Introduction – The Policy issue that I intend to examine is Immigration and Employment
History on Immigration in Canada
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
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However, during the World War II era and the years that followed, these policies were discouraged in order to encourage more skilled and professional immigrants to participate in the Canadian labour market. However, in 1967, a new policy called the Points System which was developed to meet the economic and labour needs of Canada was formed. With the existence of this policy, more non white immigrants were able to migrate to Canada. Presently, the current Immigration Act consists of both economic, family and refugee class in which immigrants enter into the country.
The Issue
Immigrants today now have the privilege of entering and residing in Canada but along with this privilege, there are also barriers that impede their integration and deprive them of equal opportunity in the society. The undervaluing of foreign education and credentials has emerged over the years as a huge obstacle faced by recent immigrants who seek employment in the areas that they have been trained, and worked in for decades in their respective home countries. For years, newcomers in Canada have been denied inclusion into the Canadian labour market simply because of policies that were
Then there was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred certain laborers from migrating to the United States. Between 1885 and 1887 the Alien Contract Labor also, prohibited specific laborers from immigrating to the US. In 1891 the Federal Government took on the duty of admitting, inspecting, rejecting, and processing all immigrant in search of admission to the United States. On January 2, 1892, a Federal US immigration station opened on Ellis Island in New York Harbor. In 1903 a reaffirmed provisions that were in the 1891Act. The US immigration Act of 1907, reorganized the states bordering Mexico that includes Arizona, New Mexico and a large part of Texas. Between 1917 and 1924 there were a series of laws were ratified to limit the number of new aliens. These laws established the quota system and forced passport requirements. They also expanded the categories of excludable aliens and banned all Asians except the Japanese. A 1924 Act was created to reduced the number of US immigration visas and allocated them on the foundation of national origin. In 1940 The Alien Registration Act required all non-U.S. citizens within the United States to register with the Government and receive an Alien Registration Receipt Card, which was later called a Green Card. The Passage of the Internal Security Act of 1950 depicted the Alien Registration Receipt Card even more
Education along with work experience are vital resources that immigrants convey to Canada’s industry. However, this is not the scenario for many new immigrants, who struggles to get past the preliminary credentials check-up process. In 2007, a report showed that “foreign credentials of 340,000 Canadians or permanent residents of visible minorities have not been recognized” (Andrew Cardozo and Ravi Pendakur, 2007). In addition, a number of unemployed immigrants within that year accounted for the loss of $4.1B in Canada industry. In context, it shows that immigrants have a higher education than Canadian-born, “Statistics show that 47.5% of immigrants, aged 25 to 34, have completed university, compared to 26.6% of Canadian-born, workers” (Canadian government). This shows the proximity of ignorance and prejudice towards hiring an immigrant in Canada. To connect, these contempt results can give rise to many levels of distress, anxiety and psychological problems that can deteriorate and provoke health problems. A study done by Kate Strully at Harvard University concluded that “people had an increase of 81% chance to develop a mental illness after being unemployed” (KW STRULLY -
Canada is a nation built on immigration, and as the world becomes an ever increasingly hostile place more and more have chosen to try and make Canada their home. This melting pot of different cultures has created an overall atmosphere of acceptance, and is teaching younger generations a sense of community, empathy, and togetherness. Sharing our space and learning to grow with different ethnicities has perpetuated our status as a friendly, caring, and loyal nation, that many are willing to risk everything for in exchange for becoming a part of it.
As we all know, Canada is an immigrant country. This beautify country attract more and more people who are longing for good future. In 2011, the population of foreign-born in Canada is about 6.7 million. No matter where we are from and what background we have, from the moment we land in Canada as immigrants, there are some problems we need to face to. The commonest three problems are learning a new language, adjusting to a new life-style, and finding a suitable job.
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.
On the 15th of January 2015, an interview was conducted with Larry Cole, who is the education and research officer in office of the fairness commissioner. This office was created to provide services to those whose credentials are not recognized in Ontario. Larry was interviewed to get an insight of how office of the fairness commissioner response and address issues related to the non-recognition of foreign credentials in Toronto. Non recognition of foreign credentials is a social issue that is generally believed to be affecting many immigrants in Canada and is considered a cause of poverty. In my previous paper, I discussed that non recognition of foreign credential is one of the causes of poverty amongst women of color in Toronto. I am going to examine the response of this issue by office of the fairness commissioner and the impact it has on the community.
