Newcomer Bulletin Summer 2013

DIVERSITY-INSPIRED,PROSPERITY-DRIVEN

Northumberland County is serious about its quest for prosperity. So it is with diversity.

SUMMER 2013 | VOL. 2 | NO. 4

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CONTENTS

OUR ADVERTISERS

14 COVER STORY Northumberland County’s heightened campaign to attract newcomers has received a fair amount of media coverage lately – thanks to the hard work of Dan Borowec, the director of economic development and tourism

COVER STORY14 DIVERSITY AND PROSPERITYNorthumberland County is serious about embracing diversity. An immigra-tion forum it recently organized helps build the economic case for attracting newcomers: increased diversity leads to a stronger economy and enhances prosperity.

NEWS DIGESTPETERBOROUGH8 NCC’s new homeThe New Canadians Centre has out-grown its current location on Sher-brooke Street and is moving to a larger new home. The move is scheduled in September 2013.

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY9 Migrant farmersMigrant farm workers in Northum-berland County were treated to a night of food, music and dance as a gesture of welcome. They also received goods provided by community donors.

EDUCATION21 Summer jobIn search of a gig for the summer? Find out what you can do to stand out in the eyes of hiring managers and get ahead of the job-seeking crowd.

ADVERTORIALS22 Immigration portalWhen the goal is to attract newcom-ers, there is no better way than to have people from the same home-lands speak about their experiences. That’s why a collection of immi-grant stories has been a feature at Peterborough’s immigration portal.

23 Fleming CollegeWith construction in full swing, Fleming College’s Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre is on track to make its target to throw its doors open for business in September 2014.

COLUMN23 Tax cornerIf you are a low-earning individual, who is employed or runs your own business, know that a tax credit is available for you.

PROFILE 28 Riona RichardsCanada and Australia may share many cultural and lifestyle values, but they are also hugely different in, at least, one thing: driving. Aussie Fiona Richards must adjust to driv-ing on the other side of the road when she first came to Canada.

12 PROFILE Sheila McConkey

27 CLICK Canada Day parade


FROM THE EDITORBEVERLY LOMOSAD

IN DIVERSITYWE PROSPERNorthumberland County’s height-

ened drive for prosperity is guided by a single phrase, “Prosperity is closer than you think.” The slogan drumbeats subtly on the county’s stra-tegic location – specifically, its close proximity to Highway 401 and, ulti-mately, the Greater Toronto Area. The message, of course, is: opportunities that exist in Northumberland County need people, new people.

For instance, the county expects a steady hiring climate, with employers from a wide range of sectors antici-pating to add more than 550 skilled workers in the next 18 months. That’s the good news. The bad news is that employers may have had to look else-where to find the workers they need. By the way, it takes a minimum of two years to educate and train people for these forecast skilled positions – of which nearly 60% are full-time – ac-cording to the employers themselves in a countywide survey.

The way forward for Northumberland County, therefore, is to attract new-comers – and do it now. Conversations about newcomers ultimately refer to immigrants, particularly when discus-sions are back-dropped by the prevail-ing low birth rates and aging popula-tion. Canada’s population grows by 375,000 people each year. Immigrants account for two-thirds of that growth, or about 250,000.

Dan Borowec, the director of econom-ic development and tourism for Nor-thumberland County, and his team have been busy recently setting in motion a plethora of initiatives aimed at creating

a diverse and welcoming community to support its quest for prosperity.

Our cover story, Pages 14-20, reports on the county’s immigrant-attraction and -retention strategy. The cover-story package also includes a few case studies, which we condensed from the Cities of Migration project, of how other towns and cities in Canada build inclusive communities and fast-track immigrant integration.

Our magazine does foster stimulating debates that propel us to think forward and innovate for creative solutions. We think that there ought to be a rich debate on the question of why im-migrants, who are admitted to Canada based on a system that probes their education, professional work experi-ence and skills, struggle in the labour market. After all, if immigrants are left unemployed or underemployed, the Canadian economy loses billions in lost earnings. Read our feature on Page 11.

We also acknowledge a true commit-ment to make other people’s lives better when we see one. Sheila McConkey is more than 80 years old, but she still keeps a tab on what’s happening in Pe-terborough, the city she cares genuinely about and calls home since she was seven years old, when her father moved the family from Walkerton, Ontario in 1939. She has an opinion or two about making Peterborough a major tourist destination through its world-famous lift lock. She is on Pages 12-13.

MILESTONENewcomer Bulletin turns two years old with our Summer 2013 edition. With your continued support, we aim to keep the presses rolling for many years to come. We have had a really good run because we have a community that values inclusion, respects diversity and welcomes newcomers. n

MEDIAPLUS VILLAGEUnit LL5, 311 George Street North

Peterborough, ON K9J 3H3Phone: (705) 772-7172

[email protected]

EDITORIAL

EDITORBeverly Lomosad

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSChen Rao

Naser MiftariOlga Doktorova

PHOTOGRAPHERBob Laing

MARKETING AND CIRCULATION

MARKETING MANAGERRamon Valles

ART

DESIGN AND LAYOUTJun G. Dayao

ADVISER

CONSULTANTCarmela Valles

ENQUIRIES

EDITORIAL [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

ISSN 1929-8846

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Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the in-formation contained in this publication. However, Mediaplus Village regrets that it cannot accept liability for error or omis-sions contained in this publication, however caused. The opin-ions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publica-tio n, which is provided for general use and may not be appro-priate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The concept, content, style and design of this publication remain the exclu-sive property of Mediaplus Village. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publisher in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.

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7www.newcomerbulletin.com SUMMER 2013 | NEWCOMER BULLETIN

LETTERS

We welcome your comments. Write to us at [email protected]. All submissions must include name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and style.Submission constitutes permission to use.

Praise on BuckhornCongratulations on a fantastic article you wrote about Buckhorn and the interesting people who live in that small village. Your story on Buckhorn sheds light on the importance of business in small communi-ties and how immigrants can help drive the rural economy. I will definitely go and visit Buckhorn dur-ing the summer. (By the way, the artwork on the cover page is excellent. You did a tremendous job.)

Peter DempseyOshawa

YOUR STORY ON BUCKHORN SHEDSLIGHT ON . . . HOW IMMIGRANTS CAN HELP

DRIVE THE RURAL ECONOMY

Tax CornerI always read your Tax Cor-ner first as it provides good information on tax credits and other benefits.

Salman AdrajPeterborough

Focus onCobourgI picked up a copy of the Newcomer Bulletin at the ESL and Multilingual section of the Cobourg Public Library. I can see that your magazine, along with other main-stream magazines, is also carried at the library’s main magazine section. Thank you for covering Cobourg in your spring issue. I appreciate the Q&A about Melanie Horner, a Cobourg resident. It’s good to know she was able to start her own business and return to her first love, which is pottery. I was wondering if

you would consider publish-ing in your future editions a feature that provides more detailed information on how to start a business in Nor-thumberland County. What are the local business re-sources? How can one from overseas, who is planning to move to Northumberland County, contact them? Courtney RothCobourg

RemovebarriersI enjoyed your cover story, “The Value of One” (Winter 2013 Edition). I was pleased that you included a thorough discussion on the economic impact of newcomers to Can-ada. Your article is on target: the barriers that newcomers to Canada have to hurdle are not always caused by the government. Professional regulatory bodies are to blame, too, for practices and

policies that border on pro-tectionism. Remember that Canada is competing with other countries in the world to attract skilled immigrants. So, it makes good economic sense for Canada to remove those barriers and ease the transition of newcomers. We need immigrants to help fuel our economy, not to men-tion that most of our rural communities are faced with the critical issue of an aging population.

