Greater Toronto Summit 2011 Breakout Session
The Challenge: The Toronto region is the top destination for Canada’s immigrants – almost half of the population is foreign born. Though immigrants are crucial contributors to our economic prosperity and growth and bring unique international skills and experience, their full economic potential is not always realized, creating a large gap between the labour outcomes of immigrants and Canadian-born people. Many players are actively working to address economic topics related to immigration in the region, but they would all benefit from a common vision and coordinated strategy. There are also more opportunities to foster immigrant entrepreneurship, leverage immigrant networks and enhance diversity as a key component of our region’s brand.
Find the backgrounder for Making Immigration Policy, Economic Growth and Social Development Work for the Toronto Region here.
Moderator: Gillian Hewitt-Smith, Executive Director & CEO, Institute for Canadian Citizenship
Speakers
- Ratna Omidvar, President & CEO, Maytree Foundation
- Fred Morley, Executive Vice President & Chief Economist, The Greater Halifax Partnership
- Daniele Zanotti, CEO, United Way York Region
Questions for Discussion:
- How do we begin developing a common vision and coordinated strategy for immigration in the region?
- How do we get traction on the other potential opportunities identified for action (Immigrant entrepreneurship program, promoting transnational trade/investment and attracting talent through immigrant networks, and ‘Global City’ /‘Gateway to the World’ as a key element of Toronto region brand)?
- Are there other solutions worth pursuing?
