Promising Practices and Research

“This report presents findings from a study exploring relationships between refugee legal aid, quality of counsel, the fairness and efficiency of asylum procedures, and access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada.  

Legal scholars, jurists and legal associations across Canada have recognized an access to justice “crisis”. The crisis extends to refugee claimants, and is exacerbated by unique vulnerabilities and barriers to justice.

This report defines access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada as early and affordable access to high-quality legal representation to both prepare claims and appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board, without systemic or economic barriers; to fully participate in and understand the refugee status determination process; to obtain just and fair outcomes in a timely and efficient manner; and to have recourse for poor quality or abusive representation.  

Canada was the first country in the world to establish multiculturalism as its official policy for the governance of diversity. Canadian multiculturalism has gained much popularity in political and public discourses in the past 50 years, and it has also received no less criticism as to its effectiveness in addressing issues of racism. There have also been ambiguities over the meaning and intention of multiculturalism, leading to divergent understandings of multiculturalism as an ideal of inclusion and equity, on the one hand, and a mere political rhetoric, on the other. On the occasion of celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Canada’s official multiculturalism policy, this article re-visits Canada’s multiculturalism by reviewing its history and ethos and critically examining its actual effects as manifested during the Covid-19 pandemic in Canada. The rise of anti-Asian racism, anti-Black racism, and anti-Indigenous racism incidents in the pandemic reveals that multiculturalism has in effect, sustained a racist and unequal society of Canada with racism entrenched in its history and ingrained in every aspect of its social structure. Multiculturalism tolerates cultural difference but does not challenge an unjust society premised on white supremacy. The anti-racism movement mobilized by racialized communities in Canada indicates that multiculturalism has failed to respond to racialized communities’ pressing demand for social change and action for social justice. The article concludes with a proposed alternative framework to multiculturalism, that is, pandemic anti-racism education model, to centre the issue of race and racism in an action-oriented, inclusive, and empowering approach toward a future of a just society.

The analysis focuses on the types and frequency of serious problems experienced by people living in Canada’s provinces, the actions they took to address or resolve these problems (whether they resolved the problem through informal means or through a legal process), and the impacts these problems had on their everyday life. Barriers to accessing the formal justice system are explored. Data are disaggregated to highlight the experiences of different populations in the 10 provinces wherever possible.

Smaller communities in Canada, particularly those located in rural areas, find it difficult to attract and especially retain healthcare professionals. For example, in 2016, the ratios of nurses and physicians in rural settings in Canada were 7.2 and 1.1 per 1,000 population, while these ratios were 11.7 and 2.6 per 1,000 population in urban settings (Ariste, 2018). The imbalanced distribution of Canada’s healthcare professionals is especially problematic given the specific healthcare needs and challenges of small and rural centres. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated what can happen in vulnerable communities when healthcare resources are inadequate. The recruitment of internationally educated healthcare professionals may be one way to fill the labour shortages in small and rural centres and to meet the changing needs of these communities. Many of the policies and programs currently in place to recruit internationally educated healthcare professionals to small and rural communities, such as provisional licenses and return of service agreements, focus on the attraction but not the retention of these individuals so that retention rates are low. In this brief we propose an integrated approach that focuses on both attraction and retention of internationally educated healthcare professionals, taking into account the research on attraction and retention of immigrants in these communities and the evidence on recruiting healthcare professionals in general.

The purpose of this article is to explore the existing intersectional knowledge on integration and resettlement of refugees with disabilities in two of the top five resettlement countries in the world, Germany and Canada. There is limited research on the intersection of migration and disability, especially in the context of refugee resettlement. Reflecting the dominant pathways of migration in each country, what little research there is focuses on asylum seekers in Germany, and immigrants in Canada. The review describes settlement programs in each country. We draw from the global literature around forced migration and disability, as well as disability and migration more broadly in each country, to enhance the limited existing research and conduct an intersectional analysis at the level of systems, discourses and subjective narratives. Findings highlight three dominant themes that weave across all three levels: being a “burden” on society, being invisible, and agency and resistance. Finally, drawing from the theoretical stance of Disability Studies, critical, and holistic integration theories we discuss how this intersectional analysis highlights the importance of reshaping the policies, discourse and definition of integration, and the consequences this can have on research, service delivery, and evaluation of integration and resettlement.

