workers needed to support this country’s economy and productivity. Meanwhile, the number of families living in core-housing need, or on waiting lists for affordable housing, continues to grow.

Transit: Sufficient and efficient public transit impacts on where newcomers can live and work, and enables them to connect to the community. Together, all governments must fill strategic transportation gaps. They must also limit the millions of hours traffic gridlock costs businesses, workers and families each year.

Outlook: A much broader range of services is needed to support immigrants in their first five to 10 years in Canada. This range would ensure successful settlement and integration, both in near and long terms. These services would extend beyond federally or provincially supported services, such as orientation, language training and employment. Canada needs an immigration strategy that meets growing on-the-ground challenges and gives cities and communities a seat at the economic table.

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Starting on solid ground: the municipal role in immigrant settlement

Key facts and figures

Our economy By 2015, 100 percent of Canada’s labour growth will come from new immigrants. In 2010, Canada admitted a record 281,681 permanent residents. The total number of new

residents was close to 558,957 (including temporary foreign workers and foreign students). The Toronto Board of Trade estimates it costs Canada $2.25 billion annually in lost economic

activity when we fail to better integrate immigrants into the economy.

Immigrants falling behind Two-thirds of university-educated newcomers are underemployed. They work in occupations that

require at most a college education. This compares with 40 per cent of their Canadian counterparts.

The unemployment rate among immigrant newcomers with university degrees was 8.6 per cent in 2009, compared with 3.5 per cent among Canadian-born graduates.

The municipal role Our cities and communities welcome newcomers but are neither mandated nor funded to provide

settlement services. Municipalities are the first point of contact in providing shelter to refugees and grants to

community-based organizations, and in enhancing programs at local community centres. Collecting just eight cents of every Canadian tax dollar paid, municipalities alone cannot ensure a

high quality of life and welcoming environment for newcomers. .

Housing Rising housing prices and rental shortages from decades of low levels of purpose-built rental

supply make it difficult for moderate-income earners to find adequate housing. 44 per cent of recent immigrant renters in Canada are in core housing need. They spend more

than 30 per cent of their income on housing, compared with less than 25 per cent of non-immigrant renters.

The potential loss of one-third of Canada’s social housing stock reduces access to housing overall. This further squeezes out newcomer immigrants.

Transit New immigrants are twice as likely to commute by public transit, compared with Canadian-born

workers. There are significant challenges involved in providing much-needed services such as medical

care, counselling, and job and language training to newcomers who are isolated due to poor transit options.

Traffic delays cost Canada more than $5 billion in 2009. Today’s cost is likely much higher. The OECD cites Toronto’s economic cost of gridlock to be $3.3 billion annually.

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