Latest news with #MulticulturalAssociation
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hundreds of asylum seekers will relocate to N.B. in the next 2 years
Settlement organizations that help newcomers across the province are preparing to welcome hundreds of asylum seekers who will be relocating to New Brunswick from other provinces to start a new life. Over the next two years, about 400 people who left their homes in Nigeria, Haiti and some South American countries will relocate to cities including Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Edmundston. Alison Frise, executive director of the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area, said there isn't a final number of asylum seekers New Brunswick can expect, but that some could arrive as early as mid-July. Many are currently living in hotels in Ontario, and some families have been living there for a year, she said. "We all think it's fun to stay in a hotel for the first the week, but if you've been there almost a year then that's not fun anymore," she said. "It makes it very difficult for people to integrate the community." Frise said this group will be different from asylum seekers the province welcomed in the past because everyone speaks English or French, has already lived in Canada and is ready to enter the job market. WATCH | Claimants will receive help from resettlement organizations: The arrivals are part of an agreement the province has with the federal government to increase New Brunswick's immigration allocation rate. Frise said they will help to fill gaps in industries like construction and health care that are struggling to find workers after the federal government cut the province's allocation of economic immigration spaces by half earlier this year. "This is an opportunity for us to get the provincial nomination numbers up," Frise said. "Getting employment right away is going to be super important to make sure that that ... is an anchor for them to stay here and raise their families here." When the federal government created the Interim Assistance Housing Program in 2017, it was meant to encourage provincial and municipal governments to accept incoming asylum seekers. "The major thing will be permanent housing, or at least temporary housing," Frise said, adding that MAGMA has a housing co-ordinator that builds relationships with landlords with newcomers in mind. Saint John is also thinking about what it will mean to welcome asylum seekers to that city. "[It] isn't just about filling gaps there, it's about how we think about the future of Saint John and how we invest in our community," said Mohamed Bagha, managing director of the Saint John Newcomers Centre. He said newcomers bring a new energy and sense of resilience to communities, and that coming to New Brunswick as an asylum seeker is unique to immigrating here. "Many asylum seekers are bringing some sort of difficulty but they do have the skills to get here, they have taken the risk all the way to get to this country," he said. "When you're feeling trauma, you probably need a little more help." Two years ago, the province accepted about 200 asylum seekers who had arrived from Quebec through Roxham Road, which straddled the international border with the United States. Many of the asylum seekers did not speak English or French, and had no connection to the province when they arrived. It was a challenge MAGMA had never faced before. "We had to come up with a whole intake process, find resources, community partners that we could refer them to," Frise said. "We have to sometimes be creative and think outside the box." She said MAGMA is better equipped this time around. It offers language classes in Moncton and provides interpretation services in new languages. The organization is working with the province to know more about the incoming group in hopes of anticipating their needs before they arrive. "We're hoping … that they feel that sense of belonging here in Moncton, that they can put down roots and stay here," Frise said.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Thunder Bay, Ont., celebrates new Canadians in first in-person citizenship ceremony in 5 years
Social Sharing Haban Beyene came to Thunder Bay, Ont., from Ethiopia as a refugee when he was 16 years old. On Friday, he was one of 60 new Canadians to cross the stage in the northwestern Ontario city's first in-person citizenship ceremony in five years. "It was amazing. It was very good," Beyene said as he reflected on Friday's event at the Italian Cultural Centre. "I'm so proud to be a Canadian." In-person citizenship ceremonies were suspended after the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until last week, the ceremonies continued to be held virtually in Thunder Bay, even after physical distancing restrictions were lifted. Earlier this year, Thunder Bay resident Julie Hutka started a petition in the hopes of bringing in-person ceremonies back. Beyene said his father took his Canadian citizenship oath online, and it wasn't the same kind of experience. "I feel like it's [more] fun in person rather than online," he said. Friday's ceremony saw people from 18 different countries take their oath, some having lived in Thunder Bay for a few years and others having been in the community for decades, said Cathy Woodbeck, executive director of the Thunder Bay Multicultural Centre, which organized the event. "Many of those who received citizenship last week were people that we met the day they arrived in Canada, the day that they got off the plane," Woodbeck said. "It's really nice to celebrate that with them … to see the pride, to see the celebration, to see their families come and witness that to watch them all this time." Virtual ceremonies 'just not the same' The Thunder Bay Multicultural Centre helps immigrants, refugees and new Canadians with everything from translation and interpretation services to preparing for their citizenship tests. "Helping them register their children in school, giving them some information on filing income tax for the first time, looking for a job," Woodbeck said. "Some need more help, some need less. Some integrate perfectly well speaking English as their first language — it just depends on where they are in that journey." Woodbeck said citizenship ceremonies are one of the highlights of her work, and the feedback she's heard from those who took their oath on Friday has been overwhelmingly positive. "They really do appreciate the fact that it's in person," she said. "They get to participate a little more than when you're staring at a screen by yourself. You may have people with you but it's just not the same." She encourages people to look into the services and support the Multicultural Association has to offer, particularly when it comes to getting ready for the citizenship test.
