Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario Local
and Regional Immigration Partnerships
Perspective
Newcomer Settlement Programs One Stop
Shop approach
 A variety of programs and services are offered
through Thunder Bay Multicultural Association
(TBMA) all under one roof so that newcomers
receive the right services at the right times without
having to travel across the city or the region to find
them.
 We have a toll free telephone number, website,
Skype and email access for service to the region as
well as a satellite office in Kenora to serve the
western part of our catchment area.
Local Immigration Partnerships
Our experience and involvement in Ontario.
• Part of the National Working Group on Small Centre
Strategies.
• Member of the Ontario LIP Consultative Committee
• 1st LIP in Ontario
• Thunder Bay is part of the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities and the UNESCO Cities Against Racism
The very first step in our process was to educate the
interested LIP members in anti-racism and anti-oppression
and to make sure we were all on a level playing field.
The last thing you want is to be dealing with racism and
discrimination at a planning table for immigrant inclusion.
The main thing is to keep the main thing,
the main thing!
- Don’t get derailed.
The main goal of our LIPs is to improve outcomes
for newcomers and create welcoming communities
for all.
The 17 Characteristics of a Welcoming community
do not necessarily apply to all communities, nor
are they what smaller communities need to focus
on.
What are the characteristics of a welcoming community?
Esses et al. (2010) identifies the following 17 characteristics for a
welcoming community.
1. Employment Opportunities
2. Fostering of Social Capital
3. Affordable and Suitable Housing
4. Positive Attitudes Toward Immigrants, Cultural Diversity, and the
Presence of Newcomers in the Community
5. Presence of Newcomer-Serving Agencies that Can Successfully Meet the
Needs of Newcomers
6. Links Between Main Actors Working toward Welcoming Communities
7. Municipal Features and Services Sensitive to the Presence and Needs of
Newcomers
8. Educational Opportunities
9. Accessible and Suitable Healthcare
10. Available and Accessible Public Transit
11. Presence of Diverse Religious Organizations
12. Social Engagement Opportunities
13. Political Participation Opportunities
14. Positive Relationships with the Police and the Justice System
15. Safety
16. Opportunities for Use of Public Space and Recreation Facilities
17. Favorable Media Coverage and Representation
•A welcoming community:
–has a strong desire to receive newcomers and to create an environment in which they will
feel at home;
–ensures newcomers are able to participate fully in all aspects of community life;
–ensures newcomers have access to a full range of services and programs and can find
meaningful employment opportunities.
National Working Group on Small Centre Strategies (2007). A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres.
•A welcoming community can have a spatial and a discourse dimension:
–Spatial dimension: a physical location in Canada – a town, city or region – in which
newcomers feel valued and their needs are served
–Discourse dimension: a community having agency and engaging in actions that facilitate the
integration of newcomers
•It spurs from a collective effort to create a place where individuals feel valued and included
•It is a location that has the capacity to meet the needs and promote inclusion of newcomers, and
the machinery in place to produce and support these capacities; includes both outcomes and
processes that work toward producing and maintaining these outcomes
Esses et al. (2010). Characteristics of a Welcoming Community.
LIPs are steered by broad-based
coordinating councils tasked with
overall stewardship and
management control over initiatives
such as needs assessments and asset
mapping of their community.
Working Groups or Sector Tables
focus on particular sectors of
interest or need in the community.
Common themes include
employment, language training,
social inclusion, settlement, health
or youth.
Some LIPs have created Action
Teams to work on specific
projects emerging from a
Working Group. These teams
are most relevant at the
implementation phase.
LIP Coordinator
Some LIPs have created Steering or
Executive Committees to support
them in this work.
LIP
Council
Executive
Committee
Welcoming
Research
Attraction
and
Retention
Settlement
and
services
Portal, antiracism
committees
Our Local and Regional
Immigration Partnerships
 Thunder Bay developed a local immigration
partnership council to plan in the areas of recruitment,
attraction, settlement, newcomer service provision,
retention and welcoming of newcomers to the city.
 With only one settlement agency as the hub of the
region and a one-stop-shop in Thunder Bay there was
no need to focus on coordination of services or
avoiding duplication. We moved on to welcoming,
integration, awareness and nation building.
Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario
Immigration Partnerships
 Thunder Bay LIP started in 2008 from an already
existing immigration committee of TBMA, the city and
the North Superior Workforce Planning Board.
 Northwestern Ontario IP began in 2011 with an
expansion and separation from the Thunder Bay LIP.
Due to a different structure, mandate and more
regional group, the Northwestern Ontario
Immigration Partnership meets and plans separately.
