The sharing of knowledge and best practices is a valuable part of the collaboration among Local Immigration Partnerships.
See below for tools, information, and the sharing of experiences from Local Immigration Partnerships across Southwestern Ontario.
Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP)
Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC)
St. Thomas-Elgin LIP
Collaborative Southwestern Ontario LIPs
WE LIP Best Practices
Temporary Foreign Worker Initiatives
After more than a decade engaging community partners around newcomer services, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) expanded the mandate of the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP) in 2020-2021 to officially include community efforts focusing on Migrant and Temporary Foreign Workers in our region.
The following video highlights the details of this work, including a community led Action Plan and some next steps for 2021-2022:
We Speak Language Access Initiative
Language barriers have a major impact on both the quality and costs of support services. Research indicates that people who have limited English proficiency may be excluded from or experience delays or denials in receiving services.
In response to this, health, social service and government partners have come together to develop We Speak, a language access initiative giving providers the ability to gain access to scheduled or on demand professional interpreting services in-person, by phone or video.
The following video shares details of this initiative:
Inter-sectoral Collaboration: Working with RIFs
Français
English
https://youtu.be/fVVCp6YIHqw
Getting the Word Out: Insights from the We Speak Language Access Initiative
WE LIP was invited to speak at a plenary panel discussion on the topic of LIPs and RIFs as knowledge mobilizers during the Pathways to Prosperity 2021 National Conference on November 10, 2021. Over 500 people watched WE LIP share a presentation titled “Getting the Word Out: Insights from the We Speak Language Access Initiative.”
The following video shares details of the various efforts and initiatives used to communicate the We Speak Initiative with community partners, health care professional, and beyond:
Southwestern Ontario LIPs Best Practices
Pathway to Hiring Immigrants
On February 17, 2022, Immploy, a community project of WIL Employment Connections, and Local Immigration Partnerships from across Southwest Ontario including London-Middlesex, Sarnia-Lambton, Huron County, Guelph-Wellington, Waterloo Region, Hamilton, Chatham-Kent, Windsor Essex, and St Thomas Elgin, invited community partners to join fellow employers across Southwestern Ontario for virtual presentations and panel discussions around “Pathways to Hiring Immigrants.”
Hire internationally trained talent, newcomers, immigrants, and international students with confidence. Engage with representatives from the Federal and Provincial Government, including an Immigration Lawyer to learn how to navigate immigration programs, including:
- Federal Job Bank
- Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
- Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)
- Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
Presenters:
- Christine Ranger, Citizen Services Specialist, Citizen Services Branch – Service Canada / Government of Canada
- Holly Foran, Senior Program Advisor Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
- Jennifer N. Gray, Senior Program Advisor Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
- Jennifer Roggeman, LL.B, Immigration Lawyer – Jennifer Roggemann Immigration Law Office
Moderator:
Sarah Wayland, Senior Project Manager, Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, City Of Hamilton
St. Thomas-Elgin LIP Best Practices
Before You Sign – Webinars and Resources
Rural populations of immigrants, especially individuals who are not native English speakers, experience significant obstacles in obtaining accurate legal information due to factors of isolation, distance, and language proficiency. Leaders of ethnic communities, and frontline workers in community and social service agencies, may be the only contacts and sources of information that rural newcomers encounter. By helping newcomers and immigrants better understand legal systems and supports in Canada, there is an opportunity to avoid more costly and complicated legal interventions for them later.
The intention of this training is to bring together these key players in our communities with the existing legal information and resources to better support newcomers.
Before You Sign – Multilingual Resources
Serving Immigrant and Newcomer Clients – Webinar & Resource guide
A webinar and resource guide sheet to help front line service providers better understand the role and services provided by settlement agencies. The training explains how they help newcomers and immigrants and why clients should be referred to settlement services. The training also explains the role of Local Immigration Partnerships in contrast to settlement agencies.
Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council Best Practices
Doing Research with Newcomers – Resources
The best research is meaningful and inclusive.
Meaningful research focuses on what’s important to the community. The goal is for the research to have a positive impact.
Inclusive research is when all members of the target population are given a chance to participate. Researchers put supports in place to make sure this happens.
Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) has collaborate with McMaster Research shop and local community members to create a three-piece tool for newcomers, researchers and service providers.
This guide will help prepare newcomers in making informed decisions if they choose to participate in research, prospective researchers, and service providers approached by researchers.
Find more information at the links below:
Participating in Research: A Guide for Newcomers
Researcher’s Guide to Inclusive and Meaningful Research with Newcomers
Intake Form – Inclusive and Meaningful Research with Newcomers
