Immigration Waterloo Region Weekly
December 06, 2021
Immigration Partnership News
TELL US WHAT MATTERS TO YOU: Immigration Partnership Partner Survey 2021
Partners and friends of the Immigration Partnership! Please complete the 2021 Partner Survey by Wednesday, December 15. This annual survey is your chance to provide feedback about the work of the Immigration Partnership, community challenges, and the evolution of our work. 
 
This year’s survey is just 5 questions. Just a few minutes of your time will ensure that we are collectively working on the most critical issues in the most effective ways. Please complete this year's IP Partner Survey here.
 
If you have any questions contact Dan Vandebelt at dvandebelt@regionofwaterloo.ca or Tara Bedard at tbedard@regionofwaterloo.ca.
This week, we continue with four powerful migration stories as part of the 2021 WRMFF:

  1. "Becoming Labrador," a doc that follows a group of Filipinos who live and work in the harsh interior of Labrador;
  2. "Nature's invitation," a film about Canada's quest to get new immigrants to get in touch with nature;
  3. "Monsieur Lahzar," a story of an Algerian immigrant who is hired to replace a popular teacher loved by his students; and
  4. "Syria Was Once a Beautiful Country,"  a video on the outcomes of research on Syrian Refugee Children’s Narratives of Experience.
 
Following the films, attendees will have the opportunity to interact with directors and writers and engage in thoughtful discussion about migration experiences.


For information on other WRMFF Films, hosts and screening dates, visit www.immigrationwaterlooregion.ca/wrmigfest

Together with Local Immigration Partnerships from across southwestern Ontario, we invite landlords from Waterloo Region to a virtual forum on Dec 8 at 3pm focusing on information and supports that can help landlords when renting to refugees and newcomers.

The forum seeks to help landlords successfully participate in creating housing solutions for new Afghan or other refugees settling in their community.

Registration here.
 
In a survey conducted in June 2021, over 1500 immigrant individuals shared their experience with  education, housing, employment, health, belonging, discrimination, community building and more in Waterloo Region.

Join us for a presentation of the survey results and discussion about what the results mean for ongoing work to build a better community for everyone in Waterloo Region.

Three sessions are planned. Please check out the different options and register here.
Follow us on our social media platforms for more immigration events and news!
Community Partner Highlights 
Immigrant Services and Interpretation Open
Afghan and Other Refugee Integration Updates
Refugee Task Force's First Meeting Updates
As the federal government works towards the resettlement of 40,000 refugees from Afghanistan, the Immigration Partnership Council (IPC) launched a Refugee Task Force to provide strategic and operational oversight to resettlement efforts in Waterloo Region. It’s first meeting took place on November 29. The Task Force is chaired by IPC members from the Region of Waterloo and the KW Multicultural Centre. Inaugural members include senior leaders from Waterloo Region’s re/settlement, housing, health and education sectors in alignment with emergent initial needs, as well as leaders focused on community welcome and integration.

Senior leaders were provided an overview of the Afghan resettlement initiative and its likely local impact, followed by discussion of some of the key challenges to be addressed in various sectors, including affordable housing availability, primary care attachment and school enrolment for children. So far, around 200 Afghans have arrived in the region, about 60% of whom have moved to their first homes while the remainder are living in temporary accommodation sites.

The Task Force will meet on a bi-weekly basis to monitor progress in local arrivals, assess needs as they evolve and put solutions in place so that refugee families arriving from Afghanistan and elsewhere have the best start possible in the region.

In this "The Record" article, Rich Janzen, Centre for Community Based Research ED, calls us to remember what we learned from the Syrian Resettlement in 2015 in Waterloo Region , and ask what these lessons mean today in the face of an influx of refugee newcomers in a pandemic context! Read the full article here.

