brockville welcomes cultural diversity

BROCKVILLE WELCOMESBROCKVILLE WELCOMES

Cultural DiversityCultural Diversity

EDCO Conference EDCO Conference February 4February 4thth, 2010, 2010

David Paul and Terry O’ ReillyDavid Paul and Terry O’ Reilly

OUTLINEOUTLINE•Immigration and Economic Development

•The Canadian Picture

•The CIRRO Initiative

•Benefits and Challenges

•Programming and Next Steps

•Financial Resources

•The Pricedex Story

NEEDS AND BENEFITSNEEDS AND BENEFITS

• Attraction of Talent – Skilled Labour

• Demographic Diversification – Younger

Families

•Increase in Personal Income per Capita

•Cultural Diversity – Enhancing Social Fabric

•Sustainability for our Future

•21st Century Community Corporate Image

FACTS AND FIGURESFACTS AND FIGURES

•Each year Canada welcomes about 250,000 immigrants and refugees

•According to the Conference Board of Canada 375,000 new

immigrants are needed annually in order to stabilize workforce

•Over 80% of immigrants destine to Canada’s 10 largest cities

•Only 4% of new immigrants in Ontario settle in rural areas

•65% of all immigrants in Ontario come from Asia and Middle East, 15%

from Europe, 10% from South America, Caribbean and Central

America, 7% from Africa

FACTS AND FIGURESFACTS AND FIGURES•41% of immigrants come in their prime working age of 25 to 44 years, 50

% of newcomers are below 25 years and 9% are over 45 years old

•Only 28% of local population are in their prime working age of 25-44

years, 30% are below 25 years and 42% are over 45 years

•51% of immigrants hold university degrees compared to 20% of

Canadian-born workers

•Average household income of skilled immigrants in their 4th year of

arrival ranges between $34,000 - $37,000, while the average household

income for Canada is $86,300

•Not recognizing the skills of immigrants costs the Canadian economy $

3.4 – 5 billion a year (Human Resources and Social Development Canada).

CIRROCIRRO** IS ALL ABOUT: IS ALL ABOUT:

•Education and awareness

•Engagement and mobilization

•Collaboration towards a Made in Brockville/Leeds

Grenville plan

•Execution

•Measurement and adjustment

•Celebrate and promote to other communities

* * Community Immigrant Retention in Rural Ontario (CIRRO)

STRATEGYSTRATEGY

A bottom-up approach, strengths and challenges (Community Stakeholders)

A collaborative structure (CIRRO Steering Committee)

An evidence-based approach (Documentation and Tools Production)

SETTLEMENT CONCERN IN SETTLEMENT CONCERN IN RURAL COMMUNITIESRURAL COMMUNITIES

•Language Training

•Employment

•Translated Material

•Public Transportation

POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES OF RURAL COMMUNITIESRURAL COMMUNITIES

•Affordability

•Friendliness

•Health Care

•Environment

ACTIVITIES COMPLETEDACTIVITIES COMPLETED

•Immigration EXPO & Community Workshop

•Research

•Community Education and Awareness

•Stakeholder Immobilization

•Grant Applications

•Immigration – Business Profile

•Immigration Video – Workplace Focus

NEXT STEPSNEXT STEPS

•Tool Box Development – For OMAFRA

•Workforce Communications/Engagement

•Immigration Portal

•Continue Education & Awareness

•Immigration Attraction Program- Secondary

Immigration

Financial ResourcesFinancial Resources•Career Bridge www.careerbridge.ca

•The Ontario Trillium Foundation http://www.trilliumfoundation.org/

•Citizenship and Immigration Canada “Welcoming

Communities” Initiative

http://integration-net.ca/english/pdp/rfp-dp/index.cfm

•Citizenship and Immigration Canada “Promoting

Integration” Multiculturalism Program

http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/multiculturalism/funding/guide/101-eng.asp

•Maytree Foundation “Assisting Local Leaders with

Immigrant Employment Strategies” (ALLIES) Programhttp://atwork.settlement.org/sys/atwork_library_detail.asp?passed_lang=EN&doc_id=1000159

THE PRICEDEX CASETHE PRICEDEX CASE

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Mostly Good and Beautifulis Mostly Good and Beautiful

•Good skills, poor local and industry familiarity

•Overall performance results

•What we have done to bolster weaknesses

•Imperfect solution better than no solution

•Upsides: work ethic, work quality, caring,

meeting deadlines and meeting expectations,

response to extra demands, etc

How to Keep Them How to Keep Them and Develop Themand Develop Them

•Helping them to Land

•Adapting to their Needs

•Interest in their History and Culture

•Teaching the very best of Ours

•Assisting on the progression of paths to Permanent

Resident Status and then to Citizenship

•Finding the Support Resources – Dave Paul, etc. – our

actual experience and its benefits

Accepting a New Paradigm and Accepting a New Paradigm and Meeting the Leadership NeedsMeeting the Leadership Needs

•There is a new thing we must become ‘good at’

•Absence of bias, embracing the new paradigm, and

influencing with the best of Canadian values and

principles

•Senior Levels of Government - completing the loop –

Local Welcoming is Not Enough

•Business ultimately needs to Lead and Execute

•Someone needs to lead businesses to their own

Leadership role - You need to lead them there

Summary and Concluding CommentsSummary and Concluding Comments

•The results for Pricedex: Progress vs Constraint

– Both Sides Happy

•They have adjusted well – We have adjusted well

•We are a better, stronger company

•Perhaps our Experience Can Help You to Lead

the Leaders

THANK YOUTHANK YOU

David Paul, Director

of Economic Development

City of Brockville

1 King Street West

Brockville, ON K6V 7A5

dpaul@brockville.com

Terry O’Reilly, CEO

Pricedex Software Inc.

P.O. Box 458, 1807 Cty Rd. 2,

Brockville, ON K6V 5V6

Terry.OReilly@pricedex.com