Neshi OraibiToronto


NEWS DIGEST

The New Canadians Cen-tre is soon leaving its

location on 205 Sherbrooke Street, its home for more than 25 years. The centre has entered into a 10-year agreement to lease 4,000 square feet of unused space on the third floor of the St. James United Church build-ing on the corner of Aylmer and Romaine streets.

Jason Stabler, the interim executive director of NCC, announced the move during its annual general meeting. The move, scheduled in September 2013, has received a $300,000 funding from Citizenship and Immigra-tion Canada and the Trillium Foundation, with each agency contributing $150,000.

An open house is expected in the fall to “celebrate not only our new location but also three-and-a-half de-cades of service to the com-munity,” Mr. Stabler said.

The move is driven by the need to make NCC’s facilities fully compliant with Ontario’s legislation on

Kristy Hoffmann, left, who conducts a research study on seasonal agricul-tural workers as part of her MA program at York University, has donated a computer to the New Canadians Centre in Cobourg, where she is also placed as a student intern. Her father, Eddie, installed the computer unit, which will be used by migrant workers in Northumberland County to communicate through Skype with their families back home.

NCC shifts to new locationNCC BY THE NUMBERS

(2012-2013)

17Countries represented by

board members

90Source countries of

new clients

486New clients

61Languages of new clients

116*Volunteers

4,200Hours put in by volunteers

*Excluding volunteerson Canada Day

Source: NCC Annual Report

accessibility for disabled people to public buildings and services.

The NCC has an annual operating budget of about $1 million and a staff of 18. n

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NEWS DIGEST

Northumberland County received a fresh batch of

migrant farmers on July 13, 2013 with a welcome dinner, a night filled with entertain-ment in music and dance.

The dinner is an annual event organized by the New Cana-dians Centre in Cobourg, in partnership with the Hori-zons of Friendship, for the hundreds of migrant farm workers – most of whom come from the Caribbean and Mexico, leaving their families behind to come to Northumberland County and work for the entire six to eight months of farm season.

For the third year in a row, the event has been held at the Fellowship Baptist Church in Cobourg, which assembled a team of volunteers that prepared the meals, managed the sound system and set the venue up. Newcomers, long-term immigrants, representa-tives from several community organizations and churches as

well as farm owners attended the event.

Dan Borowec, director of Northumberland County’s Economic Development and Tourism, gave the welcome greetings on behalf of the county, thanking the migrant workers for their important contribution to local food production.

Migrant farmers also received bags stuffed with toiletries and food donated by volunteers and community organizations, including Food for All Nor-thumberland, Rema Christian School and Horizons of Friendship. The bags were donated by Northumberland County’s Immigration Portal. At least 15 countries were rep-resented in the welcome dinner – Chile, Colombia, the Philip-pines, the UK, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Jamaica, Venezuela, Guatemala, Thailand, Panama, Barbados, the US and Ecuador. n

Dinner for migrant farmersMigrant workers receive goods provided by community donors

Invitation has gone out to newcomers for a tour of

Northumberland County’s interesting business locations. Designed for newcomers, the tour is dubbed Sweets, Treats and Rural Fragrances.

The August 17, 2013 tour will take participants to the rural and scenic hills of Northum-berland County, where they will sample foods produced by local artisans and have a chance to purchase products directly from a cookie factory,

chocolate outlet and cheese house in Campbellford. Other stops include Kokimo Candle-land, Castleton and the Big Apple in Colborne. Pick-up for Peterborough participants is at 8:30am and for the Cobourg group, at 9:45am. The deadline to register is August 4.

For more information, con-tact Carmela Valles at (705) 761-2244 or [email protected]. n

Sweets, treats and rural fragrances


NEWS DIGEST

After a two-year freeze, the parent and grandparent

stream of the family sponsorship programme will re-open for new applications on January 2, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced. Shorter processing times are expected for the intake of new applications.

Due to a backlog of applications, which resulted in long process-ing times, CIC stopped accepting applications under the Parent and Grandparent Programme in November 2011. The Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification was then introduced to cut the backlog.

The renewed PGP is part of the action plan’s second phase, which also includes admitting 50,000 parents and grandparents as per-manent residents in 2012-2013 and maintaining high levels of admis-sions for parents and grandpar-ents in 2014.

CIC will also make perma-nent the Super Visa, a 10-year multiple-entry visa that allows parents and grandparents to stay in Canada for up to 24 months at a time. More than 15,000 Super Visas have been issued since the program’s launch in December 2011 with approval rates averag-ing 86%. n

Nearly half of Canada’s millionaires are either immigrants or first-gen-

eration Canadians, a new survey showed.

BMO Harris Private Banking, which examines trends among high-net worth Canadians, or people with investible assets of at least $1 million, found that 24% of the country’s millionaires are immigrants. Another 24% describe themselves as first-generation Cana-dians with at least one parent born outside of Canada.

The study also found that 67% of these

millionaires are self-made, making their wealth on their own and from modest beginnings. Only 20% of survey re-spondents attributed part or all of their wealth to inheritance.

“For generations, many have considered Canada to be a place that provides op-portunities for those who are willing to move here and contribute to the growth of the country. The findings of this study confirm this long-standing belief,” said Alex Dousmanis-Curtis, senior vice president and head of BMO Harris Private Banking. n

More immigrants join millionaires club

National 67 48 32Atlantic 83 46 37Quebec 64 44 24Ontario 64 45 36Alberta 72 44 36British Columbia 74 68 26

Percentagewhoareself-mademillionaires

PercentagewhoarenewCanadian

millionaires

Percentagewhoarewomenmillionaires

Region

Source: BMO Harris Private Banking

Otherhighlightsofthestudy: n Women make up one-third of Canada's affluent n 80% of high-net worth Canadians have at least a university degree and 46% a graduate degree

Trying to revive its technology prow-ess, Canada is courting techies at

Silicon Valley to sign up for the new Start-Up Visa program, part of the country’s plan to build a fast and flexible economic immigration system.

A billboard emblazoned with a giant red maple leaf looms over a stretch of Highway 101 linking San Francisco with Silicon Valley. The pitch: “H-1B

Problems? Pivot to Canada.”

The Start-Up Visa Program, which opened for applications on April 1, 2013, will link Canadian private sector organizations with immigrant entrepre-neurs in whose ideas they can invest. Selected immigrant entrepreneurs will be given immediate permanent-resident status. The program runs as a pilot for five years. n

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Theories obviously abound to explain the situation. A Metropolis

study shows discrimination against job candidates with ethnic names or with work experience gained from outside of Canada. In another study, the Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network (CLSRN), a net-work of academic researchers, blames professional and trade associations for imposing what amounts to protec-tionist barriers in their accreditation procedures.

“The issue is obviously multi-faceted,” said Ann Drennan, dean of General Arts and Sciences at Fleming College. “I agree that there is protectionism. I’m just not sure if their protection-ist agenda is intended to protect Canadians necessarily – it could just be protection of the organizations themselves.”

“I’m thinking that some of it could be for economic reason; some of it could be cultural; some of it could be of the belief that how we do things is better than anybody else, which may or may not be; and some of it could simply be

unwillingness to explore differences,” Ms. Drennan said.

One thing though that she said could potentially enhance the competitiveness of Canada in attracting and retaining immigrants is the adoption of common professional standards on a national level. “You know there’s a problem when you see that some professions could not make a seamless transition into Canada,” she said. “There has to be common principles across the globe at different levels. After all, we’re not re-ally all that different.”

Ms. Drennan is a case in point. “Hav-ing come from the Northern Ireland, I

expected that there would be similarities somewhere somehow or some smooth transfer, but it’s not the case,” she said, noting that Northern Ireland and Canada are members of the Common-wealth of Nations, an intergovernmen-tal organization of 54 countries with historic ties to the British Empire.

When she applied in 2004 to immi-grate to Canada to join her husband, she had to go through the points system and have her professional credentials validated. And, yes, she had to also write the test and pass the road test to get her driving licence.