 The two were merged for funding purposes in 2012 but
remain separate in meeting and planning.
LIP members include Thunder Bay Multicultural
Association who holds the funding agreement, training
board, employers and the City of Thunder Bay.
Who else is at the table?
Libraries, housing, Health Unit and clinics, Hospital,
Workforce Planning Board, Business, School Boards,
Employment agencies, Ethnocultural organizations, Multifaith groups, University and College, Banking, Adult
Education, Settlement services, social services, Refugee
Sponsorship groups, City Council members, municipal
economic development officers, Francophone
organizations, Employers, Immigrant business owners,
M.P. and M.P.P. office staff, Newcomers, Police, Longterm care, youth centre, and many others.
Steps in the LIPs process
5. Implement the action
plan annually
4. Develop an annual action plan to
address local priorities
3. Conduct research and establish a local settlement
strategy to be implemented over three years
2. Create terms of reference for
the partnership council
1. Establish a partnership
council
Assess progress and measure outcomes
14
•
Annual immigration forum meeting with all
partners combined with a learning day.
• Community welcoming strategies to engage the
entire city around newcomer welcoming.
• Employer engagement and training.
• Promotion and visibility of services combined
with networking and seamless service plans.
Key expected results of the LIPs
Newcomers’
needs identified
Community
assets and gaps
mapped
Relevant
strategy and
action plans
developed on
the basis of
newcomers
needs and
the assets
and gaps
mapping
Services
coordinated at
the community
level
Adapted
programming
and service
delivery by nonsettlement
institutions
Improved
accessibility
of
newcomers
to services
and
enhanced
uptake
LIPs secured resources
from diverse sources
Feed into Settlement Program outcomes
Partnership
allows for crosssector
collaboration
Partners have
the tools to
become more
welcoming
Newcomers find employment
commensurate with their skills
and experience
(from Settlement Program Logic Model)
Partnership
council allows
for meaningful
engagement of
a diversity of
members
Newcomers enjoy their rights
and act on their
responsibilities in Canadian
society
Canadians provide a
welcoming community to
facilitate the full participation
of newcomers
Newcomers contribute to the
economic, social and cultural
development needs ofCanada
Sustaining partnerships at the
community level
1-2 years
3-5 years
5+ years
Build capacity
Effect community change
Improve outcomes for
newcomers
Immediate outcomes
Intermediate outcomes
Ultimate outcomes
16
Background and what we have learned
- Big picture was not considered before and there was no plan. Now everyone
wants to be at the table.
- Agencies, municipalities, service providers, and employers all play a role in
the settlement of newcomers. They are all starting to realize that immigration
has a local impact and can also fill labour market needs as well as bring
economic benefits.
- Many focus on attraction and filling their needs without paying attention to
retention and successful settlement. Our role has been to educate on all of
these issues and help strike a balance between attraction and retention.
- Evaluate what is, and what is not working for newcomers.
- We did a lot of teaching in our first years. (newcomer needs, experiences,
gaps, referral processes, awareness of what is out there in the community)
- The BC Welcoming Communities program is very successful and that should
be woven into the LIP process going forward. All of the welcoming work
come into play in the LIP.
- Many stakeholders at the table has improved awareness, planning, referral,
promotion of services and newcomer outcomes.
Committees
Identification and Attraction of Newcomers - Attraction,
Recruitment, and Employment initiatives.
Fostering a Welcoming, Supportive and Inclusive Community Community Connections, education, promotion and active
participation
Coordinated Services – Ensure that services are available,
coordinated and accessible to newcomers. Areas covered are
settlement, education, employment, housing, health, etc.
Research and planning – local awareness and involvement in
settlement planning, outreach, attraction, retention and
welcoming. Big picture planning and gap analysis.
Northwestern Ontario LIP
 The Northwestern Ontario Immigration Council is in
the earlier stages of development and has a very
different dynamic and structure.
 Made up of 35 regional municipalities, economic
development officers, local planners, employers and
settlement providers, it has a different make up and
meets less often due to the size of the region.
 Makes use of technology and any other regional
meetings taking place to connect and plan.
 It requires more coordination and training due to the
size and remoteness of communities and experience
with newcomers.
My suggestions for a successful LIP
• Create a network of connections, awareness, collaboration and
inclusion.
• Bring together the doers.
• Create an environment where newcomers become a part of the
planning and awareness of all agencies, services and members.
• On-going education of members and an awareness that this is
really an integration and awareness exercise.
• Coordination. This process doesn’t work without a dedicated
coordinator and meeting planning.
The LIPs, Immigration Portal and Settlement Services all work hand
in hand to attract and retain newcomers as well as create a
welcoming community for them.