County of Simcoe Social and Community Services

Children & Community Services Department 1110 Highway 26, Midhurst, Ontario L0L 1X0

Main Line (705) 722-3132 Toll Free 1-866-893-9300 Fax (705) 725-9539 simcoe.ca

SCS-CS-011-C01 PAGE 1 OF 4

M I N U T E S

MEETING DATE: 6/22/2015

MEETING TIME: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

ATTENDANCE: D. Brown (Social Enterprise for Canada); J. Ellis (Gateway Centre for Learning); E.N. Garcia (Enrique N. Garcia Translations); A. Fletcher (South Simcoe Police); C. Fletcher (Simcoe County District School Board); S. Graham for L.S. Doonan (Central Region Headquarters – OPP); R. Griffiths (LIP –secretary of record); G. Hall (County of Simcoe-Library Co-operative); E,. Jara (Credit Canada Debt Soloutions); M. Kuzma (Nottawasaga Futures); D. Lainez (El Remanente Fiel-Faithful Remnant Church); S. Lee (LIP); S.A. Maxwell (Family TLC); J. McGee (YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka); C. Muenker (LIP)N. Nijjar (Canadian Mental Health Assosication); L. Palson (Georgian College); I., Pavlick (pavlicks.com); S. Roy (Conseil Scolaire Viamonde); B. Shoreman (SMCDSB); G. Wauchope (County of Simcoe-Mayor of Innisfil); D. West (Lakehead University); E. White (My Brodcasting Corporation-92.1); L. Wild (City of Barrie); L. Woodrow (Career Centre-SCDSB); Regrets: A. Albisser (Citizenship and Immigration Canada); M. Bergin (Catholic Family Services); C. Colcy (Barrie Community Health Centre); W. Hembruff (County Of Simcoe. Ontario Works); R. Holt (LIP); S. Laycock (SMWDB); P. Whittington (Georgian College) Absent: E. Cudanin (FilCan Barrie); A. Hall (MCIIT and MTCS); T. Mc Almont (County of Simcoe); M. Poisson (MTCU); J. Skinner (Industrial Park Collision Inc.); C. Vanderkruys (Barrie Public Library); N. Walker (NSM LHIN)

SUBJECT: Local Immigration Partnership Council

1. Welcome / Introductions

G. Wauchope welcomed the group and introduced the new co-chair, Andrew Fletcher who is from South Simcoe Police. Mr. Fletcher gave a brief introduction and is looking forward to working with everyone. Round table introductions were made.

2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting

Motion -THAT the minutes of the Partnership Council meeting held on April 20th, 2015 to be confirmed and adopted, as circulated. Motion: S.L Graham; Second: J. Ellis. All in favour. MOTION CARRIED.

3. County of Simcoe LIP Management Report

May June 2015

Report.pdf

CIC/MCIIT Calls for Proposals – S. Lee shared with the group that the call for proposals will be issued shortly.

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Presentation at County Council August 25, 2015 – the May Committee of the Whole report to County Council was provided to the group for information. G. Wauchope asked for support by attending County Council when the Local Immigration Partnership presents on August 25th. He stressed the importance of community attendance to show council interest in the presentation.

Poverty Fund Application - County Of Simcoe has made an application for a three year project working alongside Employment Ontario services to improve outcomes for immigrants. We are waiting for response at this time.

4. Sub-Councils / Working Groups – Updates as attached.

Sub-Council

Activities Report.pdf

Settlement Sub-Council – Discussed the Ontario Works presentation in Barrie, was well received. The group is looking at providing the presentation to other offices across the county.

Economic Integration Sub-Council – Research activity utilizing the Research Analyst students will be occur over the summer.

Library Hub Model – G. Hall gave a brief overview of the final meeting of the Working Group. An image of the retractable signs that are on order was shared with the group.

library

welcome_LIP_may2015_v4.pdf Once the signs, bookmarks and flyers are completed, some marketing and awareness activities will occur.

Simcoe County Newcomer Recognition Awards – Planning is moving forward for this year’s event. The date for the awards ceremony has not been finalized however it will be the same week as National Citizenship week once that has been confirmed by the federal government. D. West asked where will it be and how big does the venue have to be. The venue is still to be determined and to a certain extent will depend on the location where funding dollars are received. D. Brown shared with the group that her association now has the technical capabilities to provide satellite locations where the awards can be watched interactively. This will hopefully increase awareness county wide. E. Jara indicated that she could be able to provide some funding for the event. She will contact S. Lee to discuss.