“When it comes to work, I had an almost seamless transition – yes, apart from the paperwork and bureaucracy – but I was blessed and fortunate that I had an employer that was willing to go through the lengths to support me. But that was not the case with other im-migrants I know who had gone through a similar process only to find out that their foreign credentials were not recognized in Canada,” Ms. Drennan said. “Some have masteral or doctoral degrees, but they could not find work in their fields. So, we often have highly qualified individuals going back to school and trying to earn college diplo-mas to Canadianize their experience. It’s like having to go back to kindergarten – that’s what it would feel like.”

In blaming Canadian professional and trade associations for imposing protec-tionist barriers, CLSRN also notes how “any on-the-job experience that skilled immigrants have obtained in other countries is worth precisely nothing.” Economic loss associated with under-utilizing skilled new immigrants is estimated at between $2 billion and $5.9 billion a year, according to studies.

Ms. Drennan said she understands that Canada, like a lot of countries with immigrants, wants to make sure that immigrants have the experience that is aligned to its system. “How-ever, rather than explore how people’s experiences are similar or different in the value of diversity it brings to an organization, the preference is for an experience that they understand,” she said. “Whether that’s because it’s easier and faster or whether because they are less willing to be open-minded is an interesting question.” n

FEATURE

WHEN POINTS DON’T ADD UP

WE OFTEN HAVEHIGHLY QUALIFIED INDI-VIDUALS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AND TRYING TO

EARN COLLEGE DIPLOMASTO CANADIANIZE THEIR

EXPERIENCE

Talk about improving the economic outcomes of immigrants to Canada, and one question sticks out like a sore thumb: why do immigrants, who are allowed into Canada based on skills, professional experience and education, struggle so much in the labour market?

Ann Drennan


PROFILE SHEILA MCCONKEY

She envisaged the museum as not only a showcase for Canadian

culture and history but also equipped with a teaching facility, possibly in partnership with Trent University or Fleming College, for canoe-building and a waterfront space that provides leisure activities for visitors such as recreational canoeing or kayaking – all in one site.

A Toronto-based consulting firm is helping to find a suitable relocation site for the museum.

“I purposely took the time to attend the meeting at the canoe museum. I believe that the local people often know more about local issues. I can picture the museum as very valuable to our area. So, I try to get involved,” said Ms. McConkey, who is also one of the dissenting voices on a plan to open a casino in Peterborough.

Ms. McConkey is particularly interested in seeing Peterborough’s tourism sector developed to a point that it becomes a

major economic driver for the region. “We lost manufacturing companies over the years, and we haven’t replaced them,” she said.

While saying that Peterborough “has grown a little bit,” she added that “it has not really grown as much as it should have.”

The reason? “We don’t have the population base we should have,” she said. Peterborough County has 118,975 residents, according to 2011 census data. Ms. McConkey estimates that a population of, say, 150,000-175,000 people would probably be right for Peterborough.

“So, we should pick up the slack and do other things,” she said, noting that the world-class lift lock in Peterbor-ough has not been utilized to its full potential as a major tourist attraction and revenue maker.

“We do a fair job of trying to attract people to the area. But we could do a

Once upon a time, Ms. McConkey was a newcomer to Peterborough. She was about seven years old, when her father, Clare Donnelly, moved the family from Walkerton, Ontario in 1939. Mr. Donnelly was not only a politician – he served as reeve for the Greenock Township near Walkerton in 1935 – he had also vast business interests, includ-ing lumber-mill operations, real estate, restaurant, taxi operation, gas station and car dealership. As a father, Mr. Donnelly had wanted the best education for his children and was particularly scout-ing around for a good Catholic high school. That brought him to Peter-borough, where he found St. Peter’s Secondary School.

Ms. McConkey had always set her eyes on starting her own business. For about two years, she worked at her father’s real-estate business to gain the experience needed to secure a real-estate broker’s licence. When she obtained one, she opened McConkey Real Es-tate Corp.

Meanwhile, her husband, Jack, whom she married in 1954, had a successful cattle operation. Trag-edy, however, struck in November 1970, when Jack died in a farm accident.

That left Ms. McConkey to raise eight children – the youngest was five, and the oldest, 15 – all by herself while, at the same time, running a real-estate business as well as the family’s cattle opera-tion, which she doggedly kept despite the suggestions of her relatives to sell it.

“I probably should have been in politics, but I have to be a mother first. And I am too old to be in politics now,” said Ms. McConk-ey, who has 26 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. n

WOMAN OF VISION

HEARTOF A

MOTHER

When a public meeting was called in early May 2013 to discuss the Canoe Museum’s plan to move from its current location on Monaghan Road, Sheila McConkey, 81, made sure she was there to express an opinion or two. To Ms. McConkey, the museum – which holds arguably the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft – could be a major earner of tourist dollars for Peterborough.

Sheila McConkey

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much better job,” Ms. Mc-Conkey said. “I travel quite a bit even though my health is not that good now, and along the way I would pick up copies of magazines and newspapers, and I can see that other regions are doing a much better job of promot-ing themselves.”

She lamented that Peterbor-ough’s world-famous lift lock has not been well kept up as well as sorely lacks amenities. “We have not done a good job with our Trent-Severn waterway – it should be a magnet for people. Right now, there’s really nothing there for people to do. There has to be a place to ease and other amenities – not just something for tourists to look at. I realize that there have been cutbacks in the number of hours that the lift lock is open; in my opinion, it’s a step backward,” Ms. Mc-Conkey said.

“If we put more into tour-ism, a lot of things could evolve. For instance, we are blessed with many creative-arts people. We have to support them and provide a venue for them – kiosks, for example, along the river. People love to buy articles that are handmade. Tourism could be a major revenue maker in our area. Govern-ment is losing revenue from not doing enough to develop and promote tourism, as far as I can see.”

NEWCOMERSTourism may be sluggish, but Ms. McConkey, who runs a successful real-estate busi-ness for more than 40 years, is pleased that Peterborough continues to attract prop-erty buyers from different Canadian provinces as well

as overseas. The majority of them, she said, come from the Greater Toronto Area.

They consist mostly of re-tired individuals and parents who have children studying at Trent University or Fleming College, institutions that, she said, “have a great impact to our city.” While some parents do not keep their properties longer than the time period required for their children to complete their studies, oth-ers do eventually relocate to Peterborough.

Other property buyers are artists, “drawn by the beauty of our area – the water, the trees,” said Ms. McConkey, noting that there has been an influx of creative-arts people to Peterborough in the past 15 years. “People love Peterbor-ough to live and to retire.”

She is delighted that her real-estate operations have had some success in bringing new people into Peterborough.

In that May 2013 meeting at the Canoe Museum, for instance, a woman came to her, saying: “Do you still remember me?” Ms. McCo-nkey did not forget the face, and after a few moments, she recalled how they crossed paths for the first time in 1968. The woman, along with her husband, came looking for a property to rent or buy in Peterborough.

Ms. McConkey convinced them to purchase a house, which, by the way, the couple still lived in today in Duoro.

“Newcomers not only bring a whole new dimension, a new culture; they are also contrib-uting to the economic activity in our area,” she said. n

PROFILE SHEILA MCCONKEY

NEWCOMERS NOT ONLY BRING A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION, A NEW CULTURE;

THEY ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN OUR AREA

175 George Street NorthPeterborough, ON

(705) [email protected]

Eileen Madder, CFP, EPCFinancial Advisor

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COVER STORY

The county’s Economic Development and Tourism office, along with the Northumberland Multicultural

The recent Canada Day parade in Co-bourg was quite unlike its past: more than 40 long-term immigrants and newcomers formed a multicultural con-tingent that thrilled and dazzled pa-rade spectators with their distinct and colourful ethnic garbs. Their participa-tion marked the first time that a cross section of Northumberland County’s immigrant community turned up for the annual parade.

