CERIS MANAGEMENT BOARD MEETING

 

FRIDAY, April 11, 2003

2:00 - 4:00 P.M.

At the main CERIS (Toronto) office, 246 Bloor St. W., 7th Floor, Room 702

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CERIS PARTNERSHIP ADVISORY COUNCIL (PAC) MEETING

 

THURSDAY,  April 10, 2003

1:00 - 3:00 P.M.

 

At the main CERIS (Toronto) office, 246 Bloor St. W., 7th Floor, Rm. 702

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CONTEMPORARY MIGRATION FROM AFRICA TO CANADA

MARCH 19, 2003     5:00 PM  to 7:00 PM

 

This is the third in our ‘development’ seminar series. Note that the word “migration” is used instead of “immigration” as it implies movement of people as immigrants or refugees.  Citizenship and Immigration Canada statistics shows that immigration from Africa is not very big or substantial. In fact, the number of refugees arriving from African countries is larger than that of immigrants, and the reasons for this will be discussed at the seminar, as well as Canadian immigration policy implications.

 

Among the confirmed speakers are: Mr. Charles Adeyanju, presenting immigration aspects from Nigeria, and Mr. David Onyango Oloo on Kenya (the top two Sub-Saharan producers of immigrants excluding South Africa); Mr. Farah Khayre on Somalia, and Dr. Gertrude Mianda on Congo (which, together with Somalia, are the top two refugee producing countries). Dr. Pablo Idahosa of York University is the facilitator. Other speakers are yet to be confirmed, so please visit the CERIS web page for updates and more details on the presenters (http://ceris.metropolis.net)

 

LOCATION: CERIS  (246 Bloor Street West, Room 548, 5^th floor). Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served. 

For more information, please contact Yuliya Prodaniuk at 416-946-3110

or by email y.prodaniuk@utoronto.ca. 

 

PLEASE NOTE: The seminar, Contemporary Russian Immigration to Canada, that was to take place on April 16, 2003 is cancelled.

 

http://ceris.metropolis.net

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SIXTH NATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE

 

March 21-24, 2003 in Edmonton

It’s not too late to register for this conference. A copy of the draft conference program along with the registration form and accommodation information are available on the PCERII web site at www.pcerii.metropolis.net.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Prairie Centre at (780) 492-6600 or by e-mail at pcerii@ualberta.ca.

 

Kelly McKean, M.A.

Coordinator

Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration

1-17 Humanities Centre

University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB  T6G 2E5

Tel. (780) 492-0898  Fax. (780) 492-2594

kmckean@ualberta.ca      http://pcerii.metropolis.net/

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''METROPOLIS PRESENTS" SERIES

 

When: Tuesday, March 18 at 9:00 a.m.

Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ballroom A, 101 Lyon Street, Ottawa

Topic:  Religious Communities in Pluralistic Societies:  "Clash of Civilizations" or Sources of Social Capital? 

 

This event follows the success of the citizenship panel that the Metropolis Project and the EU Delegation to Canada sponsored last fall.

 

Speakers:

Canada : Paul Bramadat (University of Winnipeg)

United States : Cynthia Mahmood (University of Notre Dame)

United Kingdom: Paul Weller (Derby University)

 

Each panelist is a leading expert on religion and will provide valuable insights into the contributions that religious communities make to the overall stock of social capital in pluralistic societies, and each will tackle head on the perceived linkages so often discussed today between religious communities and terrorism.

 

Please register with Diane Routliffe at diane.routliffe@metropolis.net

<mailto:diane.routliffe@metropolis.net >.

 

For more information please see  http://www.canada.metropolis.net/main_e.html

This event is sponsored in part by the Multiculturalism Program at the Department of Canadian Heritage. 

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4TH INTERNATIONAL CERN FORUM

May 31, 2003 in Halifax, Canada

 

Theme: The Potential of Citizenship Education: Generating Synergy and Partnerships.

 

Organizer: Dr. Sue McGregor,

Professor, Department of Education and Coordinator,
Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Mt. St. Vincent University
<sue.mcgregor@msvu.ca>.

Held in conjunction with the annual conferences of the Canadian and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC), Canadian Society for the Study of Education  (CSSE) and the Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences.

To register: www.csse.ca  and www.hssfc.ca and let Sue know.

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LIFELONG CITIZENSHIP LEARNING, PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

AND SOCIAL CHANGE          

May 15-17, 2003.

 

An international conference organized by the Transformative Learning Centre (TLC) of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto(OISE/UT) in association with the Instituto Paulo Freire (IPF), Brazil.

This conference builds on three conferences held recently at OISE/UT:

-the 1st international conference on Social Movement Learning (March 2001),

-the 4th international conference on Transformative Learning (November2001),

-and the 3rd Forum of the Citizenship Education Research Network (May 2002).

