Education
Learning is central to the successful adaptation of immigrant and
refugee children and to their participation in Canadian society. As the only mandated
service for young immigrants, the school system is responsible for ensuring language
proficiency and the acquisition of employment skills. For adult immigrants and refugees,
learning about Canadian culture and how to survive in it calls for life-long learning.
CERIS encourages research about both formal and informal education, immigrant adjustment
and government supports for adaptation.
Economics
The economic contribution of immigrants has always been a driving
force of Canadian immigration policy. Most immigrants have economic aspirations as well,
and the success of settlement is affected critically by economic integration. Research on
the economic contributions of immigrants is vitally important along with examining the
costs of services used to acquire linguistic and employment skills. Policy issues must
include the means to help immigrants integrate by taking into account the resources they
bring, as well as the optimal numbers and selection criteria for newcomers.
Health
The health domain has two principal thrusts: (1) the study of the
pre-migration and post-migration (resettlement) determinants of immigrant health; and (2)
the study of the health system's response to immigrant health needs. The first thrust will
contribute to theory about coping with the stresses of resettlement, and will provide
information useful for creating programs to prevent illness and to promote health. The
second thrust focuses on: (a) whether immigrants have equitable access to care, as the
Canada Health Act and other legislation decree; (b) factors affecting the quality of care
immigrants receive within the health care system; and (c) formal and informal systems of
care, including so-called "traditional" health practices and their effect on
immigrant health.
Housing and Neighbourhoods
The housing and neighbourhoods domain focuses on the residential
patterns and housing conditions of immigrants and on the social and built aspects of the
neighbourhoods where they live. Emphasis is placed on the changing residential locations
of immigrants, the nature of residential or housing segregation, and immigrants'
involvement in neighbourhoods with all their implications for integration and access to
appropriate and affordable shelter. The effects of immigration on housing demand, housing
stock, local planning issues, and neighbourhood social and political life are of interest.
Community
The community domain seeks to identify those factors which
facilitate or impede the social integration and civic participation of immigrants in
contemporary urban societies. The experience of immigrants and the receiving society, and
the service-providing agencies of both, are appropriate foci, with emphasis on those
elements of welcome, service, and integration (or the absence thereof) that are legitimate
concerns of public policy in an urban area.
Justice and Law
Justice is a core component of successful settlement and social
cohesion in democratic societies. Creating a just society that respects the rights not
only of its citizens but of all within it is a particular challenge for nations of
immigrants. The link between law and justice needs to be clear in the lived experience of
immigrants and refugees. Research conducted in this domain will focus on the development
and administration of Canadian law and policy, and the impact they have on settlement and
cohesion. It will include research on the current tensions between Canadian ideals and
actual experiences in this area; the contributions of immigration and immigrants to
Canada’s system of laws; the treatment of immigrants and immigrant groups by
Canada’s legal institutions; immigration policies and practices and their interaction
with other legal systems; the outcomes of laws, settlement policies and practices on
successful settlement; crime related to migration, such as trafficking in human beings;
and the differential impacts of law and policy on diverse populations.
