The Chomedey News - Laval News

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Coming up with immigration, integration and relation solutions TCN: The PQ first promised a plan of action for immigration back in 1990. How will you proceed with this new consultation, what makes it different? Courchesne: My understanding is that the PQ had an objective, especially regarding regionalization. They had proposed that 25% of new immigrants should travel to regions instead of going to Montreal. They wanted to encourage people to go everywhere within the province. But it’s not easy to fix that type of objective without the proper means and tools. That’s the reason why I’m doing this consultation. To be more concrete and pragmatic - to be more of a realist regarding regionalization of immigration. Of course Laval is a little bit different than other regions because of its proximity to Montreal, so there is no way we could compare it. But my objective is to elaborate that action plan and to try to keep some flexibility amongst the regions because I don’t think that everyone is at the same level or point in every region. TCN: Is regionalization still an important part of your consultation? Courchesne: Yes, I think so. Especially because of the lack of work force in most of the regions in Quebec; particularly for some specialized types of positions. And again that lack of workforce is different from one region to another. That’s the reason why I’m doing all this. [The government ] needs to develop a way to do the interrelations between the needs of a workforce in a region and the people who have that skill that could immigrate to a particular region. And I want to know how we’re going to do that and who will be doing that. Air Conditioner Esthetic high performance air grill with electrostatic filter (95% plus) High performance vinyl covered heat pump or air conditioner, extra strong grill. MTL CENTRE 10307 boul. St-Michel Montreal, Quebec (514) 327-1717 WEST ISLAND 3206, Hardwood Blvd. Vaudreuil, Quebec 1-(450) 455-9700 • Heat pump • Air Conditioning • Electric, gas, oil furnace • Fireplace, Stove Exhaust with electric resistance for heating LAVAL 3507 St-Martin W. Laval, Quebec (450) 688-9797 Esthetic covering for exterior conduits Air Exchangers Continuous influx of fresh filtered air Removes pollutants from the air Controls excess humidity Eliminates odours Filtration Filters your home’s air Captures 99.97% of particles Helps reduce asthma, allergy, chronic cold and dry cough symptoms 8 • THE CHOMEDEY NEWS • September 6, 2003 • www.chomedeynews.ca This to me is a shared responsibility; shared meaning that it’s the responsibility of everyone to make that happen. And also, the other aspect of regionalization that I think needs a lot of work is sensitization and increased awareness for the employers. Some of them would really like to hire people from elsewhere but once [these employees] are in the office or business, there are a lot of little challenges that arise and the employers don’t know how to handle these difficulties. They need support, they probably need some kind of training, tools, and they need to share their experiences. Knowing in advance that there are some difficulties but that they could be solved or handled with adequate information would make things easier for them. TCN: You have begun this consultation process to bring about more openness toward diversity and help integrate new arrivals; does this mean that Quebec has fallen behind in terms of permitting full participation of immigrants or the number of immigrants that are welcome into the province? Courchesne: No, Quebec hasn’t fallen behind. Every three years we have to appear before the National Assembly to declare the level of immigration we’re looking for in the next three years. So far we’re not behind, maybe we’re a little stable now, but not behind, that’s for sure. We will have to define these levels for the next three years very soon….Even though we’re not behind [immigrants] feel that it’s more attractive to stay in Hydro Confort au foyer • Dual-energy • Ceiling mounted unit • Air Exchanger • Air Purifier FROM +40O TO –40O WOOD GAZ OIL ELECTICITY We carry all the well known makes in the market! OPEN WE GUARANTEE YOUR COMFORT! ACCREDITED : RBQ-8286-4786-47, CETAF, BBB, RÉNO-MAÎTRE, APCHQ & CMMTQ ST-HUBERT 4175, Chemin Chambly St-Hubert, Quebec (450) 445-0041 ST-JEROME 500, des Laurentides Blvd. #1181 St-Antoine des Laurentides, Qc. 1-(450) 431-3855 Rigid plenum with higher than required insulation 5 SHOWROOMS TO BETTER SERVE YOU! IMMIGRATION... Continued from, Page 1 ST-HYACINTHE 3200, Laframboise Blvd. #1770, St-Hyacinthe, Qc. 1-(450) 773-1999 Stylized air defuser (with adjustable power) Flexible conduits with higher than required insulation MONTREAL EAST 6431 Jean Talon Est Montreal East, Qc. (514) 255-0363 ST-JEAN 605, Pl. Pierre Caisse St-Jean Rur Richelieu, 1-(450) 348-6280 Wall Unit Central System 7 DAYS CHÂTEAUGUAY 233 St-Jean-Baptiste # 90 Chateauguay, Quebec (450) 692-9055 ST-LEONARD 7373, Langeler, #13 St-Leonard, Quebec (514) 254-3666 1-800-267-4399 www.hydro-confort.com Montreal than go elsewhere. And if we want all the regions to participate in the economic development of the province and if there is a lack of workforce, then we have to look into that. Because if there is no workforce in these regions, and then companies have to shut down or move, well then we have another type of problem in the province. Also the decrease in the population growth rate, the demographics and ageing combined with the slow birth rate, means we need to compensate