Useful resources from IRCC's Research at a Glance email list.
Updated with resources from late 2021 and 2022:
Emerging from the Purge: The State of LGBTQI2S Inclusion in the Federal Workplace and Recommendations for Improvement (2021-05-17)
Emerging from the Purge: The State of LGBTQI2S Inclusion in the Federal Workplaceis written for the LGBT Purge Fund to support the Government of Canada in its efforts to foster a more diverseworkplace that is equitable and inclusive of LGBTQI2S (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer,questioning,intersex, Two Spirit) people. Itforms part of ongoing reparations for LGBTQI2S veterans and public servants who were directly affected by the “LGBT Purge” within the Canadian government during the latter part of the 20thcentury.
A battle won for LGBTQ+ rights | Une bataille gagnée pour les droits LGBTQ+ (2021-04)
The Association for Canadian Studies partnered with Metropolis Canada, Experiences Canada, Historica and the Social Sciences and Humanities and Research Council (SSHRC) to host a conference coinciding with Canada Day entitled, Stories of Hope: A Celebration of Canada. Bringing together voices of Canadians from diverse communities who have overcome adversity and overwhelming challenges to make Canada a better place, the con-ference linked us to the past to imagine the future. By forging connections between us and reminding us of our common humanity, the stories also aspired to shed light on some of the vital lessons needed to tackle unprecedented global challenge.
Socioeconomic profile of the lesbian, gay and bisexual population, 2015 to 2018 | Profil socioéconomique de la population lesbienne, gaie et bisexuelle, 2015 à 2018 (2021-03-26)
Statistics Canada began collecting data on sexual orientation using the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) in 2003. Previous analysis focused on topics such as health and victimization, leaving a gap in available socioeconomic information about the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) population. This table presents socioeconomic characteristics, including marital status, the presence of children under the age of 12 in the household, education level, employment, household income, Indigenous identity, belonging to a population group designated as a visible minority group, language and place of residence, and can be broken down by sex, age group and region.
Poverty in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit, and Other Sexual and Gender Minority (LGBTQ2S+) Communities in Canada: Implications for Social Work Practice (2021-03-10)
In this article, we draw on a recent review of the Canadian literature on poverty in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ2S+) communities to conceptualize social work interventions that may be used to address material inequities among these groups. Our literature review, which was based on a total of 39 works, revealed distinctive expressions of poverty among younger and older LGBTQ2S+ groups, as well as racialized, newcomer, and Indigenous sexual and gender minorities. Drawing on these insights, together with theoretical frameworks grounded in intersectionality and relational poverty analysis, we conceptualize these expressions of material inequity as salient sites of social work practice and propose interventions targeting these manifestations of LGBTQ2S+ poverty at various levels. Given the centrality of anti-poverty work as part of the social work profession’s commitment to social justice, and the dearth of social work literature on LGBTQ2S+ poverty, this article promises to make significant contributions to social work scholarship and professional practice
Minority stress, social integration, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ asylum seekers in North America (2020-12-13)
Drawing on theoretical accounts of LGBTQ minority stress and models of social integration and im-migrant health, the present study examines sexual and gender minority status - heretofore overlooked incrossnational frameworks of immigrant health - as an important determinant of asylum seeker mental health.With the goal of spurring intervention development among this population, this study also aims to characterizeLGBTQ asylum seekers' interest in interventions aimed at alleviating minority stress, barriers to social integra-tion, and associated mental distress.
Immigrants gais au Québec face à l’homophobie : possibilités, contraintes et implications pour leur bien-être (2020-11)
This article aims to describe the opportunities and constraints with which immigrant gay men, aged 20 to 35 years old and living in the Province of Quebec (Canada), face homophobia and heterosexism in post-migratory context. We focus on their experiences related to homophobia and the expression of their sexual orientation, and the implications for their well-being. Results from our qualitative study with 25 participants show that these men consider they have gained new opportunities to express their sexual orientation after migrating to the province of Quebec, but that they are still affected by the more or less insidious effects of homophobia and heterosexism. They use three main strategies to face them: trying to avoid being identified as gay; ensuring they stay in spaces that are free from homophobia; and attempting to be accepted despite heterosexist norms. Implications for their well-being are also discussed.
Impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQI2S Community – Second National Report (2020-08-27)
Egale Canada, ACCEC, and INNOVATIVE have partnered to release a Second National Report on the Impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQI2S People in Canada. The report is a follow up to an initial national study released in April that uncovered alarmingly disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 for LGBTQI2S people in areas including household finances, job loss, mental and physical health, and overall quality of life.
Housing policy with violent outcomes – the domestication of queer asylum seekers in a heteronormative society (2020-04-28)
Housing policies for refugees are a hot topic in many countries receiving refugees. However, most discussions tend to treat refugees monolithically despite the fact that they have diverse experiences. Individuals seeking asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity face numerous obstacles during the asylum process. This article aims to explore how asylum accommodations are governed and how this process affects queer asylum seekers. Based on a range of sources, including interviews, documents and media articles, the results show that many queer asylum seekers have been victims of homo- and transphobic violence. The findings also indicate that the Swedish migration agency has implemented temporary solutions to mitigate such violence but refused to change the overall policy. In the analysis, I maintain that there are three underlying assumptions in the system, namely, the primacy of heteronormativity, the metropolitan nature of queers, and the need to adjust but not challenge heteronormativity. I argue that this process renders queer asylum seekers unfit and leaves them in unsafe housing situations to domesticise them in the context of a heteronormative society, i.e. a society in which they do not stand out or claim further rights.
