Immigrants made up 21.9% of Canada’s population in 2016 (Census 2016), + 23.8% of the labour force (Census 2016) International students contributed about $21.5 billion to the Canadian economy in 2018 (Global Affairs Canada, 2018) canada.ca/en/immigration… #cdnpoli WelcomeHomeTO

You asked me “what can be done?” About improving the settlement experiences of Afghan refugees, @tonyasurman - we were working on this today at CSI Toronto Spadina. Bayan Khatib Youthful Cities Jumpstart Refugee Talent #cdnpoli #holisticsolutions WelcomeHomeTO #cdnpoli

"Agencies say finding rentals has been a major problem as many communities struggle with an affordable housing crisis." ctvnews.ca/canada/afghan-… Less of a problem when refugees move to towns with more housing/less overwhelmed service providers... #cdnpoli Bayan Khatib

"Imagine there was one place that had it all..." youtube.com/watch?v=fNfNyI… COSTI #settlement #ImmigrationMatters Rania Younes

Better inter-governmental co-ordination would improve refugee response systems, particularly in countries where Canada is diplomatically present. policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/janu… #cdnpoli #immgrantsmatter WelcomeHomeTO Rania Younes

New job opportunity! Youthful Cities is looking for 5 part-time Outreach Assistants to help develop a new data and technology tool that will support refugee settlement in secondary cities. To learn more visit forms.gle/vpn5SnPypi8Nev… #cdnpoli Civic Tech Toronto Sean Fraser

"We also need to put in some serious effort to improve the user experience of Canada's immigration system." - Sean Fraser Agree! What are the steps being taken to realize that? a nobody #immigrationmatters

Today I announced new measures that will help reduce wait times, improve client experience, and help modernize our immigration system. These measures build on the work we've already done to reduce wait times, including hiring 500 new processing staff and digitizing applications.

"KITCHENER— After helping hundreds of Syrian refugees settle here, Christian Snyder knows there is a real need for an easy-to-use platform that helps newcomers into their Canadian life." therecord.com/news/waterloo-… Agreed! Rania Younes Bayan Khatib

While we are highlighting Rania Younes and WelcomeHomeTO who helped to put together a great number of discussions exploring the ground-level settlement experience of #newcomers and their support networks (sponsors, volunteers, front-line service providers)...

A warm welcome to our moderators and speakers - My #mentalhealth is #multilingual: Rania Younes WelcomeHomeTO Canadian Arab Institute jasmine Kids Help Phone Multi-Languages Abrar Mechmechia #BellLetsTalk #mentalhelath #pandemic #stress INforMHAA #OLRC22 #Canada #LAD22 #languagerightsmatter

Some amazing speakers, and one of my favourite people Rania Younes! Can't wait to hear from Multi-Languages Abrar Mechmechia and jasmine and learning about Ravina! #LAD22 Language Access Coalition of Canada (LACC) #cdnpoli

MULTILINGUAL Mental Health #mymentalhealthismultilingual .Rania Younes .WelcomeHomeTO .Canadian Arab Institute .jasmine .Kids Help Phone .Multi-Languages .Abrar Mechmechia #BellLetsTalk #mentalhealth #pandemic #stress #languages .INforMHAA #OLRC22 #Canada #LAD22 #languagerightsmatter

Learning from Abrar Mechmechia and her journey to becoming a trauma-informed #mentalhealth professional, born in Hamilton, raised in Aleppo, became a refugee back to Canada and now is making a difference for many. #LAD22 #MentalHealthMatters #LanguageAccessMatters #cdnpoli

We need more culturally-sensitive and linguistically-reflective #mentalhealth services for newcomers in #onpoli, #cdnpoli and beyond. Thank you for an amazing panel Rania Younes jasmine Abrar Mechmechia Multi-Languages and Ravina! #LAD22

Up now - closing remarks from our friend, Doly Begum , an incredible champion for #LanguageAccess for all Canadians. It's an honor to keep working with younudge the changes required to provide equitable, timely access to quality information + services for all! #LAD22

Please share! MCIS Language Solutions Schlifer Clinic @ATIO2017 Access Alliance MHCS ECG Canadian Arab Institute Incommunities Multi-Languages On the Spot Language🇨🇦超実践型英語コーチングプログラム WelcomeHomeTO Immigrant Women Services Ottawa A. Margaret CHUNG { REFUGEE } 613 The marginalized majority 🌈 Canadian Language Museum Project Abraham Somerset West CHC South Asian Health Network

And you were an amazing speaker! Thanks for your insights!

Happy International Women's Day!! x.com/WelcomeHomeTO/…