Migrant Workers Best Practices Regarding Integration and Citizenship

I INTRODUCTION

The nature and concept of Best Practices for the integration of immigrants poses a few challenges if we wish to learn from another’s experiences as practitioners.

Firstly, from the perspective of an immigrant receiving country, what is meant by best practices will, to a large extent, depend on and be influenced by our own values and our understanding of settlement and integration. These will vary from country to country. Secondly, these values and understanding may be quite different from those of the source countries of immigrants intending to settle and integrate. Thirdly, settlement and integration happen within, and are defined by, the changing dynamic that occurs between immigrants and the host society.

In relation to these challenges, I will focus not on specific examples of programs that have been effective in the settlement of newcomers (although I will refer to some for purposes of illustration), but rather on the common elements of successful programs, including the broader societal frameworks within which good settlement and integration flourishes. I would like to position best practices within four overlapping contexts: that of international agreements which help define common values across nations; of national policies which are indications of a nation’s intentions; of the roles of voluntary agencies and civil society which act as brokers between individual migrants and host societies; and that of individual migrants, whose life choices, circumstances, and cultural backgrounds impact on their personal settlement and integration success. These will be based on experiences and practices from the NGO sector in Canada.

The practices within each context need to be understood in relationship to the others, and each has it own "best practice".

Over the past ten years, increased attention has been given at the global level to the reality of international migration, to the rights and needs of migrants and their families, and to the challenges that receiving countries face in responding to this reality. At the same time as governments have been developing mechanisms to more strictly enforce border controls, and detain and deport migrants who are not following regular channels of movement, they have also been endorsing international agreements, conventions and programs of action which reaffirm, protect, and promote basic human, social, legal, political, and economic rights of migrants.

Three major agreements over this time are:

• The 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (adopted but not yet in force),
• The 1994 Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, Chapter XV (endorsed by179 countries, and reaffirmed at its five year review in 1999), and
• The 1998 Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas.

Briefly, these agreements included articles or chapters in which states agreed:

• that international migration has the positive impact of providing receiving countries with needed human resources, and facilitates knowledge, and cultural transfers
• to respect the cultural identity and religious beliefs of migrant workers and their families
• to provide equal treatment to documented migrants with respect to basic human rights, access to health, education cultural and social services, legal rights, and participation in trade unions
• to protect the human rights and dignity of migrant workers, irrespective of their legal status
• to ensure the social and economic integration of documented migrants
• to provide refugees access to housing, education, health and social services and pay particular attention to the needs, and involvement in addressing those needs, of women
• to make special efforts to promote the integration of children of migrants
• to recognize the importance of family reunification to the settlement of immigrants
• to protect migrants from racism and xenophobia
• to adopt public awareness campaigns to prevent and eradicate xenophobia and racial discrimination

States also agreed that non governmental organizations are important voices of the people, and that they should be involved in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of programs. NGO’s were recognized as important complementary partners to government because of their innovative and flexible program design, and because they are rooted in and interact with marginalized groups.

It was agreed that NGO’s should be invited to participate with local, national, and international decision making bodies, including the United Nations system, and should be included in country delegations to regional and international forums.

In relation to this, we must congratulate the IOM, the US government and ECLAC for their respective roles in organizing this meeting where NGO’s have the opportunity to inform governments as they deliberate on the development of programs to assist migrants and protect their rights.

Trends in Migration and Settlement

There is no doubt that trends towards globalization, economic disparities between regions of the world, and instances of environmental degradation and political instability will continue to increase international migration. In addition, the demographic shift in wealthier societies is creating a growing demand for working age populations which are insufficient within these societies, but exist in large numbers in less wealthy societies. While the numbers of migrants will continue to be small as a percentage of the populations of countries, they generate a significant amount of attention in the eyes of governments, the media, and the public. International meetings on migration and settlement occur with increasing frequency because policy makers wish to prepare themselves and their communities for potential changes and opportunities inherent in the realities of globalization and the growth of migration.

Concept of Best Practices

The idea of calling what we do a "best" practice can be problematic. Perhaps it is because of our modesty as practitioners that we avoid this term. At a recent national meeting in Canada concerning services to refugees, a workshop was entitled "Promising Practices". In Europe, the European Council of Refugees and Exiles’ Task Force on Integration produced a "Good Practices" guide. We are reluctant to name any particular service as "best", because in many cases a service or program which works well for one group of immigrants in one context, may not work at all for another group in another context. Difference in language, ethnoracial and socioeconomic background, as well as circumstances of migration are factors which may call for program adjustments. A program designed to help European immigrants arriving in Canada find employment is not necessarily transferable to South Asian immigrants arriving in Australia as refugees. Such a program might not even be transferable to another group of European migrants, if they are from a different region. We must also be careful with the terminology we use to describe what we do, as it may mean very different things to others with whom we share our practices.

