Introduction
The history of Canadian immigrations begins in late 15th century by European explorers (Knowles, 2007). Today, around 250 thousand people from all over the world move to Canada as a refugee or an immigrant each year (Statistics Canada, 2011). Many of these newcomers may feel like strangers in the process of initially settling down in Canada. They may face prejudice and discrimination, language barriers, employment issues regarding to skill discounting and foreign credentials challenges. Accordingly, this paper will explore various barriers that were faced by recent immigrants, which were mentioned in the book called Strangers At Our Gates written by the author Valerie Knowles.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Previous to The Immigration …show more content…
Gluszek and Dovido (2010) explained that moving to another country during one’s life is not an unusual occurrence as currently there are approximately one hundred and ninety-one migrants worldwide, but despite this accent discrimination is widespread, specifically in countries where immigrants are most frequently received. Gluszek and Dovido (2010) state, “A nonnative accent is one of the most salient characteristics of people from other countries who come to live, work, or study in a host country that identifies, and potentially stigmatizes, them as not being native born” (p.217). This is due to the assumption that if one has an accent then one cannot speak English properly, regardless of actual ability. In a study to examine accents in the workplace, one third of participants reported feeling discriminated against because of their accent. Kaida (2013) proposes that the best solution to this problem would be a program, which acts as both a bridging program as well as assists with language development skills. Kaida (2013) states, English/French language training has a positive impact on recent immigrants’ exit from poverty at least 2 years later” …show more content…
The majority of immigrants report having difficulties finding work that connects with their education and previous workplace experience (Suto, 2009). Instead many remain unemployed or hold low paying jobs. Kaida (2013) reports that “poverty levels of immigrants are…high; in 2005, 22% of immigrants of all ages were in poverty, compared to 14% of the Canadian born” (p.727). This is inconsistent with Canada’s point system, which was developed to attract educated immigrants. An individual’s educational experience and credentials accounts for one quarter of the possible points an applicant can earn (Citizen and Immigration Canada, 2013). It is theorized that individual prejudice is suppressed by social norms so that employers will use other justifications to explain why they hire one individual and discount the skills of
The history of Canadian immigrations begins in late 15th century by European explorers (Knowles, 2007). Today, around 250 thousand people from all over the world move to Canada as a refugee or an immigrant each year (Statistics Canada, 2011). Many of these newcomers may feel like strangers in the process of initially settling down in Canada. They may face prejudice and discrimination, language barriers, employment issues regarding to skill discounting and foreign credentials challenges. Accordingly, this paper will explore various barriers that were faced by recent immigrants, which were mentioned in the book called Strangers At Our Gates written by the author Valerie Knowles.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Previous to The Immigration …show more content…
Gluszek and Dovido (2010) explained that moving to another country during one’s life is not an unusual occurrence as currently there are approximately one hundred and ninety-one migrants worldwide, but despite this accent discrimination is widespread, specifically in countries where immigrants are most frequently received. Gluszek and Dovido (2010) state, “A nonnative accent is one of the most salient characteristics of people from other countries who come to live, work, or study in a host country that identifies, and potentially stigmatizes, them as not being native born” (p.217). This is due to the assumption that if one has an accent then one cannot speak English properly, regardless of actual ability. In a study to examine accents in the workplace, one third of participants reported feeling discriminated against because of their accent. Kaida (2013) proposes that the best solution to this problem would be a program, which acts as both a bridging program as well as assists with language development skills. Kaida (2013) states, English/French language training has a positive impact on recent immigrants’ exit from poverty at least 2 years later” …show more content…
The majority of immigrants report having difficulties finding work that connects with their education and previous workplace experience (Suto, 2009). Instead many remain unemployed or hold low paying jobs. Kaida (2013) reports that “poverty levels of immigrants are…high; in 2005, 22% of immigrants of all ages were in poverty, compared to 14% of the Canadian born” (p.727). This is inconsistent with Canada’s point system, which was developed to attract educated immigrants. An individual’s educational experience and credentials accounts for one quarter of the possible points an applicant can earn (Citizen and Immigration Canada, 2013). It is theorized that individual prejudice is suppressed by social norms so that employers will use other justifications to explain why they hire one individual and discount the skills of