RELATED:n Welcomedinnerformigrantworkers,Page 9n Newcomertour,Page 9n Labour-marketsurveygraphics,Page 16n Immigrationportallaunch,Page 25n ESLandmultilingualcollectionslaunch,Page 25n Cobourgparade,Page 27


CREATING A DIVERSELANDSCAPE

Centre and the New Canadians Centre in Cobourg, had been responsible for organizing the multi-ethnic group, composed of immigrants from Spain, El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines, Jamaica, Cuba, Chile, Thailand, India, South Korea, Peru and Bangladesh.

“Gosh, I never knew we have these many immigrants in our midst,” said Jercyl Kemp, who watched the parade on King Street with her two daughters, Amy, 3, and Laura, 5. “I was glad to see them come out. They certainly add another layer of excitement to the parade. And they reminded me very much of my great-grandparents, who immigrated to Canada a long time ago from Scotland.”

The multicultural contingent for the parade represents one of the many steps Northumberland County has taken to engage its immigrant community and showcase itself as an attractive and welcoming destination for newcomers.

Immigrant-attraction has been part of the county’s economic-development agenda; it received a boost after the county’s funding application to build an online immi-gration portal was granted by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration in early 2012. Through the portal, which went live on April 26, 2013, “we extend ourselves to the world,” said Dan Borowec, the economic-development and tourism director of Northumberland County, in an interview with Newcomer Bulletin following the $115,500 funding-grant award.


COVER STORY

FROM LEFT: New Canadians Centre’s Luz Ofelia Maya and Gabriela Revak, Lorena Arimon, Patricia Orantes and Nicholas Cartlidge

With the web portal in place, the county hopes to spur economic growth by attracting investment dollars as well as a sustainable and diverse work force to support fresh economic activity.

As the immigration-portal project moves forward, a county-wide labour-market survey also got under way in Novem-ber 2012. A collaboration between the county’s Economic Development and Tourism office, Port Hope, Cobourg, Workforce Development Board and Fleming College, the four-month survey covers more than 1,000 employers across a wide range of sectors and provides employment forecast over the next 18 months.

Having identified a total of 559 forthcoming employment opportunities, of which nearly 60% are full-time positions,

the county hopes to attract new Canadians into the com-munity, noting that while “employers are projecting a need of 559 workers within an 18-month period . . . it takes a minimum of two years to educate and train people for these positions.”

“So, the question is whether or not these workers are avail-able,” states the survey report titled, “Where the Jobs will be in Northumberland 2013-2015 Guide Book,” an initia-tive meant to provide direction for job seekers, students, educators and employment-service providers in determin-ing career paths and training.

Paul van Laren, chairman of the Workforce Development Board, said during the launch of the report on May 17, 2013, that “we are facing a serious demographic and labour

crisis on the horizon,” echoing dire predictions of economists.

Mr. Van Laren, also the plant manager of Cobourg-based Sabic Innovative Plastics, one of the town’s largest manufacturers with $50 million in annual sales and staff of about 150, added: “In the Province of Ontario, the Ministry of Finance projects the shortfall in the availability of workers in Ontario to reach an estimated high of 1.8 million by 2031, depending on our level of population growth.”

FORUMIn the first Immigration Forum held in Northumberland County on June 5, 2013, Fairness Commissioner Jean Augustine was unequivocal in empha-sizing the role of newcomers in the future of small-town Canada, saying, “Newcomers are needed to improve the economic life of Northumberland, especially because of demographic

* Includes immigrants who landed in Canada prior to May 10, 2011

NORTHUMBERLANDCOUNTYBYTHENUMBERS

Americas 12%[1,040]Other places in Asia 1%[60]Oceania and other 1%[90]Asia 9%[710]Africa 1%[90]Europe 76% [6,355]

WHEREIMMIGRANTSCOMEFROM

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

VISIBLEMINORITYPOPULATION

Japanese 5% [80]Korean 8%[140]West Asian 3%[50]SoutheastAsian 2%[40]Arab 2%[35]

South Asian 24%[400]

Chinese 14%[240]

Black 21%[355]

Filipino 12%[210] Latin

American 9%[150]

PERIODOFIMMIGRATION

Before 1971 1971 to 1980 1981 to 1990 1991 to 2000 2001 to 2011*

5,180

1,450

610 490 550

Source: Statistics Canada


COVER STORY

FullTime PartTimeFinancial Officers

Professional Business Officers/ConsultantsSupervisors, Recording, Distributing and Scheduling Occupations

Administrative RolesLegal Secretaries

Civil EngineersMechanical Engineers

Industrial EngineersIT and Computer Related Occupations

Chemical EngineersInspectors in Public Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety

PharmacistsOccupational Therapists

Registered NursesLicensed Practical Nurses

Ambulance Attendants and Other Paramedical OccupationsLawyers

Legal PositionsCollege and Other Vocational Instructors

Secondary and Elementary School Teachers/CounsellorsECE and Other Instructors

Social Service Workers/CounsellorsGraphic Designers

Program Leaders and Instructors in Recreation, Sport and FitnessSupervisors

Real Estate WorkersCherfs, Cooks and Bakers

Butchers, Meat Cutters and FishmongersPolice Officers

Hair StylistsElectrical and Telecommunications Staff

Machinists and Tooling InspectorsPlumbers

WeldersCarpentersMillwrightsMechanics

Motor Vehicle Body RepairsFarmers and Farm Managers

Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing UtilitiesSupervisors, Other Products Manufacturing and Assembly

17 3 9 12 2 20 3 5 11 02 23 2 10 73 01 04 12 0 28 17 14 153 2 4 0 7 6 8 0 6 0 12 6 26 16 4 1 56 0

6 5 5 1 23 211 0 11 0 13 0 5 22 2 5 4 5 11 11 2 9 4 25 14 4 0 16 162 02 1

Employers in Northumberland County expect a steady hiring climate, with up

to 559 skilled occupations projected over the next 18 months. Nearly 60% of those jobs are full time, according to a survey titled, “Where the Jobs will be in Northum-berland 2013-2015 Guide Book.”

WHERE THE JOBS WILL BE IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY2013-2015JOBSFORECAST

Theguidebookwill:n assist youth to make informed career decisionsn identify potential challenges in future labour-market demandn provide support for attracting new Canadians to Northumberland County

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

In Ontario, the Ministry of Finance projects the labour shortage to reach an estimated high of 1.8 million by 2031. If it goes unchecked, On-tario may face a future with a large numbers of unskilled workers looking for jobs that require skills they do not possess, and a large number of jobs that will go unfilled.

BACKGROUNDn Over 1,000 employers

were surveyed over a four-month period

(November 2012 to March 2013)

n Employers were asked to provide em-ployment projections

for the next 18 months on selected skilled occupations

trends including an aging workforce.” She added: “Immigrants will help smaller cities, counties, villages, towns and rural Canada to survive. They bring cultural vitality. They bring ideas and energy. They take risks. They help businesses deal with shortages of staff. They can provide professional services. They can start new businesses and create jobs as entrepreneurs.

“Attracting immigrants is one thing. Keeping and integrat-ing them takes more persistent effort, as every community, big and small, in Ontario trying to attract newcomers can attest.”

Established in 2006, the Office of the Fairness Commis-

sioner, which is an independent agency, works with On-tario’s 40-plus regulated professions and compulsory trades to remove systemic barriers so that people are able to put their professional skills and experience to work, regardless of where they were educated.

“At the OFC we continue our efforts at institutional change. Together we can create communities where new-comers are welcomed, and diversity is valued and inclusion respected,” said Ms. Augustine, the keynote speaker at the forum, which was attended by 50 participants, representing 24 community agencies and organizations.