What are most important to review are the key elements of programs which make them work, rather than the programs themselves. How services are offered, who delivers them, the extent to which barriers to settlement and integration are removed, and the extent to which the host society adapts to the changes happening within it all are critical.

In 1998, the Canadian Council for Refugees produced a Best Settlement Practices guide which provides a helpful background of the Canadian situation and further expands on some of the concepts outlined here.

As I suggested at the outset, it is important to understand the practice of settlement and integration with four contexts.

II BEST PRACTICES

International

Reviewing the commitments made and goals set by governments in the agreements outlined earlier is important because it provides a framework within which we can discuss specific practices which assist in the settlement and integration of immigrants. In addition, these agreements represent efforts by governments to hold each other accountable. From a human rights perspective, the best ones aim at articulating and encouraging states to aim at a higher level of rights and protection for immigrants. To be effective, these agreements require reporting and monitoring mechanisms built into them to ensure that progress is being made to achieve their goals. They help shape, and in some cases set, national standards within which policies and programs can be developed. The work of agencies implementing programs for immigrants and refugees rely on these policies and programs.

National

ii The adoption by states of an open citizenship policy, a proactive immigration plan, and a multicultural policy which provides a societal vision constitute a best practice.

These national policies provide the framework, and allow for the development of specific programs that operate daily throughout the country. They help shape a country’s vision of itself, without which the best designed settlement and immigration programs could not succeed. They also provide societies with some form of national standard to which they can hold their government accountable.

The national context in which government(s) set policy that supports the development of settlement and integration programs is a key element of "best" practice. This context includes providing the resources essential for programs, allowing the service providers the room to design and deliver them, and promoting public education which is aimed at developing a welcoming environment for immigrants.

Canada, even though being an historical country of immigration, has only recently started to make the systemic adjustments associated with being a multicultural society. What I mean by this is that the way we see ourselves as a nation, and the structures of power that define and shape our vision of ourselves, are starting to be associated with immigration and people of non European background. The recent appointment as Governor General of Canada of a women who came to Canada as a refugee from Hong Kong, and the recent election of a man born in India as a provincial Premier are examples. Both individuals speak of their immigrant background with pride, and as examples of the changes taking place in Canada. These types of changes, and our experience with them, are useful to share in a discussion of "best" practices for migrants.

Some of the most challenging adjustments that countries undergo (voluntarily or reluctantly), because of migration, are associated with what is seen as changes to their historical national character or culture. In 1947, Canada adopted its first Citizenship Act. Currently, anyone born in Canada is automatically a Canadian citizen, and anyone who has lived in Canada for three years or more can apply for citizenship. The vast majority of new Canadians apply for and receive citizenship.

In 1971 Canada adopted an official multicultural policy, which was incorporated into a Multiculturalism Act in 1988. Canada recognized and committed itself to the promotion of ethnoracial diversity as part of its national identity. This included the promotion of full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in Canadian society, and the elimination of barriers to such participation. During this period most of the formal funding programs for the settlement and integration of newcomers were established.

Canada, and a few other countries which see themselves as countries of immigration, has a proactive, rather than reactive immigration policy, in which annual targets are set for immigration, including resettled refugees, and resources are allocated for programs to assist in their settlement and integration. Canadians, and their governments, assume that newcomers will continue to arrive and settle in their communities. In fact, most immigrants admitted to Canada are admitted as permanent residents, with the expectation that they will eventually apply for and be granted citizenship. Policies, programs and practices are designed and delivered with this understanding.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted in 1982, asserts and protects the rights of all Canadians. It has been interpreted by the Supreme Court of Canada to apply to everyone who is in Canada, thereby providing protection to refugees claiming status in Canada even if their status and right to stay has not yet been determined. Legal interpretation of such acts which ensures their universal application, provides as much support to the longer term integration of migrants as specific programs developed to assist in their integration.

Agencies and Individuals

iii. Programs should be developed and run by those for whom they are intended.

Immigrants, their organizations, and programs to assist them, existed in Canada well before such national policies were adopted. We have a long history of a vibrant non government sector, which has evolved side by side with government in a partnership which itself could be the object of a lengthy discussion. Early examples of agencies established by their own communities to serve their needs include the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society, incorporated in 1922, and the Italian Immigrant Aid Society, the precursor to COSTI, established in 1952.

It is sometimes tempting for governments to create agencies to support and pursue public policy objectives. However, we have seen that is far better that they create a space for them to be established and to thrive. This is achieved through a delicate balance of financial support and respect for autonomy.

