Canada is a nation of immigrants. As such, it is not surprising that there is considerable interest in how immigrants fare in the Canadian labour market, as well as in society at large. The incidence of poverty among immigrants (nearly half of whom are visible minorities), namely, recent immigrants - defined as those who arrived in Canada in the previous 5 years - has been growing (Statistics Canada as cited in Samuel and Basavarajappa, 2006). According to a 2012 Canadian Labour Market Report, more than 36 per cent of immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years live in poverty (Dungan, Fang, and Gunderson, 2012). Understanding why this is the case is of particular importance today, in light of the recent and continuing
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Continued disparities in recognition of their educational credentials, access to professions and trades, and skills training would contribute to further marginalization and isolation of visible minorities from the larger society.
The focus of this study will be on the causes of poverty among recent immigrant populations in Canada- namely, recent immigrants. I will evaluate poverty as a risk factor of homelessness. An in-depth literature review will be conducted in order to answer the following research question: What causes of poverty act as risk factors for homelessness amid recent immigrants? In addition, I will examine the current infrastructure that is in place to support refugees and determine the risk of poverty and, in turn, homelessness among Syrian …show more content…
Visible minority immigrants with professional qualifications trained outside of Canada often encounter barriers in the Canadian labour force (Basran and Zong, 2007). Two themes have emerged in the literature. The first focuses primarily on individual barriers experienced by foreign-trained professional immigrants, arguing that immigrants who wish to work in Canada must acquire the equivalence in terms of Canadian standards. For example, Ornstein and Sharma (1983) posit that an inadequate command of English, and a lack of Canadian experience render immigrants ill-suited candidates for a variety of jobs. According to an analysis of the 2003 Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) by Chui and Tran, 26 percent of immigrants between 25- 44 years of age reported that a lack of Canadian work experience was a fundamental problem in seeking employment in the first two years after their arrival. Twenty-one percent identified the non-recognition of their foreign employment experience or credentials as the most serious problem they encountered (Chui & Tran, 2003, p.10). This is important to discuss, because it highlights a key issue; it is not that immigrants lack work experience, but rather that their foreign work experience is nullified upon their arrival to Canada. Boyd (1985) argues that Canadian-born individuals receive a greater return for
Continued disparities in recognition of their educational credentials, access to professions and trades, and skills training would contribute to further marginalization and isolation of visible minorities from the larger society.
The focus of this study will be on the causes of poverty among recent immigrant populations in Canada- namely, recent immigrants. I will evaluate poverty as a risk factor of homelessness. An in-depth literature review will be conducted in order to answer the following research question: What causes of poverty act as risk factors for homelessness amid recent immigrants? In addition, I will examine the current infrastructure that is in place to support refugees and determine the risk of poverty and, in turn, homelessness among Syrian …show more content…
Visible minority immigrants with professional qualifications trained outside of Canada often encounter barriers in the Canadian labour force (Basran and Zong, 2007). Two themes have emerged in the literature. The first focuses primarily on individual barriers experienced by foreign-trained professional immigrants, arguing that immigrants who wish to work in Canada must acquire the equivalence in terms of Canadian standards. For example, Ornstein and Sharma (1983) posit that an inadequate command of English, and a lack of Canadian experience render immigrants ill-suited candidates for a variety of jobs. According to an analysis of the 2003 Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) by Chui and Tran, 26 percent of immigrants between 25- 44 years of age reported that a lack of Canadian work experience was a fundamental problem in seeking employment in the first two years after their arrival. Twenty-one percent identified the non-recognition of their foreign employment experience or credentials as the most serious problem they encountered (Chui & Tran, 2003, p.10). This is important to discuss, because it highlights a key issue; it is not that immigrants lack work experience, but rather that their foreign work experience is nullified upon their arrival to Canada. Boyd (1985) argues that Canadian-born individuals receive a greater return for