Immigrants account for 13% and 10%, respectively, of the populations in Cobourg and Port Hope. Their combined


COVER STORY

2011 population of nearly 35,000 represents more than 40% of the entire population of Northumberland County.

David Wood, who leads the highly successful Municipal Immigration Information Online, or MIIO, program of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration in Ontario, spoke about the role of the municipalities in the success of immigrants in the province – a recent policy shift, he said. MIIO funds municipal governments to develop immigra-tion websites, with the funding support coming from the federal government.

The shift, Mr. Wood said, proceeds from the theory that municipalities are in a better position to create innovative, unique, individual and “whole of community” solutions to local needs. “Who knows the local labour-market and indus-tries better than the municipalities themselves?” he added.

With the tendency of immigrants to gravitate to large urban areas, coupled with demographic shifts caused by low birth rates and an aging working population, Mr. Wood said, mu-nicipalities need people more than ever. “Smaller communi-ties need to find ways to attract new people – it has become a real imperative,” he said.

“The key to MIIO’s success has always been the innovation and creativity of its municipal partners. Moving forward, we

recognize the importance of continuing to provide munici-palities with the flexibility to provide creative outcomes.”

Bonnie Mah, policy and communications officer of Maytree Foundation, who provided an international perspective on the role of municipal governments in immigrant integration, said: “Immigration is not a problem to be solved. Immigra-tion used to be something that just happened. Now there’s a recognition that we are competing for these high-skilled im-migrants, and we need to create welcoming communities.”

EXPERIENCESThree newcomers, who spoke at the forum – organized by the county and United Way Northumberland – and provid-ed stories of settlement and integration, do find Northum-berland County residents friendly and welcoming.

Lorena Arimon, an environmental scientist from Spain, who came to Canada in June 2011 to join her husband, said, “my personal experience with the people in Northumber-land County is great; they are very friendly,” adding that their new-found friends have eased their burden somewhat at a time when they encountered quite an unpleasant experi-ence with the Canadian government’s bureaucratic system.

They were thrown into a difficult period when her Austrian husband was left jobless after an American company bought

FROM LEFT: Fairness Commissioner Jean Augustine, David Wood from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, and Bonnie Mah from Maytree Foundation

IMMIGRATIONFORUMSPEAKERS

“IMMIGRANTS WILLHELP RURAL CANADATO SURVIVE”

“COMMUNITIES NEEDTO FIND WAYS TO ATTRACT NEW PEOPLE”

“IMMIGRATION ISNOT A PROBLEMTO BE SOLVED”

Northumberland County’s newcomer and immigrant community is being served by the New Canadians

Centre-Peterborough, which opened a satellite office in Cobourg in 2008. NCC provides services related to im-migration, settlement, language training, employment and job search. NCC-Cobourg runs the Migrant Farm Workers Proj-ect, which helps to ensure that migrant workers have increased access to health and other social-support ser-vices. The project, which receives funding from United Way Northumberland, also addresses issues of isolation, transportation, language and awareness in order to help build a welcoming community.

The county receives about 300 migrant farm workers

each year. Fifty percent of them come from the Carib-bean and Mexico. They come and stay for up to eight months to work through the Seasonal Agricultural Work-ers Program, which is designed to ease the labour short-age in the Canadian agriculture sector.

NCC-Cobourg also arranges dinners for the migrant workers at the start and end of the farming season and acts as a conduit in receiving and distributing goods provided by community donors for them.

In partnership with Horizons of Friendship, it organized a series of “Building a Welcoming Community” work-shops, which allow newcomers to network with long-time residents in Northumberland County. NCC-Cobourg also hosts once-a-month meetings of immigrant women. n

NCC-Cobourg keeps the welcoming spirit alive


COVER STORY

up his German employer – the same company that sent him to Canada in 2008 to open a subsidiary for North America.

The buyout, which happened a month after Ms. Arimon ar-rived in Canada, derailed her work-permit application. They stuck it out though. At the time, the option to leave Canada did not make sense to them: her husband had just started his own renewable-energy business.

The road that would get her back on track was long and full of bumps. “I felt so lost,” she said of the many months of waiting before their applications for a work permit, permanent residency and government health-insurance coverage cleared all the hurdles. “Sometimes, it seems as though my passport is not enough to validate my signature. We went through a lot of challenges and frustrations,” she said, citing her husband’s experience of writing an English-proficiency test twice. The Toronto school where he first had the exam was supposedly allowed to administer tests only for skilled workers – only to find out later the tests were exactly the same.

“Here I was trying to integrate, and I faced a lot of frustra-

tions. But my frustrations are with the system, not with the people. I told my husband that when we go back to Europe, we need to go back to normal life, where the people are not that friendly,” Ms. Arimon said.

Patricia Orantes, a lawyer from El Salvador, had her share of frustrations too. “You go through a lot of challenges when you start a new life in Canada,” said Ms. Orantes, who came to Canada in October 2009 to marry her Canadian husband.

“I really wanted to go back to the legal field – maybe it’s in my blood, maybe because I have studied so much,” she said. “My legal background does not count much in Canada because we have a different legal system in El Salvador. I have to go back to school to be a lawyer in Canada. Al-though I said in the past that I will not go back to school, I might actually do that sometime in the future.”

Her job search had been particularly challenging, she said. “I wanted to start at the bottom, but the problem is I was often found overqualified for the positions I applied for,” Ms. Orantes said. She was declined even for a chance to volunteer

Many countries around the world look to Canada as a leader in immigration and immigrant integration –

and for good reason. Below are a few case studies of how Canadian cities and municipalities build welcoming com-munities in the most innovative of ways.

“Why do municipalities matter?” asked David Wood, the point man of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigra-tion’s multi-awarded Municipal Immigration Information Online, in a recent immigration forum in Northumberland County in which he was one of the speakers.

“Municipalities matter because they understand what aspects of their community are unique and what program models will or will not work,” he said.

Here are some good ideas about what local governments can do to build inclusive communities and accelerate the integration of newcomers.

CONNECTOR PROGRAMHalifax Regional Municipality

THE CHALLENGE: A lack of local connections for new-comers when looking for work

THE SOLUTION: The Halifax Regional Municipality start-ed the Connector Program, designed to help newcomers build a professional network and find work in their field by connecting them with business leaders and established members of the community. Connectors meet one-on-one with newcomers, discuss their organization and industry, and refer them to three other contacts in their network. The program, delivered by the city’s lead economic devel-

opment organization, the Greater Halifax Partnership, pro-vides a simple solution: as the professional network of the newcomer grows, the potential talent pool – consisting of skilled, employment-ready newcomers – for the Connec-tor also expands. With the Connector Program, Halifax is hoping to establish itself as a welcoming city and a destina-tion of choice for talent.

THE RESULT: The Connector Program taps into the power of relationships. More than 500 Connectors, repre-senting more than 300 organizations – including all three levels of government – have participated, working with 428 international students and newcomers. As a result, 177 new immigrants have found jobs. Even though the program is relatively young, past participants have already become Connectors, helping other newcomers establish themselves in Halifax. The program is being replicated in 14 other Canadian cities.

DIVERSE LEADERSHIPRichmond Hill

THE CHALLENGE: Embracing diversity in board gover-nance by recruiting board members from diverse back-grounds

THE SOLUTION: The town of Richmond Hill north of Toronto partnered with DiverseCity onBoard, or DoB, which was created by Maytree Foundation in 2005 to bridge the growing gap between the diversity of Toronto’s population and its leaders. The DoB program identifies qualified pre-screened candidates from visible minorities and immigrant communities for professional appointments on the governance bodies of public agencies, boards, com-

GOOD IDEAS MAKE BETTER COMMUNITIES


COVER STORY

missions, committees and voluntary organizations.

