The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, today led the inaugural meeting of the Minister’s Roundtable on Immigration.
Members representing the business community, labour, the K-12 education system, post-secondary institutions, municipalities, community organizations and service providers discussed shared priorities in attracting and retaining newcomers to Newfoundland and Labrador.
The inaugural meeting also included an update on actions in The Way Forward on Immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador, the province’s collaborative immigration action plan. The plan outlines 39 priority initiatives, of which 25 are fully implemented or ongoing.
Members discussed the role their organizations may play in achieving the plan’s future actions and identifying new initiatives to increase immigration. A list of the roundtable members is provided in the backgrounder below.
A second meeting of the Minister’s Roundtable on Immigration, a key commitment in the immigration action plan, will be held in spring 2018. The Provincial Government has committed to increasing immigration to the province to 1,700 newcomers annually by 2022.
Quote
“The first meeting of the Minister’s Roundtable on Immigration was an opportunity for members to meet each other and begin a strategic discussion to plan collaborative actions for the next two to five years. I am impressed by the members’ enthusiasm and heartfelt desire to address the province’s demographic challenges by identifying initiatives to increase immigration helping to ensure the province’s future social and economic growth and prosperity.”
Honourable Al Hawkins
Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour
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The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour, was joined at the Minister’s Roundtable on Immigration by representatives of various sectors, including Deirdre Ayre of Other Ocean Interactive (left) and Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe of Sharing Our Cultures Inc. (centre).
The Way Forward on Immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador – www.aesl.gov.nl.ca/publications/pdf/ImmigrationPlan.pdf
Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism – nlimmigration.ca/
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Media contact
Ryan Crocker
Advanced Education, Skills and Labour
709-729-1795, 725-9595
RyanCrocker@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Permanent Members
Nancy Healey | St. John’s Board of Trade |
Richard Alexander | Newfoundland and Labrador Employers Council |
Mary Shortall | Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour |
Megan Morris | Association for New Canadians |
Jose Rivera | Refugee Immigrant Advisory Council |
Gael Corbineau | Federation Francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador |
Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe | Sharing Our Cultures Inc. |
Kaberi Sarma-Debnath | Multicultural Women’s Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Sonja Knutson | Internationalization Office, Memorial University |
Dr. William Radford | College of the North Atlantic |
Tony Stack | Newfoundland and Labrador English School District |
Kim Christianson | Conseil scolaire francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador |
Craig Pollett | Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador |
James Loder | Academy Canada |
Elizabeth Lawrence | City of St. John’s, Local Immigration Partnership |
Kenneth Martin | Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency |
Mark Lane | Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association |
Ron Taylor | Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries |
Mervin Wiseman | Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture |
Lou Alteen | Exploits Regional Chamber of Commerce |
Debby Yannakidis | Gander & Area Chamber of Commerce |
Sheldon Peddle | Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade |
Toby Leon | Labrador West Chamber of Commerce |
Sterling Peyton, Chair | Labrador North Chamber of Commerce |
Dr. Robert Shea | Marine Institute |
Visiting Members
Michelle Simms | Memorial University – Genesis Centre |
Ivan Emke | Memorial University – Grenfell Campus |
Renata Lang | Memorial University Students’ Union |
Denise Pike | Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils |
Rob Greenwood | Memorial University Harris Centre |
Dr. Tony Fang | Memorial University |
Steve Butler | City of Mount Pearl |
Michael Clair | Coordinating Committee on Newcomer Integration |
Carey Majid | Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission |
Penelope Rowe | Community Sector Council |
Elayne Greeley | Community Employment Collaboration |
Roseanne Leonard | Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Canadian Business Development Corporations |
Carolina Herrera | Reseau de Developpement Economique et d’Employabilite (RDEE) |
Linda Ross | Provincial Advisory Council on Status of Women |
Gary Hennessey | Town of Grand Falls-Windsor |
Ted Gracie | Town of Stephenville |
Gary Wensman | Town of Labrador City |
Lynn Power | Association of Registered Nurses of NL |
Pamela Toope | Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Allied Health Professionals |
David Haire | Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters – Newfoundland and Labrador |
Craig Foley | Hospitality NL |
Nancy Brace | Restaurant Association Newfoundland and Labrador |
Betty Wong | Chinese Association of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Dr. Michael Paul | Hebrew Congregation of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Dr. C.W.Cho | Korean Association of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Dr. Mansoor Pirzada | Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Thaddeus Dreher | Newfoundland and Labrador Multiculturalism Council |
Hazel Ouano-Alpuerto | Philippine – Newfoundland Association |
Nickie Sood | Sikh Community of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Samir Debnath | Hindu Community of Newfoundland and Labrador – Hindu Temple |
Hyme Nainu | Friends of India Association |
Alwell J. Oyet | African and Canadian Association of Newfoundland and Labrador |
Joseph Sale | Italians of Terra Nova |
Tracy Harris | Eastern Health |
Jamie King | Verafin Inc |
Michael Goodridge | Johnson Insurance |
Gloria Parsons | Chancellor Park |
Deirdre Ayre | Other Ocean Interactive |
Paul Crawford | Thunder Rode Ent Ltd |
Marlene Van De Wiel | MAR Investment Ltd |