Canada is a country that was built by immigration. Every year, thousands of hopeful immigrants come to Canada in order to have a better life. And for some, a better life can be achieved. However, for many others, this is simply not the case. In recent years, the number of visible minority immigrants has increased. And while this country’s ethnic diversity has benefitted from this influx, the economic landscape has shifted in a way to disfavor them. This economic disparity can be found through the income inequality that many immigrants face due to their educational background, low social and cultural capital, and occupational choices. It is these factors that have led to an overqualified work force, higher unemployment rates, and a widening …show more content…
When speaking about cultural capital and immigrants, one symbolic element may be language. Canada has two official languages in which employers conduct their business in. If an immigrant has limited knowledge of French or English, finding a job may be next to impossible. However, even for the immigrants who do speak French or English, the path to finding a job may not be any easier. As immigrants come from another country, they may have brought with them their own cultural capital in the form of an accent. “Job applicants with noticeable racial markers in their speech were often eliminated” (Banerjee, 2009, p. 471). Even when speaking Canada’s official languages fluently, some immigrants were not offered a job based on their individual accents. However, there are some accents which employers deem “acceptable”, many of which are European. But for those who have less desirable accents, such as those hailing from East and South Asia, their accents can hinder their job application. In some cases, completely disqualify them from the job. And as Canada’s immigrant population largely comes from “less desirable” areas, this may continue to negatively affect the growing unemployment rate. Even when immigrants are able to find a job, they face an uphill battle to earn the same wage as their native-born
Ultimately, temporary foreign workers and unemployment are two interweaving issues that Canadian businesses and government officials will have to deal with as the economy seeks to be restarted and refreshed. Though TFWs do not have a strong effect on unemployment—due to their need for unappealing jobs in inaccessible locations—they still spring open a debate on what the government should do in regards to foreign workers and immigrants, how to ensure that Canadians are always considered first for jobs, and what sort of “skills gap” really exists in the country and how it can be dealt with. Canada’s wide and vast geography and numerous natural resources are both a blessing and a curse for its economy and employment. If politicians and business leaders can effectively manage both, it will make the country all the better.
There are more than 1000 people trying to immigrate to Canada. What if Canada contributed more to help the newcomers to Canada? Most of these newcomers are Muslim, and they are mostly coming from Syria, Iraq, and other countries that are at war. They are forced to leave their homes and can barely survive. These people are very vulnerable to almost anything. If Canada inherits these newcomers, it will gain a greater security and become more diverse. This will also become an advantage in the future. The government should help newcomers to Canada because they are vulnerable. It also gives Canada a chance to improve its diversity and safety, and it will benefit Canada in the later years.
Right now Canada is facing immigration numbers that we have not seen in years and how we welcome and process these immigrants into our society will decide if they pass or fail. The article written by Sana Malik Arriving in a Place Where Almost No One Looks Like You and the study Immigrants’ perceptions of quality of life in three second- or third-tier Canadian cities done by a collaboration of Canadian scholars from across the country. They take a look at immigrant life, what it is like for them after moving, and some of the challenges that they face. Sana Malik’s article talks about her journey as an immigrant coming to Canada in 1993, and settling in Cape Breton. Her Pakistani family came over together and were welcomed by a small group of
Teelucksingh, C., & Edward-Galabuzi, G. (2005). C. Teelucksingh & G. Edward-Galabuzi (Eds.), Working Precariously: The impact of race and immigrants status on employment opportunities and outcomes in CanadaToronto: The Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Systemic discrimination has been a part of Canada’s past. Women, racial and ethnic minorities as well as First Nations people have all faced discrimination in Canada. Policies such as, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial and federal Human Rights Codes, as well has various employment equity programs have been placed in Canada’s constitution to fight and address discrimination issues. Despite these key documents placed for universal rights and freedoms Aboriginal and other minority populations in Canada continue to be discriminated against. Many believe there is no discrimination in Canada, and suggest any lack of success of these groups is a result of personal decisions and not systemic discrimination. While others feel that the legislation and equality policies have yet resulted in an equal society for all minorities. Racism is immersed in Canadian society; this is clearly shown by stories of racial profiling in law enforcement.
Immigration is of great economic and social benefit to Canada. It’s an important role in developing our economy, and it shapes the nation into a multicultural nation. Immigration is a significant role in building our economy, providing growth in the labor force, making a strong economy, and becoming a multicultural nation.
Canada has continuously served as a home to immigrants and refugees from decade to decade harbouring people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The first set of immigrants to settle in the country came from Britain, the United States and from other nationalities mostly including immigrants from Europe who were either desperate to escape from religious or political turmoil or were simply attracted to Canada’s economic promise. Soon after the Canadian confederation in 1867, immigrants from Irish and Chinese backgrounds who occupied most of the country were used as workers and the demand for labourers to develop the country increased rapidly as more Chinese descents were imported to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Although, Canada opened its doors to immigrants, but the country also intended to gain human resources for work in the farms, in the forests, factories and mines but not everyone was equally welcomed in Canada.
