Blog News

Succeeding in Canada... With a Little Help

Written by Artan Spahiu, Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services Tuesday, 03 January 2012 11:29

By Artan Spahiu, Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services

Yamy De La Cruz is a PICS and LINC success story.

With a background in Computer Science and Web Design, Yamy moved from Cuba to Canada in 2009. Her husband had been living here for three years and working as a Computer Technologist before she arrived with their then 11-year old son. With almost no English, Yamy found her early days in Canada to be challenging and difficult.

“When I first came here it was a little frustrating,” says Yamy. “I didn’t know the language, the culture was different, and the winter was harsh, so I realized I had to do something.”

Yamy recognized that an important first step to helping her assimilate into her new home was to improve her English. Yamy says, “It was difficult for me to start talking because I felt embarrassed. I didn’t like making mistakes. I knew I had to work on my English and get used to the culture here, so I started attending LINC Classes.”

Yamy started LINC in Level 3, and after a year of hard work she graduated and went on to volunteer at Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services. She assisted PICS with designing their website and creating a database. She also helped PICS staff create PowerPoint presentations, covers for magazines, flyers, and other materials. At the same time, with the encouragement of PICS staff, Yamy began attending ELT classes run by Margaret, also in Etobicoke.

As part of her ELT program, an 8-week co-op position was arranged for Yamy at Audmax Inc., a local Mississauga training and consulting company. “I helped them from scratch to develop their website,” says Yamy. “I felt a little uncomfortable at the beginning in the workplace because I had never worked before in Canada, but they helped me a lot to adapt.”

At the end of her Co-op term, Audmax offered Yamy a 1-month contract to finish building the website. This contract was followed by another 3-month contract that she has just recently completed. With her excellent English skills and some Canadian work experience under her belt, Yamy’s resume is significantly stronger than it was when she first arrived in Mississauga two years ago. She is now interviewing for full-time positions and doing free-lance website design in the interim.

She credits LINC and PICS with helping her settle into her new life here in Canada. “I have to be grateful to Polycultural because they put me on the track to getting a job….I got my Canadian experience, which is important to getting another job, so I’m very grateful.”

We at PICS wish Yamy continued success.

To find out more about similar programs at the Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services (PICS), please visit their website at www.polycultural.org, or phone 416-261-4901 (Scarborough), 416-233-0055 (Etobicoke) or 905-403-8860 (Mississauga).

ICA Announces New Champions of Diversity

Written by Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria - News Release Wednesday, 09 May 2012 14:56

The Community Partnership Network (CPN) is pleased to announce that four organizations have been recognized as Champions of Diversity. CHEK TV, Camosun College, VanCity Savings, and James Bay New Horizons have undertaken a commitment to support and reflect the mandate of the CPN: to build diverse, welcoming, and inclusive organizations and communities in Greater Victoria.

“We sincerely appreciate being selected as one of the four organizations that support the Community Partnership Network along with Camosun College, VanCity, and James Bay New Horizons and the other organizations before us,” says Karin Hanwell from CHEK News. “We’re proud to be associated with this important initiative and believe that this is a win/win for CHEK and CPN.”

CHEK TV, Camosun College, VanCity Savings, and James Bay New Horizons are joining the previously recognized Champions of Diversity: the Canadian Cancer Society, Saanich Police Department, United Way of Victoria, Puente Theatre, Canadian Red Cross, and University of Victoria, Equity and Human Rights Office.

These Champions of Diversity will be recognized on May 12 at the Arts Centre at Cedar Hill (3220 Cedar Hill Rd, Saanich) at 2:30 pm. The event is being held in conjunction with the launch of Voice & Place: Culture, Community and Belonging, a culturally diverse photographic exploration of Greater Victoria. For more information on Voice & Place, go to www.icavictoria.org/arts.

The Community Partnership Network (CPN) is a group of over 80 local agencies, businesses, and institutions committed to building diverse, welcoming, and inclusive communities in Greater Victoria. CPN members work to develop their capacity by sharing resources and information aimed at promoting and supporting our increasingly diverse region. The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) serves as the lead agency for the CPN. ICA’s long-term goal is to develop the Capital Regional District’s capacity to more effectively attract, welcome, and integrate newcomers into our communities, workplaces, organizations, and institutions. This CPN project is made possible in part through funding by the Province of British Columbia.

