The documentary Who Get’s In? examines the immigration policies and priorities of the Canadian government, said to represent the economic needs and values of the Canadian people. The film documents the experiences of migrants from asian and african countries and the barriers particular groups of migrants face.
The film begins with loud voices of a foreign language, images of a crowded refugee camp in Hong Kong, and a caged young girl. A man struggles to articulate his age in English. A woman rejects his application. The camera lingers on his disappointment. The voice of the documentary begins its commentary on the number of displaced people in the world and asks “What does it take to come to Canada?” The voice is not critical but puts the question and the information to the viewer for their own criticisms to be drawn.
The film then introduces the avenues for people, refugees or otherwise, to make an application for immigration to Canada. Scenes at an airport demonstrate the humiliation of political refugees who claim asylum upon arriving in Canada, immediately having to explain their illegitimate documents and the threat to their lives in their home country. They’re ushered to another room to be photographed with a number.
An immigration officer interviewed is emphatic that Canada must be in charge
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The film suggests this concern is relevant only in african countries however, as some 10,000 people from Hong Kong are selected each year to immigrate to Toronto, alone. Here Canada is portrayed as fiscally opportunistic. Much of the language used by the immigration officers in the film was consistent with the folk definition of immigration, burdensome and
Though they begin as scared kids and wish to be invisible, the characters in “Refugee” must become more mature to protect their families by Stepping up when times are hard and difficult to accomplish what they needed to accomplish
Throughout the last three decades, increasing numbers of Asians have migrated to Canada from all over the Asian continent. Currently, 44% of the Vancouver area population is of Asian descent (Statistics Canada, 2001). Immigrants commonly occupy skilled job positions that the host nation is unable to fill with its own citizens, and thus they offer many advantages to their receiving country. In a nation with a declining birthrate, such as Canada, their contribution can play a major role on multiple levels. The immigrants themselves often enjoy a greater earning potential than they did in their native country, which can be advantageous for those who wish to send money back home to support their families.
Refugees have been the spotlight in many countries in the past few years. In Canada, refugees where mainly sourced from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Congo (Puzic 5). The difference between refugees and immigrants is “refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. They are not able to return home” (Government of Canada 1), but immigrants are people who chose to leave their country and settle in another for their own reasons. A lot of people do hate the fact that refugees have been the main focus recently, and how “they have been treated better” than our own people, but that does not beat the fact that there are many advantages that come from the refugees. Refugees bring the advantages of increasing the country’s population, boosting the country’s economy, and increasing the country’s diversity.
“An immigrant who can bring with him work for twelve people is to be welcomed with open arms even in a industrial colossus like the United States - welcomed anywhere it would seem but in Canada...Not only have the refugees brought work, but they have brought new customers”, (Document, 9).
Immigration has been a topic for heated discussions for many years. However, no one has really ever looked into what immigration actually is or how hard it is for the people trying to immigrate. In the common reader we are given an insight to what immigration is, and the risks that follow.
The issue that this documentary presented was that the Aboriginal residential school process was a way to eliminate the entirety of the Aboriginal population or at least assimilate them. The process was very deliberate and often times the views of Aboriginals were not acknowledged in this whole institution. Furthermore, the language used to describe Aboriginals showed the truth of there being a deliberate attempt to assimilate and eliminate this group. Shockingly, Canada’s PM, Sir John A. MacDonald called the group Canada’s “Indian problem”. These polies instill a culture of racism as policies tend to shape attitudes. Dhiru Patel’s Public Policies and Racism article talks about Canada attempting to give retribution for this which leads to a false perception that Canada is now free of Racism. In fact, the article mentions that amongst youth 83% of Canadians think Canada treats minority groups fairly. In the movie, the interviews of all of the groups shows that
For various reasons, it may become necessary to leave one's home country. Many people are attracted to Canada. Some people do not leave their countries because of choice, but because of unjust persecution. Such persons are referred to as refugees. There exists an administrative body that addresses the needs and rights of refugees seeking relocation and settlement in Canada; this administrative body is called the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Refugees very often are in desperate situations that called for cultural sensitivity and processing through legal avenues. The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada handles these duties. This paper will briefly examine this board, its decision-making process, and evaluate the efficacy of the board.
