It’s been one year since 32 communities across northwestern Ontario got together to launch its Immigration Portal to the world.
Funded by the provincial and federal governments, the portal showcases the area as an international destination for immigrants, and gives the municipalities the opportunity to grow.
“It was a nation-building type of exercise,” said Cathy Woodbeck, executive director for the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association, “to have newcomers from around the world have access to information about the communities.”
Since its launch, the website has been receiving a significant amount of hits, and communities across the area are receiving massive amounts of emails and phone calls on a daily basis.
Woodbeck said she receives a lot of questions ranging from how to access the local job bank to the average temperature in the communities.
Designed and developed by the Procom Consultants Group in partnership with WaltMar Systems Group and Firedog Communications of Thunder Bay, the portal has more than 600 pages of content that translates into 11 different languages.
It took nine months to complete the portal, and after cautiously sitting back and seeing how it would impact the communities, it was time to step back in and make some changes, said Woodbeck.
Four more languages will be posted on the website along with posts for jobs available and businesses for sale in a specific area.
“You live with it for six months to a year and you think, ‘okay, this is pretty good,’ but then several people ask these questions all the time, so we should really be doing something about it,” said Woodbeck. “Now it’s just growing.”
Another major step is to train individuals from each of the communities to respond appropriately when newcomers begin arriving at their doorsteps.
“If they move to your community, then what?” she said. “What do you do? It’s not just come get a job and everything is going to work out and be fabulous.”
Woodbeck said it has to be about the settlement and integration needs of new families that come to the communities and how they can be prepared to better help the family adjust.
“Never will people be misled,” she said. “We certainly tell them that it’s going to be difficult, and here are the things you can do before you arrive to help.”
Also, Woodbeck said they’re going to start posting profiles and stories of newcomers to the portal, as part of a testimonial campaign, to showcase their personal stories of their move to others inquiring to make the leap.
But because the immigration could take a couple of years, they can’t anxiously expect many newcomers until next year.