somewhere to support this lag. Claude Béchard, the minister responsible for employment said that over the next five years, there will be 650 thousand jobs in the whole province that will need to be filled because of ageing and retiring baby boomers. [our population] is not growing fast enough. For that reason, immigration is a priority for this government – so that they play an active role in our development and our economy. But not only for the economy, but also for our social character. These people contribute to our social and cultural way of life - that’s for sure. TCN: You also mentioned how the integration of immigrants is a shared responsibility between both the society that lives in a particular region and the new arrivals. Can you expand on this statement further, give some sort of example of what shared responsibility would be? Courchesne: We need to develop alliances or partnerships with oranizations not only within the community but between ministries as well. I think that we really need to share the responsibility. It’s not only the responsibility of the government to make sure that these people are well integrated but while there are some different organizations on the field, well why not establish partnerships were we could share the responsibility in some cases. Already we’ve been doing that for many years but I’d like to strengthen that partnership and strengthen it in a sense that we’ll work for the same results. It might not seem very concrete right now, but with the action plan things will come through and you will be able to see what I mean exactly. The consultation comes to Laval TCN: While in Laval today (August 25 th ) who did you meet with? Courchesne: I’ve met with representatives from various cultural communities today and I’ll be meeting with other representatives in the next two weeks. I spoke with organizations representing cultural communities, Italian, Armenian, Latinos, Iranian, and Portuguese and next time I’ll be meeting with all the socio economic groups like the Chambre of Commerce, Emploi Quebec and others that have a role to play with companies. I’ll also be meeting with employers to exchange ideas with those who need workers and some that have already integrated new immigrants - to see how things are going on. Today went very well, I think that my mandate is also meant to recreate proximity, a closer relationship with all the communities. I think that they’re really satisfied and happy to see that there’s someone concerned. Now the dialogue is there again and they’re able to exchange freely and give their opinion and feel that they have the support and hope in that some progress will be made. TCN: How did you go about finding representatives and specialists from cultural communities? Courchesne: There was a press release but they come because we invite them. They attend by invitation. The consultation’s findings TCN: When will results from the consultation be made available? Courchesne: The sooner the better of course. When we talk about immigration though, statistics have shown that when it comes to consultation, the personalized approach gives better results. But with a personalized approach, things might seem to take a little longer. The people who are arriving, they’re human beings and they all have different experiences, values, cultures, sometimes they have had hard times in life. In my opinion, they are facing the most difficult decision - leaving a country to come to another and starting over again with a families and children, and they need to learn French on top of that. Because they’re human beings, there’s a limit to what you can impose. So when I say shared responsibilities, its not only government and organizations, there’s also municipalities, employers, and socio economic organizations, where everyone has a role to play if we want to make immigration a success, because that’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day we need success and it has to work out if we want to have others immigrate. We’re working for the next generation. That’s why I’m saying it’ll come out by midterm. But we’ll start now; we won’t wait for the midterm to start out action plan. There could even be some announcements made in the next few months that could make a slight difference. But I think that we need to study the way we work with them and what I’ll focus on and what’s really important to me is to really have concrete results and make sure that we work on a real target, that give results region by region. What these meeting are pointing out is the necessity to put in common all the expertise, all the information, that [employers] are working through on a day to day basis. Everyone, in every region is telling me that they feel that they need these types of meetings once in a while just to share all of this [information] and to define, all together a common direction that compliments each other. TCN: Although the consultation will run until mid October, will you continue such meetings? Is this a time process? Courchesne: No, it is not a one time process. What I’m telling my ministry is that they have to be a lot more present on the field. There will be new orientations regarding the way that my people will have to work on the field and in every region. Meaning that there’s a follow-up that has to be pursued to make sure that things will happen. And I think that everyone is asking for this type of dialogue more and more. Success will be through follow-ups How Laval fairs up TCN: The island of Montreal attracts close to 80% of the immigrant population. How does Laval compare