Elaine Burton, executive director of Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership (PVLIP) and Ty Hildebrand, Country 88 morning show guest.
The Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership (PVLIP) is an organization that prioritizes practical ways of welcoming newcomers and promoting inclusive communities in which everyone has a place.
PVLIP’s “I’m a Welcomer” campaign is an annual initiative designed for this purpose.
Although the campaign runs only through the autumn, Elaine Burton, the executive director of PVLIP, said the organization has created a toolkit — accessible at any time — that will continue the spirit of the campaign the whole year through.
Burton said the toolkit draws on information gathered by PVLIP through a grant-funded project.
“It was a two-year piece of work that resulted in varied resources that cover multiple topics, [such as] how to understand your new neighbours [or what] it means to be welcoming and inclusive. What does that actually translate into when you’re talking about adjusting to a multicultural workplace, or you have some new neighbours, or your kids have friends at school [and] talk about some of the foods they eat at lunch?” she said.
“There’s a lot of variety when it comes to culture and diversity that goes beyond just what you see on the outside.”
Burton said that the downloadable toolkit, available in French and English, is available online on the PVLIP website.
“We also have some hard copies that we’re willing to hand out for people who really are interested and want to explore it further,” she said, adding that anyone who would like one can contact PVLIP directly.
As for what one will find in the resource packet, Burton said it will include information gathered from a variety of local sources — the toolkit has been designed for the Pembina Valley, and it features its voices.
“We did a lot of research and we also had a lot of lived experience from our local newcomers who actually shared what they thought [inclusion] meant and what they needed from their community members,” she explained.
“We interviewed employers, we interviewed local business owners, we interviewed local newcomers, whether they were a business owner or just working in their day job, and all of that content helped us narrow down what was important for our region to show how to be welcoming or what it means to understand diversity in the context in which you are connected.”
The executive director said that part of the grant requirement was to create a resource that can be used by employers, so the toolkit and its features are designed to do just that.
“It’s not just this paper book. We actually took the content and developed workshops. We delivered those workshops during the grant funding in person, but [for] over a year now, we’ve had them available online on our website to view and go through the workbook,” she said.
“You can use it as a self-directed workshop series on understanding culture and diversity.”
Burton said that PVLIP also has over 50 videos with similar content on its YouTube channel, featuring a variety of perspectives from community members.
“All of those videos address things we’ve heard or things we’ve talked about in the Pembina Valley in different ways,” she said.
According to Burton, PVLIP’s information — especially the sections pertaining to the workplace — can help build bridges that go both ways.
Newcomers can access advice on communication, effective practices, and understanding the law, while employers can learn how to create atmospheres that include everyone and identify barriers to this goal.
Some of PVLIP’s findings have shown that, though likely inadvertently, not everyone is on the same page.
“When we interviewed employers [and asked], ‘Do you value diversity in your workplace?’ [they responded], ‘Absolutely, we have that covered,’ … however, when we asked the newcomers the same thing, almost half of them didn’t know whether or not there was someone to talk to if they needed help in regards to their experience of maybe feeling discriminated against,” she said.
“They didn’t know there were policies or that diversity was valued. They didn’t know there was an opportunity to speak to someone, so that difference in perception was kind of surprising.”
Burton continued that navigating a break in communication of this sort can quickly become a “layered process” that takes into account different cultural communication styles and practices.
Even so, she suspects that building relationships is one way to overcome the barriers.
“I think at the end of the day, with some of the newcomers and employers who we interviewed, they would say that once they felt comfortable and they got to know you, they might feel more freedom to speak to a supervisor,” she said.
“In a lot of cultures, to speak to someone above you and your authority is a huge barrier.”
Burton added that another part of the research was inspired by the perspective of a local employer who was concerned about his newcomer employees having a social network outside the workplace, which boosts morale and overall wellness.
“This toolkit can help … give practical local suggestions on how to find connection in your community from various angles, whether it’s an employer helping an employee or cross cultures within the workplace,” she said.
Now that the research is completed, for Burton, it’s only a matter of sharing the rich resources that the Pembina Valley both helped create and can benefit from.
To access the toolkit, click here.
With files from Ty Hildebrand and Jayme Giesbrecht
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