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SIMCOE COUNTY - Newcomers and potential newcomers will soon have a new online vehicle to learn about Simcoe County, its amenities, services and communities.
With funding from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the County of Simcoe is creating a new website designed to answer questions and highlight community information.
"This will be totally separate from the county website and will be more community focused," explained Sandra Lee, project manager of the local immigration partnership (LIP) at the county.
"The intent is to provide information to newcomers about what's available to them in the various communities of Simcoe County. We know that there is very little information online at this time, and certainly not in one central place."
According to 2006 Census data, the most current information available, there are over 51,000 residents in Simcoe County who were born in other countries. That number represents 12.3% of the population
In Orillia, the number is 3,000 — or 10% of the population.
Most new residents choose Simcoe County after landing in the GTA from their home countries.
Lee expects to see significant increases in the number of foreign-born residents here when 2011 Census statistics are released later this year.
"There have definitely been increases, we are seeing increases in visible minorities," she said, adding that people often choose to live in Simcoe County because their friends or family live in the area.
"Most don't choose Simcoe County because of our geography, but when they get here, they love the beaches, the water... and the trails."
The new online portal will be linked to a provincial website and both will act as tools to support the "attraction, recruitment, integration and retention of newcomers in their communities," Lee wrote in a report to the County’s human services committee.
The Simcoe County immigration portal is expected to be live by March 31, 2013 and link newcomer services across the 18 municipalities within Simcoe County, including Barrie and Orillia.
Lee says the need for such a resource was evident during research and focus groups with immigrants and ethno-cultural and faith-based organizations conducted by LIP staff. Also, it was supported at a community planning day attended by about 90 service providers, an online survey and outreach initiatives to local employers.
"The research conducted identifies an overwhelming sense of isolation for newcomers living in our communities," Lee said. "Identified gaps included lack of information to resources in the communities."
Letters of support were received from various organizations including the cities of Barrie and Orillia, Georgian College, both local school boards and the United Way of Greater Simcoe County.
"There is a significant overall need for access to information and support for new immigrants in our region," said Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman. "The project . . . would greatly benefit the City of Barrie and those we have welcomed and continue to welcome into our community."
Orillia's economic development manager, Dan Landry, says the portal will assist the city to "anticipate and respond to the needs of the changing ethnic, racial and cultural composition of the community."
The budget for the project is $253,000, including one full-time and one part-time, eight-month contract positions at the county to develop content for the website.
