Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Advisory Committee

Classification scheme:

XIV-3.10

Title: Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Advisory Committee fonds

Dates of creation: [19--], 1921, 1974-2008; 1976-1998 predominant
Note: Further accruals are expected

Physical description: 1.26 m of textual materials; 3 photographs; 4 audiovisual recordings (see file list for locations)

Administrative history: In the 1920s, many Low German-speaking Old Colony Mennonites from Manitoba and Saskatchewan moved to Mexico, primarily to avoid adhering to changes in the public school system in Manitoba. Mennonites in Mexico settled in a series of agricultural colonies, but within a couple of generations underemployment and landlessness drove many to return to Canada, at least temporarily. Mennonites began arriving in southwestern Ontario from Mexico in the 1950s to work in seasonal agriculture. By the 1970s, the number of arrivals (primarily from Mexico, but also from other Latin American Mennonite colonies) had increased dramatically. The newcomers faced challenges in obtaining secure legal status, learning English, adjusting to a different school system, finding employment, accessing Canadian social services, and generally adapting to a significantly different life in Canada.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) began responding to these arrivals. In 1973, MCC Canada commissioned a substantial report by Hildegard Martens, and in 1975 formed the Kanadier Mennonite Concerns Committee ("Kanadier" being the general term for Mennonites who immigrated from Russia to Manitoba in the 1870s). Mennonite Central Committee Ontario began funding the Aylmer Information and Help Centre in 1974, and in late 1976 formed the Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Advisory Committee (OMIAC) to assist Mennonites from Mexico and other Latin American countries with citizenship and immigration issues, health promotion and support, language training, and navigating the education system. MCC Canada's Ottawa office, under William (Bill) Janzen, became involved with citizenship and immigration advocacy.

Aylmer was the site of the first OMIAC office (1977), with three staff people. Services were also offered out of the MCC office in Leamington. By the late 1980s, MCC estimated that 17,000 to 20,000 Low German immigrants had settled in southerwestern Ontario, with around 200 new families arriving each year. OMIAC opened three additional help centres in Chatham, Frogmore (later, Fairground) and St. Jacobs. OMIAC also related to programs in Seaforth, Listowel and Virgil. Housing, employment and skills training became major concerns. OMIAC staff worked closely with social service agencies, health units, the family court system, the education system, and various community initiatives to support Low German newcomers. Community building work became a more deliberate focus with the annual Mennoniten Treffen (social gathering and information meeting), the newspaper Die Mennonitische Post, a thrift store at Aylmer, and a pastoral visitation ministry. By 1994, OMIAC had 14 staff and was the largest MCC Ontario program.

The program was originally named the "Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Advisory Committee." Around 1983, minutes began to replace the word "advisory" with "assistance." The annual MCC Ontario report of 1991 was the first to title the committee "Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Assistance Committee." Following MCC Ontario's restructuring in 1998, OMIAC's activities were taken up by the Newcomers Program, and later, the Low German Program.

OMIAC's program shifted significantly as the centres moved towards independence and local control, in keeping with the MCC Ontario 5-year plan adopted in 1997. This shift coincided with a significant drop in the early 1990s of the number of new families settling in Ontario. William Janzen, the original chair of OMIAC, stepped down in 1998. The Aylmer Mennonite Community Store incorporated under the Aylmer and Area Inter-Mennonite Community Council (AAIMCC). In 2007, a decision was made to move Low German programs in Aylmer from MCC Ontario to the AAIMCC. Subsequently, the Aylmer resource centre became separately incorporated as Mennonite Community Services of Southern Ontario. Work in the St. Jacobs area was taken up by Woolwich Community Services in 2000. The Fairground help centre became the Norfolk Community Help Centre in 1998.

Scope and content: OMIAC grew to be the largest and one of the most complex programs administered by Mennonite Central Committee Ontario. The files reflect OMIAC's rapid growth, constant efforts at seeking and reporting on government grants, bridge building with agencies and the Low German community, and attempts to respond to both the urgent and long-term needs of their client population. OMIAC records arrived at the Archives with little discernable order, and were divided by the Archives into four series:

Series 1 consists primarily of the records of the OMIAC committee of MCC Ontario. It includes OMIAC minutes, correspondence and other files that relate to the program in general. The Family Education and Support Program (FESP) files are included here since this large program was implemented at several OMIAC centres. Series 2 consists primarily of meeting minutes and program files generated from the Aylmer office/resource centre. Early records of OMIAC programs are kept here, though the activities also extended to other communities. Series 3 consists of files that relate distinctly to programs in St. Jacobs, Frogmore, Leamington and Chatham. Series 4 consists of small, miscellaneous files.

Custodial history: The OMIAC records were transferred from Mennonite Central Committee Ontario to the Archives in the early 1980s and 2014.

Notes: For privacy reasons, there is a general restriction in place on these records in accordance with the Mennonite Archives of Ontario access policy. For more information, consult the Archivist.

