Huron County's Immigration Partnership Manager Presented A Report On The Huron Perth Immigrant Survey To Huron County Council This Week

by Bob Montgomery

Immigration Partnership Manager Mark Nonkes explains the survey looked at the experiences of newcomers to Canada who moved to Huron and Perth communities.

“It gives us a snap shot of some of the experiences that people had. 195 people filled out the survey, 105 from Huron and 90 from Perth. Sixty-five percent have been in Canada for five years or less and they came from forty-nine countries around the world.”

Nonkes says newcomers have met with some challenges but there was good news as well. One of the good news stories is that about sixty percent of the newcomers are volunteering in their community. Most of the newcomers have jobs or are self-employed, but Nonkes says there were some concerns about international experience and education being recognized here and only 39 percent said that their education and experience was on par with what it was in their home country. Forty-six percent said just some of their international education and experience was recognized in Canada. Nonkes says what's significant there is that while it's been a problem throughout Canada, this is the first time they've had those figures for Huron and Perth.

Many of the newcomers are facing the same challenges that most of us are facing. Nonkes says, “Nearly half are experiencing cost of living or money problems, 34 percent are having trouble finding a family doctor, 29 percent are struggling to find affordable housing, transportation is a problem for 25 percent and 25 percent are struggling to find work that matches their professional qualifications.”

Nonkes acknowledges this are no quick fixes but they are talking with community leaders about how they can address some of the newcomer's concerns. “How do we build better programs for newcomers to find work or start a business. How do we improve the availability of public transportation, how do we make sure that people know about affordable housing options and what can we do to make immigrants feel accepted in our communities.” Nonkes says they work with over twenty-five community organizations and service providers and together they'll be working on ways they can address some of those problems.

In rural communities a lot of information is spread through word of mouth, so improving the lines of communication is something that has to be worked on. The full Huron Perth Immigrant Survey Summary Report is available at: https://www.huroncounty.ca/ImmigrantSurvey/.