Category: innovation - knowledge & expertise - News

Presented at the P2P 2021 conference, this panel looked at Immigrants who arrived or settled in Canada during COVID-19 and their unique path compared to their predecessors. The session provided insights on the latest immigration and immigrant employment trends, as well as examples of how the settlement sector has adapted to support the COVID cohort. The composition of immigration classes has changed. In addition, Newcomers faced significant employment challenges as the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on certain Immigrant-intensive sectors, such as accommodation and food services. Settlement service providers had to pivot and leverage new virtual and hybrid models to support this new cohort.

In presentations and meetings about developing digital/hybrid services in the Immigrant and Refugee-serving sector, I often point out that we can borrow much from other sectors that have already done far down this path. In particular sectors with regulatory frameworks, where getting it right isn't an option, it is expected. It's based on ethical frameworks and standards, as well as laws around things like personal health information, etc.

We can and should know whose land we live, work, and play on. And we should acknowledge that when we meet and gather together. But, if you're like me, you may be finding land acknowledgements have become a bit of performance without substance. I wondered, what responsibility do we (our sector) and newcomers have when it comes to truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples?

Jennifer Chan and Alysha Baratta have developed distinct yet aligned projects to co-design services with newcomers as a community development tool. Presented at the P2P 2021 Workshop Series, they introduce how their projects challenged assumptions within settlement services, and focused on co-designing approaches for newcomers to thrive.

Presented at the P2P 2021 Workshop Series, this session introduced the Newcomer Insight Collaborative (NIC). The NIC is a new model and platform that brings organizations together to make better use of their service delivery data for program planning and development.

Presented at the P2P 2021 Workshop Series, this session focused on partnerships between immigrant media networks and settlement agencies across Canada to get valuable information out to newcomers during the pandemic.

Presented at the P2P 2021 Workshop Series, in this workshop, the lead instructor presented an overview of the course. Community partners spoke about their experience in this course.

Presented at the P2P 2021 Workshop Series, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Settlement & Family division staff share observations made during the pandemic as they have continued to serve BC newcomers in the Greater Vancouver area and Fort St. John during the pandemic.

At the recent P2P 2021 Conference, I was part of the panel "The COVID Cohort of Immigrants: Tackling Settlement and Employment Challenges." My focus was on discussing the impact of technology on both clients and service providers in the pandemic context.