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
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP
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
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
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
The City of Ottawa will continue to play a lead role in the implementation of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, just as we did in the founding of OLIP.

Steve Desroches
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
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

Welcoming Remarks & Highlights of the Municipal Immigration Strategy by the Deputy Mayor of Ottawa

August 21, 2015

deputy mayorThe 3rd Biannual Ottawa Immigration Forum was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Ottawa, Councillor Mark Taylor, who represented Mayor Jim Watson, who could not attend the Forum.

In his speech, Councillor Mark Taylor stressed the importance of immigration for Ottawa’s sustainability, economic prosperity, and cultural vitality. He reinforced City of Ottawa’s continued commitment to the goals of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy (OIS) and the key leadership role the City has taken in the implementation of the OIS.

In a written message addressed to Forum hosts and participants, Mayor Jim Watson reflected on the role of the Ottawa Immigration Forum as a valuable opportunity for stakeholders from multiple sectors to celebrate Ottawa’s progress on the goals of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, and to share ideas and insights on how we can work together to remove barriers that impede the integration of immigrants into the Ottawa community.

“The wealth of resources and intellectual capital brought together at the Forum are a testament to Ottawa’s commitment to support the successful integration of immigrants, and to OLIP’s effectiveness as a vehicle for channeling and strengthening community capacity to attract and integrate immigrants” continued the Mayor of Ottawa in his written statement.

Read the Message from Mayor Jim Watson
Read Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor’s Speech
View the video of Deputy Mayor, Mark Taylor’s opening remarks at the 3rd Biannual Ottawa immigration Forum