‘From Pakistan to Peterborough, you’re welcome here’

Whether a person is an economic immigrant, international student or refugee, the Sault’s Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is here to help those from other countries settle in to their new lives in the Sault.   

Established in 2009, its office located on the Civic Centre’s third floor, the local LIP (there are many across Canada) is a federally funded program (linked with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC) under the stewardship of the City of Sault Ste. Marie as part of Community Development and Enterprise Services.

“Our mandate, in the broadest terms, is to make the community more welcoming to newcomers,” said Sean Halliday, LIP researcher, speaking to SooToday.

“It’s interesting and important work. The Sault, right now, has a major demographic challenge with an aging population and labour market shortfalls...we work to make better relationships, more acceptance and tolerance, helping to fight racism and encourage more openness in people and organizations, to be more comfortable with ambiguities which you get with different cultures.”

To make newcomers feel welcome and aware of the services available to them, LIP works with a number of local partners, said Adrian DeVuono, LIP project coordinator.

The list of partners is lengthy, including, among many others, the African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario, school boards, Algoma Legal Clinic, Algoma Public Health, Algoma University, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Employment Solutions, various government ministries, Sault College, Sault Community Career Centre and the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library.

“I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, and previously to my role here at LIP I worked as an employment consultant and program developer for the Sault Community Career Centre, and that was an opportunity to develop language and training programs for the Syrian refugees when they arrived,” DeVuono said.

Prior to his involvement with the Sault’s Syrian newcomers, DeVuono worked in two Saudi Arabian communities, working in training programs for Saudi men on behalf of Ottawa’s Algonquin College.

“Saudi Arabia was only the third country I ever visited, apart from Canada and the U.S., so it really opened my eyes and let me experience another culture, so I was able to bring that experience back to Sault Ste. Marie as I saw the Sault shifting to a more international, diverse, welcoming community for newcomers,” DeVuono said.

“If we want to thrive as a community, we have to shift our mentality to that of a global economy, attracting and retaining human resources, making our community a place where people from other cultures who have talents that can help our community feel safe, welcome and have a great life here.”

“We help that transformation take place, to build a community hub around newcomers and ensure they’re  taken care of, their housing, employment, social connections...we work with our partners to ensure that,” DeVuono said.

“I love it here,” smiled Maegan Brennan, a Sault native who has worked as LIP outreach assistant for the past three years.

“We meet tons of new folks all the time. My dad is an immigrant, his father was an immigrant who came from Ireland who had quite the adventure when he came over here, and I always have that in my mind when I try to make this a welcoming community.”

“I think of my grandfather’s experiences, they were difficult, and I think ‘would I want that for somebody else?’ and the answer is ‘absolutely not,’ we can do better to welcome newcomers and be a better community. It’s hard enough being separated from your country and seeking work elsewhere...I’m proud to help make some of that a little easier for people,” Brennan said.

“Everybody seems to really like it. I think the refugee program in the Sault has had a really high retention rate (over 80 per cent). From the international students, we always hear they want to stay here in the Sault, that this is exactly their speed, exactly what they were looking for.”

“Immigration to the Sault since 2011 represents ‘the new Sault.’ This is the new ‘us’ and it includes newcomers, and the Sault’s going to be stronger because of its diversity,” DeVuono said.

“I love cultures. This role really allows me to interact with so many diverse cultures. It’s great to be a part of this and learn from other cultures around the globe and see cultural transformations in communities. We’re at a turning point in Sault Ste. Marie, into a new kind of future,” DeVuono added.

“I love the Sault and LIP allows me to let people know this is a great city, how wonderful we have it here. From Pakistan to Peterborough, you’re welcome here,” Brennan said.

“I enjoy LIP because of the meeting of new people and building new relationships, and reaching greater stages of understanding and working together for the greater good,” Halliday said. 

Halliday has lived in the Sault since 2001, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland who moved to this community to be with his spouse.

He has worked with LIP for the past four years, having previously worked as a researcher in the early childhood development field.

“I got a great education in geography. I worked in the whole Algoma-Manitoulin area in that job and got to know about the different levels of government,” Halliday said.

Halliday, being an immigrant himself, told us some of the differences he encountered when moving to the Sault from his native Scotland.

“Edinburgh is a big, multicultural city, so moving to a smaller city which is geographically isolated was a challenge. In Edinburgh there were Indian, Turkish and Ethiopian restaurants, so I missed that diversity (that restaurant situation now having changed to a considerable degree in the Sault since Sean arrived).”

“The Sault winters were a massive challenge. I think I shovelled snow once, when I was 12, in Edinburgh. I miss family and friends, especially at times like Christmas and Easter. But I’ve built up some really good friendships here after 18 years,” said Halliday, stating his involvement as a guitarist in the local music scene has helped him establish some of those friendships.

“That was a massive help.”

Regarding his transition to Canadian life, Halliday, on a humorous note, said “I like Gordon Lightfoot and I love maple syrup. Hockey? Sorry, I’m still a football (soccer) fan.”