Not only are programs which are run by immigrants more effective at addressing the needs of the people they serve, but the opportunities (paid and voluntary) that organizations provide to immigrants are in themselves beneficial to their settlement and integration. For example, the role of board member of a voluntary agency provides those who were leaders in their country of origin a place where they can retain or regain their self esteem, which is so important in the settlement experience. The paid work that counsellors and language teachers do in agencies, often the first job that they have in their new country, is one that usefully employs and validates the experience they bring.

Ensuring that staff and boards of directors include a majority of people who share the background and experience of migrants is critical. This will increase the chances that services and service styles will reflect the needs and values of immigrants, provide experience and opportunities for them to be part of the leadership of the community, and provide role models for other immigrants. It may also facilitate efforts to increase immigrant representation in the workforce of community institutions such as hospitals and schools who are working in partnership with community agencies. A mix of people from the host society and the immigrant community within agencies also encourages a two way exchange between them and provides networking opportunities for newcomers.

Voluntary agencies exist through the goodwill and commitment of the communities in which they operate and which they serve. They must serve both the host and immigrant communities, assisting each to adapt to the other, understanding that neither community is static.

Immigrant populations use the same services that native born populations do, but must first learn where and how these services are available. Existing service structures need to be able to respond to the diversity of the populations in the communities they are mandated to serve. Both the immigrant community and healthcare facilities benefit when preventative care be made relevant and accessible. Health service providers have gained greater understanding of how to build public awareness of health related issues to communities whose mother tongue and means of access to information is different from that of the majority culture. Many models have developed where a hospital, or public health body sends staff to speak at language training classes, or an agency assists in translating information and provides information about different cultural groups to healthcare staff.

Other examples which have increased two way communication include a media relations training program designed to help staff working with immigrants communicate with the media. This improved the public relations skills of a sector often on the defensive about immigration matters. Another is a program where staff of an immigrant serving agency were placed in schools with a high concentration of immigrants. They worked with the school staff and the immigrants, dealing with immediate settlement matters of the students and their parents, and helped the school system better understand how the immigrant experience, religious practices, and language capacity impact on students’ learning. Schools which offer adult language training have been able to provide services to parents and their children in the same location.

In Toronto, Canada’s most multicultural city, public funding bodies created a program designed to assist agencies to engage in anti racist organizational development. The funders believed that if agencies providing social services were going to be able to serve the diversity of people in their community, they had to examine their structures, governance and delivery models, and make changes to become more accessible to immigrant communities.

                    v. Programs for immigrants must be designed to be fully accessible.

Accessibility means that services should be available during times when immigrants are able to access them (not only during regular working hours), in locations served by public transit, and, probably most importantly, delivered in a manner in which the newcomer is made to feel comfortable and can participate with dignity.

One of the first, and best examples of this type of access has occurred with community based language training. Community agencies and school boards entered into informal partnerships, in which the teaching resources of the boards were matched with the outreach strategies and accessibility of community agencies. Newcomers who came to community agencies for general support services, and were identified as requiring language training, could be immediately referred to courses, often located in the same building that the agency operated. For many years, COSTI, like many other agencies, provided its services from locations in school buildings, supported by, and supporting the work of the Continuing Education departments of the school boards delivering language training.

This model has changed over time, and more recently community agencies have been given grants directly by the government to operate language training programs. Many subcontract the classroom teaching component to school boards, and coordinate other supporting components of the program which are funded, such as childcare to allow parents with preschool children can attend, and transportation allowances to further increase access.

Outreach programs have been particularly effective in reaching members of the immigrant community who are so isolated that they are not aware of any programs or supports that are available to them. Some programs feature door to door campaigns in neighbourhoods or apartment blocks where staff go in pairs, not alone to distribute information in the mother tongue of the group targetted.

A women’s mobile health service, operating from a converted bus, visited community groups serving immigrants, and offered women services including reproductive healthcare, breast screening, and prenatal and child nutrition education.

vi. Organizations which provide services that meet more than one settlement need tend to be more successful as settlement agencies.

This has been called a holistic service model, or simply one that responds to the multiple needs of an immigrant family. Organizations which need to refer their clients from one service provider to another, at different locations in a city, risk losing them. Having established a connection with one service provider, immigrants may be reluctant to tell their stories to others, or too busy and tired to travel around.

In the late 1980’s the Open Door Society in the city of Regina opened Canada’s first Reception Centre for refugees. The idea was to incorporate all the immediate settlement services that a refugee arriving in Canada might need during their first few weeks in Canada in one place. Previously, the government had placed refugees in hotels or apartment buildings, with little or no support for the refugee. Now, virtually all refugees arriving with landing documents are placed in one of these centres. In a residential setting, staff provide refugees with initial orientation to the community, assist them in setting up bank accounts, acquiring health care insurance, obtaining documentation enabling them to seek employment, and locating permanent accommodation. Public Health staff come to these centres to provide education and inoculations for children. They are also referred to other services they might require during their first year, including language training, schools for their children, and counselling assistance. All this typically happens within the first month of arrival, and usually within the same setting in which they are living. The fact that staff are working in a residential setting allows them to identify and respond to service needs they might not be aware of if they were working in an office setting.