See also the following published sources in the Milton Good Library:

Martens, Hildegard. Mennonites from Mexico: Their Immigration and Settlement in Canada: A Research Report. [Ottawa]: [Canada Manpower and Immigration and MCC (Canada)], 1975.
Janzen, William, and Mennonite Central Committee Ontario. Build up One Another: The Work of MCCO with the Mennonites from Mexico in Ontario, 1977-1997. Kitchener, Ont.: Mennonite Central Committee Ontario, 1998.

Archival description created 2019 by Laureen Harder-Gissing with assistance from Joseph Iyengar.

File list:

Series 1: Ontario Mennonite Immigrants Advisory Committee records

Minutes, 1976-1998
Correspondence, general, 1975-1980, 1982-1999
Correspondence, immigration and documentation, [19--], 1921, 1976, 1978-1981, 1983-1986, 1988-1999
Correspondence, individual cases, [19--], 1978-1980, 1982-1987, 1989-1992, 1995-1999
Staff reports and presentations, general, 1976-
Note: File includes “A report on a two day visit with the Mennonites who have come from Mexico to southern Ontario,” William Janzen, 23 Jun 1976; “A brief submitted to the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism,” William Janzen, 11 Mar 1978; “A brief history of the Mennonite churches of the Aylmer, Ontario area,” George Rempel, 1982; “The Aylmer Mennonite community,” Menno Kroeker, Feb 1987; “The Mennonites from Mexico in Ontario: Who are they?,” William Janzen, 6 Oct 1988; “Mennonites from Mexico in Essex and Kent County: Who are they and why are they coming,” Marvin Dueck, Mar 1990; “A brief presented to the Ministry of Health on the health issues facing the Low-German speaking community of Elgin County,” Victor Fast, 13 Nov 1990; “Reflections on eleven years of MCC service in Aylmer, Ont.,” George Rempel, Oct 1991; “Wo geht es hin? (Where are things going?),” William Janzen, 14 Nov 1992; Skit for MCCO annual meeting, 18 Nov 1995; Presentation to MCC Ontario annual meeting, Marvin Dueck, Nov 1996; “Three decades of MCC work with Mennonites from Mexico in Ontario,” William Janzen, 23 Apr 2007; “Government pressure, Mennonite separateness, and the 1920s migration to Mexico and Paraguay,” William Janzen, 23 Apr 2007.
Staff and constituency members trip reports, 1992, 1994-1999
Note: See also Kanadier Mennonite Concerns Committee file
Pamphlets describing programs
Program and population statistics, general
Research papers
Note: Includes student papers sent to William Janzen for review and a research project by George Rempel
News clippings, general, [19--], 1978, 1984, 1988-1991, 1994-1995, 1998
Kanadier Mennonite Concerns Committee correspondence and reports, [19--], 1919, 1974-1977, 1982-1999
Note: These files are not the complete files of the organization. The official repository for the KMCC is the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg.
OMIAC staff lists and sample job descriptions, 1977-1997
OMIAC program reviews, 1980, 1991, 1995-1997, 2004-2005
Note: Includes “A history of OMIAC, 1976-1996” by William Janzen.
Family Education and Support Program (FESP), [19--], 1993-2004
Note: includes correspondence, minutes, reports and the “FESPA Cookbook” (1995).

