The County of Lambton and the Sarnia-Lambton Workforce Development Board will hold two Community Consultations in Sarnia and Petrolia on September 26 and 27 to discuss the development of a new Immigration Portal.
The portal will be implemented as a result of $299,998 in funding from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and will enhance online information for new residents. The funding is in response to the Canada – Ontario Immigrant Agreement signed in November 2005, by the provincial and federal governments. The agreement focuses on increasing settlement services, including services aimed at new residents before they arrive in Canada.
“Over the next 15 months The County of Lambton will partner with community groups, local businesses and all levels of government to build a site that will provide new residents with timely, accurate, relevant and consistent information and will allow them to make informed decisions about settlement,” said Lambton County Warden Jim Burns. “The upcoming Community Consultations will allow an opportunity to gather feedback from community agencies about how they would like to see this portal evolve and then stay current.”
The immigration portal will aid in the attraction and retention of those persons identified in the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership’s New Resident Attraction and Retention Strategy which includes: Students, Employees, Entrepreneurs, and Retirees (SEER).
“Funding for this portal means that there has been recognition from both the Federal and Provincial levels of government that attraction of new residents is the key issue for smaller communities, rather than the settlement and integration topics affecting larger metropolitan urban centers,” said Ted Zatylny, Project Leader, New Resident Attraction & Retention, Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership.
When operational, it is anticipated the site will be accessed worldwide and will provide an effective medium in communicating the necessary information pertinent to attracting new residents to Lambton County.
For more information about Lambton County, visit www.lambtononline.ca.
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Contact:
Jim Burns, Warden
County of Lambton
Telephone: 519 845-0801
email: jim.burns@county-lambton.on.ca
Ted Zatylny, Project Leader, New Resident Attraction & Retention
Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership
Telephone: 519 332-1820
email: ted@www.sarnialambton.on.ca