For more information on the CPN, including how to join, go to www.icavictoria.org/connect/community-partnership-network or contact Steven Lorenzo Baileys, Community Development Coordinator, at 250-388-4728 ext 116 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Bridging Program Bears Fruit in Northern Ontario

Written by CNM

The seeds for Professions North/Nord (PNN) were sown at the Faculty of Management at Laurentian University’s Management Development Centre, when they identified the need for a support program that integrates internationally-trained professionals (ITPs) into the workforce in Northern Ontario.

Achieving this goal would enable new immigrants to find employment and get Canadian experience in their field, while providing Northern Communities with the skills of knowledgeable professionals.

But the ground was rocky and needed some grooming and fertilizing. An infrastructure had to be put in place to ensure that newcomers would receive the supports they need to thrive. So, partnerships were created across the North. Economic Development Corporations let the public know about the opportunities for newcomers. Settlement and employment organizations, including North Bay & District Multicultural Centre, YMCA Sudbury, Employment Ontario (Timmins), Thunder Bay Multicultural Association and Sault Community Career Centre (Sault Ste. Marie), came on board as PNN’s frontline service providers.

Funding from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration enabled PNN to offer both English and French language services free of charge to eligible candidates and supported Northern Ontario in maximizing the benefits of hiring and supporting ITPs. These services include:

Portfolio Development

This tool provides a clear and concise presentation of an individual’s work experience, education and skills. It proves useful in accreditation and job search so employers and evaluators can become quickly familiar with the candidate’s background.

Intercultural Communication for the Canadian Workplace(ICCW)

The ICCW addresses common Canadian norms and nuances in order to enhance internationally-trained professionals’ culture-based professional communication and soft skills.

Bridging to Accreditation

We offer online/distance courses toward certification in accounting and financial services, specifically for the CGA, CA, CMA and CFP designations.

Networking, Mentorship, Work Placement (new in 2012)

ITPs can look forward to interacting with a professional in their field and gaining valuable insight and networking as well as the ability to apply what they have learned at work placements.

By teaching you how to navigate the norms, culture, nuances and lingo in the Canadian workplace, PNN’s services can help you build a network, meet a mentor or find a work placement. Visit the Professions North website to register. Professions North wants to give you a chance to blossom by becoming a valuable member of one of Ontario’s Northern Communities.

Buying a home in Canada

Written by CNM

Buying a home is an exciting experience that can be both rewarding and challenging – and potentially even more challenging for someone who is new to Canada. If you are a newcomer to Canada, and you are thinking about becoming a homeowner, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers useful tips to help you find the right home.

Since most newcomers to Canada use the internet to find information on housing, CMHC developed the Housing for Newcomers site at www.cmhc.ca/newcomers with information in eight languages: English, French, Mandarin/Simplified Chinese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Arabic, and Spanish. You'll find advice in these eight languages about buying a home as well as renting an apartment and maintaining a home.

The site offers tips to help newcomers through the entire homebuying process from making the decision to buy to moving day and beyond. You'll find lots of information including how to determine what type of home you want and where you want to live, as well as how to find and finance a home.

For example, the home you buy and where you end up buying it will depend on how much you can afford, where you work, whether you want to commute and your family's lifestyle.

You'll need to consider not only what you want now, but what you might want in the future. Do you need several bedrooms, more than one bathroom, or a garage? Do you plan to have children or do you have teenagers who will be moving away soon? Think about where your children will go to school and how they will get there. Also, how important is it to live close to your family and friends, a place of worship or cultural community centres?

Once you've decided on where you want to live and the type of home you would like, it's a good idea to tell friends, family and work colleagues that you're looking for a house. They might know about homes that are on the market. Check the homes section in the newspaper as well as real estate websites, such as www.mls.ca, for information and photos on a wide range of properties. You can also simply drive around a neighbourhood that interests you and look for "For Sale" signs.

Whatever method you choose to look for a house, do your research to learn as much as possible about the home that you want to buy.

It's also important to research the people and organizations that are helping you buy your home, including your real estate agent, lender or mortgage broker, lawyer and home inspector. Ask for their references and call the people who have done business with them before. Also ask how they can help you with your special needs as a new Canadian. For instance, do they speak your first language?

Looking for a home requires patient, deliberate work and some thoughtful planning, but when you consider how much time you will be spending in your home, and how much money you spend to buy a home, the effort is clearly worth it. CMHC also offers several worksheets and checklists to help with every stage of the home buying process. Simply visit Housing for Newcomers at www.cmhc.ca/newcomers.