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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Ontario Research

Economic Integration

Immigrant Self Employment and Entrepreneurship in the GTA (2011) Metcalf Foundation, Maytree Foundation
This report employs existing data and scholarly research, as well as knowledge from programs and practices on immigrant self-employment and entrepreneurship. It provides a portrait of immigrant self-employment and entrepreneurship, identifies the challenges faced by immigrants seeking to start new businesses, and documents existing services and programs in the Greater Toronto Area. The report provides a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of existing programs and services and identifies perceived gaps in services offered to self-employed and entrepreneur immigrants.

Education

Ontario Pre-service Teacher Education: The Case for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Training  (2012) London & Middlesex and Peterborough Local Immigration Partnership
This report makes a case for at least one mandatory course in equity, inclusion, and diversity studies as a requirement for all pre-service teachers in Ontario. The report argues that for students to reach high levels of academic achievement, teachers must have appropriate training, knowledge, skills, and beliefs in equitable and inclusive education.

Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow (2006) Ontario College of Teachers
In this report, the Council of the Ontario College of Teachers identifies a need to include a course on equity, inclusion, and diversity studies within initial teacher preparation programs. Consequently, the Council recommends a regulatory amendment to the definition of programs of professional education. This new definition should include an area of study related to the Ontario context, which would focus on Aboriginal, cultural and pluralistic diversity, linguistic and denominational constitutional constituencies, and the College’s ethical standards and standards of practice for teacher profession.

Immigrant Attraction and Retention

Immigration and the Demographic Challenge: A Statistical Survey of the Ontario Region (2009) CERIS
Comparing immigration patterns in various Ontario cities, including Ottawa, this report discusses how settlement patterns favour the Greater Toronto Area, which receives a larger share of immigrants than other communities in the province. While slow growth communities would welcome more population growth, they remain unattractive sites for newcomers. The report concludes with a call for more research on uneven settlement patterns throughout the province.

Putting out the Welcome Mat: Why Immigration Matters to Ontario’s Municipalities (2008) Association of Municipalities of Ontario
This report identifies policy and service gaps and provides recommendations on how Ontario municipal governments can improve their ability to attract, retain, and settle immigrants.

Immigration Policy

A New Direction: Ontario’s Immigration Strategy (2012) Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
This report outlines Ontario’s new immigration strategy and describes its three broad objectives: attracting a skilled workforce and building a stronger economy; helping newcomers and their families achieve success; and growing a globally connected economy.

Expanding Our Routes To Success: The Final Report By Ontario’s Expert Roundtable On Immigration (2012) Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
This report, developed by the Expert Roundtable on Immigration, provides recommendations that address issues of immigrant selection, settlement, and integration.

Settlement and Integration Capacity

The Integration Agenda (2013) Mowat Centre, University of Toronto
This report makes a case for the integration of non-profit services. By increasing efficiency and effectiveness, such a strategy could address challenges that stem from funding restraint. Stronger coordination could overcome service duplication, as well as easing user navigation. The report recommends that this coordination be extended to the funding level. Although focused on the Ontario context, the insights of the report are relevant nation-wide.

Making Ontario Home, 2012, A Study of Settlement and Integration Services for Immigrants and Refugees (2012) OCASI
This report provides results from the first province-wide study of immigrants to Ontario using data from a survey of more than 2500 immigrants who arrived in the province between 2000 and 2010. Although the survey’s sample is not statistically representative of all Ontario immigrants, it provides needed evidence for policy and program planning.

Organizational Best Practices of Local Immigration Partnerships (2012) Welcoming Communities Initiative
This report presents the findings of an analysis of the strategic plans from 27 Local Immigration Partnerships. It identifies and evaluates promising organizational practices. Three broad organizational practices were found to be of particular importance. These are: having a broadly based and inclusive LIP council; ensuring active municipal involvement throughout the planning process; and establishing municipal leadership, which should include the city being a signatory to the LIP plan. The report also proposes indicators for future LIP plan evaluations.

The Analysis of LIP Strategic Plans: Priorities and Directions (2012) Welcoming Communities Initiative
This report analyses LIP priorities related to: newcomer attraction, retention, and business development; children and youth; community civic resources; education and education policy; health and healthcare; the social cultural and political inclusion of immigrants, and workplace integration. The report concludes with an in-depth analysis of LIP priorities.