ST. JOHN’S, NL – Advanced Education, Skills and Labour Minister Al Hawkins announced more than $567,000 for the Welcoming Communities - WelcomeNL Initiative on April 20.
Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) will use the funding to implement the initiative throughout the province, first in Labrador City, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Corner Brook in 2018-19, and in Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander the following year.
It will build on the WelcomeNL toolkit, also launched April 20 at MNL’s central regional meeting in Grand Falls-Windsor.
The toolkit was developed by MNL and is an online resource for towns seeking to better understand their role in the promotion of immigrant attraction and retention and the benefits of immigration.
The toolkit and the newly established WelcomeNL site can be viewed at welcomenl.ca.
In addition to the website and toolkit, MNL president Tony Keats said the organization has committed significant resources over the next two years.
“We will coordinate regional pilots that will model the Welcoming Communities approach, support local leaders in their efforts to attract and retain immigrants, and extend the reach of current provincial investments in settlement and integration services outside the St. John's Urban Region,” he said in a news release.