 

For more information contact: Transformative Learning Centre (TLC), Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto(OISE/UT),Room 7-184, 252 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Tel: (416) 923-6641 ext. 2595  Fax: (416) 926-4749
tlc@oise.utoronto.ca Website: www.TLCentre.org
 

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RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL INCLUSION
 

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) and Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) will host a research conference on social inclusion in Ottawa on March 27. The conference will focus on the latest policy research being done on the social inclusion front and will provide participants with an opportunity to identify gaps in a national social inclusion research agenda.
 

http://action.web.ca/home/actew/events.shtml?sh_itm=3daa3bf9f8371734cf8020bb
cfc7bc1a&AA_EX_Session=2c9db134afb67551320e90d90d20e6d8

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PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL INCLUSION

 

A symposium presented by the Laidlaw Foundation, Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, and Canadian Studies Program, University College, University of Toronto

DATE:  Thursday, March 20, 2003, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

University College, 15 King's College Circle, Croft Chapter House (Room 183).

 

For more information contact: Larisa Farafontova (416) 964-3614, ext. 305

< lfarafontova@laidlawfdn.org >

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RACISM: BREAKING THROUGH THE DENIAL

Network with over 200 of Canada’s anti-racism practitioners and stakeholders in Toronto, at the CRRF’s three-day symposium.
DATE: Friday, March 28 to Sunday, March 30, 2003 

At the Sheraton Centre, 123 Queen St., Toronto
 

Does racism exist in Canada? Are Canadians in denial? Do people live separate realities in our country?
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) will seek to answer (and challenge) these questions at their third bi-annual Award of Excellence Symposium. The CRRF will address the theme Racism: Breaking through the Denial by looking at current research, discussing strategies, and sharing practical ways to: counter the denial; confront the systems; and empower the people.

 

CALL FOR YOUTH SPEAKERS/ FACILITATORS/ PARTICIPANTS

 

If you are a young person who has been actively involved in anti-racism initiatives in your school or community, and are keen to share your experience and knowledge as a speaker or facilitator, CRRF wants you at the upcoming symposium! CRRF is also looking for people who could provide input into the development of a National Anti-Racism Youth Network. If you have any ideas how this might work, CRRF would welcome your participation at the Friday night Youth Caucus meeting.

 

The Board of Directors is committed to developing a youth strategy and putting into action recommendations submitted by the Youth Caucus at the CRRF's "Strengthening the Agenda Against Racism in Canada" conference in Edmonton October 2002. This symposium initiative is a part of CRRF’s effort to outreach youth and youth organizations with the hope of  building a network youth across Canada.

 

GENERAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MARCH 20, 2003

 

APPLICATIONS FOR FUNDING DEADLINE: MARCH 12, 2003

Please mail, fax or email for application to:

Ruth Wilson

Canadian Race Relations Foundation

4576 Yonge Street, Suite 701

Toronto, ON M6K 1K6

Tel: (416)952-8360 OR 1-888-240-4936

Fax: (416)952-3326 OR 1-888-399-0333

E-mail: rwilson@crr.ca
For more information on the symposium, please visit the site at:
http://www.crr.ca/EN/Programs/Awards/AwardOfExcellence2003/eProg_Awards2003.
htm

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ISSCO Downunder    Nov. 28 – 29, 2003

 

You are invited to participate in the 2003 Regional Conference of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas being held at the Sheraton Perth Hotel in Perth, Western Australia. This will be the first ISSCO Conference to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. The Conference will be hosted by two Western Australian universities: Edith Cowan University and Curtin University of Technology.

Conference Themes: Re-thinking identity in a global context ; Migration, marginalisation and integration ; Heritage and cultural spaces ; Chinese entrepreneurship ; Human rights and responsibilities.

Conference Director: Assoc. Prof. Jan Ryan PhD
Email: jryan@ecu.edu.au

General Enquiries:

Keynote Conferences
PO Box 1126
West Leederville WA 6901

Tel: (618)9382-3799

Fax: (618)9380-4006

E-mail: enquiries@keynotewa.com

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‘PASSAGES TO CANADA’  is accepting applications from refugees interested in sharing their stories of coming to Canada with youth in the Toronto area.

The Dominion Institute in collaboration with Citizenship and Immigration Canada is introducing Passages to Canada, a national storytelling initiative designed to explore the diversity of the immigrant and refugee experiences.
The purpose of the program is to provide Canadians with a greater understanding and appreciation of the contributions that immigrants and refugees make to Canada.

They are developing a Speakers' Bureau of community leaders who are also immigrants -- in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto -- who will volunteer to share their stories of coming to Canada with high school students, community groups and new Canadians in major urban centers across the country. With the help of The Maytree Foundation, they are able to include 5 refugee speakers in the Toronto Speakers' Bureau.

