New council on Immigration Integration formed in Peterborough, Canada

The partnership includes more than 25 representatives from Peterborough city, economic development agencies, law enforcement, education, and the industry.

Mike Ma, co-ordinator of the Community and Race Relations Committee, said: "Economic prosperity is tied to population growth and we can't have population growth without immigration".

"So we need a strategy to increase immigration, and we need a resettlement strategy for comprehensive integration and retention," he added.

One the goals of the partnership is to prepare an application for federal and provincial funding under the Citizenship and Immigration Canada program, "Local Immigration Partnership" (LIP).

"Attracting new Canadians to Peterborough might be our number one problem we need to face in the next few years," admitted Councilor Dean Pappas, a member of the partnership council.

"We have the second oldest workforce in Canada and one of the lowest attraction of immigrants rate. We're not going to be growing unless we attract new Canadians to Peterborough."

Some of the other associations playing a major role in the partnership process are The Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation (GPAEDC), and the New Canadians Centre Peterborough. The goal is to ensure a strong labour force for the future.

Carmela Valles, executive director and organizer of the partnership council said they aim to educate and create awareness, go beyond "over the counter" services, and make immigrant integration a two-way process.

Valles recognises a need to develop a strategy to take ownership of the immigrant integration by focusing on three areas, namely settlement services, language training, and labour market integration.

The universities in the area have also expressed excitement about the partnership: "Welcoming and integrating immigrants is essential to the economic and cultural vitality of the community," said Michael Allcott, director of Trent University's international program.

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