Town of Banff

Program helps newcomers to Canada settle in

December 14, 2011

Banff, AB - The Bow Valley has a new program to assist newcomers to Canada with their settlement and integration needs.

Housed in the Town of Banff’s Family and Community Support Services department and funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the settlement program provides practical and ongoing support to permanent residents, convention refugees and live-in caregivers. The goal is to enable newcomers to integrate into all aspects of community life — economically, socially, and culturally.

The program will run throughout the valley including Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and the Kananaskis area. Ruth Pryor, community development coordinator for the Town of Banff, says she is excited to see this program come to fruition after working hard to secure funding.

“The valley has seen a massive change in the demographic makeup over the past several years,” said Pryor. “There are 2,000 temporary foreign workers throughout the valley, and many of them become permanent residents of Canada. With this new settlement program, we are now able to fully support all newcomers with their individual and family needs as they transition to life in Canada and a life in the Bow Valley.”

The settlement program is a result of community consultation and focus groups that identified gaps and lack of programming support for newcomers to Canada within the valley.  “The working groups were able to identify areas that can really use the support of this settlement program, such as the schools here in the Bow Valley,” says Pryor. But, she added, support in the schools is only one aspect of settlement. The programming will span all sectors of the community, from employment and recreation to health care and support with applications and government forms.

Offering support for newcomers to Canada goes hand-in-hand with educating and raising awareness of issues and barriers affecting immigrants and the community at large. The settlement program’s staff will be creating and implementing cultural opportunities and programs for all community members.  For more information on the settlement program visit banff.ca or contact Jeanie Godfrey and Duane Moleni through the Town of Banff.


Media Contact:
Diana Waltmann, Manager of Communications
Direct: 403.762.1207  Cell: 403.431.2307