The Institute is currently seeking refugees who have demonstrated a leadership role within their communities or who have made a significant contribution to Canada's national identity for inclusion in the Toronto Speakers' Bureau. They are looking for speakers diverse in cultural background, experience, age (18 years of age or over), and gender.

If you are interested in participating in the programme, please forward your name and contact information to Tina at the Dominion Institute (tina@dominion.ca). Nominees will undergo a selection process managed by The Dominion Institute and The Maytree Foundation.
For more information contact Tina at: 416.368.9627 or visit: www.passagestocanada.com
<file:///Q:\Users\mhau\CSPC\E%20Bulletin\www.passagestocanada.com>

 

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***** CALL FOR PAPERS AND PROPOSALS *****

 

ETHNICITY: SPACE AND PLACE

 

Canadian Ethnic Studies Association (CESA), 17th Biennial Conference,
at the Banff Centre, Banff,  Alberta, October 2-4, 2003.

Abstracts should be approximately 250 words and presentations will normally be 20 minutes in length. Graduate students are encouraged to make submissions.

For further information regarding CESA's activities and/or the conference in particular, please visit CESA's website at www.ucalgary.ca/CESA.

DEADLINE: March 31, 2003.

Please send submissions to the conference co-organizers: tseiler@ucalgary.ca

OR  kalbach@ucalgary.ca

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RESEARCH FORUM ON RACE RELATIONS: ALBERTA EXPERIENCES AND

PROSPECTS FOR CHANGE

 

June 13-14, 2003, Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta.

Guest speakers include: George Sefa Dei (OISE, U Toronto), and author of several books on race relations including "Removing the Margins: The Challenges and Possibilities of Inclusive Schooling (2000)", "Anti-racist Feminism: Critical Race and Gender Studies (2000)", "Reconstructing "Drop-Out": A Critical Ethnography of the Dynamics

of Black Students' Disengagement from School (1997)", and "Anti-Racism: Education Theory and Practice (1996)" .

Organized by the Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations (NAARR)

Call for papers:

DEADLINE: March 31, 2003.

For more information: http://www.naarr.org/activities/plenum.htm
 

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REPORT ON THE SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRATION SEMINAR

 

The seminar on Contemporary South Asian Immigration to Canada took place on Wednesday February 26, 2003. Each of four speakers presented the reasons for migration from South Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which tend to be almost the same for each one of them. According to statistics, there is a 53% increase in immigrants coming from South Asian countries. The South Asian community is the second largest in Toronto and Canada, smaller only than the Chinese community.

 

Dr. Sabin Mukkath presented the socio-political and economic situation in India conducive to migration. Twenty-nine per cent of the total Indian population lives below the national poverty line. The Indian economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Most of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, with an average annual income of $460 USD (2001). The gap between rich and poor is widening with new economic policies, while there is a burgeoning middle class population.

 

Communal, caste and religious tensions continue to haunt Indian politics. The issue of human rights abuse is critical: “slave” (bonded labor) and child labor is widespread. According to an estimate of the NHRC currently 75,000 of the prisoners in Indian jails are under trials. Corruption is common in the society.

 

There exists an inequality in access to quality education.  Overall, only 65.28% of the Indian population is literate; the female literacy rate tends to be much smaller than that for the males. Caste and gender discrimination is widespread. Medical services are free, but the quality of services is very poor. Only 88% of the total population has access to clean drinking water. Access to hospitals and medical services are even worse in rural areas.

 

Given the above conditions, Dr. Mukkath stated that the major causes for immigration to Canada from India are: a) lack of employment opportunities for skilled workers (India is one among the largest exporters of software professionals, engineers, doctors, nurses and other skilled workers in the world); b) wage differentials and a better quality of life in the west; c) slow advancement of career; d) policies of recipient country; e) economic imbalances/uncertain future; f) environmental degradation and g) family ties.

 

Dr. Mehrunnisa Ali presented the significant “push” factors for emigration from Pakistan:

-Perception of personal insecurity due to armed home invasions, kidnapping for ransom, inter-sect violence, police corruption and geo-political location;

-Lack of economic opportunities due to very few options for relevant higher education, little or no industrial growth, and disenchantment with government jobs;

-Socio-political oppression, especially of women and religious minorities.

 

As for Bangladesh, the major emigration factors are somewhat, but not entirely, similar to those of India and Pakistan, according to Dr. Kazi Hoque:

-Frequently occurring natural disasters;

-Political instability;

-Unfavorable investment climate;

-Inefficiency of state-owned enterprises;

-Inability of agricultural sector to absorb a rapidly growing labor force;

-Delays in exploring energy resources and insufficient power supplies;

-Slow implementation of economic reforms; and

-Poorly functioning legal and judicial system and deteriorating law and order in the country.

