New investment for JVS Toronto to provide pre‑arrival services for newcomers
The Voice of Canada :
Pre-arrival settlement services are key to setting newcomers up for success in Canada. They provide newcomers with the information and support they need to make informed decisions about their new lives in Canada before they arrive, which helps them successfully transition into their communities and find work faster.
Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Citizenship, Refugees and Immigration, announced an investment of over $2 million in JVS Toronto to help deliver important pre-arrival services to new immigrants. This is part of overall settlement funding extensions that were previously announced.
Minister Mendicino visited JVS Toronto, one of 15 service providers that offer information, orientation and referrals to newcomers. This organization offers online services to newcomers before they arrive in Canada, including information about the Canadian workplace, soft skills development and employment counselling, as well as services tailored to refugees that help them prepare for jobs in Canada.
Investments in pre-arrival services and organizations like JVS Toronto are investments in the newcomers and families joining Canada’s diverse communities, and help them grow while strengthening Canada’s economy.
Quotes
“Pre-arrival services provide permanent residents with the resources to make informed decisions about their new life in Canada. This new funding will deliver consistent, highquality, client-centred services to people around the world. With our investment, this organization can continue supporting the needs of newcomers by offering helpful online and in-person services.”-The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety
“Providing services to newcomers before they arrive in Canada is critical to successful integration. These services help newcomers make decisions about the life they want to live in Canada as early as possible in their immigration journey and helps them contribute to the economy more quickly. The success of newcomers in Canada is down to the hard work and efforts of groups like JVS Toronto. Ensuring that early success is critical to our economy and to ensuring long-term prosperity for Canada and its people.-The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
“For over 75 years, JVS Toronto has been a pillar of support for newcomers settling into Canada, providing employment and vocational services. Since the early 2000s, we have been delivering pre-arrival services, empowering individuals to integrate into Canadian life and the economic fabric of our country. In recent years, we have served over 10,000 people through these services, which are generously funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. We are proud to build connections between newcomers and local communities across the country, contributing to a vibrant and inclusive society.”-Allison Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer, JVS Toronto
Quick facts
- As announced on May 11, 2023, Minister Fraser approved a two-year extension of pre‑arrival contribution agreements from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025. Through these agreements, funding for 15 service provider organizations totals over $60 million up to 2025. The funding announced today is part of the pre-arrival settlement funding invested across Canada.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s pre-arrival services program maximizes the economic and social integration of newcomers by
- directly connecting clients with the information and services they need through a streamlined, easy-to-navigate process
- encouraging newcomers to apply for recognition of their foreign credentials before they arrive, if needed
- linking clients to federal and provincial settlement services in Canada
- The 15 service provider organizations that received funding serve clients in the country of origin and are based in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and abroad.
- Canada has funded pre-arrival services since 1998. While initially only provided to refugees, services were expanded to include other categories of immigrants in 2001.
