I am an immigrant and I wish Ottawa was more welcoming to newcomers. Like me, many Ottawa residents believe that employment, especially for immigrants, is one of four top priorities that our incoming mayor and city councillors should focus on. That makes immigrant employment an important issue for our upcoming municipal elections.
No one pulled this issue out of a hat. A lot of thinking and collaboration went into it by residents from across our city. Some were probably from your own community. It might have even been someone you know. They were brought together by a ground breaking, grassroots initiative — the exciting Creating a City for All movement, lead by the Making Votes Count project.
Canada is a country that has been built by immigrants but, ironically, not for immigrants. Settling in this country is very difficult for most newcomers. As the president of the Network of Indian Professionals Ottawa Chapter, I know this is a big issue in our city.
The statistics from Citizenship Ontario are alarming. In 2011, Ontario’s unemployment rate for very recent immigrants was the second highest in the country (15.7 per cent) and double Ontario’s overall rate (7.6 per cent). According to United Way of Ottawa, Ottawa attracts the highest proportion of immigrants with a university degree yet nearly 40 per cent of Ottawa’s recent immigrants live in low-income situations. We can do better than this.
Voters of Ottawa: I urge you to let candidates for mayor and council know that you want to see more initiatives that promote immigrant employment in Ottawa, especially in jobs that make the most of their diverse skills and perspectives. Whether it is through letters, tweets, or at an all-candidates meeting, let candidates know that you think helping immigrants make a life for themselves in Ottawa is important.
Immigrants are our city’s assets and opportunities. All they might need is a little support to fully realize their potential. Their development is the development of our community and our economy. Immigrants are resilient people who have aspirations, courage and skills to contribute and we all should recognize this and make every effort to help them succeed because in their success lies the success of our city.
Siddhartha Kumar, President, Network of Indian Professional (Ottawa), Employment Working Group, Making Votes Count Where We Live project