Intersectional microaggressions and social support for LGBTQ persons of color: A systematic review of the Canadian-based empirical literature (2020-02-24)
Researchers have documented that LGBTQ persons of Color in the UnitedStates of America experience intersectional microaggressions and socialsupport from their family and community members. Given the manifest-ation of heteronormativity (i.e., normalizing heterosexuality and genderbinary system) and homonormativity (i.e., constructing LGBTQ identities as“White”) in North America, researchers have not systematically reviewedthe empirical literature on intersectional microaggressions, specificallywithin familial and community contexts in Canadian society. The currentpaper addresses this omission by elucidating the significance of inter-sectionality as a theoretical framework in LGBTQ scholarship. Findingsindicated that LGBTQ persons of Color experienced microaggressions intheir families and racial and ethnic communities due to their sexuality andgender identities, and in mainstream LGBTQ spaces due to their racialand ethnic identities. They also struggled to navigate their intersectingidentities, and encountered negative health outcomes, which they copedwith through resistance and social support. The strengths and limitationsof this paper, and recommendations for future inquiry are outlined.
Minority stress, social integration, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ asylum seekers in North America (2019-12-13)
Drawing on theoretical accounts of LGBTQ minority stress and models of social integration and im-migrant health, the present study examines sexual and gender minority status - heretofore overlooked incrossnational frameworks of immigrant health - as an important determinant of asylum seeker mental health.With the goal of spurring intervention development among this population, this study also aims to characterizeLGBTQ asylum seekers' interest in interventions aimed at alleviating minority stress, barriers to social integra-tion, and associated mental distress.
Refugees’ Transnational Practices: Gay Iranian Men Navigating Refugee Status and Cross-border Ties in Canada (2019-09-20)
Despite the rise in displaced population numbers, refugees’ transnational lives, and those of sexual-racial minority refugees in particular, have remained at the margins of transnational migration studies. In this article, I focus on the case of gay Iranian refugees in Canada and analyze their pre-migration transnational lives and understandings of the asylum process, their post-migration transnational ties, and their activism practices. I underline refugees’ transnational agencies and argue against the rhetoric that represents refugees as passive migrants whose emigration means detachment from home countries. Based on my field work findings, I endorse analytical and methodological shifts to simultaneously explore refugees’ pre-migration and en-route lives in addition to their post-migration lives to stress the power relations that, through social ties, affect refugees’ transnational practices. I connect transnational, forced, and queer migration literature to the Bourdieusian social theory and, in conclusion, argue that it is necessary to deploy de-nationalized methods of inquiry to account for intra-group diversities as well as border-crossing social ties in addition to economic ties.
National Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarking Study (2019-02)
This report presents the results of the two online surveys for Senior Leaders and Diversity Personnel. The surveys were made publicly available between June through November 2018. Senior Leaders and Diversity Personnel working at Canadian organizations were invited to participate. A total of 56 Senior Leader surveys and 168 Diversity Personnel surveys were analyzed. The purpose of collecting this data is to provide a national benchmarking resource that aids Canadian organizations when they are assessing their D&I development.
Responses to Structural Violence: The Everyday Ways in Which Queer and Trans Migrants With Precarious Status Respond to and Resist the Canadian Immigration Regime (2019-02)
This article examines how the Canadian immigration regime socially organizes the everyday lives of queer and trans migrants with precarious status. Drawing from key findings from an institutional ethnographic study, this article maps out the disjuncture between the actual experiences of queer and trans migrants with precarious status and the ideological and textual production of precarious status by the Canadian state. Making explicit this disjuncture reveals how the Canadian immigration regime enacts structural violence upon queer and trans migrants. This article also engages with the response-based approach to violence in order to understand how queer and trans migrants actively respond to this violence. In doing so, this article highlights the ways in which queer and trans migrants respond and resist the structural violence integral to the Canadian state’s production of precarious status.
Homophobia and Homonationalism: LGBTQ Law Reform in Canada (2019-01)
This article explores the tensions and contradictions between the recognition of same-sex relationships and the development of legal prohibitions against discrimination on the one hand versus the ongoing symbolic and actual criminal regulation of gay sex on the other hand. I describe these tensions as they have unfolded over the last 40 years through the most recent attempts by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, elected in 2015, to reform the criminal law, to expunge the record of past criminal convictions for same-sex behavior, and to apologize and compensate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) communities for past discrimination. I argue that this bifurcated pattern of public policy change and legal reform demonstrates the persistence of political homophobia alongside of homonationalist celebration of queer normativity. By considering the federal government’s long-standing failure to reform criminal laws that encapsulate formal-legal inequality of LGBTQ people, the article highlights the persistence of homophobic public policy alongside homonationalist policy discourse and genuine progress in the legal recognition of queer rights. I conclude by considering the implications of this mix for theorizing homophobia and homonationalism in law and policy.