Other examples include language training programs which incorporate information designed to assist participants in preparing for employment, (e.g. through job specific terminology), and housing search programs which have counselling support to deal with issues which put people at risk of becoming homeless (e.g. family breakups, violence or abuse towards youth or spouses).

vii. The capacity to adapt, to have governance and management structures flexible enough to respond quickly to change, is a common feature of effective agencies.

Many agencies in Canada have, over time, adapted their services and staffing to respond to the changing needs of the diverse immigrant populations they serve.

COSTI, for example, transformed itself from an agency focusing on delivering bilingual apprenticeship programs for immigrant Italian tradespeople, to an agency serving people from all immigrant backgrounds in a wide range of services including supportive housing, language training, employment services, orientation to the community, in depth family and mental health counselling.

During the Kosovo conflict, the federal government and immigrant service agencies in Canada responded quickly to the need for emergency resettlement of refugees. Agencies helped by identifying and training potential interpreters, providing or arranging short term shelter, counselling and trauma support, access to emergency healthcare, assistance in locating permanent accommodation for those intending to remain in Canada, and eventually, assistance to those wishing to repatriate. We drew on volunteer resources in the community, and the support of health, education and the broader community service structures.

One of the key factors facilitating our capacity to respond quickly to changing circumstances has been the existence of an administrative and service infrastructure with experienced staff. Another has been the existence of effective collaborative relationships with community partners, (e.g. healthcare facilities, schools). This infrastructure and these relationships were enabled through ongoing funding (rather than project specific funding) for the operation of the agencies.

ix. The use of websites, and the Internet, and public facilities making information and delivery systems current and accessible to immigrants, might be called a "promising" practice

Within the changing patterns of immigration and settlement, there are some programs whose objectives have never changed, even if their methods have: language training, assistance finding housing and employment, information about and access to essential services such as education, health care and social services, and counselling to those who are having difficulties adjusting to the stresses of migration. Many other programs are variants of these basics, some involving advocacy efforts to protect the rights of migrants, to access services, and to encourage and promote changes within the institutions of the host society. What makes these programs "best" practices are the way in which the information and delivery methods are kept current. The Canadian government, in cooperation with community agencies in one province, has developed a "settlement" website, and equipped all agencies they fund to serve immigrants with computer equipment and access to the Internet.

x. Particularly vulnerable groups within the immigrant population need special attention.

Organizations working with immigrants understand that distinct needs within the immigrant community need distinct responses. Specific organizations, and programs within organizations, have been developed to respond to the needs of women, racial minorities, the elderly, and youth.

Some of the first of these were created to work with immigrant women. Immigrant women face challenges going well beyond the normal stresses of migration. Arriving as a spouse, they may find themselves excluded from settlement services offered to the "head of household", or to the family member expected to be the principle wage earner. In Canada, it is has more often been the case that women are the first to find employment. If this means that the male is displaced as the principal wage earner, then it may cause stresses within the family. Families coming from male-centred societies may discourage women from being an active or public part of community life, which may increase her isolation, and restrict her access to language training or health services. Many of the underlying tensions resulting from these situations may not present themselves until much later in the settlement experience of newcomers. Early intervention and prevention efforts to address these issues have proven more successful than waiting for the consequences of these tensions to emerge.

Woman-run agencies deliver support groups which have been effective in providing a new sense of community for immigrant women, and an opportunity to share experiences, build networks, and gain knowledge of the wider community.

Immigrant seniors often become isolated from the community within their families. Changing roles and expectations lead to tension, and sometimes abuse. One agency serving the Portuguese community has developed a "Prevention of Elder Abuse" program to address these and related issues.

III CONCLUSIONS

We should be cautious when we use the term "best practice" in reference to settlement and integration programs. We have had great successes in many countries already, and we need to ensure that we can further develop the skills and capacity to identify and respond to the needs of immigrants and their families. We continue to learn from one another’s experiences as service providers, government departments, academic researchers and immigrants. We need to make long term commitments to change, within ourselves, our societies, and the institutions which exist within them. We know that settlement is a long term process for immigrants, and that there are many stages to that process. Some would say that the process continues to the first generation born in a new country. We also know that the country receiving immigrants also undertakes a long term process of change, a change that continues as long as immigration continues. Success for the host society is much like success for the immigrant: having the willingness, openness, and ability to respond to change, to embrace the changes that will occur, and to learn and prosper from them. Best practices will be those that help us in this process.

References