About Canada: Immigration

Nupur Gogia, Bonnie Slade

Many Canadians believe that immigrants steal jobs away from qualified Canadians, abuse the healthcare system and refuse to participate in Canadian culture. In About Canada: Immigration, Gogia and Slade challenge these myths with a thorough Investigation of the realities of immigrating to Canada. Examining historical immigration policies, the authors note that these policies were always fundamentally racist, favouring whites, unless hard labourers were needed. Although current policies are no longer explicitly racist, they do continue to favour certain kinds of applicants. Many recent immigrants to Canada are highly trained and educated professionals, and yet few of them, contrary to the myth, find work in their area of expertise. Despite the fact that these experts could contribute significantly to Canadian society, deeply ingrained racism, suspicion and fear keep immigrants out of these jobs. On the other hand, Canada also requires construction workers, nannies and agricultural workers — but few immigrants who do this work qualify for citizenship. About Canada: Immigration argues that we need to move beyond the myths and build an immigration policy that meets the needs of Canadian society.

Contents

• Immigration: A Critical Analysis
• The Evolution of Immigration Policy: Learning about the Past to Understand the Present
• Immigration Policy and Practices: The Mechanics of Migration
• Immigrants the and Labour Market: Devaluation, Frustration and Downward Mobility
• The Reception Party: The Settlement Process for Immigrants
• The Revolving Door: Temporary Workers in Canada
• Under the Surface: Canada’s Hidden Labour Force
• Coming to a Better Place?: Not Always a Happy Ending
• References
• Resources
• Appendices

About the Authors

Nupur Gogia received her PhD in sociology and equity studies in education at OISE, University of Toronto.

Bonnie Slade is a research fellow with the Institute of Education at the University of Stirling in Scotland.