Cultural Competency – this group next meets on June 30th, 2015.

5. Activity Overview: a. Employer Connections: Hire Global Talent – The event was attended by over 88 people

and 35 employers where represented. Both federal and provincial speakers received 100% good or very good rating. G. Wauchope thanked the LIP team for a well-run event. L. Palson also thanked the group for the opportunity to present and share the Global Experience Program from Georgian College.

b. Community Consultation on Multicultural Centre –

Multicultural

consultation overview.pdf D. West asked where the leadership of the multicultural centre was coming from. S. Lee responded that the Multicultural centre is a recommendation that is in the Settlement Strategy. Leadership will be from the Partnership Council and Ethno cultural and Faith based groups. L. Palson stated that Georgian College is very interested in partnering with other groups to apply for funding to help move the Multicultural center forward. A.

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Fletcher asked how the invites to the event where handled. S. Lee indicated that ads were placed online and in Barrie newspapers. The registration form was circulated within the Partnership Council and other LIP contacts for the purpose of sharing with other contacts. A great deal of work was done by the ethno cultural groups to encourage their members to attend the event. Approximately two thirds of the attendees where from those groups. S. Lee suggested that key informant interviews could be conducted to obtain feedback from groups and associations who were unable to attend. L. Palson would be interested in completing an interview. S. Lee will be providing a recommendation report by the end of summer on the Multicultural Centre. D. West asked if there was going to be a sub-council for this initiative. S. Lee answered that there will be working groups for each of the five categories discussed at the consultation; Governance/Leadership, Programming/Activities, Facilities/Location; Funding and Partnership/Community Services.

c. Awareness Raising Activities MCIIT – currently there are only 8 registrants for the event on September 24th. S. Lee encouraged the group to register so that we can continue to have these free events provided by the provincial government.

d. Health Awareness Activities – C. Colcy has indicated that a conference call will be organized to discuss needs with other LIP Health sector representatives.

6. Immigrant Entrepreneurship Networking Initiative (Catherine Muenker)

Immigrant

Entrepreneur Networking Initiative.pdf

C. Muenker provided a brief overview of the upcoming project and her role. R. Sullivan – C. Muenker will be working alongside the Economic Development Office in this role. The expectation is that immigrant entrepreneurs will have a place to practice their business language with the hope of having them join mainstream networking groups, such as Chambers of Commerce, that already exist. More traffic to the business section of the immigration website will be a measurable outcome of the project.

7. SMWDB Regional Website (Susan Laycock, SMWDB)

job hosting

website.pdf

R. Sullivan presented on behalf of S. Laycock.

8. Implementation Package – Feedback

Implementation

Package Timeline1.pdf

9. Other Business L. Palson several women leaders in the community from RVH, Base Bordon and Georgian College, among others have chosen different diversification initiatives to focus on this year. On July 1st at 1:15 pm on the memorial stage the group will be presenting. If you are in the area be sure to attend J. McGee the YMCA has just received funding for a youth entrepreneur event to be held in the fall. The event will provide ten awards to youth (15-29years). One award will be for an immigrant youth entrepreneur. She will send out more information to the group once it is available. Another funding envelope was approved for paid employment youth funding. They

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are now accepting referrals in Barrie and Orillia. Contact the YMCA or an Employment Ontario provider for more information. J. Ellis – Gateway Learning received $5000 from the County of Simcoe to support a pilot project language program for immigrant participants. Over the summer volunteers will be trained and will start a program in the fall, where they will provide one on one tutoring, practicing work specific conversations. They have also applied for funding from CIC and Trillium, and are awaiting responses from those funders. S. Lee indicated that the County will provide a standard letter outlining key items from the settlement strategy to include with groups applications. If any organization would be interested in this or in data to support an application please contact the LIP.

10. Next Meeting: September 28th, 9:30 am to 11:30 am, Museum

11. BBQ Lunch: Relax, Enjoy, and Network!

County of Simcoe Social and Community Services

Children & Community Services

Department

1110 Highw ay 26,

Midhurst, Ontario L0L 1X0

Main Line (705) 722-3132 Toll Free 1-866-893-9300

Fax (705) 725-9539

simcoe.ca

SCS-CS-003-C01

SIMCOE COUNTY LOCAL IMMIGRATION PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL

MANAGEMENT REPORT

MAY/JUNE 2015

Community Engagement

Activity Number Meetings with Community Stakeholders 8

Meetings with Local Businesses 0 Community Networking Meetings 1

Intra Provincial Meetings 1 Training 1 Media Coverage 1

Presentations to Community 1 Scheduled Presentations 2

Scheduled Meetings 4 Scheduled Training/Conferences 1

Scheduled Media Coverage 1 The LIP secretariat completed the annual report on the activities of the LIP for the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015. Highlights in the report include:

