National Settlement Conference
(Kingston - June 18-20, 2001)
Backgrounder
Event
The National Settlement Conference will be held at
Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, June 18–20, 2001. The conference,
the first of its kind in Canada, is structured to provide meaningful dialogue
on settlement policy in Canada.
Delegates
The 400 conference delegates, from the Yukon to Newfoundland,
were invited by sector representatives through a selection process. They
represent the settlement community, provincial and federal governments
and other community stakeholders directly involved with new immigrants
and refugees in Canada. The delegates include about 350 from the not-for-profit
sector and about 50 from the government sector.
Focus
The National Settlement Conference is a working forum.
Delegates will be encouraged to explore what an ideal settlement framework
might be and what steps are needed to achieve this. There will also be
an opportunity to recognize the contribution of the settlement sector
to Canadian society thus far, as well as to explore the possibility of
a settlement accord between CIC and the settlement sector to guide relations
in the future.
Objectives
The three objectives of the conference are
- to provide a national forum for meaningful dialogue
on priority policy issues;
- to enhance the overall service delivery capacity
of the settlement sector, thereby strengthening the sector; and
- to facilitate learning within the sector.
Theme
Building Our Settlement Vision (Partnerships, Policy
and Practices)
Settlement activities
The settlement of immigrants and refugees in Canada
is ensured through a partnership between the federal and provincial governments
and the not-for-profit sector. Settlement programs and services help new
arrivals to become self-reliant, participating members of Canadian society
as quickly as possible. Examples of programs funded by the government
of Canada through Citizenship and Immigration Canada include the Immigrant
Settlement and Adaptation Program, the Host Program, the Language Instruction
for Newcomers to Canada Program, and the Private Sponsorship Program.
Fact sheets are available to provide more information on each of these
programs.
History
The national conference was organized at the initiative
of the not-for-profit settlement sector. The Government of Canada responded
by undertaking the conference planning in partnership with the sector.
The conference is necessary for the sector to identify
common goals and promising practices, and to begin deliberations on key
policy and operational themes.
Moving forward
A key part of the conference process will centre
on the establishment of policy working groups to move the sector forward
in its service to newcomers to Canada. Each group will have its own specific
focus and will meet over the next 18 months to develop recommendations.
Working group topics will include, for example:
- Strengthening current settlement work
- Regional dispersion and retention of newcomers
(smaller city strategy)
- Settlement accord
(One or two additional policy working groups might
be established if a significant topic arises from conference discussions.)
Fact sheets on the following programs are available
on CIC’s Web site:
Visit our Web site
for up-to-date information on this conference.
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