A report by Edmonton’s Poverty Elimination Steering Community calls the process of getting such qualifications recognized “a cumbersome, lengthy ordeal” (10, citation 13). Consequently, immigrants often overqualified for the jobs they are often forced into. According to a Statistics Canada study, 61.3% of immigrant men and 67.8% of women educated outside of Canada earned university degrees but held jobs that only required a college diploma. Among those who were educated in Canada or the United States, only 37.5% and 42.3% were overqualified, respectively (Uppal and LaRochelle-Côté 6, citation 15). Over-qualification often leaves immigrants with lower income jobs that they would expect, leading to higher levels of
The immigrant act was established in the parlimement of Canada in 1976, the main focus was not to discriminate who should not be allowed into Canada act, however it gave power to individual provinces, so they set out their own immigration rules and regulations called “forbidden classes” to continue forbidden classes refers to people who may be seen as a burden to the general society, also only independent immigrants were asked to take part in the points system. The levels of government involved were provincial and federal the responsibility’s are divided between the two levels of governments, the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over deciding how many immigrants are accepted into Canada and the provincial governments job is is
Dating from early British era, Transgender, which is an umbrella term for lesbians, gays and bisexuals have been officially charged for crime called “ gross indecency”. This penalty of this crime at first was death, which later on moderated and became imprisonment for a period of 10 years. Through 1947-1961, many amendments were made to the criminal code, which further criminalized the idea of trans genders. During the 1960s, the British Parliament deiced to decriminalize some of the offences of Tran genders. In the May of 1969, following the prime ministers elections, after Pierre Elliot Trudeau was elected as P.M., his government passed Bill C-150. This bill decriminalized gay sex for the first time
We demand a change! Our government focuses on one group of people. This concept is not only here in Upper Canada, but also in Lower Canada. The only focus is on white British wealthy men. So many people are left out. Why even, have people vote if they all think the same? What about the First Nations Peoples who you promised the right to a homeland after all their hard work defending us. Do only white wealthy men count? Shouldn’t the farmers who have been here for generations get inpu Also, why are we being ruled by the British we are their second hand? Don’t we deserve to be our own country? This is unfair and will not be tolerated by us, the French, the wives and mothers and the First Nations. Also, the only opportunity to vote is for the fourth in command.
The Canadian government portrays the country as a land of new beginnings, where people go to start a better life for themselves and their families. With much to offer to newcomers, including the promises of safety, security and healthcare, the vast selection of jobs and education, and an overall high quality of living, many immigrants have chosen and will continue to choose Canada as their new home country. Canadian officials take pride in accepting and embracing multiculturalism - as Canada is often referred to as a country of cultural mosaic in contrast to the idea of the American ‘melting pot’. This image of Canada overlooks the ill-advised past actions that have taken place, much the same way as it disregards the subtle discrimination that
The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed
In “Immigrants and Canadians, Maintaining Both Identities” by Andrew Cohen, which is part of a segment in the New York Times called “How Immigrants Come to Be Seen as Americans,” Cohen states that Canada is “…unlike virtually every country in Europe, we have no nativist party or institutional xenophobia,” and dubs Canada as a Mosaic of Multiculturalism. Why is this so, and how might the perspective that ‘Canada equals a mosaic’ play a role in this surprising phenomenon?
This article provides detailed information that give statistics based on distinguishing immigrant classes: “Tables 2 (for males) and 3 (for females) present descriptive statistics by broad immigrant class across the three cycles of the survey. … For both genders, it is clear that skilled worker principal applicants have higher educational attainment, and it is also apparent that males have higher averages than females”. This article is distinct from the other two articles by the fact that many more statistics are offered. These extra statistics offer more insight into the descriptions of the economical immigrant policies. Moreover, the article offers an insight into a range of policy proposals in determining how immigrants can immigrate into Canada. The articles introduction mentions important policies that the Canadian government put into place: Recent examples include the Ontario Expert Roundtable on Immigration (2012) and the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada. The paper presents a basic description of differences in labour market outcomes, including both earnings and employments. This is an important statement as it informs the reader about the various types of concepts, along with their sources, that have
The Canadian immigration is the set of rules, regulations, directives, guidelines, policies and the Act of Parliament that regulates the entry of each individual into Canada. It could be for the purpose of settling there. This has been a feature of the ancient times, when the ancestors of Canada 's native peoples migrated from Asia by land via Beringia or by sea via the Japanese current, as it is of the present day, when immigrants from around the world come to this country in thousands.