Newcomers in Sooke, Saanich, Langford and Squamish will receive immigrant settlement services for the first time, thanks to new funding of $4.4 million.

The additional funding is part of a $20.3-million annual budget for the Settlement and Integration Program under WelcomeBC and will allow the program to be enhanced and expanded.

Newcomers in the four new communities will join 59,000 newcomers in 31 communities throughout the province who receive a broad range of services to help them settle into their new lives and gain employment. Funding goes towards orientation classes and workshops on a wide variety of topics such as: how to find a job, find a place to live, navigate the local transit system and learn banking basics.

Under 'Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan', the B.C. government is committed to helping immigrants adjust to life in their new communities and find employment. It is expected immigrants will need to fill about one-third of the one million jobs expected to open up in B.C. by the end of the decade to meet labour market needs and continue to fuel economic growth. Settlement services are a key component to helping thousands of individuals and families realize this goal in communities across the province.

More than $488,000 is also being provided to help with participants' child-minding and transportation costs.

WelcomeBC works closely with settlement agencies and other partners to provide information services to newcomers through its website, WelcomeBC.ca: http://www.welcomebc.ca/wbc/index.page?dcrPath=info

For example, the site now hosts nine new videos covering topics such as how to acquire a social insurance number card, contact emergency services or get a driver's licence. The videos are offered in eleven different languages with or without subtitles and are also available for mobile viewing: http://m.welcomebc.ca/wbcm/index.page?dcrPath=info

This Program is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

Quotes:

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages -

"The Government of Canada is focused on the integration of newcomers. Through federal investments in settlement programming, Citizenship and Immigration Canada supports the successful participation and integration of newcomers in local communities and the economy."

"CIC will continue working with the Province of British Columbia to maintain quality services for newcomers and to ensure that funding responds to the actual needs of newcomers."

Quick Facts:

• B.C. continues to be one of Canada's most popular destinations for new immigrants, welcoming more than 40,000 newcomers each year.

• Services through WelcomeBC are provided to more than 100,000 newcomers in 66 communities throughout the province, by more than 100 service providers.

• WelcomeBC's award-winning website helps approximately 600,000 clients each year from B.C. and around the globe, offers information accessible in several languages and makes it easier for immigrants to access vital information.

• By 2019, it is expected that there will be over one million job openings in the province, and skilled immigrants will play a vital role in filling many of those positions.

Learn More:

Watch the newcomers' videos here: http://www.welcomebc.ca/wbc/immigration/settle/newcomersguide

Users can mix and match the language the host speaks in with the subtitle: for example viewers can watch the videos in Punjabi with English subtitles.

Once the host's language is selected, all the information on the screen will convert automatically.

Clients can download the video scripts in any of the eleven languages to keep the instructions/lessons close at hand;

The technical sophistication of these web videos/mobile offerings is a first for any jurisdiction in Canada.

To find out more about the BC Jobs Plan, go to www.bcjobsplan.ca

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:

Caroline McAndrews
Communications Manager
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-0613

BACKGROUNDER

Settlement Service Providers by Service Area

Vancouver/Burnaby/New Westminster:

• MOSAIC
• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
• Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia
• Immigrant Services Society of BC

North Shore/Squamish:

• North Shore Multicultural Society

Tri-Cities:

• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
• Immigrant Services Society of BC

Surrey/North Delta:|

• DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society
• Options Community Services Society

Maple Ridge:

• Immigrant Services Society of BC

Richmond/ South Delta:

• CHIMO Crisis Services
• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Langley

• Immigrant Services Society of BC

Abbotsford/Mission/Chilliwack:

• Abbotsford Community Services Society
• Mission Community Services
• Chilliwack Community Services Society

Greater Victoria/Vancouver Island:

• Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria
• Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society - Nanaimo and area
• Cowichan Intercultural Society - Duncan and area
• Campbell River & Area Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association
• Immigrant Welcome Centre of Courtenay/Comox Valley

Interior/Okanagan:

• South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services - Penticton and area
• Kelowna Community Resources Society - Kelowna and area
• Kamloops Cariboo Regional Immigrants Society - Kamloops and area
• Vernon & District Immigrant Services Society - Vernon and area

Kootenays:

• Community Connections Society of Southeast BC

Prince George:

• Immigrant & Multicultural Services Society of Prince George

Fort Saint John:

• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Contact:

Caroline McAndrews
Communications Manager
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-0613