More than 260,000 people immigrated to Canada from around the world in 2005. They came here for a better life, a chance to start over, escape from persecution and a multitude of other reasons. For many newcomers, getting here is merely the beginning of a huge adjustment process. Although Canada is a country of tolerance, opportunity, and world-famous politesse, for new immigrants it can be a minefield of cultural unknowns, indecipherable mores and baffling bureaucracy. Nonprofits play a crucial role in helping newcomers adapt to and settle in Canada.

Working it out

Finding employment is of paramount importance to the majority of immigrants. That’s why arranging for access to work opportunities and providing skills training to new Canadians is high on the priority list for nonprofits working with newcomers. This is particularly apparent in Toronto. According to Statistics Canada, Toronto receives the lion’s share of immigrants every year. Approximately 140,000 newcomers settled there in 2005, making it the most multi-ethnic city in Canada.

Looking out for the interests and employment opportunities for many of these newcomers is a nonprofit called Accessible Community Counselling & Employment Services (ACCES). ACCES processes close to 10,000 immigrants a year through its three Toronto locations. They realize that one of the keys to adjusting to Canada is to help newcomers find meaningful employment. ACCES’ mandate is to assist job seekers from diverse backgrounds face and overcome the barriers to employment and integrate into the Canadian job market. No small feat.

Manjeet Dhiman is regional director for ACCES. She knows how necessary it is for nonprofits like hers to exist and help immigrants meld into the Canadian mosaic. “It’s very important because lots of newcomers are struggling to find work,” she says. “We know through our experience that the quicker [immigrants] enter the labour market, particularly if they get a job in their field, the better off they are. Because the longer they are out of work, the more challenging it becomes.” As such, ACCES offers a wide array of programs designed to help professionals find work in their fields.

According to Dhiman, gainful employment often causes a positive chain reaction for newcomers. This is precisely where the nonprofit’s expertise is most needed because it triggers a boost in confidence and helps newcomers settle (physically and emotionally) into Canada. And ACCES is not alone in its efforts.

Providing community

Across the country, in Victoria, nonprofits are also helping immigrants’ transition into Canadian culture beyond work placements. Carlos Gaete is executive director of the Victoria Immigrant Resource Centre Society (VIRCS). It has a similar mandate to that of ACCES but with an additional twist: a communal bent. “Most immigrants come from third-world countries [where] living is community-based and culturally warm,” states Gaete. “North Americans live very individually, so immigrants get very lonely here.” And he should know. Gaete came to Canada as a refugee from Chile in the late 1970s. Together with two other refugees he set up VIRCS in 1989. He set out not only to help with employment, but also to create a community environment.

“We promote our centre by saying that whether you have problems or not, or you just feel lonely, come to have a coffee! Come meet other immigrants so you won’t feel alone. Because immigrants can have a very successful [career] life but [still] feel lonely and isolated,” says Gaete. It’s a challenge for most newcomers to feel like they fit in and Gaete still harbours some resentment for the way he had to struggle to adjust to Canada.

“When I came to this country I didn’t receive any services at all and I can tell you, it delayed my adjustment to this society by at least ten years,” he says. It’s why he believes the government must do something to increase funding not only for VIRCS, but also for all nonprofits helping immigrants.

Systemic quagmire

The voluntary sector provides lots of frontline assistance for immigrants in the form of organizations like ACCES and VIRCS, but there are crucial systemic issues to be dealt with as well. That’s why nonprofits are becoming very involved on the macro level of the struggle to help newcomers as well.

Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) is working to even the playing field for newcomers. As part of a joint effort with the Law Commission of Canada (LCC), the CFC recently commissioned a survey on the issue called Unsettled: Legal and Policy Barriers for Newcomers to Canada. It has alerted the CFC to the need for a cohesive, unified voice from its member foundations on the state of immigrants in Canada.

Betsy Martin, senior advisor and policy consultant for CFC in Montreal, is convinced her organization will play a significant role in helping member foundations across Canada deal with immigrant issues as they start advocating for policy changes. “We realize how crucial it is to help immigrants settle; how much we rely on immigration for labour market growth [and] for sustaining our population,” she says. CFC will focus its advocacy efforts in the halls of power in the coming years in order to alleviate some of the pain experienced by their frontline members.

“There are jurisdictional issues involved,” explains Martin. “Some parts [of immigration policy] belong to the provinces; others belong to the feds, others to the governing bodies of trade. There is policy incoherence as a result of these issues that creates systemic barriers. The only way we will see real, lasting change is to deal with these barriers.” It’s a sentiment shared by others in the sector.

The big picture

Back in Toronto, Amy Casipullai, policy and public education coordinator of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) knows that the role her organization and other nonprofits play in adding value to systemic immigration issues is essential.

“I think the value that OCASI and our allies offer is an analysis of the impact of legislation, policy and practice on immigrants and refugees,” she says. “We have also worked together with allies to bring about policy change that can have a constructive outcome for all Canadian communities, including immigrants and refugees.”

As a concrete example, she cites OCASI-developed positions on issues such as income security and projects like Campaign 2000 to end child poverty. This is something that she argues has “universal relevance in Canada.” 

“We are able to offer insight into the unique circumstances of immigrants and refugees, and this is based on the experience of our members who work on the frontlines,” Casipullai says. “This [is] one of the most important functions of an umbrella organization – the capacity to develop an inclusive analysis, and to engage with community partners and institutional and government stakeholders to work together for a positive solution.”

Thousands of immigrants and refugees across the country are, no doubt, grateful for the efforts of these nonprofits and hope that the solution comes soon.

Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.