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stoujfville suntribune thursday nov 24 2005 9 immigrant now helping others from page i questions but addressed her needs the flyer explained how the agency helps immigrants and refugees ms daneshi learned the government and agency would assist her with lan guage employment and social issues since a counsellor at the agency spoke farsi ms daneshi was able to explain she graduated with a degree in sociology from the university of allameh in tehran in 1994 and spent seven years teaching in irans public school system she also had experience as a counsellor she was assigned counsel lor mitra beikmirzie who became an adviser facilitator and friend mitra was the first person to help me find my confi dence ms daneshi said shes been wonderful ms daneshi took language classes and the family decided to attend st matthews united church to fulfill spiritual and social needs i was encouraged to go to church to mix with canadians ms daneshi said people at the church were very kind and this helped improve my english it didnt take ali long to pick up the language his father helped him and he mixed with the english- speaking children ms daneshi said ali has adjusted well mr yazdankia found work in manufacturing almost immediately while ms daneshi secured a job teach ing farsi in york region public boards international language program she also volunteers as an interpreter and translator ms daneshi was pleased to hear a 920million immigrant settlement deal was struck this week between the province and federal government the funding is for improv ing language training for immigrants many of whom speak neither official language ontario is using some of the money to launch a website to provide information for immi grants on job opportunities training skills accreditation and more agencies hope cash will eliminate settlement roadblocks by lisa queen staff writer at what point in an immi grants journey to canada does the land of promise turn into a series of road blocks as far as hashim ali can tell its as soon as the plane touches down the barriers are odd given canadas history as a nation built on the backs of new comers said the executive director of my canada integration and setdement services a richmond hill- based agency offering servic es to york region immigrants more importandy immi gration is now the backbone of yorks growth and the reception newcomers face is critical to the regions suc cess he said of the 38000 people who move to york each year more than 11700 are new immi grants with another 13600 being newcomers from other countries who settle else where first before moving to the region thats why mr ali is hop ing a historic agreement signed monday between ottawa and queens park which will see the federal government invest 920 mil lion over five years in ontario immigration services will usher in innovative and comprehensive changes not that he is holding his breath based on die lack of coordination hes seen in the system so far the system is not work ing as it should be people who come here have to go through a lot of work to know where settlement workers are he said concerned die splintered system often leaves immigrants flounder ing in their new homeland its not that agencies dont exist for example a search of york region immigration on the website of yorks community information and volunteer centre reveals 15 related organizations its that services are fragmented with no one association over seeing operations the system needs more accountability with clear benchmarks for agencies mr ali said the government is spending millions of dollars where is that money going that is the question this is the publics money its tax money money is being wast ed he said roger manning execu tive director of catholic community services of york region the regions largest immigration agency agrees more coordination is need- edbut a new diversity office being implemented through york regions human services planning coalition in the next year will provide onestop shopping for newcomers seeking programs he added at the same time mr manning cautioned against establishing a superagency to deliver the services now provided by different com munitybased organizations stressing die more important issue is addressing die immi gration funding gap between york and other communities as far as the needs of york region are concerned our per capita funding for serving new immigrants is substan tially lower federal and provincial funding for immigrant servic es in york in 20042005 was 1 79 for each new immigrant compared to 873 in toronto 558 in peel 503 in durham and 418 in halton belairtravel com go places for less 1000s of discounted trips available puerto plata allegro haya dorada varadero hotel imentaoonaj 1 wk au indassve nov24 x wk m inclusive nov2627 suwvso tax 198 cayo coco 1 wk au inclusive nov 27 jamaica barcelo bavaro caribe iberostzr daiquiri punta cana 1 wk all inclusive nov 25 athts tax 274 hobday inn mayan riviera club el 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promotions subject to change without notice ont reg x50010226 q0 proud to be back in markham the pugliese family is pleased to be back in markham with a stateoftheart grocery complex after a 10 year hia tus this communi ty has played a major role in the history of our familys business and to return with the most modem grocery complex in markham is doubly rewarding michael pugliese ceo with sisters sandra roseann family patriarch angelo pugliese started the familys gro cery heritage more than five decades ago including owning and operating prosperous fruit and vegetable markets in to ronto and markham before moving to mississauga to open a fullservice supermarket in 1985 we changed to our current company name in 1995 al ways keeping to our core values of quality freshness and value these values helped us to win numerous awards in cluding the mississauga news readers choice awards for best independent grocery store and the consumers choice awards for best fruit vegetable store all this expertise has come together in our new markham facility that features the widest variety of fresh produce available- anywhere including organic fruits and vegetables professional frcsh- live seafood brand xanc groceries fully stocked deli and onsite baheiy our own angelicos bi and of frcshlyprcpaicd foods sauces soups and dressings yfeain of professional chefs omsite capermg serviccmixoijiccif and complete floral seiyice daily deliveries from the ontario food terminal unrivalled selection and a family tradition of excellence in family food retailing have earned michaelangelos its outstanding reputation were now ready to show markham what we have to offer and thats only the very best zmthh8 weeks product of usa or mexico canada no 1 fresh extra large field tomatoes 79 lb 174 kg pgrqer christie dads cookies 1 325g 350g pkg c v mastro magra spicy or regular san daniele mortadella prices valid at markham location only from thurs nov 24 wed nov 30 mm rat mm mm wmms m mm mm m mm mmm celebrate the season j ymtm far auyompawiud corporate gift piingiat4u party turds ftstwt floral arrarjgtmrnts gift basins to suit any budget gift cards enacalcfadate cookies ptrplutcrs wwwmichaelangelosca kful i 8555 woodbine ave at hvy 7 business hours monday friday- 8am10pm saturday 8am9pm sunday 9am6pm tel 9053078555 terkffrtturituiuutiwrix