THE RESULT: Visible minorities, which make up 50% of Richmond Hill’s population, now account for 22% of the membership of all citizen committees in the town.

LIBRARY SETTLEMENT PARTNERSHIPToronto Public Library

THE CHALLENGE: Building an itinerant service model and reaching out to new immigrants with settlement ser-vices where they are

THE SOLUTION: In 2007, the Toronto Public Library, the world’s busiest urban public library system with 1.3 million cardholders and a collection of 11 million items, launched as a pilot project the Library Settlement Partnership (LSP) program, which places settlement workers in public librar-ies. Settlement workers provide multilingual one-on-one information and referral services as well as group informa-tion sessions to new immigrants. They provide informa-tion on a range of topics, including:

n how to get provincial health insurance and driver’s licences

n how to register children in schooln where to find job-search help and programs

Settlement workers can also connect new immigrants to li-brary staff for assistance with library programs and special services, such as the Toronto Public Library’s Business De-velopment Centre or income tax clinic. Funded by Citizen-ship and Immigration Canada, the LSP program builds on the itinerant service model demonstrated by the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program, which reaches out to immigrant parents through their children’s schools. Both programs are founded on the principle of delivering settle-

ment services where immigrants already are, rather than forcing immigrants to seek out those services.

THE RESULT: The LSP program has been expanded to include 11 public library systems in the province of Ontario – including Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Ot-tawa, Waterloo, Windsor, and four systems in the Greater Toronto Area. Also, the itinerant model demonstrated by SWIS and LSP has been applied in other municipal institu-tions. In 2011, the City of Toronto piloted a program to place settlement workers from local agencies in city facili-ties, such as recreation centres, children’s services centres, public health clinics and city-run shelters.

FOREIGN CREDENTIAL PROCESS GUIDERegional Municipality of York

THE CHALLENGE: Recognition of foreign credentials and experience

THE SOLUTION: To support its goal of developing a workforce that reflects the community it serves, the Re-gional Municipality of York developed its Foreign Creden-tials Evaluation Process Guide to ensure consistency in its hiring practices among both Canadian and internationally-trained candidates. Forty-three percent of York’s popula-tion is foreign-born. The guide is a reliable and innovative evaluation tool designed to promote an effective hiring process that leads to hiring decisions based on merit and does not exclude diverse candidates.

THE RESULT: Recruiting skilled immigrants has become part of the new normal for employers in the York Region. Twenty-seven percent of the region’s workforce now con-sists of immigrants. n

The case studies are condensed from the Cities of Migration project.

at law firms because “well, they did not know me.”

A prolonged period without a job “was very hard for me,” she said. “I feel like I did not exist – no health insurance, no job and no income.” For a time, she worked for the store of her father-in-law.

She is currently applying for permanent residency, a process that dragged on unnecessarily. For some unknown reason, she was told to get a medical examination for a third time, giving rise to suspicion that perhaps somebody lost her previous medical records.

Nicholas Cartlidge, who came to Canada in 2009 from the UK to marry his Canadian wife, decided to start his own business and be his own boss when his attempts to build a career did not quite work out.

“I figured that in order for me to get integrated into the Cana-dian society, I needed to get a job – it doesn’t matter what kind of job it was, just any job; it helps to pay the bills and allows me to meet people,” he said, adding that “it put a lot of strain

on the relationship when only one is out working, while the other may be wanting to start a career but couldn’t.”

Mr. Cartlidge came on a visa that allowed him to stay in Canada for two years and work for one. He was put out of work for about six months when his visa expired. “When you are out of work for so long, the person looking at your job application will have a lot of questions for you, and you then have to explain your story,” he said.

In March 2013, he founded Bryn Lake Distributors Inc., a distributor of specialty raw materials for application in the manufacture of paints, adhesives, sealants, plastics and rub-ber compounds.

Asked how did he find establishing a business in the county, his reply was “surprisingly easy,” adding that one meeting leads to another, which also leads him to programs and resources for start-up businesses.

LIBRARYSpeaking of resources, Northumberland County has funded


the expansion of materi-als at the Cobourg Public Library for newcomers. On June 27, 2013, the library launched its English as a Second Language and mul-tilingual collections, which consist of books and DVDs in a number of languages other than English.

“We will continue to col-laborate with the county to ensure newcomers to the community are being well served,” said Charmaine Lindsay, the library’s CEO.

With a large collection of adult and children’s materi-als in French, the library has also increased its collection of German and Dutch ma-terials, which are historically the non-English or non-French languages with the largest number of speakers in the county.

Among the recent im-migrants in the country, however, the common first languages are Tagalog, Farsi, Hindi, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Persian and Tamil, according to a research made by the library and the New Canadians Centre.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Borowec said he understood the role of public libraries in the lives of newcomers, re-calling that his father had two suitcases full of books when he came to Canada in 1947.

Patricio Allendes, an inter-national MA student from Chile who studies at the University of Toronto and lives in Cobourg, describes the library as “my second home,” while flashing the li-brary cards he had obtained for himself, his wife and young son.

Soon, he said, he will apply for a fourth one as his wife is on the family way – surely, a welcome addition to Nor-thumberland County. n

COVER STORY


FEATURE EDUCATION

I and my university friends have been fortunate to

land summer jobs. I have been accepted for a job at a New York-based inter-national bank. I thought it might be useful to share a few things we did to snag our summer jobs.

NETWORKWe rely on our professional network for information and recommendation during recruiting season. In reality, most students either don’t do enough of networking or start far too late for the opportunity at hand.

Strong relationships are rarely built overnight. Networking is time- and energy-consuming, but it is worth the effort. Not only does it foster confidence, it also teaches us to be patient and tenacious. Attending city conferences, talking to firm representatives at job fairs, and associating with professionals are a few good starting points.

In my personal experience, I reached out to firms in the

United States for opportuni-ties. I had a strong refer-ence at one firm, so I went through rounds of inter-views before finally securing an analyst position.

HAVE A PLAN Although life changes its course all the time, it’s still good to have a plan. Com-mit to your plan and execute it faithfully; at the same time, be flexible as needed. Each professional field has specific requirements and expectations for entry-level candidates. We narrowed down our list of choices and zeroed in on a couple of industries, believing that we have a higher chance of getting a job if we prepare with a focus.

We tap into resources avail-able at school – for instance, alumni network and past interns. Make it also a point to know your industry fairly well. A few good industry resources would help. The point is: you need to be a self-starter, particularly if you are aiming at a highly

SUMMER-JOB HUNT

By CHEN RAO

With the global economy in slow recovery and industries announcing hiring freezes, university students like me are in an awk-ward position when it comes to summer employment. For one, we lack real-world work experience. So what can we do to stand out in the eyes of hiring managers?

competitive field such as the finance industry. Many schools have a career-management office that conducts résumé and cover-letter workshops.

Ultimately, however, the onus is on us to learn and grow. We went through mock interviews, a real confidence booster. We also familiarize ourselves with such industry tools as the Stock Simulator and the Bloomberg Terminal. If not, we might be forced to start our job-search process at a lower level than other candidates.

My family’s background is in academic science, so I needed to independently

seek out resources to fur-ther my understanding of the finance industry.

BE POSITIVEThe intensity of some job fairs can easily exert stress on candidates, so it’s important to stay positive – regardless of how your summer-job hunt goes. You are hopefully ready by the time the next recruitment season comes around.

You have done everything to help you become mature and professional. n

CHEN RAO is a Peterborough resident and a graduate from Ken-ner Collegiate’s IB program. She is currently a fourth-year student at Richard Ivey Business School, West-ern University.

CHEN

RAO


ADVERTORIAL PETERBOROUGH’S IMMIGRATION PORTAL

Then she met Judi Hendry. An initiative of the New Canadians

Centre (NCC), called Community Connections Program, brought the two together. The program exists to support newcomers with free services, including language learning, as they seek to know more about their new home and integrate into the Peterbor-ough community.

