Tag: newcomers

SOPA program for Newcomers

Uncategorized
sopa_pic
Click to enlarge

MOSAIC, a non-profit committed to empowering refugees and immigrants publishes a guide on legal issues for newcomers, and also operates a Legal Advocacy Program as well as a Legal Clinic for Temporary Foreign Workers.

MOSAIC now offers a Settlement Online Pre-Arrival program!

The SOPA program is for newcomers who are approved or in the process of applying to immigrate to Canada and settle in British Columbia.

SOPA provides free online facilitated and self-directed courses focusing on job search and communication skills to help prepare newcomers for Canada.

Currently, the following courses are offered:

  • Working in Canada (self-directed)
  • Canadian Workplace Integration (self-directed)
  • Job Search Strategies (facilitated)
  • Soft Skills: Working with Others (facilitated)
  • Soft Skills: Professional Communication (facilitated)

These courses will help newcomers to:

  • build realistic goals with the right tools for their job search;
  • establish a connection with employment programs and immigrant service providers; and
  • integrate to the local labor market and workplace with more ease.

If someone comes to you with questions about what resources are available for family members or friends who are not yet in Canada, but are in the process of applying to immigrate and settle in BC, go to http://arrivepreparedbc.ca to learn more about program eligibility requirements or email sopa@mosaicbc.com.

Stay informed with MOSAIC:

01_Clicklaw_30px 01_Twitter_30px 01_Linkedin_30px 01_Website_30pxFB-f-Logo__blue_29

Newcomers and the Law

New on Clicklaw

pls-new-wikibooks-april-2014For newcomers to Canada, there are some new and updated resources that explain every day legal issues from the People’s Law School:

  • Learning about the Law Wikibook covers the fundamentals of how the law affects your family, young people, seniors, employment, and housing.
  • Driving in BC explains the basics of driving and the law. It includes legal information for people learning to drive.
  • Paying Taxes explains to newcomers and new taxpayers what taxes we’re expected to pay, who we pay taxes to, and how to pay them.
  • Workplace Bullying and Harassment explains what workers, employers, and supervisors need to know and do about workplace bullying and harassment, and where you can get help or more information.

All of these titles are now available as part of the expanding collection on Clicklaw Wikibooks. Clicklaw Wikibooks are collaboratively developed, plain language legal publications that are born-wiki. They are easy to read on your screen, fully searchable, and hyperlinked to key resources. One of the benefits to the Clicklaw Wikibooks platform is that it offers you a choice of format. You can:

  • read the information online on the Clicklaw Wikibooks site,
  • download and print the publication as a PDF,
  • download the publication as an EPUB — a popular ebook standard — and read on an ereader, tablet or mobile device, or
  • for a fee, order your own print on demand copy of the publication.

A free print compilation of these and other People’s Law School wikibooks will be distributed to ESL learning centres and public libraries in BC, under the title Learning about the Law: Extended Edition. This project was made possible with funding support from the Province of BC and Government of Canada.