Community members can support Afghan and other refugees in many ways: Providing affordable housing or primary care, making monetary donations, donating warm winter clothing and other items, sponsoring refugee families, supporting family reunification efforts, etc.
Visit http://immigrationwaterlooregion.ca/afghanresettlementfor more information on the Afghan Resettlement in Waterloo Region.
COVID-19 Information and Resources

This research report by University of Regina and University of Victory presents findings and recommendations from a qualitative study that investigated how settlement workers in Saskatchewan, Canada responded to educational inequities for newcomer youth exacerbated by COVID-19. Findings from eight focus groups conducted with 30 settlement workers are presented in four key themes.
Other Information and Resources

According to this Statistics Canada fact sheet released on Nov 22, 2021 focusing on the experience of newcomers living in private dwellings, recent immigrants were less likely than the total population to live in an owner-occupied dwelling with a mortgage (49%) and without a mortgage (25%). More data here.

Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project presents this study which combined findings from a scoping review with experiential data from refugee youth and service providers to summarize evidence about the impacts of family loss and separation on refugee youth. It contains a list of resources for refugee youth, a practitioner toolkit for conducting research with refugee youth and a policy statement.

This new guide sponsored by World Education Services contains practical ideas aims to help teams design their hiring process to more successfully recruit displaced talent. The ideas range from smaller tweaks to larger redesigns towards a more inclusive hiring process. 

This new edition of Cafe New Canadians brings some insights from recent immigrants talking about their experience working survival jobs in Canada to help newcomers make an informed decision.

This research, brought by The Conversation, highlights how immigrant parents bring a lot of linguistic, cultural and social knowledge to their children’s home language education. It contains some of the ways they pass their knowledge of their home language along.
Virtual Events and Webinars
Community Safety and Wellbeing Framework Workshop, Dec 7, 5:30- 7:30pm and Dec 14, 3- 5pm 
The purpose of these workshops organized by Reconciliation and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office of the Region of Waterloo is to recognize the community’s experience, ideas and energy for change, foster relationships amongst community leaders, organizations, groups, demonstrate a commitment from Waterloo Region Leadership to measurable and sustained action, and more. Workshop 1 registration link and Workshop 2 registration link.
RSTP Webinar: Introduction of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program, Dec 8, 4-6pm
The Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre is presenting an online information session with Dawit Demoz, an RSTP trainer, to provide an overview about the recent changes and updates to the PSR G-5, discuss the sponsorship process and respond to Q & A. For more information, please call 519-404-2876 or email samuel@kwmulticultural.ca.
The Allyship Journey with Indigenous Peoples: First Steps & Considerations, Dec 8, 7-9:30pm
The Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council is hosting a workshop to explore all aspects of allyship in an engaging and thoughtful way with personal examples and prompts for participants to consider for their own lives.
Implementation Research on the Impact of Family Loss and Separation on Refugee Youth, Dec 15, 1-2pm
Join this Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project's webinar that will tell the story of separated refugee youth that experience numerous challenges in their settlement impacting their mental health and well-being, and our evidence informed call for action strategies for systemic uptake of those findings into practices.
Congrès Metropolis Francophonie Mondiale : Faits saillants du programme et conférencier.e.s d'honneur du congrès virtuel, 16-17 décembre 2021
L'Institut Metropolis présente le premier Congrès Metropolis Francophonie Mondiale (MFM) dont le thème "Migration, Intégration, Inclusion" mettra en lumière la complexité des questions migratoires au sein de l'espace francophone.
Mental Resilience for Entrepreneurs Workshop Series, Dec 17, 8am
Join Innovation guelph for free workshops running November to February, directly addressing mental health challenges entrepreneurs face. CEOs share stories and experiences followed by a Life Recovery Program facilitated workshop.
CERC Migration Annual Conference: Migration and the City, Feb 17-17, 2022
Join CERC in Migration and Integration for a two-day conference to investigate the relationship between migration and the city in the 21st century. Panelists from different world regions will share insights on the complexity of urban diversity and governance, the role of grassroots advocates and diasporas in migration, and the capacity of small communities, suburban edges and border cities to receive migrant population.
COVID 19 Coverage and other News




Ontario Investing in Training for Apprentices Ontario Newsroom, Dec 2, 2021






The Immigration Waterloo Region calendar has information about local programs and events for newcomers. Subscribe for a digest of events coming up in the next week or add your own events to share.
Feel free to send suggestions or relevant events/resources to include to the Immigration Waterlooo Region weekly by emailing Dan Vandebelt (dvandebelt@regionofwaterloo.ca) and Alejandra Amezquita Gutierrez (AAmez@regionofwaterloo.ca)
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