Increased investments in Simcoe County, primarily in increased ESL delivery and MCIIT through municipal envelopes (library link, immigrant entrepreneurship). Total increased investment $134,980

Capacity Building Activities with ethno cultural and faith based organizations identified as best practice

Three initiatives with the greatest impact included the Library Link pilot project, the Renewed Expression of Interest and new Partnership Council membership, and the ethno cultural survey providing a solid quantitative insight to inform associations and provide feedback on funded settlement and employment services

Local Poverty Reduction Fund The province of Ontario issued an Expression of Interest for local projects that prevent/reduce poverty. In consultation with County staff working on poverty issues, there was recognition that an application supporting positive employment outcomes for immigrants in Simcoe County was a positive possibility. The LIP community based planning activities have been underway since 2011, and given the timelines for the application process, the stakeholders meeting about poverty needs were not at a place to move forward a project idea.

An Expression of Interest was completed by the May 1, 2015 deadline. The County received feedback from the province on this phase of the application, and subsequently submitted a final application to meet the June 10, 2015 deadline. The proposed initiative builds on the current research underway with EO service providers and pr ovides an upskilling training initiative for EO service providers to increase currency in serving immigrant residents seeking employment opportunities. The evaluation component includes a partnership with the Research Analyst program at Georgian College. Ethno-Cultural and Faith-Based Organizations A meeting took place on May 26 th. Primarily the purpose of the meeting was to further plan for the Community Consultation on June 9 th. An overview of the results from the ethno cultural and faith based organizations survey was also discussed. Employer Breakfast This breakfast was hosted by the County’s EDO, and coordinated in partnership with the LIP. Lucille Leblanc, an ambassador for CIC on the Express Entry program shared information on the new Express Entry system. Michael Theriault, from MCIIT, also spoke about the criteria to use the provincial nominee program under the Express Entry model. The morning wrapped up with a presentation provided by Georgian College’s international department. SMWDB provided handouts on jobcentral website. Eighty eight individuals registered in advance for the meeting. Feedback from participants was very positive, and is provided in the event overview at the meeting. Global Experience Ontario The province of Ontario will share information on credential recognition for immigrants qualified in non-health occupations. This session, for community stakeholders, is scheduled for September 24, 2015 from 1pm to 4 pm at the Simcoe County Museum. Registration forms have been distributed, and will be handled directly by Global Experience Ontario. Provincial Workshop (May 12, 13th) MCIIT hosted a provincial meeting for recipients of immigration portal funding and the 2014 Municipal Immigration Innovation Fund. The library link projected was highlighted at this meeting. The agenda included a focus on retaining international students and was also attended by Greg Bishop, Director of Children and Community Services and Bea Collins, Georgian College, International Students. Funders Network Meeting As a follow up to the last Partnership Council meeting, Alexandra Hall (regional advisor, Province of Ontario) initiated a meeting to discuss options to share Community Settlement Strategy with funding organizations. Following the meeting, LIP connected with the United Way to discuss potential plans for the Vital Signs Report 2014 as a catalyst for funders. The United Way identified that they would be interested in supporting further discussions about reforming a funder’s network to discuss community needs and funding priorities.

Children & Community

Services Department

Community Consultation:

Multicultural Centre

Full House

120 registrations

80 participants

Councillor Wauchope

County of Simcoe

Councillor Brassard

City of Barrie

Phase 1: Share your Ideas

Facilities/Location

Programming/Services

Partnerships

Funding

Governance

Parking Lot

Programming/Activities

What types of activities would you like this centre to

have?

Children/Youth activities? Seniors? Parenting activities?

Recreation/Sports? Workshops? Hobbies? Cultural

Activities/Events? Employment? English language classes?

Childcare. Please provide specific ideas/examples.

Partnership/Community Services

Who do we want/need to be involved and who is

missing?

What players would be necessary to make this a reality?

Local/Provincial/Federal Government. Ethno-cultural groups?

Investors? Large Corporation Support? Daycare? Nurse

Practitioner? Community Services? Employment Services?

Ontario Works? Please provide specific ideas/examples.

Facilities/Location

Where in Simcoe County should a centre be located?

What type of building do we need?

What Township/City? Gym space? Kitchen? Classrooms?

Close to transit? Accessible? Event space? Storage? Include all

your specific ideas/examples.

