As an immigrant and entrepreneur, Dauda Raji finds the Northeastern Ontario Immigration Portal is a fantastic resource.
The website launched by the Timmins Economic Development Corporation and the Timmins and District Multicultural Centre earlier this year is now available in seven languages: English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Punjabi and Filipino. The project to expand the site’s services to include the different languages was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
“When I first saw it back in the summer, it was just the perfect platform that solves all problems for someone that’s new in the area or someone who’s looking at moving to the area,” Raji said.
Raji moved to Timmins almost eight years ago for work. When he moved from Nigeria, he originally settled in the Greater Toronto Area and as he moved up with the company, he was transferred to several different locations.
After landing in Timmins, he eventually settled here with his family.
Today he owns Northern Taxi and has a few real estate investments in the area.
For immigrants, he said English is a second language for most of them.
By offering the portal in a language they understand, Raji said it shows how open-minded the community is.
“I wish this was there eight years ago when I first came to Timmins. The first couple of years of settling here would have been a lot easier for me because all the resources that I needed are now on one platform,” he said.
When Rita Loza saw a business opportunity in Timmins, she spent three months researching the area.
She had moved to Toronto from Ecuador in 1999, and later saw opportunity at 2-4-1 Pizza here.
Today, all the questions she was looking to answer 16 years ago are available on the website.
“I’ve been trying to get my family to come. They come to visit, but to move they find it hard. I told them, go check the page now – we have our own page and they are really pleased to see all the information that is there now,” she said.
Currently, the portal features information on more than 30 Northeastern Ontario communities.
According to Timmins and District Multicultural Centre co-ordinator Tom Baby that number is slowly increasing as municipalities see how they can use it.
“In our area in Northern Ontario we’re facing a lot of demographic issues and workforce issues. If you talk to a lot of employers they’re having a hard time finding workers, so this is supposed to be used to address those issues of declining populations, increasing retirees,” Baby said.
He said the hope is to attract newcomers from within Canada and outside of the country.
The Northeastern Ontario Immigration Portal’s website is neoimmigration.ca.
