Three new communities to resettle government-assisted refugees

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Syrian refugees who have arrived in Canada
(Photo from Trudeau’s official Facebook page)

Ottawa, ON – Organizations in Leamington, Ontario, Peterborough, Ontario and Brooks, Alberta are stepping up to play a stronger role in resettling refugees in Canada.

The New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence (Leamington), the New Canadians Centre (Peterborough) and the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (Brooks) all successfully demonstrated they have the services in place to become new Resettlement Assistance Program centres and are able to start accepting government-assisted refugees.

Under the Resettlement Assistance Program, there are now 27 communities outside Quebec offering comprehensive and expanded services to refugees. The Resettlement Assistance Program supports government-assisted refugees, blended visa office-referred refugees and other eligible clients when they first arrive in Canada.

A recent call for proposals was launched to identify new temporary Resettlement Assistance Program centres and expand the number of cities across Canada where refugees can be sent.

“Service provider organizations work tirelessly to make sure that arriving refugees are well supported as they make Canada their new home. The addition of these newly funded organizations under the Resettlement Assistance Program will help to broaden services to government-assisted refugees across Canada,” said Hon. John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.