Multicultural Must Read: Thursday July 12

Every day MIREMS consultants are reading, watching and listening to Canada's multilingual and multicultural media. We bring you the day's must read story.

OpEd: Ontario will prosper when we invest in immigrant talent

Published by CanadianImmigrant.ca a weekly South Asian online source for news and opinion in English serving an immigrant audience.

As debates surrounding immigration heated up in Canada and Ontario,  CanadianImmigrant.ca published an OpEd written by Margaret Eaton, Executive Director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council.

The OpEd explained that with support from many immigrant communities across the province, Premier Doug Ford was sworn into office as Ontario has overwhelmingly chosen the Progressive Conservative Party to lead us into the next four years. Premier Ford has indicated he will move fast on key priorities of his mandate. However, what does this election win mean for immigrants in Ontario? Ontario receives the largest portion of immigrants arriving in our country—nearly 30 percent of the province’s population was born outside Canada. These numbers are likely to rise. Canada’s Minister of Immigration Ahmed Hussen has said that nearly one million immigrants will settle in Canada between 2018 and 2020. As a country plagued by low birth rates and an aging population, our economy depends on newcomer professionals’ knowledge and expertise to help create and fill jobs and pay taxes. Their contributions make Ontario a more prosperous province.

Multicultural media gives experts and advocates an avenue to connect directly with readers affected by their message. By connecting communities with decision makers and vice versa, Canada's ethnic media plays a pivotal role in awareness, advocacy and accountability.