In the Fall of 2018, Edmonton City Council took a giant step to pass a policy on access to municipal services for all Edmontonians, despite their immigration status. On March 1, 2019, the City of Edmonton’s Social Development Branch brought together stakeholders to craft the way forward for immigration and settlement in Edmonton.
Strengthening Relationships: A Conversation on the State of Immigration and Settlement in Edmonton was hosted by the City of Edmonton – Social Development Branch on Friday, March 1, 2019, at the Edmonton Inn and Conference Centre. Over 70 people attended with representation from across the spectrum of agencies, community groups, grassroots community members, governments, healthcare, post-secondaries and many more.
Moe Banga, City Councillor for Ward 12, Mike Chow, Acting Director for Multicultural Relations, City of Edmonton, and Russ Dhams, Executive Director for Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, all addressed the participants.
“…The face of Edmonton is changing. We do need to continue to pay attention to trends and statistics. The population of the City of Edmonton is continually becoming more diverse. From 1986 to 2016, the number of immigrants grew by 128 percent, and since 2011, the immigrant population has grown by 34 percent. The proportion of people who identify as visible minorities has grown by 208 percent from 1996 to 2016, and by 42 percent since 2011. While the number of Edmontonians who were not visible minorities increased by only 15 percent. The City of Edmonton needs to ensure that its positions, its programs, and services meets the changing demographics. As we transition from a large city with a small town feel, to a modern metropolitan region or a “Big City”; growth mostly will be sustained from immigration and settlement…,” Councillor Banga addressed the participants.
Since Diversity Magazine team could not attend the event, we were able to have a phone conversation with Russ Dhams, who also helped to put the event together. He shared his optimism for the way forward with us, “…I’m pretty optimistic that we will move forward as a community. It’s all good news…,” Russ Dhams. Russ added that the next meeting is scheduled for April 8, 2019, at which point a decision will be made on doing an application to Immigration Canada, selecting the fiscal agent, selecting which organization will be responsible for the behind the scenes work, and working together collectively as a community.
The outcomes of the conversation can be summarized in three points:
1. Reflect on current relationships and programs/services across the immigration and settlement sector
in Edmonton.
2. Ask for input on future directions for the Edmonton Local Immigration Partnership(ELIP) and the Emerging
and Immigrant and Refugee Communities Grant Program (EIRC).
3. Identify next steps for future directions for the Edmonton Local Immigration Partnership and the Emerging and Immigrant and Refugee Grant Program.
Background information
1. What is ELIP? https://www.elip.ca/about/
2. What is EIRC? https://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/funding_grants/grant-emerging-immigrant-r efugee-communities.aspx
