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Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced funding for a Toronto women's center that will provide settlement and integration services for an estimated 1,100 immigrant's in the local community.
The funding of more than CAD $5.2 million will go towards providing settlement services -- including referrals to community resources, advice and guidance, and employment-related services.
The settlement services administered by the Rexdale Women's Center will mainly be targeted towards helping immigrant women and their families become self-sufficient in Canadian society. A small portion of the funding will go towards providing language training for newcomer children.
The Canadian government is actively encouraging immigration to Canada in an effort to deal with labor shortages and to help offset an aging population. More and more, women are becoming the primary applicants in immigration petitions under programs such as the federal skilled worker category, a points based immigrations scheme similar to programs in the UK and Australia.
"Our Government believes in immigration and is committed to helping newcomers and their families succeed," said Canadian immigration minister Diane Finley. "We are also committed to promoting the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of the country."
"Settlement services give newcomers the help they need to learn one of our official languages, find a job and settle into the community," Finley added."Their successful integration is good for Rexdale and good for Canada."
Fatima Filippi, Executive Director of the Rexdale Women's Centre, said that the local community has been enriched by over 20 years of cultural diversity as a result of immigration.
"The Rexdale Women's Centre is pleased to be working with the Government of Canada to assist immigrants to build a vibrant and healthy community," Filippi said. "Through settlement and language instruction programmes funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, our Centre is able to assist newcomer families to adapt more quickly and to utilize their skills and expertise in building a welcoming and caring community."
