News for Newcomers Newsletter

• For the lastest news, see the Winter 2011 News for Newcomers Newsletter.

***July 2011 Update***

In November 2008, the City of Windsor was given the lead for the Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) initiative by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

What is the Local Immigration Partnership?

The LIP is an initiative of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to encourage communities across Ontario to develop a comprehensive plan for the delivery of newcomer services. The LIP initiative represents a process to examine the whole system of services currently available and considers how the system could be enhanced to facilitate access to service and to promote the long-term settlement and integration of immigrant newcomers into Windsor and Essex County.

January 2009 marked the first meeting of the Windsor-Essex Local Immigration Partnership Council, an assembly of committed stakeholders working towards a common goal: creating a welcoming community for newcomers to Windsor Essex.

In April 2010, A Community Plan to Promote the Settlement and Integration of Immigrants in Windsor and Essex County was submitted to City and County Councils and to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The full report and the Executive Summary are attached in PDF format in English and French:

• Community Plan - English / Plan Communautaire Français
• Executive Summary - English / Sommaire exécutif Français

Over that summer, the Partnership Council continued to meet to refine the strategies outlined in the original report. In September 2010, a follow-up report was submitted to CIC. The document, "Moving Forward ... A Supplement to a Community Plan to Promote the Settlement and Integration of Immigrants in Windsor and Essex County" produced the following:

• A governance model which allowed the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership to transition from a reseach advisory group to a community planning body;
• An Action Plan with identified priorities which will lead the LIP over the next 2 years; and 
• A foundation for the ongoing work of the LIP which will explore ways to enhance services, minimize duplication and develop ways to evaluate the progress of the LIP.

The Moving Forward report is available on the website in English and French

• Moving Forward - English / Allons de l’avant … Français

With the completion of the Moving Forward report, the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership Council has moved into an exciting phase. It now functions as a planning committee with Carolyn Warkentin as Chair and Nil Parent as Vice Chair.  Three working groups have been established:

1. Ways to improve access to and co-ordination of immigrant integration services - Chaired by Sudip Minhas; 
2. Ways to improve labour market outcomes for immigrants - Chaired by Michelle Suchiu;  
3. Ways to strengthen local awareness and capacity to integrate immigrants - Chaired by Jean Foster. 

Other LIP related activities include:

• Participation on the redesign of the Windsor Essex Immigration Portal under the leadership of Workforce WindsorEssex (www.workforcewindsoressex.com); and
• Partnering in the Welcoming Communities initiative (www.welcomingcommunities.ca).

For more information, contact Mary Ellen Bernard, Project Manager for the Windsor-Essex Local Immigration Partnership at 519-255-5200 ext. 5270 or mbernard@city.windsor.on.ca.