Menu Close

In Canada, immigrants must matter just as immigration matters.

By Olufemi Ajiboye

Although Canada’s immigration system is a model for others to follow, proactive measures are needed to guide them to the resources and training to better prepare for the Canadian workplace.

Canada has set an ambitious plan to welcome over 1.2 million new permanent residents by 2023. This recent plan announced by the Honourable Minister of Immigration, Marco Mendicino, is an extension of the multi-year immigration levels plan that was first announced in 2017.

However, additional measures by the government would help more immigrants to overcome the challenges they face as newcomers and provide them the opportunities to contribute favourably to the country’s economic growth.

Despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada plans to welcome 401,000 new immigrants in 2021, 411,000 new immigrants in 2022, and 421,000 new immigrants in 2023. In addition to this, up to 60% of these new immigrants are expected through the economic immigration class system.

Over the years, Canada has prioritized economic class immigration and is using this to solve both its population and economic growth concerns. The multi-year immigration levels plan is, therefore, an affirmation of the important contributions of immigrants to Canada, and the role that immigrants will play in building the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic immigrants arrive in Canada with their professional skills, educational qualifications, and years of work experience. They also anticipate the opportunities to put their skills into use and fill the skills shortage in the critical workforce.

Historically, immigrants have supported economic growth in Canada as both employees and employers of labour. They have replaced the retiring baby boomer workforce in many sectors, driven innovation, boosted bilateral trade between Canada and their countries of birth, strengthened Canada’s multiculturalism, and are responsible for 75% of Canada’s population growth. These and many other reasons are why immigration matters in Canada.

However, numerous challenges have prevented many immigrants from integrating into the workforce and contributing to the country’s economic growth.

These challenges have brought forward discussions on the disparity between the immigration recruitment criteria for economic immigrants, and the employment recruitment criteria they face upon arrival in Canada. Before being granted permanent residency in Canada, the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada would conduct an evaluation of the applicants’ credentials, verify the skills and experience they claim to have, and put their applications through a rigorous review process to ensure they are a good fit for both the Canadian society and workforce. All these would, however, amount to little when seeking employment in Canada.

New immigrants often arrive in Canada to find themselves subjected to the realities of not having sufficient Canadian experience to secure employment, or their credentials not recognized as equivalent to a Canadian education. Additionally, for those in regulated professions, there is a rigorous process of securing the licenses required to practice in their profession.

According to the World Education Services, top among the challenges that constitute barriers to employment for new immigrants are lack of professional connections; employers not recognizing their qualifications and experience; lack of recognition for their international education, the rigorous licensing process for regulated professions; the resume, CV, or cover letter writing skills of new immigrants; and the low demand for certain degree majors or skills.

These challenges have prevented many newcomers from integrating into the workforce and contributing their quota to the country’s economic growth.

The challenges present opportunities for Canada to implement certain proactive measures such as

  1. offering qualifications and experience recognition support for new immigrants and employers;
  2. mandatory skills upscaling and rescaling programs that would help newcomers to assess their skills and develop requisite workplace skills;
  3. employment integration programs that would create a platform to connect underutilized talents to local employers; and
  4. a restructuring of the licensing procedures to make room for faster integration in certain regulated professions.

The Canadian Government should work with relevant stakeholders to put adequate measures in place to ensure that these recommendations are effectively implemented. Existing resources should also be targeted towards programs that would better prepare new immigrants for the expectations of the workplace, and guide them to access the resources and training they need. 

Taking action on these recommendations would help to boost Canada’s global profile as a welcoming destination for immigrants, and further reiterate that immigrants matter to Canada, just as immigration matters.

Lobster Tales: How the Mi’kmaq First Nations came out on top of the Nova Scotia Lobster Dispute

By Emma MacFarlane

The tale of fishing disputes in Nova Scotia dates back to the early 1990s, when Donald Marshal Jr. was charged with illegal catching and selling of eels in Cape Breton. By 1999, Marshal had appealed his decision all the way to the Supreme Court, citing a 250-year-old treaty that ensured his right to fish anytime, anywhere, so long as it was in order to support himself and his family. The court agreed with this ruling, and Marshall was acquitted. The court, however, came back to clarify that their ruling meant that Marshal could only fish to provide a “moderate living” and could not fish to accumulate mass amounts of wealth. According to legal experts, this clarification was a call to action for the federal and provincial governments to create policy to protect Indigenous rights and prevent issues such as this one from arising again, however no policies or practices were implemented to form a sustainable solution.

