Working towards a Greater Sudbury Local Immigration Partnership
Press Release
June 2023 – Collaborative efforts between the Sudbury Local Immigration Partnership (SLIP) and Northern Policy Institute (NPI) have been underway to identify strategic actions to help make newcomer attraction and retention a more seamless process.
Over the course of several months, SLIP and NPI worked with service-providers and newcomers in Greater Sudbury to gather information about service availability, adequacy, and accessibility in the City. What resulted is a report that offers strategic recommendations and concrete actions to inform new and existing initiatives in the region within SLIP’s capacity and mandate.
Discoveries from the activities highlighted service gaps in the City, such as those related to translation, certified immigration services, formal advice/instruction on immigration streams and application, and language, educational, and/or credential assessments. Additionally, certain groups like prospective immigrants, dependents, and youth were the least serviced in the City.
To learn more about these gaps, eight focus groups were established to help identify common services issues that affect newcomers. The focus groups were formed around the following service areas: housing, employment, post-secondary, health care, education, youth, and public services. Each group was asked about capacity, challenges, opportunities, and best practices for service delivery in the region. There was an additional focus group hosted with newcomers themselves to hear first-hand about their experiences.
Based on the feedback from survey respondents and focus group participants, some recommendations include:
- Host information sessions on cultural competency, settlement information for newcomers, and immigration streams for employers. Supporting networking sessions for newcomers, knowledge exchange gatherings with community partners, cultural festivals in the community were also noted;
- Create a welcome package or webpage for newcomers with information on local offerings;
- Encourage welcoming community initiatives wherever possible in addition to the specific recommendations included in the report; and
- Conduct further research on available resources in the community.
These recommendations and strategic actions are ongoing. By combining the information gathered through the asset map survey and the focus groups, greater meaning can be drawn to inform the next steps for the Sudbury Local Immigration Partnership.
Want to learn more? Read the report:https://www.northernpolicy.ca/slip-action-plan
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Media Interview: Co-author and Senior Policy Analyst Mercedes Labelle and Meredith Armstrong, Director of Economic Development for the City of Greater Sudbury, are available for comment. To arrange an interview, please contact:
Charles Cirtwill
President & CEO
807-343-8956 ext. 501
ccirtwill@northernpolicy.ca
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