Liberals:
Action and support
Ontario's Liberal government understands that our ability to attract,
settle and integrate the highest-quality newcomers to Canada is one of
our province's strategic advantages. Some examples of real, positive
change for newcomers include:
- Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement
- First immigration agreement between Ontario and the federal
government.
Federal spending on language training and settlement services in
Ontario
will quadruple to $920 million over five years;
- Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act
- The first legislation of its kind in Canada, Bill 124
breaks down barriers to newcomers working in their fields sooner.
Requires Ontario's 34 regulated professions makelicensing and
certification processes more fair and open, and assess the
credentials of foreign-trained professionals quicker.
- Bridge Training Programs
- Since 2003, Ontario has invested more than $34 million in some
60 bridging projects, with participation from 6,000 participants to
assess existing skills, provide work experience and help qualified
newcomers move quickly into the labour market without duplicating
what they have already learned.
- Adult Language Training
- Increased funding of adult non-credit continuing education
English as a Second Language (ESL), French as a Second Language, and
Citizenship and Language Training classes by 6.5 percent ($158 per
average daily enrolment since 2003.
- First-ever OPS internships
- The Ontario Public Service now places qualifying newcomers with
a minimum of three years of international work experience for
six-month internships with the Ontario Public Service and Crown
agencies.
- Provincial Loans Program
- Ontario now provides loans of up to $5,000 for
internationally-trained professionals to cover assessment, training
and exam costs needed to enter the work force.
- Newcomer Settlement Program
- Supports 81 community agencies that provide settlement services
for more than 110,000 newcomers each year. Funding has increased by
29 percent to $5.3 million annually.
- New Ontario immigration web portal
- A new one-stop gateway for newcomers to Ontario. The web portal
contains information and links about places to live, work and study
in Ontario..Provides details on how to start a business or to
download essential forms from anywhere in the world. For more
details go to
www.ontarioimmigration.ca