Immigrants on Ontario Initiative Network

OIN Pilot

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:05:40 +0000

Our inaugural conference was a great success, and I really would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved, and outline how important their participation was to our overall project.

Based on the feedback that we received during our conference, we generated 10 key recommendations that form the basis of our pilot. This is an exciting time for OIN, as we have moved from research to action!

We are now working actively with our key partners, especially those in Sarnia-Lambton. Through their innovative ihatetraffic.ca website, we will work to launch content targeted specifically towards immigrant entrepreneurs.

Reflections on our Inaugural Conference

Wed, 02 May 2012 19:26:33 +0000

On April 24th, 2012, OIN held its inaugural conference on immigrants and business succession. This innovative session brought together stakeholders from all over Southwestern Ontario and allowed them the opportunity to review our strategic recommendations, see how they could work in their communities and gave them the opportunity to commit to helping our project move ahead.

The conference flyer is still available.

Rodolfo Martinez Project Manager, Ontario Immigrant Network

OIN Whitepaper: Immigrants and Business Succession

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:35:06 +0000

this blog was written as an introduction to our most recent whitepaper, which is available here

It has been awhile since I’ve blogged, and I’d like to touch on the core of our work to date: entrepreneurship, immigrants and the importance of SMEs to our local economies.

For a little over a year, and with the support of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), as well as our partners, we have been working to develop strategies to attract and retain immigrants to smaller communities. From our research, we found a very narrow focus: solving business succession issues in second-tier and rural areas by connecting disenchanted immigrants to entrepreneurship.

OIN Whitepaper: The Use of GIS in Immigration Studies

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:44:44 +0000

This is the first in a new series of whitepapers that Ontario Immigrant Network will be publishing about our research expertise and experiences. Please feel free to leave comments via Twitter: @rodolfo_oin!

Immigrant Entrepreneurship – A Boost for Our Communities

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:15:27 +0000

Last year, over 250,000 newcomers chose Canada as their new home. Often these newcomers flock to centres such as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. While these cities certainly offer diverse communities and a multitude of newcomer services, they may also be contributing to a substandard experience.

A recent study showed that Toronto was the most miserable city in Canada, and this was due in large part to the high proportion of immigrants. This is not to say that immigrants make others and themselves miserable, but rather that there is a mismatch between immigrant expectations and outcomes, particularly in larger centres. Each year, we actively seek the best and brightest from developing nations, and only a small percentage are able to find opportunities that match their skill sets.