Society & Culture
In October 2020, the Federal Government announced its 2021-2022 Immigration Level Plan. The government is hoping to bring a targeted 1.2 million immigrants into the country to help the Canadian economy recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and drive future growth. Canada is often referred to as a land of immigrants because of the millions of newcomers who have settled there since the first colonies were built by the English and the French on Indigenous territories. However, despite this history of immigration, many immigrants encounter discrimination and social exclusion upon their arrival. Much of the discrimination and difficulty encountered originate in common myths and beliefs held by those already living in Canada. In this presentation we will visit the new Immigration Level Plan introduced by the Federal government to shed light on the different immigration categories and discuss the reasons for this increase to immigration targets. Along the way we will try to bust common myths about newcomers to Canada. We will also explore some of the challenge’s newcomers face during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Speaker: Najib Mangal Najib Mangal is manager of Community Connections and Employment programs at Immigrant Services of Lethbridge Family Services. He is an accredited settlement practitioner with 15 years of experience in settlement and integration of newcomers into Lethbridge. He graduated with a degree in Information Technology in 2006 from the Lethbridge College and recently completed his Immigration Consultancy program through the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultancy.