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
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
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 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
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
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 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 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
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
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

History

The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), which was signed in 2005, generated the right conditions for the creation of Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs).  For the first time, federal and provincial governments explicitly committed to involving municipalities in immigration planning and decision-making.

The Municipal Immigration Committee (MIC) is co-chaired by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI), and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). It was established under COIA to explore municipal interests in immigration. Read more

Consultations were held with 700 stakeholders in 10 Ontario communities. This research supported the development of Local Immigration Partnerships to address community needs. Read more

As municipalities gained a voice, consensus emerged on the key priorities, namely, the attraction, retention, settlement, and integration of immigrants. Read more

In 2010, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration recognized the Local Immigration Partnerships as a best practice. It recommended that CIC continue to support LIPs in Ontario and to expand the model to other regions. Read more

There is growing recognition that immigrant integration is a community issue not simply an immigrant issue. Thus, we all have a role to play in being more welcoming and inclusive.