Governance/Leadership

Who will develop short and long term goals?

Who is accountable? How to make others voices heard?

What will be the decision making process? How will funds be

allocated? Please provide specific ideas/examples.

Funding

How will a multicultural centre be financially

supported in the short and long term?

Initial start-up? On-going funds and maintenance?

Local/Provincial/Federal Grants? Partnering opportunities?

Financial resources? How will we support programs? Projects?

Please provide specific ideas/examples.

Partnership/Community Services

Who do we want/need to be involved and who is

missing?

What players would be necessary to make this a reality?

Local/Provincial/Federal Government. Ethno-cultural groups?

Investors? Large Corporation Support? Daycare? Nurse

Practitioner? Community Services? Employment Services?

Ontario Works? Please provide specific ideas/examples.

Lots of Ideas

Group Breakout by Theme

Group Breakout by Theme

Group Breakout by Theme

Reporting Back

What are the five major

points emerging from the

community input?

Who is missing that would

have valuable input on this

topic?

What are the next steps to

move this topic forward?

Next Steps

Review Materials

Ideas by Discussion Topic

Summary Report Backs

Further Input

Key Informant Interviews

??

Recommendation Report

Partnership Council

Report Dissemination

Local Immigration Partnership

Prepared by Catherine Muenker – Project Coordinator

Immigrant Entrepreneur Networking Initiative

Project Objectives

In order to support immigrant-owned small business

development, the project seeks to:

Connect with immigrant entrepreneurs in the County of

Simcoe.

Encourage participants to develop supportive business

networks in the community while practicing their

English language communication skills through

networking sessions.

Raise their awareness of available business support

services and resources.

Project Description

Three networking sessions (in each of the five geographical

areas) for a total of 60 immigrant entrepreneurs:

Networking with other immigrant entrepreneurs in

Simcoe County.

Access to information about available business

development resources and services.

Access to information about available immigration and

settlement services and community supports.

English language communication skills development

delivered by Georgian College (elevator pitch).

Five Geographic Areas

South Simcoe

Georgian Triangle

Huronia

North Simcoe

Barrie

Outcomes for the project include:

Increased traffic to the business section of the immigration website.

Development of an immigrant entrepreneur database that will support local

community services providers in developing ongoing relationships to

support business expansion and retention.

Increased confidence in English verbal communications to improve business

outcomes.

Referrals to English language training programs and supports available in

Simcoe County, in particular the Occupational Specific Language Training

offered by Georgian College.

Business-to-business referrals amongst participating immigrant business

owners.

Motivation to operate and expand businesses in communities throughout

Simcoe County.

Outcomes & Performance Measures

Tasks & Timelines

Date Activity

May-June 2015 Outreach to Immigrant Entrepreneurs in

Simcoe County

May-October 2015 Database Development

August-November 2015 Three Networking Session

November 2015 Project Evaluation

November 2015 Final Report

Project Coordinator

Catherine MuenkerProject Coordinator, Immigrant Entrepreneur Networking

Initiative

Local Immigration Partnership (LIP)

County of Simcoe, Children and Community Services

1110 Highway 26, Midhurst, Ontario L0L 1X0

Phone: (705) 726-9300 Extension 1421 or

Toll Free: (866) 893-9300 / Fax: (705) 725-9539

Cellular / Text: (705) 725-4589

Email: Catherine.Muenker@simcoe.ca

Website: http://www.immigration.simcoe.ca/business

BACKGROUND

Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board

(SMWDB) has developed a website which will be a

central and complete vehicle for job postings and

events in Simcoe County and the District of

Muskoka.

BACKGROUND

No central employment posting website was found to exist in Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka based on research undertaken to date

BACKGROUND

The site was informed by extensive stakeholder consultations with the website end users and service providers to ensure it is relevant, value-added and easy to utilize

MANDATE

The site seeks to close the gap between positions available and the under-employed and/or commuters to improve their and their families' quality of life.

Any job seeker and employer will benefit from expanded reach to match skills sets with positions available.

ISSUES

Regional economic development offices and employers have expressed challenges filling vacant skilled positions.

At the same time, employment service providers are indicating that skilled job seekers are not able to find suitable positions within the region.

ISSUES

We received feedback from our community that job seeking can be difficult due to the vast array of vehicles and styles of job postings..

OBJECTIVE #1

To become the go-to vehicle for employees both regionally and those wishing to migrate in both from other locations in Canada and also as recent or potential immigrants.

