Immigration Waterloo Region Weekly
November 8, 2021
Immigration Partnership News
Anti-Racism Resources for Children 
#RacialEquityWR
Anti-racism work remains top of mind and underway at Immigration Partnership! We have recently added some resources to our #RacialEquityWR Webpage to help parents talk to their kids about racism. For example, check out this UNICEF article about how to start this conversation with children: https://www.unicef.org/parenting/talking-to-your-kids-about-racism.

Visit www.racialequitywr.ca for more Anti-Racism Resources for families such as “How to Talk Honestly With Children About Racism,” “Tips for How to Talk to Kids About Racism and Social Justice,” and more.
2021 Newcomer Landlord Award Coming November 22
The Immigration Partnership's 2021 Newcomer Landlord Award recipients will be announced at Waterloo Region’s 20th National Housing Day virtual celebration on November 22. This event will celebrate local housing achievements and recognize the contributions of community members and partners who are committed to ensuring everyone in Waterloo Region has a place to call home. We invite you to join us in celebrating landlords that make our region a more welcoming and supportive community. Register Here.
Follow us on our social media platforms for more immigration events and news!
Community Partner Highlights 
Immigrant Services and Interpretation Open
Community Leaders and Service Providers Are Encouraged to Provide Feedback on the Waterloo Region Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan From the Perspective of Immigrants and Refugees
 The Region of Waterloo is working alongside the community and its partners to develop an integrated plan to improve the wellbeing and safety of everyone. To achieve this, community consultations are being held on the development of the Region’s first Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan. Community leaders and service providers are invited to join one (or both) of the following opportunities to provide feedback from the perspective of immigrants and refugees in Waterloo Region:

Monday, Nov 8 , 2-3:30pm. Click here to join the meeting via Zoom.
 
Wednesday, Nov 10, 3-4:30pm. Click here to join the meeting via Zoom.

For more information, please email at https://[email protected] or visit the Region of Waterloo's Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan webpage.
City of Waterloo Residents Are Invited to the Third Annual Neighbourhood Summit
The City of Waterloo is pleased to invite the community to the Third annual Neighbourhood Summit. The summit will take place virtually and will run from November 9 until December 1, 2021. The informative and inclusive event will bring neighbours together from across the city to learn, share information and network. Register here.
Afghan and Other Refugee Integration Updates
Join us in welcoming refugees to our region! Community members can support Afghan and other refugees in many ways: Providing affordable housing or primary care, making monetary donations to the Immigration Partnership Fund or Reception House Waterloo Region, donating warm winter clothing and other items, sponsoring refugee families, supporting family reunification efforts, etc.
Visit http://immigrationwaterlooregion.ca/afghanresettlement for more information on the Afghan Resettlement in Waterloo Region!

"Canadians across the country want to help. They’ve been finding supplies for Afghans who arrived with next to nothing having left abruptly on the August airlifts. But two months after Kabul fell to the Taliban, they’re still waiting for the government to clarify how its resettlement program will be rolled out. (...)"
By The Star

"Hundreds of refugees are waiting, getting their bearings, registering their children for school and trying to plan for a what they hope is a safer — but unknown — future in a new country. (...)"
COVID-19 Information and Resources

Refugee 613 and its partners have created the "What you need to know about the Delta variant" fact sheet in 7 languages (English, Arabic, French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese and Urdu). To access them, please click here. For more Multilingual Covid-19 resources, visit https://www.immigrationwaterlooregion.ca/covid19.

This week, the Waterloo Region Vaccine Distribution Task Force is bringing COVID-19 vaccine to residents in the community living close to Fairway Station and Chandler Mowat Community Centre on Tuesday, Nov 9. Access translated promotional materials about Nov 9 Mobile Vaccination Clinics in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Punjabi, Arabic, Tigrigna and Serbian here and share with your networks

Seeking to offer high quality language access services to health care, social service agencies and the broader public, Access Alliance has developed a pictorial step-by-step guide that will walk users through the forms they need to fill out to get their COVID-19 vaccine certificate. It can be used by people that don’t know English.  

In this paper, The Conference Board of Canada brings the remote work experiences and plans for a post-pandemic workplace from all municipalities in York Region. Municipalities used the pandemic as an opportunity to digitize customer service processes, allowing greater accessibility and convenience.
Other Information and Resources

In this Conference Board of Canada research, the author analyzes the level of Canada’s dependence on immigrants and temporary residents as essential workers and the extent to which the current immigrant talent pool and channels are “fit for purpose” to fill essential vacancies.

The Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and Community Justice Initiatives are looking to work with BIPOC youth leaders for a paid opportunity to lead, direct and create the Crime Prevention Council of Waterloo Region's Youth Engagement Strategy (YES!). See requirements here.
Deadline Nov 10.

Ontario is calling on the federal government to double the number of immigrants allowed into the province under a program aimed at boosting the skilled workforce. "(...) doubling the number of immigrants allowed under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program from 9,000 to 18,000 a year will help tackle that shortage," says Labour Minister Monte McNaughton in this CTV News article.
National Francophone Immigration Week
This week marks the National Francophone Immigration week! L'Immigration Francophone presents this 9th edition to reaffirm the richness of our inclusive Francophone communities across Canada. The 2021 theme is "Une francophonie aux mille saveurs" (The thousand flavours of la francophonie) reminding us "that we are all bound together by food, and therefore to discover the manyfold cultural flavours found in our francophonie gathers us to connect around them and learn to know each other better."

