When Mostafa Raziei immigrated from Iran in July 2014, finding his place in Canada’s cultural mosaic seemed like it would be an impossible task.
“It’s not easy because we don’t have a culture that is like a majority culture,” he told the NOW. “We have diversity; we have like a puzzle in front of a newcomer, with pictures of different cultures and languages and you don’t know what is what.”
He wondered if there was a way to join the broader community or if he was destined to end up sticking to his own.
Then he enrolled in the Burnaby school district’s Learning Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program.
More than teaching him English, he said it gave him a new understanding of Canada’s cultural diversity and his place in it as a newcomer.
“At some point, I was in a classroom with something like 10 other students, each of them from a different country, different culture, different background, different age, different language, and, all together, it was a great experience of facing a Canadian scenery. It’s not just about people who are born here but also about people who come here from different backgrounds,” he said. “I had the chance to sit with them at a desk every day for more than six hours, and it was like understanding each other. It helped me a lot to after that go and be involved more in the life in this country.”
Last week, Burnaby’s LINC program was singled out for a Council of the Federation Literacy Award in honour of International Literacy Day.
The annual award is presented to one recipient from each of the 13 provinces and territories to celebrate outstanding achievement, innovative practice and excellence in literacy.
Since 1992, Burnaby’s LINC program has provided basic literacy and advanced skills in English reading, writing, speaking and listening.
The free program also connects newcomers with community organizations working to support them as they get used to life in Canada.
A partnership with BCIT student nurses, for example, helps LINC students learn how to use community health services and live healthy lives in Canada, and a partnership with Burnaby Family Life Institute provides free childcare for students during classes.
The program employs 15 certified ESL teachers and had 748 students last year.
“My teachers are very, very excited, but they certainly deserve it,” LINC manager Louise Thorburn said of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award. “They do an amazing job.”
The Council of the Federation comprises all 13 provincial and territorial Premiers. It enables Premiers to work collaboratively, form closer ties, foster constructive relationships among governments, and show leadership on important issues that matter to Canadians.
