April 4, 2007

To Canada, with love

By Tanya Ives
tives@uwo.ca

Joel Medina, 23, was singing and playing his guitar on stage at the Decameron Resort in Panama on March 17, 2005. That's when Paula Stanley, 32, first set eyes on him and became enchanted by his voice. But he was too engrossed in his performance to notice her.

The following day they bumped into each other and began to chat, a feat not easily accomplished as Medina spoke no English and London, Ont. native Stanley spoke little Spanish.

But the attraction was mutual.

"We used a lot of sign language," Medina recalled.

Today, Medina has gone from signs to words. With the help of resources that London offers its much-needed immigrants, Medina is attending classes to help him adjust to the language and culture of his new home. But finding a job isn't as easy for him as learning a new vocabulary.

Since stepping off the plane on Christmas Eve 2006 into the freezing night air of Toronto, where his new wife, Paula, awaited him with a big red coat, he has been soaking up English.

"It's amazing how he went from speaking one hour of English a day to 24 hours in such a short time," Paula said. "As an English teacher I didn't think it was possible."

Medina began learning English when he and Paula, the director of London's Language Institute, an ESL business, called each other on the phone daily once her week-long vacation in Panama ended. "I had a dictionary in my hand and looked up words so we could talk," the native Spanish-speaker laughed.

In fact, it was through the long-distance wires almost a year later that Medina took a deep breath and asked Paula to marry him.

"She screamed 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' " Medina recalled.

Photo by Paula Medina

Joel Medina and Paula Stanley prepare to welcome in the New Year in Panama in 2005, three months before their wedding.

They married on Decameron Resort's white sands on March 18, 2006, exactly one year after their first encounter.

After nine months apart while the couple waited for Medina's Canadian permanent resident application to be approved, Medina flew north to be with his wife.

Deb Matthews, MPP for London North Centre and parliamentary assistant to the minister of community and social services, hopes many others will follow Medina's path to London.

"We are becoming increasingly reliant on immigration for people growth so it'simportant for London to attract immigrants from other parts of the world," she said.

She said that fertility rates within the country have been low for a long time, and that by 2034, without more immigration, London's population will start to decline.

"When the population of a city declines, people will not be able to sell their properties. There will be vacant homes, boarded-up stores and more classrooms than we need," said Matthews.

The Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration recently gave London $200,000 so it could launch an Immigration Portal website to help attract more immigrants and retain those already in the city. According to Matthews, the money is a "wise investment" that will familiarize immigrants with London life. She said she hopes it will help increase the flow of newcomers.

"We need to let people know there is a London," she said. "To me there is no contest. London is a livable city with an excellent quality of life."

When immigrants move to London they receive a welcome package with a list of social resources and information on how to acquire identification such as social security and health cards. This is to help make their transition smoother.

Medina received this package on his arrival, but said it was only available in English. He said he was lucky his wife was able to help him out with the documents.

But Paula said London has good resources if you know where to look.

For example, to further his English, Medina attends a program called Linc, which offers Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada. Helen Patterson, a language assessment and referral officer for London's Cross Cultural Learner Centre - the centre in charge of placing newcomers in Linc classes - said the classes are offered by Citizenship and Immigration Canada for recent landed immigrants or convention refugees.

Linc is not just another ESL program, Patterson said. "The difference is, in Linc, you learn about the country and culture as well." Money issues, local bus routes, and where to get groceries are some of the topics discussed in class.

"It helps to make living in Canada a smoother transition," Patterson said.

Medina doesn't think the classes help much with the settling-in process, but he said they are helping him gain confidence when it comes to speaking English.

Last week his class watched Michael Moore's satire Canadian Bacon to learn some Canadian expressions and culture.

"Now I know the date for Groundhog Day," he said, and talked about a project he is doing on the invention of the snowmobile.

Also recently, the YMCA, where Medina goes daily for his Linc classes, took the students to a maple syrup factory to show them how the truly Canadian product is made.

"It was fun but freezing," said Medina, who, his wife claims, is a huge fan of winter, to the point of running around in shorts in the snow.

One thing the program doesn't seem to help out with much is employment. It is here that Medina has some trouble: he said he cannot find a job.

Linc coordinator Nancy Pollard said job-related workshops, videos and resources created by Citizenship and Immigration Canada are available for Linc students. However, there are no direct links between the program and London's job market.

"I want to teach guitar but it's difficult and now I'm impatient," Medina said. He says he may go around to churches to ask if he can teach the children to play. He has also been taking his CVs to businesses in the area, including Costco and Blockbuster. He was interviewed by Blockbuster, but, he said, they have not called to offer him a job.

"I'm very good with people. I really think it was because of the language. It gives you many limits to getting a good job," he said.

Burt Haggith, store manager of Blockbuster on Commissioners Road East, said he has no problems hiring immigrants as long as he is able to communicate with them.

"When it comes down to it, there's a lot of communication with customers involved," he said. "So it depends on how good their English is."

Paula says it's hard for her husband to find work because all his experience and references are from Panama. But she is sure he'll find something soon. Medina, too, tries to remain optimistic.

Deb Matthews said she hadn't looked into labour issues when she researched London's population decline and its need for immigrants. But she said the labour market will need more immigrants over the next few years to fill positions as people age and move out of the job market.

She said London has a settlement service called WIL Employment Connections, which specializes in employment services for immigrant professionals new to southwestern Ontario.

Photo by Tanya Ives

At the offices of WIL Employment Connections, immigrants get help finding jobs.

WIL offers additional workshops to immigrants to help them with independent job searches. Matthews suggests newcomers having difficulty finding jobs visit the WIL offices on Dundas Street.

Attracting "more than its fair share of immigrants," and making them feel "welcome and involved" are goals Matthews is aiming for this year to increase London's population. According to Matthews' research, about 80,000 of London's 352,395 citizens are immigrants.

Said Matthews of immigration: "Our future depends on it."

As for Medina and his wife, despite the difficulty of finding a job, the two are doing their fair share in helping to increase London's population.

Paula is two months pregnant.

"We will have a trilingual baby," said Medina. The couple wants their child to speak English, Spanish and French.

"And maybe also the language of music," Medina added.

"And he or she will definitely play the guitar."