We invite our Francophone communities in Waterloo Region to join these festivities through school celebrations, workshops and training sessions dealing with immigration and cultural evenings. More information.

Ontario has the largest French-speaking minority community in Canada: Using the Inclusive Definition of Francophone, the French-speaking population in Ontario is 622,415. Most Franco-Ontarians live in the eastern part of the province, in and around Ottawa. Other main areas include northeastern Ontario (Sudbury, North Bay) and central Ontario. More data on the French presence in Ontario here.

Pour souligner la Semaine nationale de l'immigration francophone, la FCFA du Canada en partenariat avec l'ambassade du Canada à Paris, présentera la vie en français d'un océan à l'autre. Ce Webinaire sera en direct sur la page Facebook Destination Canada - Forum mobilité , mardi 9 novembre à 17 (Heure de l'Est) ou 11h (Heure de Paris). Ne manquez pas ce rendez-vous !

Every year, thousands of Francophones immigrate to Canada and settle in French-speaking communities outside Quebec. Throughout their journey, many Francophones organizations across Canada support and encourage them in planning their new lives. Here are testimonials from a few of them.
Virtual Events and Webinars
Hiring, Discrimination and Newcomer Resilience, Nov 10, 12:15-1:30pm
This webinar will provide research updates on the following research topics undertaken by researches at Building Migrant Resilience in Cities: 1. Temporary Migrants and Resilience 2. Sounding Different, but Still Equal? Assessing Discrimination against “Audible Minority” Experts in Urban and non-Urban Settings in Quebec and Ontario 3. Employer Recruitment Strategies, Newcomer Employment and Resilience.
A Community Conversation about Indigenous Reconciliation and Newcomers, Nov 11, 6-8pm
As Canada continues to discuss Indigenous Reconciliation, the Cambridge Newcomer Outreach Program is offering this panel as a community conversation. As we strive to build a sense of belonging and community here, the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People, knowledge about Indigenous lands, people, culture and history is foundational.
The Road to Citizenship for Newcomers, Nov 13, 2021, 10am-12pm
Refugee Sponsorship net is hosting a two hour online workshop to identify issues faced by private sponsors, learn how to raise the discussion and discuss what are the barriers and incentives and where are the resources.
Equity and Inclusion in Workforce Development, Nov 15, 3-4:30pm ET
Speakers from the International Economic Development Council will discuss successful examples of recruitment and training strategies that bolster sustainable, inclusive workforces for communities and businesses.
MPI 20th Anniversary Conference: Migration and Humanitarian Protection in a Rapidly Evolving World, Nov 15, 3pm
The Migration Policy Institute Anniversary Conference will discuss the evolution of international migration governance and its possible future. It will open with a panel discussion on humanitarian protection with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, MPI co-founder Kathleen Newland, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) President Wendy Young.
How to improve & Optimize Your Website, Nov 15, 12-1pm
Looking for ways to enhance your customer journey on your website? Then join our Digital Service Squad to teach you how! This webinar will cover the following topics: Run Your Website URL through a Site Audit Tool, Find Technical Errors, Identify SEO Problems, Assess Website Content and much more. Check out all the details here for other webinars with the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre that will help businesses to start and grow.
Our Community in Transformation, Thursday, Nov 25, 7-9:30pm
Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council is hosting "Our Community in Transformation" panel to learn how to respond differently to conflict and harm in Waterloo Region and explore a restorative way of being in community.
Growing Your Workforce 2021, Virtual Conference, Nov 23-24, 9am-1pm
Growing Your Workforce Conference 2021 by Workforce Planning & Development Board is a virtual conference focusing on solutions that will help your organization attract, retain, and train the talent you need after the recent pandemic. Organized by experts in Literacy and Basic Skills, nine Workforce Planning and Development Boards, and three Local Immigration Partnerships, we present to you innovative and intersectional ways of Growing Your Workforce.
Business Plan 101, Nov 30, 10:30am-12pm
The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre is organizing a webinar on how to develop a business plan, overview, why it is vital, what information and research is need to get started, business model canvas, financial planning and forecasting and more.
The Ryerson University's Master of Arts in Immigration and Settlement Studies is an innovative new program that explores immigration trends, policies & programs in Canada from multi-disciplinary perspectives. Those interested in applying for this program for 2022-23 academic year are invited to join an online info session on Thursday, Dec 2.
Stronger Together: Partnership & Collaboration, Dec 9, 2:30-4pm
The International Economic Development Council is hosting this online event to talk about how to promote partnerships and collaborations with private - or public - partners, including do's and don'ts to take advantage of partnerships and collaboration to best accomplish companies' goals.
COVID 19 Coverage and other News


         









 
Afghan refugees say they need more support Cambridge Times, Nov 3, 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 ([email protected]) and Alejandra Amezquita Gutierrez ([email protected])
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