Timmins makes immigrants feel more at home with a 'Welcoming Week'
Sept. 10-19 is the time period set aside for Welcoming Week, an annual international opportunity to promote a message of inclusion. For the first time, Timmins is participating.
“It’s a very simple thing to say 'hello. How are you?' And say it with a smile on your face and mean it," said Timmins Mayor George Pirie. "These are wonderful folks. Take a moment to say 'hello' and I’m sure you’ll be impressed."
When Jean-Jacques Fouda from Cameroon, Africa, and enrolled at Universite de Hearst three years ago, he said he felt weird when local people stared at him.
“For now, people change," Fouda said. "We have more of Black people and Indian people. The people here in Timmins, they try to learn more about the people and that for now is going to be normal so that’s very good."
In the coming days, various organizations and businesses will be hosting welcome events. For example, one of them will be how to go about starting a business.
Madison Mizzau, who works at the Timmins Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) as a community development consultant, said newcomers tend to be entrepreneurial.
"That’s been shown in the data and the literature, so by offering workshops and sessions for newcomers -- tips and tricks on what they need to consider to start a new business -- it provides them with that knowledge,” Mizzau said.
“With more immigrants here, we can address employment issues and also there are immigrants opening businesses here -- they're creating employment, as well," added Shashanka Rangi, the Timmins local immigration partnership coordinator for the Timmins and District Multicultural Centre.
Officials with the TEDC said federal figures show that in 2018 and 2019, more than 1,300 study permits were issued to international students in Timmins.
Last week, Northern College officials reported to CTV News that 250 international students will be arriving in Timmins before the end of September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6975593.1721827455!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Male, female killed, 2 others injured in 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.
These athletes have been named Canada's Olympic flag-bearers
Decorated sprinter Andre De Grasse and Olympic weightlifting champion Maude Charron will carry Canada's flag into the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Friday.
Trump rally gunman looked online for information about Kennedy assassination, FBI director says
FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Wednesday that a laptop tied to the Trump rally gunman included a Google search of 'How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?'
Bank of Canada cuts interest rate, signals more to come if inflation keeps dropping
The Bank of Canada has decreased its policy interest rate for the second consecutive time and signalled more cuts are coming if inflation continues to ease.
Celine Dion at the Olympics? Singer in Paris 'not a coincidence'
Céline Dion's presence in Paris a few days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is 'not a coincidence,' said French Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Privacy commissioner probing customers' claims they can't delete PC Optimum accounts
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has opened an investigation into allegations that some Loblaw customers have been unable to delete their PC Optimum accounts.
Republican leaders urge colleagues to steer clear of racist and sexist attacks on Harris
Republican leaders are warning party members against using overtly racist and sexist attacks against U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, as they and former U.S. president Donald Trump's campaign scramble to adjust to the reality of a new Democratic rival less than four months before Election Day.
Are cold showers good for you? What the science says
You may have seen people jumping into frigid seas or stylish ice baths, claiming these dunks are good for heart health, muscle recovery, stress and more.