N.B. needs more support for immigrants: group

New Brunswicks goal of attracting 5,000 new immigrants a year by 2016 is unrealistic because the province doesnt have enough support services to offer them, the head of a Moncton-based multicultural group says.

Nearly 2,000 people immigrated to the province in 2007-08, and services are stretched to the limit, Jack Haller, president of the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area, said Monday.

"Our classes are full. We teach English and French to our clients. We only bring them to a certain language level of English and, quite honestly, that level isnt good enough for our clients to function in Moncton," he said.

In May, the New Brunswick Population Growth Secretariat announced it would give $1 million to groups such as Hallers.

"Itll go into things like language training, orientation services, business mentorship," Brendan Langille, secretariat spokesman, said Monday.

That investment is a step in the right direction, Haller said, but New Brunswick is in competition with other provinces that have established immigrant communities that can give newcomers the extra support they need.

"You dont have the big Chinatowns that Calgary, Vancouver or Toronto have to help these people once they come here. Theyre pretty much on their own," he said.

Haller would like to see money set aside to create events and festivals to encourage multiculturalism.

In February 2008, the province announced its intention to increase immigration, promote multiculturalism and become more family-friendly in an effort to increase its population by 100,000 before 2026.