In this episode, we discuss learning to support newcomers with my guest Anila Umar Lee Yuen.
Anila is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Newcomers in Calgary, Alberta. She has 28 years of experience in the settlement sector. Beyond traditional settlement services, Anila has spearheaded programming to include volunteer-led refugee supports; indigenous education for newcomers; LGBTQ+ supports, domestic violence, homeless and mental health support services and broadened vulnerable youth programming and social venture opportunities.
Anila holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology (Behavioural Neuroscience) and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Calgary and an MBA with distinction from Keller Graduate School of Management.
Her numerous awards for her contributions to her community include the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case, UCalgary Alumni Arch Award, Top 40 Under 40 in Calgary, Women of Inspiration, Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada and Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.
Listen in as we talk about:
The current state of immigration in Canada. Anila gives us a behind the curtain look into what the current state of immigration is truly like right now in Canada.
How teaching and learning are integral parts of the Centre for Newcomers. Teaching and learning happens in so many capacities, Anila shares how this is essential for the Centre.
Key barriers faced when people come to Canada. There are many barriers and challenges newcomers face when they come to Canada. Anila shares her perspective on this in our conversation.
Connect with Anila:
Website: https://www.centrefornewcomers.ca
Instagram: @yycnewcomers
Facebook: @centrefornewcomers
Twitter: @yycnewcomers
LinkedIn:
Centre for Newcomers
Anila Umar Lee Yuen
Connect with Tiana:
Website: https://tianafech.com
LinkedIn: Tiana Fech
Instagram: @tianafech
Facebook: @tianafech
Book: Online Course Creation 101: A step-by-step guide to creating your first online course https://amzn.to/3BujR21
THE CURRENT STATE OF IMMIGRATION IN CANADA
The government of Canada, whether Federal or Provincial, understands the value and importance of immigration. As Anila shares, almost 100% of our labor market growth and population growth are attributed to newcomers.
Truthfully, without immigration, we wouldn't have any population growth and we certainly wouldn't have any labor market growth. From an economic and sustainability perspective, it's important to have immigration. Whichever government is in power works hard to ensure a steady stream of newcomers coming to Canada.
However, Anila explains how we don't account for any acts of God, like war, floods, etc. Currently, we have a huge increase in Afghan refugees and people coming from the Ukraine. The government doesn't refer to these Ukranians as refugees, they're called ‘temporary residents’ because they are supposed to go back to Ukraine when it's safe to do so. Nevertheless, in all aspects of their lives, they're effectively refugees. The only difference is they're coming here without any type of benefits or support the way refugees would.
As you’ll hear, the numbers are beyond anything we've ever seen before. This large influx of people coming into Canada has caused issues in the system because we don't have the resources to be able to meet the needs of the community in a timely manner.
As such, Anila and her organization have been reaching out to the community, places of worship, and different groups that are able to provide them with some funding and sponsorship so that they can get some of these most vulnerable groups, including our Afghan and Ukrainian women, into programming very quickly.
HOW TEACHING AND LEARNING ARE INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE CENTRE FOR NEWCOMERS
“Lifelong learning is so important and integral to just being human.”
Lifelong learning is essential, regardless of where you live and which part of the world you’re immigrating from.