“During our time together we have discovered we have far more in com-mon than we imagined,” said Ms. Hendry, a volunteer English tutor at the NCC, of Ms. Haji-Kazemi. “We both share hopes for our children and struggles around parenting, concern for ageing parents, a desire to contrib-ute to our community and definitely a love of laughter. I look forward to our weekly meeting and the friendship that has evolved between us, helping her gain confidence in her new language. We both are proud to live, work and

raise our families in Peterborough, the community we call home.”

Their story has been one of the testi-monials published at Peterborough’s immigration web portal, a trove of information intended for would-be immigrants or those who have recently arrived and may be looking at Peter-borough to relocate.

The portal includes a story gallery, which features immigrants who have made Peterborough their new home. Recently, the gallery has been expand-ed to include experiences of people who have benefitted from community programs designed to support new-comers to Peterborough.

STUDENTSCarol Anne Wicks and her husband, Chris, have been hosting Peterbor-ough’s international students as a host family with the Canada Homestay Network, which helps international students find a home away from home in Canada. In more than two decades, they have received well over 60 inter-national students from all over the globe into their home.

Some students have stayed at the Wicks home from as short as two days to as

A CITY BUILDS A HOME WEB PORTALSECTIONS

IMMIGRATING: For help with im-migrating to Peterborough, includ-ing what to do before arriving and resources to assist you with informa-tion after you arrive

ABOUT PETERBOROUGH: Informa-tion about the history of immigra-tion to Peterborough, local weather and geography

LIVING: Everything you need to know about housing, food, finance, health, transportation, and much more

WORKING: Information about find-ing a job, starting a business, and getting your credentials validated

LEARNING: Information about Peterborough’s college, university, school boards, and opportunities for life-long learning

Visit www.welcomepeterborough.ca.

long as a whole school year or two, with the longest stay being five years.

“We never grow weary of hearing or learning about the different cultures that each student brings from their country of origin. Their unique traits and personalities make each homestay a very enjoyable experience for our family,” Ms. Wicks said.

Fusang Cai, a Trent University student from China, said her homestay experi-ence has helped her to get to know Canada and its culture as well as to start a new life in Peterborough. “I re-ally enjoyed the experience,” she said.

Ayaka Takeda, a student from Ja-pan, said by living with a host family, “students can improve their English-speaking skills.”

Through the testimonials, the portal is showcasing the many programs existing in Peterborough to support newcomers as they integrate into the community, learn or practice English, discover the Canadian culture, and experience life living with a Canadian host family. n

When she first came to Canada from Afghanistan, Banaf-sha Haji-Kazemi acknowledged feeling lonely, while say-ing “life was very hard for me.” She has one big challenge to hurdle: she did not speak a word of English.

Judy Hendry, right, and Banafsha Haji-Kazemi

WE BOTH ARE PROUDTO LIVE, WORK

AND RAISE OUR FAMILIES IN PETERBOROUGH,

THE COMMUNITY WECALL HOME


ADVERTORIAL FLEMING COLLEGE

By FOREST LI

FOREST LI is a certified income-tax consultant.

COLUMN TAX CORNER

WITB: WHAT IS IT?Low-income individual and families who are employed

or engaged in business have a tax credit provided for them. The working income tax benefit (WITB) is intend-ed for low-income earners; it is also meant to encourage people to enter the workforce.

You can claim the WITB on line 453 of your 2012 in-come tax and benefit return.

WITB applicants must be:

n 19 years of age or older on December 31st; and

n residents of Canada for income tax purposes throughout the year.

For single individuals without children in Ontario, the annual maximum amount of WITB is $989, if working income is between $6,956 and $11,231 for 2013. The WITB payment is gradually reduced when net income is more than $11,231. No WITB is paid when net income exceeds $17,824.

For families, the annual maximum amount of WITB is $1,797 in Ontario, if the family’s working income is be-tween $10,188 and $15,509 for 2013. The WITB payment is gradually reduced when family net income is more than $15,509. The WITB payment is reduced to zero once family net income exceeds $27,489.

The WITB payments are generally issued on the fifth day of each quarter. However, eligible individuals and families may be able to apply for advance payments for 2013 or 2014 in the future.

If your payment does not arrive on the due date, please wait 10 working days then call CRA at 1-800-959-8281.You may also call Wensten Accounting at (705) 749-9288 if you need more information. n

Trades students, as well as those already work-

ing in the field, will soon be able to train or further develop their skills in a brand-new, $36.6 million trades and technology skills training facility at Flem-ing College. The Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre (KTTC) is sched-uled to open for classes in the fall of 2014, and visitors to the Sutherland campus in Peterborough can already see that con-struction is underway.

“The KTTC will be a regional hub for trades and technology education,” said Fleming College president Dr. Tony Tilly. “We are thrilled to create this vital resource for skilled trades

students in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.”

Once complete, the 87,000-square-foot struc-ture will be used to teach and train students from Fleming College, and regional secondary schools and regional industry. It will provide much-needed space and equipment for training in areas such as carpentry, welding, plumbing, HRAC (Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning), and electrical. The KTTC will feature state-of-the-art, sustainable shop facilities, smart-wired classrooms, and labs with the newest technology; offering stu-dents access to a full suite of services and supports, and a vibrant campus life.

Fleming’s KTTC features state-of-the-art facilities

Construction progresses on Fleming College’s Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre

A 40-metre tall crane was added to the construction site in November 2012, providing the ability to lift up to 35,300 pounds. Footings, formwork, stairwells and all other major infrastructure components have been start-ed. And, in addition to build-ing the KTTC, construction on a storm management pond is also in progress.

The storm management pond will service storm water drainage for the Sutherland campus. The pond will filter all storm water for Fleming College, and will prevent erosion in downstream waterways. It will also capture sediment on-site and prevent it from entering nearby streams and creeks. n


NEW CANADIANS CENTRE AGMOn May 30, 2013, the New Canadians Centre gave an

account of its accomplishments during the past year as well as acknowledged the support of its volunteers and community partners during its annual general meeting, which was held at the Market Hall. New board members were also elected. Dinner and dance followed the business meeting.

BULLETINnewcomer


Unit LL5, 311 George Street NorthPeterborough, ON K9J 3H3Phone: (705) 772-7172E-mail: [email protected]

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To subscribe by e-mail, write to [email protected].

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Jason Stabler

Part of the audience

Mary Ladky New Canadians Centre staff

Gabriela Revak, Liliana Perez and Carolina Orduz

Lydia Rybenko and John Hassan of Port Hope Community Health Centre

NCC-CobourgVolunteer of the Year Shirley Duncan

Safo Musta and NCC-Peterborough Volunteer of the Year Michael Fazackerley

Tamara Hoogerdyk and YMCA representatives Happy Mireault, Kelly Wilson and Heather Stephens


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PORTAL LAUNCH

ESL COLLECTION LAUNCHOn June 27, 2013, the Cobourg Public

Library launched its English as a Second Language and multilingual collec-tion. The ESL and multilingual collection is intended to help newcomers with infor-mation on settlement issues. The library

has received funding from Northum-berland County for the ESL collection. The most common first languages of newcomers to the county include Tagalog, Farsi, Hindi, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Persian and Tamil.

