Volume 9 | September 2018
Hire a newcomer, you won't regret it!
Dear CCI Friend,

Immigrants are some of the hardest working people in your community.

How do I know this? I've met thousands of immigrants during my career and they all share the following traits. They came to Canada for better lives. They want to work. They want to provide for their families. They want to give back to their new communities.

Unfortunately, it's not easy for immigrants to find employment quickly. A recent survey of 1,000 businesses revealed that 40 per cent of business owners would rather hire less qualified candidates or younger candidates over an immigrant. Business owners are worried about language, qualifications, Canadian experience and cultural differences.

Let me put this to rest for you. You will not go wrong hiring a newcomer. You will be hiring someone who came to Canada to succeed. And they know they have to work hard, and are willing to do it, to prove they belong. They will not let you down.

One of our goals is to create a more welcoming community. There's no better way to welcome immigrants than to give them the opportunity to support themselves and their families. Hire an immigrant today!

Kindest regards,

Carl Nicholson
Executive Director
Express your gratitude this Thanksgiving with a gift
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and express gratitude for what we have in our lives.

It's a time to spend with loved ones and to let them know how important they are in our lives.

For refugees who arrive in Ottawa, they are thankful for the chance to rebuild their lives. They are thankful to have escaped war, poverty, violence and persecution.

They are thankful for the help you have given them and for the warm welcome. But there is so much more work to do with thousands of refugees arriving in your community every year.

This Thanksgiving, please make a donation to help refugee families who now call Ottawa home.
A work of art
One of the many ways to help young newcomers integrate into their new community is to give them opportunities to make friends and do something special.

That's exactly what happened with our youth art group. During the course of the summer, they created a beautiful mural for one of our meeting rooms.Earlier this month, we celebrated their work with a grand unveiling.

There are a lot of challenges young newcomers face. They are trying to adapt to a new culture and learn a new language. They are trying to make friends and figure out where they fit in. Our Youth Program helps them successfully overcome those challenges.

When you make a donation, you are ensuring we can continue to run programs that help young newcomers succeed in school, find part-time jobs, make friends, and adjust to life in a new country.

Immigration Matters
Immigrants are an important piece to ensuring Canadian businesses can succeed.

That's because the Baby Boomer generation is retiring. Baby Boomers started turning 65 years old in 2011. That was seven years ago! As Boomers leave the workforce, they need to be replaced. But there aren't enough Canadian born workers to meet the demand.

Without immigration, we face a shortage of workers. We need workers who are going to contribute to our social safety net in the form of paying taxes.

Successful immigration is one way to ensure our way of life is secure. That's why immigration matters!
Honour a loved one this Thanksgiving
We have much to be thankful for this year. We live in peace. We're surrounded by family members and friends who love and support us.

You can express your gratitude this Thanksgiving my making a tribute gift. Let that someone special in your life know how much they mean to you.

Tribute gifts are easy to make. Just visit our  donation page, fill in the gift amount and check off the Tribute box. We'll send a message to that special person letting them know you are thinking of them.

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