December 15, 2011
Newcomers to North Shore and Squamish to Receive Settlement Services

NORTH VANCOUVER – Newcomers to the North Shore and Squamish will receive enhanced immigrant settlement services to help them settle into their new lives and gain employment through $829,333 in funding for the North Shore Multicultural Society. This funding is part of a $20.3 million annual budget for the Settlement and Integration Program under WelcomeBC.

Why this matters:

• Funding goes towards orientation classes and workshops on a wide variety of topics such as: how to find a job, find a place to live, navigate the local transit system and learn banking basics.
• B.C. continues to be one of Canada’s most popular destinations for new immigrants, welcoming more than 40,000 newcomers each year.
• Services through WelcomeBC are provided to more than 100,000 newcomers in 66 communities across the province, by more than 100 service providers.
• The North Shore Multicultural Society main office is located in North Vancouver, with additional operations in Squamish at the Hotspot Community Resource Centre and Capilano University - Squamish Campus.

Quotes:

"As a proud Canadian of Japanese heritage, I know firsthand the valuable role that immigrants play in making our community more diverse, both socially and economically. This major injection of funding for the North Shore Multicultural Society will allow them to continue doing their valuable work with newcomers to the North Shore.”
- North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Naomi Yamamoto

"WelcomeBC does an outstanding job of enhancing immigrant settlement services across B.C. Programs like these help newcomers to Squamish find places to live, get jobs and become fully contributing members of our community.”
- West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Joan McIntyre

“The North Shore is such a diverse place to live, not just because of our beautiful mountains, rivers and ocean, but because of all the different cultures represented in this beautiful part of Metro Vancouver. This funding is a wise investment in our entire community.”
- North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jane Thornthwaite

“Elizabeth Jones and the team at the North Shore Multicultural Society have a rich history of making our community more vibrant and inclusive. This funding will help them to continue doing their outstanding work.”
- West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Ralph Sultan

Quick Facts:

• WelcomeBC’s award-winning website helps approximately 600,000 clients each year from B.C. and around the world, offers information accessible in several languages and makes it easier for immigrants to access vital information.
• By 2019, it’s expected that there will be over a million job openings in the province, and skilled immigrants will play a vital role in filling many of those positions.

Learn More:

• Watch the newcomers’ videos here: http://www.welcomebc.ca/wbc/immigration/settle/newcomersguide
• Users can mix and match the language the host speaks in with the subtitle: for example viewers can watch the videos in Punjabi with English subtitles.
• Once the host’s language is selected, all the information on the screen will convert automatically.
• Clients can download the video scripts in any of the eleven languages to keep the instructions/lessons close at hand.
• The technical sophistication of these web videos/mobile offering is a first for any jurisdiction in Canada.

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