PENTICTON — South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS) has been providing services to newcomers for more than 30 years. Its expertise is the reason why Citizenship and Immigration Canada has chosen it to be a key player in a new group called the Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) Council. The new group is comprised of elected officials, business people and other community stakeholders, who are all working together to help new immigrants settle and integrate into the region.
“I think that without the strategy, we would actually not experience any growth. We would actually see a decline, potentially. So I think from both an economic and societal point of view, it is important to attract newcomers,” says Nora Hunt-Half, LIP Coordinator.
The new council has been working on strategies on how to attract and keep immigrants in the region. The plan will be finalized in the spring.
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