Series 2: Aylmer office

Early reports, program reviews and grant applications, 1977-1981
Staffordville Mother-Preschooler program, 1977-1978
Meeting minutes, various
Note: Includes Advisory Group on Mennonite Settlement Issues, 13 Oct 1988; Aylmer Resource Centre Community Advisory Committee, 1991; OMIAC staff meeting, 1988-1997; Aylmer and Area Inter-Mennonite Community Council, 1995-1998; Inter-Church Missions Committee, 1992; Inter-Mennonite Missions Committee, 1996.
Work logs
1. David Friesen and Helen Friesen, 1977-1979 (Aylmer)
2. Eleanor Mathies?, 1977-1978 (Aylmer)
3. Helen Wall, 1982-1983 (Leamington)
4. 1982-1984
5. Tina Wiebe, 1981-1982 (Leamington)
Forms for clients (blank)
Settlement Assistance Fund (Reiseschuld und Ansiedlungs Fund), 1995-1996
Die Mennonitische Post and Das Blatt fur Kinder und Jugend minutes, 1996-1998
From Field to Main Street: The Settlement History of the Low German Mennonite People of Aylmer and Area exhibit, Aylmer and District Museum, 1996-1997
Aylmer Mennonite Community Store, 1982-1984, 1990-1997
Merger with Community Information and Help Centre, 1994
Welding training program, 1990, 1992
Activity reports (statistics), 1977-1990, 1992, 1995, 1997
Elgin – St. Thomas United Way correspondence, 1981, 1994-1998
Radio broadcasting in Low German, 1993-1994
Family and Children’s Services of Norfolk County, 1983-1985
Mennonite Central Committee Employment Concerns Project, 1991-1993
East Elgin Job Development Project, 1987-1988
Economic study, 1989-1990
“An Economic Aims Study of the Town of Aylmer, Elgin County, Ontario” / University School of Rural Planning and Development University of Guelph, Jan 1989
Mennonite Central Committee/Fanshawe College Elgin Joblink Project, 1995
Mennonite Central Committee tours of Mennonite communities in Aylmer area, 1989, 1992, 1995
Summer Day Camp Program for Children from the Low German Community of East Elgin, 1995-1996
Mennoniten Treffen, 1989-1998
Family and Children’s Services of St. Thomas and Elgin, meeting re foster care, 1994
Adult Education Concerns Committee, 1988-1989
Note: Includes a substantial report on the problem of poverty in East Elgin County.
East Elgin Community Development Steering Committee
Note: Includes a proposal for a Kanadier Mennonite Family Resource Centre (a health centre)
Report on trip to Virgil Help Centre, 1995
Split between Old Colony and New Reinland churches, 1984
Shalom Counselling, 1987-1989
Evening English classes at Summers Corners School, 1981
Valleyview Mennonite Endowment Fund, 1984-1986, 1988-1989, 1991-1992
Eastern Canada Kanadier Clothing Co-operative, 1990, 1993
Translation of health information to Low German, 1995, 1998
Parenting video series scripts and correspondence, 1998
Note: This three-part series in VHS format is located in Hist.Mss.26.3.20.
Mental health services in East Elgin, 1994, 1998
Work Orientation Workshop (WOW) program, 1990
Workshops on disciplining children, 1998-1999
Mennonite Parents’ Association, 1977, 1982-1983, 1985, 1988-1989
Note: Includes issues of a newsletter of the Christian Parents’ Association (Rainy River/Fort Frances area), 1982-1983
Marilyn Benner correspondence re home schooling and Banyan Tree School Program, 1979, 1987-1988
Education correspondence, news clippings and notes, [19--], 1986-1989, 1991-1992, 1994-1996
Migration North video project, 1995-1996
Note: A copy of this video is located in the Milton Good Library.
Mennonites from Mexico and drug smuggling, 1992, 1995, 1997
Note: Includes news clippings and correspondence re Fifth Estate program about Mennonites from Mexico and drug smuggling, 1992; news clippings and correspondence re a local drug trafficking trial, 1997.
Family violence workshops, 1990-1993, 1996-1998
Note: Terms used within file also include wife abuse, wife assault, abuse of women, female assault, healthy marital relationships, healthy family relationships
Elgin family violence committees, 1995-1996
Note: Includes minutes of Stop Woman Abuse Now Committee and Elgin Alliance to End Violence
YWCA East Elgin literacy and ESL (English as a Second Language) programs, 1988, 1992, 1993
Note: Includes a study of access to literacy programs in East Elgin
YWCA East Elgin Women’s Project, 1992-1993
Family Support Program, 1993-1995
Note: Includes “Moms and Tots” program, monthly family events, “Cooking on a String” program and programs for boys
Ontario Ministry of Citizenship Programs
Note: Includes the Newcomer Settlement Program, 1997-2002; Citizenship Development Grants Program, 1989, Settlement and Immigration Program, 1995
Elkview children and youth programs, 1996, 1999
Elgin St. Thomas Health Unit, 1986, 1994, 1999
Mennonite Immigrant Community Development Project, 1978-1980, 1989-1999
Note: This program was funded by the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, and later the Department of Canadian Heritage
Housing crisis, 1987, 1994-1995
Menno Lodge of Aylmer, 1987-1990, 1992-1994
Note: Includes the Mt. Salem and Summers Concerns housing projects
News clippings of opposition to Mt. Salem project, 1989-1990
Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP), 1978-1994
Note: This program was funded through Employment and Immigration Canada. The file includes correspondence, applications, contracts and reports. Only a sample of contracts were kept by the Archives.

Series 3: Other Centres

Kitchener, Waterloo, St. Jacobs, 1989-2001
Help Centre (Hilfe Stadt), [19--], 1991-2003
Note: Includes “Research and Analysis of the Low German Speaking Mennonites from Latin America,” Help Centre, 1993
Note: Also referred to as Frogmore, Langton, Fairground, and the Norfolk Community Help Centre
Leamington statistics, 1983-1994, 1996
Leamington Mennonite Community Foundation, 2006-2008
Note: This organization ran the Leamington Mennonite Community Festival
Leamington area visitation ministry, 1989-1992, 1995-1999, 2006
Leamington Inter-Mennonite Advisory Committee, 2006-2008
Chatham, 1988-1993, 1996, 1998
Note: Includes files of the Mennonite Health Promotion Project. A 3 cm file of medical notes and daily data sheets from 1991-1992 were not retained by the Archives. They contained minimal personal medical information and no significant information about the project itself.
Chatham statistics, 1989-1995

Series 4: Miscellaneous

Photographs and postcards
Note: Item descriptions located in the Mennonite Archival Image Database.
Old Colony Mennonite Church directory, Leamington area, [19--]
Client List, location unknown, 1983
Sponsorship list, location unknown, [19--]
Event posters, [19--]