States are increasingly turning to automated decision-making systems to increase efficiency in program and service delivery. While automation offers several desirable benefits, great care must be given to establishing and increasing the accountability of automated decision-making systems in the public sector. This paper focuses on accountability in automated decision-making systems in migration management.

Successful settlement requires making informed choices. Newcomers’ information-seeking strategies are thus central to their collective resilience and social inclusion. Newcomers tend to prefer close networks as information sources, but these networks also share misinformation (Rayes et al. 2016). However, access to other sources is impeded by mistrust, social isolation, and a lack of familiarity (Caidi 2008). We focused on the use of formal versus informal information sources among refugees and refugee claimants in York Region. How did their political, social and cultural histories and migration contexts shape information needs and strategies, and how did local agencies respond?”

Private sponsorship has become a primary way that refugees access resettlement to Canada. Key in this program are the private Canadians who volunteer their money, time, and labor to sponsor and support refugees. Drawing on 25 interviews, this article examines the insights that these privileged citizens of the global north gain as they help refugees struggling with the marginalizing consequences of neoliberal austerity in their new hostland. While sponsors learn about the challenges facing working-class racialized newcomers (otherwise obscured to sponsors by their racial, class, and citizenship privileges), the program robs sponsors of the time and mental bandwidth to reflect on the structural nature of these challenges. Consequently, sponsors rarely understand refugees’ struggles as public troubles necessitating broader intervention, including modest policy reform.

Bridging Immigrants and Refugees with ECD Services: Partnership Research in the Development of an Effective Service Model: This study examines Early Childhood Development (ECD) practices in the region and was funded by the United Way of the Lower Mainland in order to develop culturally competent ECD services in the Tri-Cities. Researchers held focus groups with parents and with people who work in the field of early childhood education in the Tri-Cities. Parents told researchers that accessibility, inadequate English skills, discrimination by case workers, isolation from mainstream society and difficulty integrating are all barriers to enrolling children in ECD programs. The report makes recommendations for how to improve early childhood services.

Canadian Views on Immigration Levels and Immigration Categoris in the COVID Era.

Factors Associated with Cyber-victimization among Immigrants and Non-immigrants in Canada: a cCross-sectional Nationally-Representative study

Enabling Engagement within Francophone Minority Communities (FMCs)

Tools & Strategies to Build Inclusive Workplaces & Communities

Promoting Collective Action in Migrant Communities: Understanding How Collective Action among Migrant Communities Impacts on Resilience

The roles of government and non-governmental actors in settlement and integration in Quebec

This report provides a comprehensive initial overview of the challenges COVID-19 has created for migration, immigrants and settlement. While international cases are used, our focus is on the Canadian context.

A Distinctive Culture?
The Sources of Public Support for Immigration in Canada, 1980-2019

Irregular Border Crossings and Asylum Seekers in Canada:
A Complex Intergovernmental Problem:

The Immigrant Futures Toolkit is a comprehensive set of online resources that will assist city and community leaders make the case for immigration to be adopted as a critical strategy for local economic development. The resources draw from best practices collected from communities across Canada and internationally and show that there is much that a community can do to attract and retain immigrants. Easy-to-follow guides and examples help leaders learn from the success of others and get up to speed quickly on how to initiate a planning process in their own community.  

Multiculturalism Strategic Plan Phase 2 – Development of Community Vision Final Report: This report summarizes the second phase of Coquitlam’s Multiculturalism Strategic Plan. The project began in 2007, when the city received a grant from Heritage Canada to develop a multiculturalism plan. This report outlines the research and community consultation process that was done during phase two, or the “developing a community vision,” portion of the project.

Skills Proficiency of Immigrants in Canada: Findings from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies:

Tech-Enabled Innovations in the Skills & Employment Ecosystem

Procedural Precarity: An Examination of Canadian Immigration Policy and Practice in Relation to Immigrant Youth

Inequality During the Pandemic: Racialized Populations

Discrimination, Inclusion & Diversity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Migration Policy Practice includes four articles on very different themes of interest to policymakers. Following on from our tenth-anniversary edition on the implications of COVID-19 for migration, the first article in this issue looks at how the pandemic is affecting irregular migration and the collection of data on migrant deaths. The article shows that irregular migration continues and has even increased along certain migratory routes. However, despite the rising figures, the number of migrant deaths reported has instead fallen in 2020. This may not reflect the true numbers as collecting data on migrant deaths has become more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 Pandemic:
An Immigrant Family Story on Reconnection, Resistance, and Resiliency

COVID-19 – What Canada’s Population Growth Might Look Like With Reductions To Immigration

Distribution of COVID-19 Related Risks

Immigration in Nova Scotia: Who Comes, Who Stays, Who Leaves and Why?: The main purpose of this research was to investigate why immigrants choose Nova Scotia as their destination in Canada, and why some stay in the province and others leave. The first project report used 2016 Canadian Census data to study general mobility patterns of Nova Scotia immigrants.

Sharing Settlement and Integration Practices that Work

Raising Children with Disabilities:
A Critical Understanding of the Lived Experiences of Chinese Immigrant Parents in Canada

Refugee 613 is an agile and innovative communications hub that informs, connects and inspires people to welcome refugees and build strong communities

Evaluation of the Citizenship Program

Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Montreal Cultural Communities

Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement

Spaces and Places of Exclusion:
Mapping Rental Housing Disparities for Toronto’s Racialized and Immigrant Communities

COVID-19, Migration & the Canadian Immigration System: Dimensions, Impact & Resilience

The B.C. Seniors’ Poverty Report Card

Persistent Overqualification among Immigrants and Non-Immigrants

Short Term Effects of COVID-19 on Self-Employed Workers in Canada

Understanding Community-led Approaches to Community Change

Live, Work, and Stay? Geographies of Immigrant Receptivity in Atlantic Canada’s Aspiring Gateways

The State of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada

United Way Senior Vulnerability Report – Nov 2011 Community profile #2: Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam/Port Moody: This United Way report profiles vulnerabilities faced by seniors, 65 and older, in Richmond and Delta. The document provides an overview of demographics, economic security and housing conditions of seniors in Richmond and Delta and compares the findings to statistics for the region as a whole.

Change the Narrative, Change The World: How Immigrant Representation on TV Moves Audience To Action

Evaluation of Canadian Refugee Resettlement Programs in the Assimilation of Refugees

Impact of COVID-19 on the Economic Well-Being of Recent Migrants to Canada

“Publicly-funded health care for refugees and refugee claimants in Canada is provided through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). Between 2012 and 2016, IFHP experienced multiple changes, causing its coverage to ebb and flow. Since April 2016, IFHP has been returned to its pre-2012 form. However, there is currently limited information on how well the reinstated IFHP is protecting refugees’ and refugee claimants’ health and safety. To start filling this knowledge gap, between 2018 and 2020, our research team conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 IFHP beneficiaries and 21 service providers located in Ottawa and Toronto.

Staffing shortages in Nova Scotia’s healthcare care system have become a full-fledged crisis. In particular, the need for continuing care assistants is urgent.

Several recruitment strategies have been put in motion, including immigration streams to entice foreign healthcare workers and refugees already living in the province into these positions.

This paper critically examines the province’s recruitment plans and the growing reliance on newcomers to address staff shortages.

The right approach has the potential to transform Nova Scotia’s continuing care systems for the better.

The purpose of this report is not to predict workforce and workplace changes coming over the horizon. The pandemic has shown that it is difficult to know what will happen one year ahead, let alone decades. Instead, this report compiles and presents information on emerging and established trends identified through a secondary scan of available grey literature, academic journals, online news sites and social media. Available sources of evidence were reviewed, coded and grouped into six major trends, followed by an issue-centred scan to deep dive into selected
topics. This report captures trends that are relevant to the future of immigrant labour market outcomes, and have implications for immigrants, employers and policymakers.

The most recent data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) indicate that factors such as participation in the Canadian education system and official language proficiency help immigrants who came to Canada as children earn wages similar to those of their Canadian-born peers during adulthood.

This analysis examines the characteristics of immigrants who came to Canada as children and their socioeconomic outcomes, such as participation in postsecondary education and median wages, based on income tax data in 2019.

This paper addresses the ‘immigrant-Aboriginal parallax gap’ whereby material connections between immigration and Indigenous dispossession are rarely examined in tandem by considering ways in which the Canadian media frames Indigenous protesters and irregular asylum seekers.

Attention surrounding differences in the pathways to permanent residency for lower- and higher-skilled temporary foreign workers has increased, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the contribution of lower-skilled temporary foreign workers in essential industrial sectors. This article examines the skill distribution of temporary foreign workers and their transition to permanent residency by skill level. Determining the skill level of temporary foreign workers can be challenging.