This lack of action allowed Indigenous fishermen to take matters into their own hands. In September of 2020, after Ashton Bernard was charged for fishing and selling lobster in a similar fashion to Marshal, the Sipekne’katik First Nation opened a livelihood lobster fishery in order to protect themselves from the scrutiny of commercial fishermen. Commercial fishermen highlighted environmental and livelihood concerns should the First Nations overfish the waters. In recent years, lobster fishing has become and extremely lucrative market, and it seemed that commercial fishermen were unhappy they would be sharing the waters and profits with Indigenous fishermen.

The claws came out on October 12th, 2020 when well over 200 commercial fishermen and their associates vandalized and burgled two separate facilities where First Nation fishermen had been storing their lobster hauls and fishing supplies. Fires, threats, and theft were the weapons of choice by commercial fishermen, and the “environmental concerns” they had voiced when originally confronting the Mi’kmaq fishermen seemed moot, as hundreds of pounds of live, sellable lobster were dumped onto the pavement to meet a cold end. As of November 14th, 2020, the RCMP has only made a handful of arrests and laid even fewer actual charges. Furthermore, they have not confirmed whether the arrests are related to the incident itself, despite video and eye-witness evidence. This lack of action on the part of RCMP has been publicly criticized by Chief Sack of the Sip’knekatik First Nation, who has had to instead pursue civil lawsuits against individuals who partook in the vandalism of the fisheries.

With the threatening and intimidating behaviour of commercial fishermen and little assistance from authority or government, the Indigenous fishermen of Nova Scotia needed a creative solution for peace, and fast. Enter Premium Brands Holdings Corporation. Partnering with several Mi’kmaq First Nations, they structured a $1billion dollar deal to purchase Clearwater Seafoods Inc. This is the largest seafood purchase by a Canadian Indigenous group in history and will likely be marked as a pillar for change and cooperation between Indigenous and commercial fishermen. Upon completion of this deal, this partnership will give Mi’kmaq fishermen sole holding rights Canadian Clearwater’s fishing licenses.

This is a major win for Indigenous fishermen, and for First Nations across Canada. This collaboration will hopefully encourage collaboration with commercial and First Nation fishermen, otherwise they will likely see a drop in their sales and livelihood. Without violence or force, the First Nations are now able to turn the tables in their favour in the lobster fishing industry. Clearly, this is a fantastic example of triumph over those who would continue to oppress Indigenous rights and is a step in the direction of independence and self-sufficiency for First Nations. Only time will tell how this victory plays out for them.

Despite this victory, there is still a need for government intervention. The Mi’kmaq establishing themselves as a major player in the lobster fishing industry should be a wakeup call to the federal government to play a much more active role in issues such as this one, to prevent them from reoccurring and alleviating the pressure First Nation’s face when having to solve these issues. In order to promote peaceful collaboration between commercial and First Nation fishermen, policies and attitudes must be adjusted. Further policy is needed to outline the actual meaning of a “moderate livelihood” and the “mass accumulation of wealth” on the part of Indigenous fishermen. Furthermore, the provincial and federal government must be tasked with achieving a balance between Indigenous fishing rights and sustainable fishing policies to be applied to all fishermen. Finally, an inquiry should be launched to examine RCMP practices when acts of targeted violence such as the vandalism in October occur, and examine why it was necessary for the First Nations to take settlement matters into their own hands. Though these processes may be a long and tedious process, it will be undoubtedly shorter than the decades that the parties involved have gone without substantial policy on the subject.

Region of Waterloo Residents Priorities 2020

By Onomo Ogbe

The results of this poll were based on an interactive voice response survey conducted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2020 from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. A total of 1306 individuals completed the first question of the survey and 633 individuals completed the entire survey.

The survey was designed to provide information to the Region of Waterloo in order to review the priorities in the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. The first question respondents were asked was about how their wellbeing has been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that most respondent’s (54%) wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic has stayed the same. The pie chart below represents the results.

