Pathways to Prosperity: Canada

Wednesday October 30, 2019

Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto

Achievements of the LIPs and RIFs – (Download Booklet)

9:00 AM to 9:15 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Masters of Ceremonies: Sandra Lee, Manager, Local Immigration Partnership at County of Simcoe, and
• Jacinthe Lemire, Owner, Solutions Eurêka experts-conseils
• Welcome from Pathways to Prosperity Partnership: Jean McRae, Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership

9:15 AM to 10:35 AM

Session 1 — Working Together, Collaboration, and Joint Projects at the Local, Regional, and National Level

Chair: Roberto Montiel, Coordinator, Halifax Local Immigration Partnership

This session will focus on strategies for working together among and across immigration partnerships, and how best to come together to engage in joint projects at the local, regional, and national level. This will include a discussion of how LIPs within a region have come together to share information and conduct joint projects, how LIPs have shared resources with one another to optimize impact, and the details of the proposal for a national LIP secretariat. Discussion will focus on how to optimize sharing and collaboration to learn from each other and join forces for increased impact.

• LIP Collaboration across the Golden Horseshoe (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Rodel Imbarlina-Ramos, Director, Peel Newcomer Strategy Group

• Collaborating in Research – Waterloo Region “Immigration Matters” Survey of Immigrants (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Dan Vandebelt, Community Engagement Coordinator, Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership

• National LIP Secretariat – A New Approach to Inter-LIP Collaboration and Learning (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Doug Olthof, Coordinator, Jasper Immigration Coalition, and Paulina Wyrzykowski, Director, Toronto South Local Immigration Partnership

11:00 AM to 12:20 PM

Session 2 — Innovating to Support Francophone Immigrant Youth

Chair: Yamie Tremblay, Immigration Coordinator, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA)

The face of Francophonie has diversified tremendously in the last few decades. French-speaking young immigrants bring vitality and ethno-cultural diversity that nurture Francophone communities throughout Canada. Developing innovative strategies to enhance the integration and inclusion of these youth is one of the priorities of the Réseaux en immigration francophone (RIF). This session will present different initiatives implemented by the RIF and their partners to answer the needs of these young people.

• What I Am Bringing Here (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Marie Galophe, Coordinator, Réseau en immigration francophone de la Saskatchewan (RIF – SK)

• Adoptive Grandparents for Immigrant Youth (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Salwa Meddri, Coordinator, Réseau en immigration francophone du Manitoba (RIF – MB)

• Immigrant Youth Self-Esteem in Schools (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Jean-Claude N’da, Project Officer, Réseau de soutien à l’immigration francophone du Centre-Sud-Ouest de l’Ontario (RIF – CSO)

• Cultural Mediation as an Innovative Vehicle for Integration (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Véronic Thériault, Coordinator, Réseau en immigration francophone du Nouveau-Brunswick (RIF – NB)

1:30 PM to 2:50 PM

Session 3 — Promoting Engagement and Participation among Council and Committee Members

Chair: Mike Scott, Coordinator, Timmins Local Immigration Partnership

After the initial few years of a new partnership, immigration partnerships must deal with how to maintain engagement and participation among council and committee members in order to sustain momentum. The refrain is often heard that everyone is busy with competing demands on their time. Thus, the immigration partnerships must ensure that they utilize all strategies possible to support continuing participation, and that their activities remain meaningful and relevant to those they wish to engage. In this session we will discuss strategies for promoting continuing engagement and participation in order to ensure that immigration partnerships can achieve their goals.

• The Unique Dynamics of Regional Local Immigration Partnerships (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Steve Reynolds, Executive Director, Regional Connections, and Elaine Burton Saindon, Coordinator, Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership

• When Immigration is Not a Community Priority: How to Keep LIP Members Engaged in Smaller, Less Diverse Communities (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Annette Sharkey, Executive Director, Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan

• What Works? How the Chatham-Kent LIP Engages its Council Members (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Jason Stubitz, Project Coordinator, Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership

3:15 PM to 4:40 PM

Session 4 — Making the Case for Immigration and Addressing Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Chair: Yvonne Lai, Director of Community Development, Peterborough Immigration Partnership

Promoting more welcoming communities for immigrants is a priority for both LIPs and RIFs, and requires consideration of attitudes toward immigrants and immigration held by established Canadians. Many of the immigration partnerships across the country have been grappling with how to make the case for immigration and address anti-immigrant sentiment within their region. In this session, we will share practical advice on information and strategies that can be used to raise public awareness of the benefits of immigration, work with the media to frame immigration stories, and utilize other strategies to promote more favorable attitudes toward immigrants and immigration.

• Making the Economic Case for Immigration into Smaller Urban and Rural Communities across Canada (Download Presentation) (Video)
  David Campbell, President, Jupia Consultants

• Fighting Bigotry with $ and Businesses (Video)
  Nicholas Keung, Immigration Reporter, The Toronto Star

• What Makes Canadians Care? Empirical Insights on Fostering Positive Intergroup Relations and Creating More Welcoming Communities (Download Presentation) (Video)
  Danielle Gaucher, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba

4:40 PM to 5:00 PM

Closing Remarks

• Victoria Esses, Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership