TRIEC

Toronto Star: Attracting the immigrant workforce

Jessica — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:57:29 +0000

In Canada, a country built on the determination of foreign workers, we are all immigrants-or so the adage goes.

As the number of highly skilled foreign workers skyrockets – 250,000 immigrants enter the country annually – connecting the dots between ready and able employees and burgeoning small businesses is increasingly important.

Statistics Canada predicts that by 2031, 80% of Canada’s population growth will come from immigration.

Source: The Toronto Star

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Gord Nixon to lead Ontario Jobs and Prosperity Council

Jessica — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:02:48 +0000

Gord Nixon, CEO of RBC and co-chair of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council has been appointed to chair the Ontario Government’s Jobs and Prosperity Council. Bringing together leaders from business, labour, academics and non-government organizations, the council is tasked with generating new ideas and approaches to improve Ontario’s long-term productivity and competitiveness. With a focus on innovation, the Council will help the government promote entrepreneurship and reach out to global markets.

Learn more.

The Globe and Mail: Canada ready to open its doors to more immigrants, Kenney says

Jessica — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:16:38 +0000

Canada is ready to open its doors to expanded immigration, but only if the immigrants already here do better.

The government is under huge pressure to increase immigration levels, according to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. It’s facing demands for more newcomers from business leaders and nearly every provincial premier. But before Mr. Kenney will comply, he says he wants to see more immigrants working and earning at rates close to those of Canadian-born people. That also happens to be the focus of a series of reforms he launched this spring, designed to improve economic outcomes for immigrants.

Source: The Globe and Mail

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The Globe and Mail: Harnessing immigrant mobility means prosperity for all Canadians

Jessica — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:34:07 +0000

More than a century ago, the debate about migration in the West was largely settled. Migration was seen to be a boon to the economic fortunes of countries, and many states eliminated unnecessary obstacles to movement such as passports and visas. Britain, after calling for the use of passports in its 1836 Aliens Restrictions Act, later eliminated them in 1872.

The argument was simple, according to Giovanni Bolis, a late-19th-century Italian legal commentator: Passports should be eliminated “not merely as a homage to the civility of the times … but as a measure of great importance for economic relations, favouring commerce, industry and progress, facilitating the relations among the various countries, and liberating travellers from harassment and hindrances.”

Source: The Globe and Mail

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Huawei Canada: RBC Immigrant Advantage Award

Natalia — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:43 +0000

When Huawei Canada established itself in Canada in 2008, they faced many challenges finding highly skilled talent they needed. Skilled immigrants were the solution.

Read more about why Huawei Canada won an IS Award.

Watch the other 6th Annual IS Award Winner videos

	Zuleika Sgro is a champion for including skilled immigrant talent as an optimum strategy to match specialized skills with demonstrated skills shortages. And she has embedded this practice within her company, Questrade.

	Career Edge Organization’s Career Bridge program has been connecting skilled immigrants with leading Canadian employers through paid internships since 2003. It’s a win-win for employers and immigrants.

	Maxxam’s co-op program for skilled immigrants has evolved to become an essential recruitment strategy for their fluctuating client-driven work volumes and to address skill shortages in their field.

Toronto Star: RBC’s Gord Nixon will head Dalton McGuinty’s ‘jobs and prosperity council’

Jessica — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:14:48 +0000

A multi-millionaire banker, RBC chief executive Gord Nixon, will head Premier Dalton McGuinty’s new “jobs and prosperity council,” Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid said Friday.

The council is tasked with finding $250 million in savings on business and skills training programs and devising ways to boost Ontario’s economy with unemployment stubbornly stuck above 7 per cent.

Source: Toronto Star

*Gord Nixon is the Chair of TRIEC

The Globe and Mail: How immigrants affect the economy – Weighing the benefits and costs

Jessica — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:30:41 +0000

A few months after arriving in Canada in 2005, Edwin Sonsona was working 20 hours a day at six different jobs. He began each morning at 3 a.m., delivering the local newspaper.