to Montreal, the urban centre? What makes Laval attractive and how many immigrants choose our city as their home? Courchesne: Laval is welcoming more and more new immigrants. I guess also because there’s a quality of life here in Laval. And already more than 20% of the population is made up of different cultural communities, so because of that more and more immigrants will come, that’s for sure. So we have to make sure that again they have all the services they need and that there is a mutual comprehension of how they can play an active role in Laval and participate in our community life and economic life. Because there are also many jobs in Laval. There are sufficient services out there, the only thing is we need to integrate these services. Also, finding a job is still an issue for new immigrants. Not only do we need to help them find a job and support them and accompany them in every step of the way, we also need to help them out with health services and all the rules they need to know when it comes to fully participating in our way of life.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT A GLANCE… LA FÊTE DES GRAND-PARENTS – 2 ND EDITION Date: Sept. 7, 2:00 to 8:00p.m. Place: Centre de la Nature Details: Activities organized by Federation de lâge d’or du Québec Info: 686-2339 TOURNOI DE GOLF DU CLUB DE HOCKEY LE CANADIEN – 29 TH EDITION Date: September 8 Place: Club de golf Laval-sur-le-Lac Details: Golf tournament in aid of Fondation du Club de hockey Le Canadien pour l’Enfance Info: 514-925-2133 CYCLING COMPETITIONS Date: Continuing until Sep. 10 Place: parc industriel Centre, Châtelier, Michelin And Delaunay Streets Details: Cyclists from Quebec and Ont. Compete Info: 256-9071 WINNERS – LAVAL EN FLEURS 2003 Date: Sept. 14, beginning at 9:00a.m. Place: école Curé-Antoine-Labelle – salle Claude- Potvin, 216 rue Marc-Aurèle Fortin Details: Tasting – Le Bon Goût de notre compagne Info: 978-5971 What’s pruning? Pruning is a preventive measure that consists of removing some branches in order to orient the growth of new branches away from overhead wires. Pruning therefore helps protect your trees. The most common pruning techniques used are directional, lateral and V-cuts. TERRY FOX DAY Date: September 14 Place: Parc des Prairies Details: Walk/fundraiser beginning 10:30 a.m. in aid of Cancer research Info: 514-499-9747 SYMPOSIUM Date: September 17/18 Place: Chateau Royal Details: 200 specialists from all points of Quebec will focus on water quality in a workshop format Info: 514-270-7110 FREE* PERENNIAL DISTRIBUTION Date: September 20, beginning 8:30 a.m. Place: Laval City Hall Details: Distribution of free flowers on a first-come first served basis Info: 978-5971 To include your organizations activities in this section at for free please send details by fax at 450-687-0999 or by e-mail at eleanor@chomedeynews.ca Three weeks prior your event. Reliability of service: Hydro-Québec turns tree surgeon! Have you noticed a tree-pruning team in your neighbourhood? If not, keep an eye out – Hydro-Québec will soon be starting pruning and clearing work in your area and cutting down trees that are a hazard. Lateral cut NBG BANK WE ARE PROFITING FROM THE CHANGING BANKING MARKET IN CANADA BY EXPANDING OUR PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND NETWORK. CONTRIBUTE TO OUR GROWTH AND SHARE IN OUR SUCCESS. National Bank of Greece (Canada) is an Equal Opportunity Employer www.nbgbank.com V-cut Team of specialists To carry out the work, Hydro-Québec has called on specialized, competent companies who know the best way to use these pruning techniques. They are the only ones who can legally prune or cut down trees that are 3 metres (10 feet) or less from our wires. Asplundh Canada inc. has been contracted to do this work in your area. Do not try to prune or cut a tree that is near one of our wires yourself – for your own safety! The International NBG Group sees Canada as one of the best banking markets in the world, and Quebec as one of the best banking markets in Canada. Over the past ten years NBG Bank has expanded its presence in Canada from five to ten full service branches. NBG Bank is currently seeking: COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Laval You will be responsible for managing a designated commercial loan portfolio in a manner that ensures its effective promotion, profitability and sound administration and for contributing to and supporting sales efforts and sales growth of all products/services of the Bank to existing and prospective clients. You Possess experience in assessing, structuring and managing commercial loans, experience in the financial services industry, a relevant university degree and highly developed abilities to negotiate and to work with people. Knowledge of the Greek language would be an asset. Please send résumé or contact: NBG BANK Human Resources 1170 Place du Frère André 2nd floor Montreal, Quebec H3B 3C6 Tel: (514) 954-1522 Fax: (514) 954-1620 hr@nbgbank.com Only candidates who are retained will receive responses. We thank all applicants for their interest in NBG Bank. Reliability of service The objective of the pruning is to prevent outages caused by tree branches coming into contact with Hydro-Québec’s electric installations. This way, you benefit from quality service – in safety! For more information about pruning, clearing, and cutting down hazardous trees, please call our Customer Services Office. The telephone number is on your electricity bill. www.chomedeynews.ca • THE CHOMEDEY NEWS • September 6, 2003 • 9
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