What is this research about?

In the late 1980s, the Task Force on Access to the Professions and Trades in Ontario looked into the requirements for entry to Ontario's professions, occupation by occupation. The Task Force undertook a detailed review of the organizational structures of regulated occupations in Ontario, with a view to determining not only if such structures are giving rise to discriminatory practices but also whether they have the potential to do so, depending upon their use and application.

What did the researchers find?

The Task Force found that few professions were free of discriminatory practices, and that broad, structural solutions were needed to remove systemic barriers to the professions. The Task Force writes that such solutions are "win–win" for the professions and for individuals. It points out that, in coming years, the growing number of immigrants would be increasingly important to the health of the economy because of Ontario's declining birth rate and aging workforce.

Barriers identified included:

• Prior Learning Assessment - there is cause for concern that the prior learning of foreign-trained applicants is not always being adequately and fairly assessed.
• Licensure Testing - Where the same examinations are required of all candidates, these tests_ in many cases have not been subjected to objective test development and analysis procedures reflecting recognized professional standards.
• Language Testing - standardized tests are weak predictors of performance and do not test occupation-specific language.
• Retraining - In the many cases in which a comprehensive assessment of prior learning, based on both academic background and previous experience, is not available to candidates, retraining needs are often not clearly identified.
• Review of Decisions -  Mechanisms for reviewing an occupational body’s decision to refuse a licence or certificate or to attach conditions or limitations to it are, in some occupations, altogether lacking or severely limited.

Solutions for each barrier are outlined in the report.

What is this research about?

This paper explores issues related to the problem of the non-accreditation of foreign-trained professionals in Canada. It touches on the major societal impacts of the problem plus the stages and barriers in the immigrant accreditation process. It also examines some policy initiatives presently being undertaken by the major stakeholders such as provincial and federal governments, post-secondary educational institutions, professional bodies and employers

What did the researchers find?

The paper offers four policy elements to deal with this issue in Canada:

1. Creating more multi-partner projects - dealing effectively with the problem means developing more multi-partner policy strategies aiming at dismantling major barriers present in the accreditation process of immigrants.
2. Minimizing "statistical” discrimination problems - An adequate standardization of educational credentials and better data banks, alone, will not solve the immigrant accreditation issue in Canada. The will, however, minimize the risks of under-evaluations of foreign academic credentials.
3. Abolishing exclusionary procedures and practices - These barriers are systemic ones and should be treated as such. Policies aimed at reforming accreditation processes and changing the institutional "ethos" require implementing some form of corporate change and institutional re-structuring.
4. Confronting prejudice directed at applicants - Impartiality in the credential assessment is seen as an impossible outcome in the current conditions of a "discriminatory" Canadian labour market. To deal with these types of barriers there must be a concentrated policy effort using, perhaps, using employment equity approaches or human rights legislation as enforcement mechanisms.

What is this research about?

This literature review provides a snapshot of the various trends that existed in settlement sector with respect to how newcomers settle in Canada before the COVID-19 pandemic started, as well as examples of how the settlement sector has significantly changed in response to the pandemic.

What did the researchers find?

Existing challenges that are being experienced by both newcomers and settlement workers need to be addressed while taking account of the new issues that pandemic has brought to light so that actionable solutions can be developed and identified. This document highlights examples of some of the solutions that the settlement sector has adopted to enhance the sector’s capacity so they can better support the economic integration and mobility of newcomers in Canada.

Key areas of focus:

