Citizenship and Immigration Canada Minister Diane Finely rang in the Chinese Lunar New Year at the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, where sheannounced new funding for the centre.

Two million dollars over two and a half years will go towards settlement and integration services for Chinese newcomers in theOttawa-Carletonregion. The increased funding is expected to help more than 7,000 people benefit from language training services, counseling, and employment-relatedinformation and support.

Sharon Kan, Executive Director of the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre stated, “We expect to see increasing opportunities to build innovativeprograms in the language and employment areas so that immigrants are able to thrive in Canadian society.”