Canada provides immigration funding to Peel region

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The federal government of Canada actively funds a number of immigration programs for various provinces and territories to assist migrants in settling, adapting, and integrating into Canadian society. As part of its Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), Immigration Minister Diane Finley announced that the Peel region in Ontario will now get CAD $830,000 to assist with this strategy.

"The Government of Canada is committed to helping newcomers succeed," Finley said. "With this funding, the Peel region will be better prepared to welcome and assist newcomers, providing much-needed services and easing their transition to life in Canada."

The funding will go towards the Peel Newcomer Strategy Group (PNSG), formed in 2005 by the region's branch of the United Way to ensure that settlement needs for immigrants are met.

"With a growing number of immigrants comes a corresponding need to coordinate and improve settlement services for newcomers. Such services will contribute to the economic and social well being of newcomers in the community," said Evelyn Myrie, Executive Director of the PSNG. "The Peel Newcomer Strategy Group has been created to find appropriate solutions to the challenge of assisting newcomers."

The government of Canada has increased immigration funding for Ontario by a total of CAD $920,000 over five years. Through the COIA, Citizenship and Immigration Canada works with provinces and migrant-serving agencies "to make a real difference in the lives of immigrants."

The funding helps migrants by providing language training, helping new migrants establish contacts in their field of work, and assisting migrants in connecting with volunteers who help them access various settlement-related services.

Canada is one of the top destinations in the world for immigration. Many people start new lives in Canada through skilled employment or family-based immigration. Others take up temporary migrant work through Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program or through Working Holiday agreements with other countries.