Digital Equity and Inclusion for Newcomer Services
Exploring Digital Equity for Newcomer Services: Perspectives on Access and Challenges in Peel Region
Peel Newcomer Strategy Group, along with Peel Multicultural Council and Peel Children’s Aid Society – Child Welfare Immigration Centre for Excellence, conducted a digital equity research project to explore barriers preventing newcomers from accessing digital settlement services in Peel. It was conducted through interviews and focus groups with 25 diverse newcomers and 17 settlement service providers. Key newcomer groups identified include those with limited digital literacy, individuals not fluent in English, and family members whose settlement needs are met informally through relatives.
Read full report: Digital Equity for Newcomer Services in Peel
The findings from the research highlight significant barriers faced by newcomers in accessing digital settlement services. Factors such as language barriers, lack of access to affordable technology, and limited awareness of available digital services contribute to these challenges. Additionally, issues like digital training gaps and inadequate multilingual resources exacerbate inequities. Almost one in five (16.7%) of service providers did not feel comfortable delivering digital services.
Targeted outreach, user-friendly service design, and capacity-building initiatives is essential to ensuring equitable access to digital settlement services for all newcomers. This research was initiated by the Service Delivery Network (SDN), a collaborative table of Peel’s local immigration partnership, and was funded by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, and the Region of Peel.
