The City of Delta says it will be releasing a report soon on the public engagement phase for the Making Delta More Inclusive Project.
To better understand the needs of Delta’s growing diverse community, the city launched the Newcomer Survey last September, and plans to hold a forum this year.
Noting that supporting newcomers and racialized residents has been identified as one of the key priorities in Delta’s Social Action Plan, the city points out that one third of Delta’s population are immigrants and nearly one-half of its residents are racialized, similar to other Canadian cities that have become more culturally diverse.
Delta’s Social Action Plan states, “We recognize that the social fabric of Delta is changing and we are becoming a more diverse community, with 45 percent of our population being racialized residents. In the last 10 years, the majority of our population growth has come from immigration, yet, immigrants experience significantly higher poverty rates and face multiple settlement barriers.”
The action plan report also notes that, in 2021, there were 35,555 immigrants in Delta, or 33 per cent of the total population. The majority of immigrants live in North Delta and 12.2 per cent of all immigrants are newcomers, coming to Canada between 2016 and 2021.
Among the challenges outlined in the report is a lack of supports for immigrants in Delta.
There is no settlement agency, resulting in many immigrant residents seeking settlement supports outside of Delta. The city is also home to a large number of temporary foreign workers who often do not speak English fluently and might not know their rights in Canada.
Among the strategies in the plan is for the city to work with community partners and conduct a survey of immigrant residents to better understand their needs and challenges.
The plan also suggests the city undertake a review of public engagement methods and platforms to better understand the challenges of immigrant residents to participate in public engagement processes in Delta.
The recommendations also include working with community partners to establish a Newcomers Welcome Centre to provide services to new immigrants in Delta.