On the survey, participants were asked about the level of confidence they have in their local government. The results are shown in the chart below, indicating that a majority of citizens (59%) are confident in the regional government to some degree (including somewhat confident, confident, and very confident levels).

  Confidence level   2020 Region of Waterloo Survey
  No confidence at all   12%
  Somewhat confident   23%
  Neutral   24%
  Confident   29%
  Very confident   7%
  Unsure   5%

The poll surveyed region-wide opinions on the quality of life in Waterloo region since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. According to the results, most respondents (49%) stated that their quality of life has declined in Waterloo region since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparing the above result to the 2019 Region of Waterloo Survey where respondents were asked how their quality of life in Waterloo Region has been over the past few years, we can see that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic quality of life in Waterloo Region has declined. The chart below compares the results from 2019 and 2020 Region of Waterloo Surveys.

Quality of life 2019 Survey 2020 Survey
  Improved   34%   11%
  Stayed the same   40%   33%
  Declined   26%   55%

The survey was a way to identify the top priorities to inform the review of their 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan. Respondents were asked what they think is the most important social concern that the regional government should address.  The results, as shown in the chart below, have been ranked based on the number of respondents choosing a given category as their top priority. The top 3 priorities are 1) affordable housing and homelessness, 2) unemployment, and 3) mental health. The bar chart below represents the priorities of respondents.

A significant component of the Strategic Plan focuses on the services that are delivered by the Region of Waterloo, such as public transportation, waste collection, and so forth. In order to better understand the preferences among citizens living in the Waterloo region in relation to payment for the delivery of services, the survey asked: “Regional Government must balance the cost of delivering services with taxation. Which of the following would you most prefer for property taxes in Waterloo Region?” 

Results indicated that 21% preferred increasing taxes to improve services while 16% preferred having property taxes decreased. 17% preferred keeping taxes the same and possibly reducing services. The largest proportion (46%) preferred having taxes increased with the rate of inflation and maintaining current services.

Comparing this result to the 2019 Region of Waterloo Survey we can conclude that there has been a slight change over the year. The chart below compares the result between the 2019 and 2020 Region of Waterloo Survey.

Preference for property taxes 2019 Survey 2020 Survey
Increase taxes to expand or improve services 19% 21%
Increase taxes at around the rate of inflation to maintain services 44% 46%
Maintain taxes and possibly reduce services 23% 17%
Reduce taxes and cut services 14% 16%

Ultimately, the survey helped to provide the Region of Waterloo with important information that can be used to review the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. A total of 14 questions were administered, yet the responses that have been analyzed above highlight the most critical results that will be taken into consideration by the Region.

Survey Details

This survey was an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) survey which was conducted by Dr. Anthony Piscitelli with the help of Public Service co-op students at Conestoga College.

Sampling Approach

The sample used for this study was created by randomly selecting Waterloo Region landline phone numbers as listed in a digital phone book. As well, a sample of likely cellphone numbers was added by randomly selecting phone numbers that were originally assigned to Waterloo Region according to the Canadian Numbering Administrator. Phone numbers of businesses were filtered out of the randomly selected phone numbers.

Response rate

A total of 1306 individuals completed the first question of the survey and 633 individuals completed the entire survey. The first question response rate was 4.2%, with the full survey response rate being 0.6%. There was a large drop off between questions 1, 2, and 3, due to the fact that 11% of respondents were ineligible due to being under 18 or living outside of Waterloo Region.

Weights

Results of this survey have been weighted by age, gender, and city/township according to the 2016 census. The full weights are posted along with the raw data on OpenIcpsr.org and can be found by visiting: https://doi.org/10.3886/E120453V1

Margin of Error

Results are considered accurate +/-3.9%, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error on subsamples is higher.

Raw Data

Raw survey data is available on OpenIcpsr.org. The data can be found at https://doi.org/10.3886/E120453V1  

Disclaimer

This survey was approved by the Conestoga College Research Ethics Board. Sampling error exists due to the mismatch that is created by the random dialing of phone numbers as opposed to randomly sampling actual Waterloo Region residents.