WHO WE ARE

The Immigration Partnership Saskatoon (IPS) is a multi-sectoral partnership involving 70 local organizations working on shared awareness and leadership to create enabling environments for collective action designed to attract, settle, and integrate newcomers to Saskatoon.

IPS Partners include the City of Saskatoon, local Universities and colleges, the three school boards, employers and employer associations, settlement, human and Health service providers, regional planning bodies, faith and ethnocultural sectors, justice and police, and First Nations/Metis.

IPS promotes strategic alignment of its partners’ plans and priorities, facilitates their collaboration across sectors, and mobilizes engagement and resources to develop effective responses to complex and persistent barriers and challenges. The ultimate shared vision of IPS partners is to work together across sectors to make Saskatoon a welcoming and inclusive Community.

What We Do

Through the Partnership Council, Immigrant Advisory Table and a number of working groups, the Partnership is currently developing a Newcomer Strategy and Action Plan to make Saskatoon more welcoming for newcomers and to improve accessibility to services.

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

The IPS governance structure supports community-wide leadership and action in the implementation of the Saskatoon Settlement and Integration Strategy. While providing a transparent mechanism for continued planning, learning, and adjustment. IPS’s governance structure is designed to leverage the experience, leadership, and strength of each sector and brings together multiple perspectives to bear on planning and action shared priorities

PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL

PARTNERSHIP
COUNCIL

The overall objective of the Council is to promote shared awareness and leadership and create enabling environments for collective action. The Partnership Council provides strategic leadership to Immigration Partnership Saskatoon. The Council are responsible for ensuring the Action Plan outcomes are achieved, championing the work of the Immigration Partnership Saskatoon, enabling system and strategic planning, advocacy, and governance of the Immigration Partnership Saskatoon.

IMMIGRANT ADVISORY TABLE

IAT is a formal collective of newcomers, immigrants and refugees in Saskatoon that is convened by Immigration Partnership Saskatoon (IPS) to tap into their inputs directly in order to shape and inform current and future strategic directions related to immigration outcomes of the community. IAT is a diverse and inclusive table that informs the work of the Partnership Council. IAT members bring first-hand lived experience and insight on living as an immigrant in Saskatoon, ensuring newcomers’ perspectives inform the work and decisions of IPS Partnership Council and its respective Working Groups and IPS Secretariat.

WORKING GROUPS

Working groups are project-related action groups whose membership are derived from community expertise. Working Group members are sought from a variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to: newcomer-serving agencies, public services, language and employment training providers, regional employment networks, industry associations, business leaders, health services, public safety, faith-based organizations, community and/or cultural organizations/networks.

To read more on our governance structure, please see our governance page.

Employment and Labor Outcomes Working Group: Enhances labor market accessibility in Saskatoon and region, as well as facilitating timely access and support for immigrant populations that are not entering the labour market, such as seniors, those with disabilities, and new entrepreneurs. Current focus is on particular needs of newcomers in connection to achieving meaningful employment and entrepreneurship.The group brings together representatives from the public and private sectors who are committed to improve the labour market for newcomers.

Social Inclusion and Civic engagement Working Group: The group offers opportunities for newcomers, mainstream residents, indigenous and Metis peoples, ethnocultural and Faith groups, to celebrate, share diversity, challenges and connect cross-culturally. The work for this group public education campaigns, multicultural celebrations, acknowledgement and celebration of newcomer volunteerism, empowerment of  newcomers to participate in civic/political decision-making processes, increasing awareness of benefits of newcomers to Saskatoon and implementing actions to foster welcoming attitudes and strategies to build social connections between immigrants and longtime residents.

Leadership Working Group: This working group will ensure programs and partnerships/networks are in place to support newcomers in a more collaborative way. Its current focus is on fostering ways to collaborate with partners who are aligned, committed, and actively leverage existing networks to identify gaps in service, develop, promote, and/or deliver new and enhanced programs that are responsive to wider spectrum of newcomer needs.

Language Working Group: This working group promotes the development of language proficiency for newcomers in English and French. The current focus is creating opportunities for language acquisition, relevance, and immersion for newcomers and to increase the awareness of newcomer language and communication needs. The group consists of members from school board, francophone sector, and the not for profit sector.

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BECOME A STAKEHOLDER

Interested in participating in the Partnership Council, one of our Working Groups, or the Immigrant Advisory Table (IAT)? Put your unique skills and experience to work and help build a welcoming community. Whether you can donate a couple of hours or have a great idea, you can help make Saskatoon a more inclusive community for people of all ethnicities, ages, backgrounds and languages. Researchers, writers, artists, and business owners, we want to hear from you!

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CONTACT US

What We Do

Through the Partnership Council, Immigrant Advisory Table and a number of working groups, the Partnership is currently developing a Newcomer Strategy and Action Plan to make Saskatoon more welcoming for newcomers and to improve accessibility to services.