Government’s job is ensuring everyone has equal access
By William Doyle-Marshall
Michael Coteau,
Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration wants to bring a renewed
sense of citizenship to his new portfolio.
He told members of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada
(NEPMCC) at their February meeting he is looking forward to establishing a
renewed sense of citizenship.
The newly appointed minister noted there is talk
about multicultural, diversity, inclusion, and so many different pieces that
really speak to citizenship – real citizenship. With his new responsibility for
citizenship and immigration, Coteau wants to put serious meaning to what it
means to be a real citizen of a nation. He
intends identifying what it means to reap all the rewards that come along with
citizenship.
In regards to moving forward with the
ministry, Coteau said some exciting things are happening, including a
partnership programme with the not-for-profits sector, which has been in
development for quite awhile. “Now we are looking at how they can better
leverage the use of different things like technology. There are some 45,000
not-for-profit organizations in Ontario and my job as Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration is responsible for the not for profit sector as well,” he
disclosed.
A lot
of the not-for-profit organizations work within Ontario communities and Coteau
insisted government has to make sure that they have the ability to find out
what grants are available. “We are going
to make sure they have that type of information and it is readily available,”
the minister said.
Anybody with
whom he has the ability to have a discussion, Coteau expects them to walk away
knowing that the current Ontario government is here to serve them, to provide
them with programmes, services and different types of information that they can
access. “I think our job as ministers, as MPPs, as government officials is to
make sure that everyone has equal access to information and has the ability to
reap the rewards that society has to offer as a whole,” Coteau stressed.
With a strong background as a Toronto
District School Board (TDSB) trustee, Coteau has always been a strong advocate
for people taking control of the world around them. Going out and speaking to
young people about taking control of their world and being part of the process
has always been a part of his mission. Consequently he has always approached
his community as being their representative and their voice.
Michael Coteau, Ontario's Minister of Citizenship Immigration addressing the February meeting of National EthnicPress and Media Council of Canada in Parliament Building.
Calling himself an immigrant to Canada born
in Yorkshire, England who arrived when he was four years old with my brother to
live in Flemingdon Park, Coteau said he is a person who understands some parts
of other cultures. “I thought this is an exciting opportunity having been on
the district school board,” he remarked
During
conversations with young children who go into this legislature, he informs them
that they are the owners the building and they and their parents pay the salaries
of politicians. “So I think that sense of true citizenship, ownership for
government I would like to bring them into the mix,” Coteau promised, He is
troubled that Canadians who have been here for ten years, 20 years or two
generations, are not fully aware of the meaning of being a full citizen.
Talking about the new Ontario Immigration
Strategy which focuses on five objectives, Coteau emphasized attracting the
best and brightest to the province so that Ontario can continue to contribute
to a growing economy to benefit all Ontarians. The strategy’s second intention
is to make sure when people land in the province they have the services and structure
necessary to truly benefit what it means to be an Ontario resident. Leveraging the
province’s multiculturalism and diversity to really extract the true value of
what that means in Ontario, is another wrung of the strategy.
Coteau was proud to acknowledge that people
from all parts of the world coming here with dreams. This is the place where
they are connecting with each other, he observed. “Someone from Ethiopia
connecting with someone from China; someone from China connecting with someone from
Greece. You can do those kinds of things here in Ontario. You can’t do that in
any other place in the world. It is very difficult to do it in most places.
There are a few exceptions but Ontario is probably the most diverse place on
the entire planet. So I hope that we can make sure that strategy goes forward
again so newcomers can land here and be successful,” Coteau concluded.
During a question and answer session journalists
quizzed him about a range of concerns including increasing civic and youth participation;
ensuring qualified new Canadians are able to secure employment in their fields
and working with the federal government to get its fair share of skilled
workers under the temporary skilled workers programme.
February 26, 2013
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