The integration of immigrants in Canada (or any country for that matter) involves integration into three different domains: the social sphere, the economic sphere, and the institutional sphere. (12) Integration into the social sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to create relationships and have social interactions with other Canadians. Integration into the economic sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to enter the labour force and work in jobs that match their qualifications, while integration into the institutional domain refers to immigrants’ ability to become “fully functional citizens, without facing systemic barriers emanating from the structure and functioning of major institutions. A well-integrated immigrant group is one which faces no institutional obstacles, no market disadvantage, and no social isolation.” (12)
Multiculturalism policy was first adopted in Canada in 1971, which reaffirms the dignity and value of all its citizens regardless of ethnic origins, race, religious affiliations, or language. Part of this policy, Canada confirms the rights of all the aboriginals along with the recognition of two official languages. Indeed, multiculturalism has great importance since its main purpose is to give equal treatment to all the citizens (Daniel, 2010). It ensures that all individual citizens could still maintain their identities, and have pride with their ancestry. Through this initiative, the Canadian government was able to give their citizens a feeling of self-confidence, making them more open to their diverse cultures. The multiculturalism policy
Racial discrimination in the workplace has been a persistent theme in Canada’s history as well as present-day times. The occurrence of actions and attitudes that impose a sense of one being less equal than another on the basis of one’s race in Canada’s workplace inhibits both our nation’s ability to move forward as well as strengthen unification within our country. The belief in a more egalitarian society, where one’s race and ethnic background have little to no impact on employees (or potential employees) standings within the job market, would seemingly be reinforced by the majority of Canadians, who consistently show support for Canada’s multicultural identity. Couple that with the noticeable strides Canada has made in the past several decades through legislation, in order to eliminate discriminatory practices and actions within the workplace, and one would likely assume that racial discrimination within the workplace is largely a concern of the past. However, current research supports the argument that the level of which racial discrimination occurs today is increasing, and as such it persists to be a key problem in the current workplace of the nation. In the workplace, racial discrimination is often seen with regard to uneven access to jobs, unfair selection and promotion criteria (as well as access to the means in order to meet this criteria), and workplace harassment. This paper compares similar findings of two articles; the first, Racial inequality in employment in Canada, as was published in the Canadian Public Administration (CPA), and the second, What Are Immigrants’ Experiences of Discrimination in the Workplace?, published by the Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative (TIEDI).
Stoffman, Daniel. Who gets in: What's wrong with Canada's immigration program, and how to fix it. Toronto: Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 2002.
Canada is a very big country where many immigrants want to achieve their goals and have a good life. According to government statistics (October 2013) population in Canada is 35,295,770 and is still increasing. Every year more people from every country in the world are moving to Canada to settle down, find new job, and start perfect life. It is very hard to behave like born and raised as Canadians for people from different countries, cultures and with different backgrounds. Canadian government is supporting newcomers trough many trainings and courses, but this is immigrants responsibility to be prepared for new circumstances, they have to do a lot of job themselves just to feel safe and secure in new place and life. Immigrants should considered few very important things before they will make their decision about changing place and life style. While they can be great specialist in their field, emigrants have to learn about Canadian culture, Canadian workplace rules, and what’s most important they have to adopt this knowledge to their new life.
As we go about our daily lives in the beautiful country of Canada which we have been blessed to live in, it has become normal to see a woman who wears the hijab walking down the street, or a Black family driving on the highway, or an Indian man wearing a suit and tie heading into the office. Canada’s cultural diversity is something which makes the country so special to live in, and instances where we see people of different cultures is increasing everyday. Many of the newcomers who arrive from overseas into Canada are families, with children and youth ready to begin their new life filled with opportunity here in Canada. However, youth who settle in Canada with their families aren’t exempted from the trials and tribulations youth face. In fact,
Banting noted that some Canadians fear multiculturalism will bring, “…challenges to historic cultures, anxieties about Islam, and fears about insecurity,” (797). As people migrate from one cultural or religious backgrounds, maintaining the identity of the host country becomes difficult. Young children born interact with the immigrants and they could easily emulate foreign cultures thereby putting the historic cultural identity of Canadians at risk of erosion. Winter Elke warned that multiculturalism is changing to give too much preference to the immigrants thereby risking it to become a minority affair (638). Therefore, the relationship between national the majority of Canadians and immigrants need rethinking. Erosion of other cultures as immigrants introduce new ways or adapt to the cultures of the host county (Canada). Furthermore, education of the immigrants could face challenges if they experience difficulty settling in Canada. Given that immigrants later work in Canada, the human resource sector faces a new challenge of managing a diversified workforce, which can create headache for Canadian employers. Banting indicated that there is, “a strong sense that multiculturalism policies have “failed” a reaction that is strongest perhaps in the Netherlands, but is felt in many other countries as well,” (797). Such assertions only fuel resentment towards
They are closely related to a Canadian citizen. Example, with a government program, citizens and/or permanent residents already in Canada can sponsor family members of another country to immigrate to Canada (family class),