We are proud to welcome newcomers to the Leeds and Grenville region. To make sure that they are welcomed and included when they come to our communities, a series of supporting organizations and services are available.
The Leeds and Grenville Immigration Partnership
A program that brings together organizations and individuals dedicated to assisting newcomers to Canada in becoming involved, contributing members of our communities. Through this program, a regional Immigration Portal has been created. The Immigration Portal offers and links to a full breadth of information that is relevant to recent newcomers to Canada, and the region. It provides municipal specific settlement information, and links to important Federal and Provincial immigration websites. Additionally, recent (or potential) migrants to the area can gather information on living, learning, working, and doing business in Leeds and Grenville, as well as information on coming to Canada. The Immigration Portal is available at http://www.leedsgrenvilleimmigration.ca/
Settlement Services
The Cornwall Immigrant Resource Centre (CIRC) in nearby Cornwall assists new Canadians, temporary visitors, workers and students. The centre, because of demand, has outreach services to the surrounding eastern Ontario community, including a site in Brockville for people settling in the Leeds-Grenville area.
The Immigrant Resource Centre in Brockville is located at T.R. Leger School at St. Lawrence College. It is operated by the Upper Canada District School Board and funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. CIRC states it is a one-stop centre for information about settlement services, education, employment, health services, job search workshops, DVDs and multi-lingual information for newcomers to Canada. For additional information, e-mail daphne.lane@ucdsb.on.ca. The area outreach worker can be reached at Melissa.fontaine@ucdsb.on.ca.
Ethno-cultural Groups
The Brockville and District Multicultural Council is an umbrella organization for ethno-cultural groups in the region. Every May it hosts its annual multicultural festival to bring people from various backgrounds for good food, entertainment and goodwill. The council also provides settlement counselling and community get-togethers. Translation and interpretation services in Chinese, Mandarin, French, Greek, German, English, Hungarian, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish and Turkish are available. Visit the council website at http://www.brockvillemulticulturalfestival.com/ to learn more.
