Newcomers to Canada have a large number of settlement services available to them once they arrive, most of which are provided to them at no cost. In recent years, the Canadian government has consistently increased funding to provinces and municipalities, to enable them to provide as well as improve settlement services for their immigrants. This month, we look at a few of the wealth of new initiatives that benefit new Canadians and ease their settlement process.

For the past few months Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced multiple local immigration partnerships with municipalities in Ontario such as Hamilton and York. The municipalities received funding from the federal government to develop settlement strategies that will help their newcomers integrate.

In Manitoba, immigrants can get ahead on their settlement process with the ENTRY program, a four-week program designed to help newcomers learn about life and work in Manitoba. A new aspect of the settlement process, such as finding employment, is covered each week, and a one-week express program covering all the topics is also offered.

Last month CIC revealed that it would be sending language training vouchers, which would enable individuals to take classes in one of the official languages free of charge, to newcomers chosen at random as part of a pilot project.

WelcomeBC, a settlement resource for new Canadians in British Columbia, recently enhanced their online services portal with the help of funding from the provincial and federal governments. The enhanced website includes task wizards in six languages: English, Punjabi, French, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, and Korean.

These are just some of the recent developments in settlement services in Canada that immigrants can take advantage of upon their arrival. The federal and provincial governments are constantly working to maximise the benefits these services provide to new Canadians.