The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
The WOW seminar on immigrant women’s nutrition and health was a step in the right direction towards closing the gap between academic researchers and service providers.

Josephine Etowa
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa
The target beneficiary of the work of OLIP is the whole community. In this short period we have planted together important seeds for Ottawa’s development.  

Dick Stewart
OLIP Council
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
OLIP helps to unite and share scarce resources for greater impact by working together in the field of student education.

Walter Piovesan
Associate Director of Education, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
The Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre is so happy to have joined the OLIP Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. It is clear that OLIP cares about immigrants and refugees and…

Wendy Tang, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
Canada has been shaped by people who came from all over the world to build this country. WOW offers a platform for us to celebrate this history and the future it will help…

Alex Munter, Chair of the OLIP Council and President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.

Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa

Overcoming the Challenge of Finding the First Job

2 JoanneEmmanuel Israel, originally from Nigeria, came to Ottawa in 2012, after studying in Cyprus for five years.

When he began his Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Ottawa, the soft spoken young man didn’t know anyone in his new city and needed to begin a job search.

He went to the Vanier Community Service Centre where he met Jo-Annie Castonguay, an Employment Ontario Services counselor.  “Jo-Annie assisted me in understanding the barriers to getting a job and how to overcome them,” said Emmanuel.

The outgoing and energetic employment counselor interacted with Emmanuel informally at first during a job fair, then she formally registered him as a client when he came to the Employment services at the Vanier Community service Centre. “There is really no typical type of client or situation in my line of work,” said Jo-Annie. “Emmanuel was a very easy client to help, as he presents himself well and just needed encouragement and moral support.”

 “Jo-Annie went out of her way to help me for close to three years, said Emmanuel. “She’s friendly and jokes a lot, which made me feel at ease, but most importantly she became my advocate.”

For Jo-Annie, it’s very important to get to know her clients as people so that she can better direct them to other services in the community. This familiarity also helps with their social integration as newcomers. “I tried to go the extra mile for all my clients including Emmanuel,” added Jo-Annie.  “I referred him to a couple of services that he didn’t know about. I kept telling him that he can do it and not to give up.”

Jo-Annie assisted with practical things too, like editing his resume, formatting his cover letters and sent him countless job advertisements. She even encouraged him to change his LinkedIn profile picture and learn French. “It’s important for immigrants, who represent about 70 per cent of my caseload, to understand that all of these steps matter in the long run,” remarks Jo-Annie.

Initially Emmanuel found a six-month contract job at McGill University, Montreal. After the contract ended, he moved back to Ottawa –the city he loves – and was quickly hired at a coffee shop.

Emmanuel breaks into a bright smile as he shares the best news that it wouldn’t have been possible without Jo-Annie’s support – he starts a full-time federal government job in a week!