 

Finally, Dr. R. Cheran reported on “push factors” from Sri Lanka.  That country had produced a large number of refugees to Canada because of the civil war that raged for over 20 years between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The government consisted mainly of Sinhalese, and state policies were perceived by the Tamils to be grossly favoring this majority.  Although Tamils are the minority in Sri Lanka, in Canada they represent the majority of the immigrant population from Sri Lanka.  In addition, the resulting poor economic situation in Sri Lanka is a contributory cause for labor migration to the Middle East, primarily, as well as for migration to India, Europe and Canada.

 

Several of the speakers mentioned a better system of recognition of foreign credentials and related changes in employment policies as implications for Canadian public policy and practice.  This arises from the South Asians’ inability to find professional employment through their lack of “Canadian experience” as well as their previous experience/qualifications not being recognized. Racial discrimination was mentioned as one of the barriers in developing networks with professional associations. Other policy implications included facilitation of membership in professional associations and supportive services for immigrants to find suitable accommodation.

 

Dr. R. Cheran went even further by suggesting a need for something new in the conceptualization and practice of Canadian multiculturalism policies:  transnationalism, a policy of seeing those who leave and those who remain as a single socio-economic field, with identities, links and loyalties as dual.  Based on Sri Lankan refugee and forced migration experiences, he states that diasporic society is sustained under stress, with strain and displacement between home and host lands, resulting in a remittance economy as a form of investment, thus helping the development of the country of origin as well as contributing to the global economy. Dr. R. Cheran suggests that Canadian policy makers should move from the notion of multiculturalism to social cohesion and transnationalism, thus suggesting the revision of foreign policies.

 

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REQUEST FROM CERIS & THE ACCESS TO PROFESSIONS AND TRADES UNIT (APT), MINISTRY OF TRAINING, COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

 

CERIS and APT worked jointly to develop a web page called the Research Network on Labour Market Issues for Foreign-Trained Professionals and Tradespeople (Located in the Research & Policy Section of the CERIS web site). This page shares research resources specific to Access to Professions and Trades for highly skilled immigrants. This web page has not been updated since 2000 and we are looking to the research community to determine its usefulness before we invest time to update it.

 

The APT Unit asks that the readers of this newsletter respond to the questions below by sending your answers to Kirsten.Williams@edu.gov.on.ca.  Simply type the corresponding number beside your response and enter your response directly through email (please, no attachments). Alternatively, you can print this page out and fax it back, attention Kirsten Williams at 416-326-6265. The survey is also available on the CERIS web site http://ceris.metropolis.net, under Research and Policy.

 

SURVEY

1. In a year, how often have you visited the ‘Research Network on Labour Market Issues for Foreign-Trained Professionals and Tradespeople’ web page? 

a. Once a week or more

b. One to three times a month

c. Seven to twelve times a year

d. One to six times a year

e. Less than once a year 

f. Never

 

2. For those who have visited the page, what would make you visit more often?

 

3. Overall, if the web page were maintained regularly, would you find it a useful resource?

  Yes/No  Please explain.

 

4. If the page were maintained regularly, would you be interested in joining the research network? (A list serve  where we could share information about new research studies released through an email) 

 Yes/No   Please explain.

 

5. Please indicate the type of  organization with which you mostly affiliate yourself :

a. Education institution (Academic)

b. Government

c. Not-for-profit agency

d. Business

e. Other

 

6. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for the web site?

 

Thank you.

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TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THE CERIS RESOURCE CENTRE

 

Since the CERIS office will be moving to the 7^th floor in the first two weeks of April, the Resource Centre will be closed to the public from March 15 to April 15 to allow for packing and unpacking of the resource materials. We apologise for this inconvenience, but assure you that the new Resource Centre will be more spacious and conducive to research work.

 

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The CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES & DEVELOPMENT at George Brown College in collaboration with The Maytree Foundation presents a NEW Career Development Experienced Practitioner Certificate Program. The program will enable experienced employment counsellors working with immigrant and refugees to be certified.

The program will begin by May 12, 2003. The application deadline is April 11, 2003. The maximum number of students will be 25. The cost is $250 for registration. The Maytree Foundation will subsidize the other $2,550 per student.

Please visit <http://www.maytree.com> www.maytree.com to download the brochure and application which outline eligibility criteria, cost, requirements and program format.

For more information please contact Dawn Zimmer at George Brown College by email at dzimmer@gbrownc.on.ca or by telephone at (416) 415-5000 x 2738. Please circulate this information to individuals and agencies that you feel
would be interested.

 

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