Although most immigrants are Hispanic, at least 11% of the newcomers are from India, Vietnam and China. Immigrants from all over the world come for the same three things: economic, religious, and political freedom. The countries the people have escaped from are riddled with thousands of obstacles ranging from political unrest, religious persecution to poverty and oppression. Hoping for a better life for themselves and their loved ones, immigrants experience multiple trials and unthinkable horrors on their journey towards
Immigration has grown to become a big aspect in today’s society in Canada. Most cities have welcomed immigration, although mainly portrayed in bigger cities. Immigration in Canada has come with its share of pros as well as its share of cons. The pros with the immigration in Canada starts off with the racial blending of persons in the community, giving future generations a more positive outlook towards equality for all races because they grow up in a world that, for them, hasn’t seen racial and cultural inequality. In my opinion, in a world where children aren’t aware of the cultural and racial inequalities that had been put forth in the generations before them is an enormous strength to immigration for the fact that every person has a right to life and liberty and to have those ideas implanted in the generations to come is detrimental to a working society. Cons found in immigration in Canada fall in employment. The more people immigrate to Canada, the more jobs are being filled leaving others without any. The Immigration Refugee Board is able to offer a wide
The commission recommended imposing a $10 duty on each Chinese person seeking entry into Canada. Furthermore, in this situation Canada did not have the most preeminent immigration history, as the Chinese workers had to pay for their own food, clothing, transportation to the job site, mail, and medical care, leaving barely enough money to send home, unlike their white co-workers. One of the many resilient moments in Canada’s immigration history had been the modern immigration from Syria to Canada. The Syrian immigrants had fled their country as a cause of a 5 year civil war, the country had corruption, lack of resources, and many disasters. Normally Canada accepts approximately 250,000 immigrants each year, in order to compromise to the current state of Syria, Canada has agreed to increase their yearly allowance of immigrants to accommodate more Syrian refugees. The effort made by Canada had been recognized internationally as a very helpful act, that will subsequently help many of those in need. Furthermore, in the past Canada had been the most welcoming to immigrants who came to populate the settlements around East, West, and central
Canada has turned into an attractive place for immigrants from around the globe who are looking for a developed country that will give them good opportunities to succeed in their future. “Over the last few decades, Canadian immigrants have come primarily from these ten countries: China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, the United States, Iran, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka.”( Hughes). Immigration had been the key to Canada’s economy as it benefits it economically and politically. “Immigrants added their cultures, languages, and religions to the mix.” (Ibid, Hughes). New comer’s have a positive impact on Canadian society. They have contributed to Canada’s economy in so many ways but most importantly they have contributed by providing and assisting in skills and labour shortage, they have excelled in the educational opportunities offered in Canada and also they bring their culture to Canada when they immigrate here.
In Margaret Wente’s article, “Syrian refugees: the romance and the reality” (Oct 1, 2016), she argues that Canadians must stop looking at the refugee crisis through rose coloured glasses and realize that there is far more to helping those living through this crisis then simply taking them out of the battleground. Wente backs her argument using data and facts as well as personal anecdotes from those providing social assistant to those in need. She hopes to bring attention to the problems Canada is facing regarding immigration and realize that simply bringing Syrians to Canada isn’t enough. While people have left the warzone coming to Canada without the ability to speak the language or support themselves will put the same pressure
There are various issues that revolve around Canadian politics. These issues can include various subjects, such as economics, multiculturalism, health care, immigration, and foreign policy. An important issue in Canada that is discussed in this essay is Canada’s constant changes to its immigration policy in order to improve its economic goals and the labour market. These issues are changing by different policies that the Canadian government are putting into place, which creates a more strict system in choosing who can immigrate into the country. Three articles that thoroughly analyze Canada’s immigration policy in order to implement these changes are the following. The first article is named: “New Directions in Immigration Policy: Canada’s
With scholars such as Kerry L. Preibisch (The Other Side of el Otro Lado: Mexican Migrant Women and Labor Flexibility in Canadian Agriculture), Ronaldo Munck (Globalization, Migration and Work: Issues and Perspectives), and Parrenas R. S. (Servants of Globalization: Migration and Domestic Work) all argue that the power the employer has in selecting which migrant workers they want based on nationality or sex. In turn, has created a competition among the labor-supply of countries. And between the workers themselves based on social hierarchy, which both race and gender are prominent. However, these articles perspectives have not adequately addressed the issue of the relationship between how labour migration and the current economic policy in effect by the Canadian government the CSAWP has on migrant workers. My paper addresses the issue of migrant’s workers face in the agricultural sector in Ontario but with particular attention with regards to the recent changes in economic policies set by the Canadian government. Specifically, in my paper, I will be looking at the challenges of migrating to Canada, and the lack of fundamental rights of becoming a Canadian citizen, to show the difficulties that migrants face of being less mobile today than in the past. I will discuss the power that employers have the choice of picking the migrant worker that they want in Canada. The type of labour mobility they have within the workforce in Canada and juxtapose them against the current economic policies enforced by the Canadian Government to reveal the previously misunderstood connections between migrant workers and the challenges they face on a daily
There is a growing of ethnic groups from non-European societies, who can meet Canadian economic development in term of their level of education, occupational skills and languages. Those ethnic groups are called immigrants because they are neither indigenous nor colonist settlers but are accepted through Canada’s immigration policy (Banting 2010). Even though diverse cultures and differences of minorities were recognized and celebrated within the bilingual framework during the multiculturalism policy of the 1970s, their full equal participations are still excluded from the mainstream society (Leung 2012).