Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Hon. Jason Kenney Visits CPAC on July 20
July 20,TORONTO– The Honourable Jason Kenney, Federal Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, met with the staff, board of directors, members and program participants of the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) today. Kenny’s visit was part of his tour to learn more about immigrant communities inCanadaand the programs that serve them.
For 20 years, CPAC has been at the forefront of serving immigrant professionals and helping newcomers’ transition to a new life inCanada. With a national membership of 27,000, CPAC is one of the largest of its kind inCanadaand has served tens of thousands of internationally trained professionals to achieve their career and life goals. “Every year, CPAC holds around 350 counseling and training sessions and assists more than 100 internationally-trained newcomers to find jobs in their respective, professional fields,” said President Zhao. “Aside from CPAC Career Service Centre and International Exchange Centre, CPAC has also established a Member Service Centre to add more services and programs for its members and community.”
CPAC holds more than ten annual events, such as, Professional Day, Education Day, Summer Festival, Members Day, Children Drawing Contest, CPAC Award Gala and New Year Dancing Party, etc., to provide information about employment, Canadian education system, Canadian local culture and social networking to the newcomers and their families. At the beginning of this year, CPAC expanded its spectrum of membership to include young professionals by introducing the Young Professionals Division. This serves as a platform for young people to connect with established professionals, to learn from their experiences, and to nurture their leadership skills.
Minister Jason Kenney highly praised the contributions and accomplishments that CPAC has made in the last 20 years. “Immigrant professionals are an important component amongst the contributors forCanada’s economic development. The government must improve and continue to carry out policies to better aid these immigrants and better integrate them into the Canadian society.”
CPAC is also committed to promoting education and recognizing young talents. Created in 1999, the Education Foundation of CPAC raised funds to promote academic and professional excellence in the youth and skilled immigrants. The foundation has given out a total of 166 monetary awards to date. In 2009, the Foundation also created a new Professional Achievement Award to recognize exceptional contributions to Canadian immigrant professionals.
Over the years, CPAC has been growing rapidly. “Thanks to the support from the government, we have developed new programs and services to meet the ever-evolving needs of the community. We hope to further develop our partnership with the federal government to enhance our services,” said Dr. Zhao.
About CPAC
The Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) is a federally registered, not-for-profit organization with the objective of serving and representing the interests of immigrant professionals. The Association has a membership of about 27,000 across Canada and is the largest of its kind in Canada. Since its inception in 1992, it has expanded to serve diverse internationally trained professionals and plays an increasingly important role in our multicultural Canadian society, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.