By the time the sun was up he would don a uniform to flip hamburgers at McDonald’s for $7.25 an hour. He rushed packages around town as a courier and set up store displays for Coca-Cola. Then he would go to a warehouse where he supervised the unloading of clothing destined for Winners stores. In the evenings he delivered Kentucky Fried Chicken until 11 p.m.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Private Partners Join Federal Internship for Newcomers Program

Jessica — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:00:20 +0000

The Government of Canada is expanding its internship program for newcomers to include private sector companies, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

CGI Group Inc., a leading provider of information technology and business process services, and CIBC, a leading Canadian-based financial institution, will partner with CIC to hire newcomers through the Federal Internship for Newcomers (FIN) Program.

Delivered in partnership with regional immigrant serving organizations and hiring departments and agencies, the FIN Program is a Citizenship and Immigration-led initiative that offers newcomers to Canada the opportunity to gain valuable temporary work experience.

TRIEC’s May 2012 e-lert is out, features new funding and a farewell message from Elizabeth McIsaac

Jessica — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:39:24 +0000

Read the farewell message from Elizabeth McIsaac and learn about new funding that is helping TRIEC extend its reach. Also, check out the e-Lert for what’s working in immigrant inclusion and tips and tools that you can use. To get the next issue of the e-lert directly in your inbox, subscribe today.

Leadership message – Farewell from Elizabeth McIsaac

Jessica — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:01 +0000

As I approach my last day as Executive Director of TRIEC, I find myself reflecting back on where it all began. It was September 11 2003, and the excitement in the meeting room at Manulife Financial that day was palpable. Three federal ministers, corporate executives, college presidents, and leaders from all sectors had come together through the then Toronto City Summit Alliance (now CivicAction) with one purpose: to convene the Toronto Region to find solutions to better connect skilled immigrants to the right jobs more quickly.

We knew then, as we know now, that skilled immigrants make a vital contribution to our economy, and our future competitiveness and prosperity is tied to how well we include them in the labour market. My involvement in TRIEC since that first day has been a remarkable journey working towards that goal.

We have seen leaders from across sectors come together to identify where and how they and their institutions could act, adopt new strategies and forge new relationships. From mentoring to professional immigrant networks, awareness campaigns to employer awards, employer workshops to roadmaps, and from policy options to systemic change, TRIEC has been able to make inroads and progress on complex challenges because of these leaders and partnerships.

At its core, TRIEC has been a catalyst for bringing ideas to fruition. As the executive director it has been my privilege to help shape these ideas, lead the discussions and negotiations that have resulted in tangible programs and opportunities for immigrants, and share the story of the Toronto Region’s success in immigrant inclusion with other cities and countries. And so it is both with pride and sadness that I have made the decision to hand TRIEC over to its next chapter of leadership.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest thanks to all the corporate and community partners, leaders, volunteers, mentors, network leaders, sponsors and funders, who have made the successes of TRIEC possible.

To the council co-chairs, Gord Nixon and Zabeen Hirji of RBC, the TRIEC Board of Directors, and the Maytree Foundation, which seeded TRIEC and helped it to grow, thank you for your leadership and trust in the work of the organization. In particular, a special thank you to Ratna Omidvar, the Chair of the Board and founder of TRIEC, and President of the Maytree Foundation, whose leadership, conviction in the mission of TRIEC and high ambitions for what could be done, have made so much possible.

To the staff of TRIEC, a very special thank you. They are the ones who take the ideas and transform them into the opportunities and outcomes that make a difference. It is their commitment, dedication and focus that have set the bar so high for everything we do.

And finally, and most importantly, to each and every immigrant who has participated in our programs, shared their story, provided advice, seeded new ideas, and helped us to understand how we can be useful and make a difference – thank you.

It is my sincerest belief that TRIEC is well positioned to further its mission as a catalyst for new ideas, and will continue to generate solutions that work for immigrants and for the Toronto Region.

All the best,

Elizabeth McIsaac

Elizabeth will begin her new role as Executive Researcher, Not-for-profit Sector Policy at the Mowat Centre, School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto, in June 2012.