July 15th was an important day for Armenian Family Support Services. AFSS was invited to meet with the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, at a roundtable event entitled Canada’s Continuing Story of Immigration – The Next Chapter. The purpose of the event was to exchange opinions about the long-term stance of Canadian Immigration.
Minister McCallum conducted these round-table conversations with various Sponsorship Agreement Holders, settlement agencies, employment agencies, university researchers, etc., all across Canada in order to gather various perspectives about the future direction of the IRCC. It was a great achievement for AFSS to take part in this conversation.
Since the first newcomers arrived on Canadian soil, a sense of possibility, innovation and discovery has been a defining part of our Canadian national identity. Although times and conditions may have changed, the 21st century newcomers to Canada have retained that innovative spirit, enriching the communities where they settle and helping to ensure the Canada of tomorrow remains as dynamic as the country of yesterday.
The Government of Canada is asking Canadians coast to coast to help write the next chapter of that story. Our Government is committed to an immigration policy that supports diversity and helps to grow the economy as it strengthens the fabric of our society.
Approximately 20 people attended from different agencies along with two MPs from Scarborough and 10 observers. Some of the discussion at the roundtable focused on whether we should look at Immigration levels as an annual target or more as a long-term plan. Another topic was the different categories of immigrants to Canada–do we encourage refugees, highly educated professionals, economic immigrants, etc.
There was a presentation from the Armenian Community Center.
Many topics of common concern were discussed specifically around family reunification, integration, mental health, etc.
During the roundtable discussions I contributed the following thoughts:
Integration is a pivotal factor, it is great to increase the levels of immigration as we are faced with an aging population; however, we need to integrate newcomers faster and better so that we can see higher returns on investment.
With regard to employment, I said that based on our stats from Syrian Armenian refugees a good 30% are jewelers. This occupation has limited prospects in light of today’s Canadian marketplace. Hence there is a need to retrain and reposition this segment.
With regard to mental health, I gave the example that at AFSS we send buses funded by private donations to pick up the newcomers and bring them to our bi-monthly support circles to talk about stress, mental health etc. The refugees tell us that they urgently need employment before anything else. So this goes back to the importance of providing funding to employment agencies that deliver results as opposed to just showing the number of clients that pass through their doors.
At the end of the meeting, I introduced myself to Minister McCallum and thanked him for including us.
I asked him if he would give us the honour of coming to our Thanksgiving dinner for Armenian refugees to promote Canadian values. He said YES!! This will be a huge milestone for Armenian Family Support Services to gain such exposure at IRCC. We at AFSS will be further motivated to launch a true Canadian ceremony of Thanksgiving for our Armenian Refugee families.
