Dear Friends,

Thank you for your interest in and support for the work of ISSofBC. We’re proud to introduce our 2022 / 2023 Annual Report to the community and our many partners and stakeholders.

As you’ll read, this has been another year of progress, change, and achievements for our organization. Against a backdrop of continuing increases in Canadian immigration numbers, ongoing humanitarian crises, and many shifting economic, social, and global forces, our team of staff and volunteers have once again delivered incredible services to our thousands of service users and clients.

Together, we envision a future where we all thrive – where communities and those who settle in them grow and flourish together. We believe that the outcomes and achievements set out in this report demonstrate that we are delivering on this aspiration. We supported more newcomers – refugees, economic migrants, families, temporary residents, and other classes – than ever before. We supported them to settle, learn English, find jobs, start businesses, build support networks, and overcome challenges to their well-being and rights.

We passionately believe in the power of this work. For individuals and families, for communities, and for our province and country.

However, we also see the challenges that, collectively we need to continue to address with partners and the government to ensure we keep delivering on this mandate.

Over the last year, more people have faced financial hardships, and more communities are dealing with the challenges of our overstretched social infrastructure, an unaffordable housing market, and the impacts of climate change. Critical social justice issues mean that too many equity-seeking groups remain under pressure and are excluded from opportunities.

It’s against this backdrop that we are once more redoubling our efforts to secure the benefits of immigration and guard against the risks of losing these gains, and the public support that underpins them.

We remain optimistic about the many opportunities ahead – a perspective we are able to have by virtue of everyone who contributes to ISSofBC.

As ever, but no less enthusiastically, we humbly pay tribute to our dedicated staff team. They apply their incredible talents and life experiences to their work every single day. We recognize our clients for their tenacity, energy, and resilience in undertaking their journeys of hope. We salute our many volunteers for their generosity of spirit, time, and talent. And we acknowledge our funders, supporters, and donors for their trust, financial resources, and constant willingness to learn and grow together.

We extend our heartfelt wishes for a year filled with joy, productivity, and hope to all those who contribute to shaping ISSofBC into what it is today.