Destination Canada is an international fair that is held in Paris and Belgium over almost a week. As I mentioned, representatives from the province attend it along with partners, the World Trade Centre in particular, and, this year, CDEM.
Community organizations previously had an opportunity to attend the fair as a result of funding granted to the province for settlement programs. The province facilitated that because it understood the importance of the community organizations' contributions to the fair. The province's attendance there is of course necessary and essential because its representatives can discuss Manitoba's nominees program and the opportunities it affords.
As for the community component, it is very important to reassure future nominees attending the fair and to tell them they will have to follow a process but that they will subsequently not be alone. They must be made to understand that an association of organizations will take it upon itself to go and pick them up at the airport, drive them to temporary accommodation, and guide them through administrative procedures. They must also be told that organizations will support them in looking for a job or a family physician, in particular. They must be reassured they will not be abandoned.
We are a minority community—so be it—but together we can change things, and that is reassuring. The personal connection makes a difference. It can influence an immigration applicant's choice of province and the destination he or she may choose.