We welcome newcomers to their new community
In November 2013, Halifax Regional Municipality and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) entered into an agreement to take on a Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) initiative. The Halifax Immigration Partnership (HIP) works with partners from many different sectors related to help newcomers to feel a part in their community and ensure that Halifax welcomes all newcomers. We take pride in the collaborations that we build along with our partners, who come together with the same objective: to keep making Halifax a welcoming place for all newcomers to live and thrive, a place in which all belong and can call home.
What is a LIP and what does it do?
A Local Immigration Partnership is a place-based initiative that emerges from the recognition that newcomers settle in specific regions, be it large, medium, small urban centers or rural areas; immigrants, as we all do, live their day-to-day lives at a local level.
The LIPs are meant to build multi-sectoral partnerships that are designed to help improve the integration of newcomers to their community. In this case, the HIP works on building these relationships and connections responding to Halifax’s characteristics and needs.
The LIP model has had great success across Canada. Today, there are more than 75 LIPs across the country. The HIP was the first Local Immigration Partnership in Atlantic Canada, where there are currently eleven LIPs have been established: one in Newfoundland, one in PEI, five in New Brunswick, and four in Nova Scotia.
The HIP works in collaboration with a wide range of partners, from settlement services organizations to government, from service providers to grassroots organizations, from educational institutions to faith groups, from community leaders to newcomers themselves, we are committed to progressive approaches to ensure that Halifax is an inclusive and welcoming community.
Although the HIP does not provide services or programs directly to the public, it works towards improving outcomes for immigrants through the partnerships it builds and the collaboration that it fosters. The goal is that the HIP will enhance the overall inclusion and integration experience of all newcomers to Halifax.
Which are the HIP main objectives?
The HIP works towards five main objectives which guide the efforts of all our partners and that help us to achieve our goal of keep making Halifax an inclusive and welcoming community. These objectives are:
- To improve access to and coordination to effective services that facilitate immigrant settlement and integration
- To establish partnerships and participation of multiple stakeholders that will coordinate and enhance the successful settlement and integration of newcomers
- To improve access to the labour market for newcomers
- To integrate the needs newcomers into the community planning process
- To strengthen local awareness and capacity to enhance the integration and sense of belonging of newcomers in the community