OBJECTIVE #2

To become the go-to vehicle for small and medium size enterprises to directly post their listings at no cost

OBJECTIVE #3

To provide a streamlined process for employers to access NFP Employment Ontario services who can support their hiring needs at no cost

OBJECTIVE #4

To secure employment data to be compiled and disseminated by SMWDB to assist in future regional economic development planning, supporting efforts ensuring there will be appropriate numbers and trained people for jobs and jobs for those currently under-employed

WHY SMWDB?

SMWDB was established 18 years ago to act as a catalyst for community planning all while ensuring equity and addressing employment training needs and marketable skills for a changing economy.

WHY SMWDB?

As such this project aligns perfectly with our mandate to

develop a local solution for this employment challenge

PARTICIPANTS

Job Central

Employment Service

Providers

Local Immigration Partnership

Municipal Economic

Development Offices

Ontario Works

Business Associations

WEBSITE CONTENT

Questions? Suggestions?

Page 1 of 2

LOCAL IMMIGRATION PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITY UPDATES: June 22, 2015 SUB-COUNCILS Settlement Sub-Council: During the reporting period, the Settlement Sub-Council met once on June 11th, 2015. The meeting was focused on discussing the Express Entry Employers Breakfast, the Multicultural Consultation, and the upcoming Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) National Call for Proposals (open June 22, 2015 – August 10, 2015). LIP staff, along with settlement members representing the Welcome Centre Mobile Unit, YMCA, and Georgian College, made a short presentation on June 10th, 2015 to the Barrie Ontario Works (OW) staff. The presentation’s purpose was to inform staff of the settlement support available in Simcoe County in order to ultimately increase referral activity. A brief overview was also given regarding the changing demographics in Simcoe County. In the fall, settlement partners will inquire into presenting to the other OW satellite offices (Alliston, Collingwood, Midland, and Orillia).

Economic Integration Sub-Council: During the reporting period, the Economic Integration Sub-Council met twice on April 21st and June 1st. The first of the two meetings was spent finalizing questions for the Employment Research Project and reviewing the final results from the Ethno-Cultural/Faith Needs Assessment survey. Group members have been very involved in this upcoming project and the final meeting was spent discussing next steps, as well as, the upcoming Immigrant Entrepreneur project. The Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board also gave a short presentation regarding the launch of Job Central. On May 28th, LIP staff presented the final draft of research questions at an Employment Ontario Managers’ Meeting. Final feedback was received and methodology, timelines, and next steps were discussed.

WORKING GROUPS Library Hub Model: In the reporting period, the Library Link Steering Committee met twice on April 28th and June 4th. All participating libraries have now received Cultural Competency Training and staff participated in both a pre-and-post evaluation measure. Steering members discussed final project items such as: project signage and outreach materials, final reporting, success stories, and referral activity. Members also spent time reviewing new information that will be used to highlight the increased profile of libraries as welcoming hubs on the Simcoe County immigration portal.

Simcoe County Newcomer Recognition Awards (SCNRA):

During the reporting period, working group members met twice on May 5th and June 16th. The group has been focused on the distribution of the sponsorship package and securing financial support for the upcoming awards ceremony. Members also spent time updating relevant outreach materials for the 2015 awards year and discussing methods of distribution. No changes or additions were made to individual award categories, however, the Immigrant Artist award criteria received a complete update. Award nomination period begins July 1st and ends September 25th. Materials for distribution will be circulated shortly.

Cultural Competency: During the reporting period no meetings were scheduled. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

Implementation Package Timelines

1. Initial Survey (Fall of 2015)

a. Helping to understand common needs of Partnership Council members

i. Developmental Opportunities

ii. Barriers to Implementation

iii. Measuring stakeholder change

b. Helping to understand constituency and CSS context

i. Who are the stakeholders I represent. Is there more than one?

1. Are there opportunities to be an ambassador at other tables?

ii. Readiness

1. Cultural Competency Training for Staff

2. Interpretation and Translation offered for patients/clients

3. Outreach and Marketing to Immigrants living in isolation

4. Improving currency with immigrant service providers and

increasing information and referral activities

5. Developing a welcoming environment

a. Signs

b. Diversity, inclusivity

iii. Opportunity

1. Organization/sector HR needs

2. Encouraging participation as mentors/networking

iv. Celebrate

1. Multiculturalism 101

2. Create opportunities to share Canadian culture with those new to

Canada

3. Good News Stories

v. Inspire

1. Encouraging immigrant leadership

2. Supporting engagement opportunities

2. Summary presentation on survey results:

a. Finalize implementation plan

3. Annual feedback as part of measurement activities