Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - March 2009
The federal government is giving $2 million to various organizations throughout Central and Northern Alberta to help immigrants resettle in Canada.
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney traveled to Alberta’s capital to make the funding announcement early this month. He reiterated his government’s position that foreign credential recognition is a major obstacle that many new Canadians face.
“The number one preoccupation to newcomers to Canada is the difficulty of getting their credentials recognized by the professional agencies,” said Kenney in Edmonton. “We want to ensure that the agencies are not putting roadblocks in the way of them getting their credential recognition.”
In an effort to ease this challenge faced by up to 20 per cent of the skilled immigrants who come to Canada, the government pledged $184,000 to the Bredin Institute which licenses foreign pharmacists to work in Canada and trains foreign doctors to work as paramedics.
Additional funding of $370,000 will go to Alliance Jeunesse-Famille de l’Alberta, a francophone group that fights against immigrant youth crime. The remaining amount will go toward resettlement programs provided by the Edmonton Catholic School System as well as the Edmonton Immigrant Services Association.
Sources: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Edmonton Journal
