Immigration Waterloo Region Weekly
Your guide to upcoming events, information and resources in Waterloo Region

AUGUST 19, 2019

Events and Programs
For: Immigrants (I)
Employers (E)
Service Providers (SP)
General (G)
LINK Picnic” Festival (Aug 24-25)
(G) LINK Picnic Festival is a celebration of African and Caribbean culture with music, dancing, drumming, carnival parade and activities for families.
Newcomer Orientation Week (Aug 26-28, 9am-2:30pm)
(I) This orientation week provides newcomer students with a three-day orientation to student life, school programs and the Ontario Secondary School system. Eligible students are those who have recently arrived in Canada and will be attending a Waterloo Region District School Board or a Waterloo Catholic District School Board secondary school for the first time in September.
In Her Shoes, Employment Training Program (deadline Aug 26)
(G) YW Kitchener-Waterloo is facilitating this employment & entrepreneurship training program for visible minority new Canadian cis and trans women and non-binary individuals. It focus on building computer and digital literacy skills, employment skills and entrepreneurship and starting your own online business. The first session starts on Sep 3.
YMCA English Conversation Circles (starting on Sep 9)
(I) Newcomers, immigrants and refugees that want to improve their English communication skills can now register for English Conversation Circle sessions beginning Sept 9 at various locations. For more information about this and other conversations circles see: English Language Learning Options in Waterloo Region.
Waterloo Region District School Board Registration for Newcomers
(I)   Registration for newcomers is now open for the 2019-20 school year. The International Admissions Office staff are available throughout the summer to help immigrants with the registration process.
Small Steps to Success Program (application are open)
(G) YWCA Cambridge will be facilitating a 12-week self-esteem building and vocational group for women starting on Sept. This group focuses on how to re-enter into the workforce with confidence and employment skills. Transportation and childcare assistance is provided.
Canadian Immigration Summit 2020 Conference (May 13-14, 2020)
(E) The Conference Board of Canada will be hosting this conference that will focus on how immigration needs to be part of the solution for strengthening our labour market and economy. It includes themes such as Canada's labour market challenge, anti-immigrant sentiment, and immigration's benefits to employers.
Resources and Information
This report provides tools on how business leaders can understand their organization’s history and racialized impacts of their industry, how to repair relationships and rebuild trust, and change practices to advance racial equity.
This newsletter provides some updates about evaluations of the New Zealand and UK refugee private sponsorship pilot programs.
Civic and Community Engagement


The City of Kitchener wants to hear from you about what information and training would help make your neighbourhood a better place. It takes ten minutes to complete this survey.
Research and Data
This study analyzed public opinion data from 18 countries (including Canada) and found that a median of 71% supported refugees moving to their country, while a median of 50% wanted “more” or “about the same number” of migrants. This difference highlights the importance perception plays in people’s attitudes about migrants or refugees.
According to the OECD's report, Canada has the most carefully designed and longest-standing skilled migration system. It is also suggests to implement a provincial temporary foreign worker pilot programme, which allows Canada to respond more effectively to the regional cyclical or seasonal labour needs that are not met.
Funding
Application to BVOR (Blended Visa Office-Referred program) Fund Sponsorship (deadline Sept 9)
The Refugee Hub is extending the application deadline for the BVOR fund . This fund can cover most of the sponsorship costs associated with sponsoring a refugee or refugee family through the BVOR stream.
The Latest Immigration News

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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