Never before in the history of Canada’s immigrant settlement sector has the need for a national body been so vitally important. There is an increasing focus on immigration throughout Canadian society, as demonstrated by the Government of Canada ‘s recently stated goal of increasing the levels of immigration by over 30% within the next 5 years.   Canada’s network of immigrant settlement professionals has recognized a window of opportunity for the creation of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance (CISSA). CISSA’s membership, consisting of provincial and regional umbrella associations and national bodies, represents over 400 immigrant and refugee serving agencies across Canada. CISSA is uniquely positioned to provide specialized expertise regarding services to successfully settle and integrate immigrants into Canadian society, and a national perspective about the systems needed to facilitate that process. Canada’s immigrant settlement sector has accumulated a wealth of unique knowledge and expertise over several decades of delivering language instruction, employment services, host volunteer programs and first language support services and programs – key elements for the successful integration of newcomers. 

Vision:

·        A Canadian Society in which all immigrants and refugees are able to participate fully.

Mission:  

CISSA represents the issues and expertise of the immigrant settlement sector to advance public policies and programs that enhance the settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees to Canada

Tasks:

CISSA’s mission will be driven by the following main tasks:  

• To undertake initiatives to enhance the capacity of the immigrant settlement sector to support the integration and active participation of immigrants to Canada;

• To conduct research and special projects for immigrant settlement policy and program development and improvement;

• To develop mechanisms for internal (within the sector) and external (between the sector and various partners) communication/consultations on a national basis on key sector issues.

• To advocate for and increase public awareness about the importance of immigration and immigrant settlement supports; and,

To engage government in different ways to enhance the settlement outcomes of immigrants

 By working together from a national perspective we can enhance the settlement outcomes of immigrants and refugees to Canada.