CPL CEO Charmaine Lindsay

Warden Hector Macmillan

Part of the audienceJuvy Ling, Bernice Hache, Ping Hoskin and Mildred Delfin

Melanie and Neil Horner (UK)Luz Ofela Maya (Colombia) Thelma Dillon (Philippines) Helen Choe (Korea) Cannise Tang (Macau)

Jason Stabler and Martin AdamsonEconomic Development Director Dan Borowec Portal Coordinator Dindin Villarino

Charmaine Lindsay shows the ESL collection

Patricia Fenner, Patricio Allendes, Donna Todd and John Davison

Economic Development Director Dan Borowec

Luz Ofelia Maya, Humberto Velas-quez, Eric Labrecque and Maria Velasquez-Labrecque

Gordon Berry, Jason McCrindle and Elin Bergstrom

Patricio Allendes and Charmaine Lindsay

Monica Machuca, Mary McDonald and Maria Victoria Guevara

On April 26, 2013, Northumberland County launched its immigration portal, www.welcometonorthumberland.ca.

County government representatives, newcomers, long-term im-migrants and members of the portal’s Community Stakeholders Working Committee attended the launch. The portal project is funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration through the Municipal Immigration Information Online program.

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Peterborough’s Canada day celebrations marking Cana-da’s 146th founding anniversary included a Multicultural

Day event at Del Crary Park. Cultural groups, restaurants and caterers sold different ethnic foods from stalls managed by the New Canadians Centre. The Canada Day parade started at noon from the City Hall grounds and ended at the Memorial Centre. Presentations also took place at the park after the parade.

CANADA DAY IN PETERBOROUGH

Peterborough Ukulele Club for Kids

Fleming College students perform Indian dance

Knights of Columbus – 4th Degree

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Pipe Band

The Rogues of Northumberland Band

New Canadians Centre and Peter-borough Immigration Portal

Emcees Rodney Pinto and Malika Séguin-Gervais

Councillor Lesley Parnell

Councillor Dean Pappas, Mayor Daryl Bennett and Warden J. Murray Jones

Part of the crowd at Del Crary Park

Salvation Army Band

Elegantly Stripped

The PyroFlys Beauty of a Woman

Cory RobinsonMPP Jeff Leal Giovanni y sus Amigos

No Casino PeterboroughCanadian flag

Kawartha Komets

Jo Anne’s Place

FLK Taoist Tai Chi

Flag bearers lead the parade

Kawartha Kavaliers Band

Gilmour Memorial Baptist Church

Kawartha Shrine Engineers


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CANADA DAY IN COBOURG

Terry Dillon of the Northumber-land Multicultural Centre Cobourg Centre for Performing

ArtsFilipino Canadians of Northum-berland County

The flag bearers

Group representing an anti-bullying initiative

Immigrants in their national garb

Fellowship Baptist Church

Staff from Ginger Thai Cuisine Premeire Dance Cobourg Ernie, Lorena, Patricia and NoraAe from South Korea

Newcomers contingent Ginger Thai Cuisine and Frank’s Pasta & Grill

Getting ready for the parade

Northumberland’s Lions Club Frank’s Pasta & Grill and the Filipino group

Skeena Sea Cadet Corps Northumberland Probus Club

For the first time in Cobourg, a cross section of Northum-berland County’s immigrant community formed a multi-

ethnic group and participated in the Canada Day parade. The group – consisting of immigrant-owned businesses and newcomers from Colombia, Philippines, Spain, El Salvador, Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, Chile, Thailand, India, South Korea, Bangladesh and Peru – was organized by the Northumber-land Multicultural Centre, New Canadians Centre-Cobourg and Northumberland Immigration Portal.


AUSTRALIANSINCANADAStudentsForeignWorkersPermanentResidents

Q&A FIONA RICHARDS

TIES DOWN UNDERPlease tell us about yourself: where were you originally from and how did you end up living in Durham?I am originally from Aus-tralia. In 2009, I left Aus-tralia to work in the UK. After two years in the UK, I moved to India as the Chief Operating Officer of a group of Australian com-panies that offers services to International Education providers (universities and colleges). After a year in India I knew I wanted a change. I looked online for jobs and came across the position at Durham College.

Tell us about your work at Durham College?I am the Director for International Education at Durham College. This role sees me managing the internationalization portfo-lio of the college – interna-tional student recruitment, identifying opportunities for Canadian students to have an international experience, as well as international part-nerships and development.

What prompted your de-cision to relocate? Do you plan to stay in Canada for good?I moved to Canada essen-tially for the job at Durham College. I had travelled to Canada several times in my previous roles and found that Canadians and Austra-lians share many values and

similarities in culture and lifestyle. My role at Durham College is also a great op-portunity for me to develop professionally. I am currently on a three-year work permit, but I have also applied for permanent residency. I have enjoyed my time, so far, in Canada and have no plans to leave in the near future.

What were some of the challenges you encoun-tered when you first ar-rived in Canada?Driving on the other side of the road! Also, understand-ing the various accommo-dation types. For instance, when I first relocated here, I rented a basement apart-ment. We do not have basements in Australia, so this was a totally new concept for me. Also the winter weather, and the clothing and other equip-ment required to function in this weather were very new concepts for me. Although I had experienced snow while living in the UK, the Cana-dian winter is different.

What did you wish you had known before coming to Canada?

There was some paperwork that I needed, like extra doc-uments for changing over my driver’s license, which I did not know I would need. Having to order these from the authorities in Australia took a long time and de-layed my settlement here.

What tips would you like to share with other newcomers to Durham to speed their integration? Join groups or clubs outside of your workplace to help you meet people in the local community. One of the most helpful things I did when I arrived was join the Brooklin Run Club. This group has enabled me to meet people and find a sense of belonging in the community. Now I am training with the group for a 26-kilometre trail race in September – something I could never have imagined myself doing. Without the group, I also wouldn’t be able to get out of bed at 6am on Sunday morn-ings for training sessions! Overall, Canadians are very friendly. Don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone to meet new people. n

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

781 628 559 589 560 568 491 461 466 374

6,010 6,384 7,738 7,828 8,499 8,939 12,438 10,191 10,532 9,019

957 1,040 1,021 1,042 949 1,097 1,097 1,199 1,132 979

Fiona Richards


My name is Erika Mazza, 33. I am originally from Ven-ezuela. My husband and I relocated to Canada seven years ago. I have an engineering degree, but English is a challenge for me. So, I took LINC (Language In-struction for Newcomers in Canada) and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes immediately after ar-riving in Welland, Ontario, where we first settled.

I continued with my LINC classes after we moved to Pick-ering two months later. I started Level 4 of LINC at the

Durham Continuing Education.

Through the years I witnessed the growth of my school – from a little unit with only two classrooms and a small child-care area to an amazing facility, with many class-rooms, a mod-ern computer lab, lunch room, and a beautiful childcare area. The school staff and students be-came my family.

With a bit of hard work, my English im-proved from Level 4 to Level 8 – thanks, in part, to the dedi-

cated teachers. I enrolled in the ELT (Enhanced Language Training) program once I reached the required level of lan-guage proficiency, even when that meant leaving my school in Pickering. I was a bit sad to leave my family in Pickering and start over in Oshawa. But after a week in Oshawa I realized that I did not actually lose a family; rather, I gained another one.

As part of the ELT program, I was entitled to eight weeks of job placement in a company to experience the Canadian work environment. The placement coordinator placed me in one of the water pollution control plants in the Durham region.

I was not hired immediately after my placement, but I gained professional references and professional engineer-ing contacts. I now work full time in the public sector as an engineering technician.

I am really thankful to everyone who has been part of my little journey. n

PROFILE ERIKA MAZZA

Erika Mazza

SAY WHAT? SPEAK ENGLISH


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Be part of a culturally sensitive and diverse Trent International Program. We value the knowledge and perspective you bring. Upgrade your language skills to match the demand of your new work environment and the rigors of university study. Exciting new programs at Trent include: ■ Archaeology ■ Bachelor of Arts & Science ■ Journalism ■ Media Studies ■ Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems ■ New Bachelor of Business Administration at our Oshawa Campus and more than 60 existing degrees and specializations.

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Documents

Newcomer Bulletin Summer 2013