When I started the Halifax Newcomer Choir, it was intended to address an issue I had learned about through my work at Immigrant Services in Halifax. The refugees and immigrants who were taking English language classes through Immigrant Services often struggled to practise their English skills outside of class. Some lived rurally, or in enclaves of individuals who spoke the same first language. Classes were limited to two and a quarter hours each day - hardly enough to solidify a new alphabet, linguistic structure, and gain fluency.
The Newcomer Choir was intended only to supplement these classes, but was primarily focused on people who were new to Canada - ‘new’ is relative of course: they might have lived here for years - and who were learning English.
What we talk about when we talk about newcomers
It was important to me, however, not to limit participation the way some federally and provincially funded programs do. The Newcomer Choir is not funded by a government, nor does it operate as a charity or a not-for-profit. Therefore, I was free to design whatever structure I wished. The choir was therefore to be open to anyone: refugee, immigrant, temporary foreign worker, international student… the list goes on. You could be new to Nova Scotia, new to Canada, or not new at all. It didn’t matter.
As a result, we could target newcomers who were already participating in a wide range of programs, and those who were prevented from participating in some programs as well.
Understanding the potential members we were recruiting allowed us to tailor our recruitment strategies.
If your organization wishes to hire newcomers into admin or performance roles, you must know what kind of work permit or immigration rules apply to those people. If you are looking for participants, they likely don’t need to have a particular status, and therefore you can expand your search more broadly.
Some immigrants may struggle financially, some won’t. Some temporary foreign workers may be here only for the summer, but others intend to stay year round, and are seeking permanent residence in Canada. Rules are constantly changing - this year, the rights of international students to work changed: they were formerly only to work 17.5 hours a week, but the federal government announced in 2021 that they would increase the permissible number of working hours. These details alter how you promote, to whom, and what language you use to make your organization seem welcoming to those individuals and groups.