|
TORONTO,
November 21, 2005 — The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration, and the Honourable Mike Colle,
Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today signed the
Canada–Ontario Immigration Agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Government of
Canada will invest an additional $920 million over the next five
years in Ontario.
This is the first comprehensive immigration agreement between Ontario and Canada,
and it is intended to help more newcomers reach their full potential in
Ontario
by increasing the funding for services to help them settle, integrate
and access language training.
By formalizing how the two levels of government will
work together in the area of immigration, the agreement signals a
shared desire to optimize the economic benefits of immigration and
ensure that immigration policies and programs respond to Ontario’s
social, economic development and labour market priorities.
“This is a significant milestone, laying a
foundation for the governments of Canada
and Ontario
to work together in collaboration with municipalities and official
language minority communities to improve the social and economic
integration of immigrants in the province,” said Minister Volpe.
“This is truly a landmark agreement for our province
and a history-making investment in the successful integration of the
125,000 new immigrants Ontario
welcomes each year,” added Minister Colle.
Ontario welcomes
more than half of all new immigrants coming to Canada
every year. Increased settlement funding for immigrants in Ontario will help Ontario’s newcomers successfully
start their new life here.
|