• National Government Supports
• Provincial Supports
• Measuring Economic, Social, Democratic and Health Integration
• Ongoing Challenges and Barriers
  • COVID-19 Impacts on Immigration and Settlement Sector Workers
  • COVID-19 Impacts on Newcomers
  • COVID-19 Impacts on Refugees and Asylum Seekers
  • Implications for International Students
  • COVID-19 Impacts on Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Businesses
  • Impacts on Racism and Stigmatization Towards Asian Canadians
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant Workers
  • Underutilized, Internationally Educated Health Professionals (IEHPs)
  • Challenges with Integrating Immigrants into the Tech Sector: British Columbia
  • The gig economy: Considerations and implications for migrant populations
• Promising Practices
  • Provincial Examples - British Columbia
  • Provincial Examples - Alberta
  • National Examples - Non-Profit Organizations
  • Efforts to Minimize Increased Rates of Racism and Xenophobia
  • Possible Ways Forward for Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Businesses
  • Internationally Educated Teachers - Supports
  • Gig Economy - Recommendations
  • Recommendations for Integrating Immigrants into the Tech Sector: British Columbia
  • Other recommendations
  • Innovative and Collaborative Settlement Sector Ideas & Practices
  • Technology and Digitization: Resources for the Settlement Sector
  • New Funding Models to Assist Newcomers with Economic Integration: Social Finance Models

Additional project resources:

• SPO Survey Dataset
• Newcomer Survey Dataset
• ACS Summary – Top-Level Survey Findings Interim Report

What is this research about?

From 2018 to 2021, Allies for Refugee Integration (ARI) and its partners focused on creating more welcoming communities for privately sponsored refugees. This report outlines changes to
policy and processes to improve settlement-sponsor collaboration for more successful integration of refugees.

What did the researchers find?

"Project partners, OCASI and Refugee 613 had both observed gaps in knowledge, relationship and operations between private sponsors and the formal settlement sector; gaps that often become cracks that negatively affected the settlement journey of refugees. As more refugees continue to arrive in Canada and settlement becomes increasingly complex, it is clear that even though  sponsors and settlement are aligned in their goals, they aren’t always working in tandem. Although in the early stages of the private sponsorship program sponsors were expected to shoulder the  main responsibility for all settlement needs, IRCC has for several years encouraged refugees and sponsors to access settlement services as soon as possible — but the policies, institutional support and funding for this to happen in practice is missing."

Based on the success of the pilots, ARI has four recommendations to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC):

1. Create a policy of Intentional Connection practice for pre/post arrival coordination to ensure refugees have the support they need.
2. Support SPOs and SAHs to create formal partnerships.
3. Encourage SPOs to include sponsors & SAHs as full partners in information exchange opportunities.
4. Further define and test the Intentional Connection practice in order to scale up.

Additional resources:

Environmental Scan Research Report - English

Environmental Scan Research Report - French

What is this research about?

This study explored the perceptions that front-line workers hold regarding needs and experiences of newcomers settling in Calgary, to understand how systems that serve newcomers perceive, make sense of, and contribute to these experiences.

What did the researchers find?

The findings highlighted:

• front-line workers perception of their newcomer clients’ identity in connection to language
• newcomers' emotional burden and sense of belonging
• the challenges clients faced balancing everyday commitments
• front-line worker’s own role in cultural brokerage for newcomers

"This study considered the practice and values of the front-line staff working in agencies that served newcomers. This has not been widely focused on in the current literature. It was the staff members’ interpretation of the newcomer experience that impacted the services in which they managed and made decisions in to attempt to create an even more successful sense of integration for newcomers. This ongoing shift in reflection to practice furthered the need to consider and assess the knowledge translation within the social systems in which newcomers are active. Moreover, this research shed light on the complexity of elements that are at play in language acquisition within newcomer services. By uncovering front-line workers’ views regarding the current development of strategies, it may be possible to explore longer and shorter-term interventions that support the process of integration for both the service provider and the client. Finally, further research to explore the impact front-line workers and systems have on newcomers’ successful integration is indicated."

What is this research about?

The Highlights Report is a compilation of existing data and research that provides evidence on newcomer settlement outcomes that support integration within Canada, for both clients of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s Settlement Program and non-clients.

What did the researchers find?

Specific findings:

• The “starting line” is different for each newcomer. The evidence shows that not all newcomers are equally able to establish themselves in Canada in the same way, and as a result, it may be necessary to develop a suitable range of expectations.
• Specificity in programming may improve outcomes. It follows that programming that is more specific to the needs of individuals or client types appears to contribute to better outcomes.
• The people using the services are the people who need. Clients of IRCC-funded programming reported having lower levels in areas such as knowledge of life in Canada, and official language skills than non-clients when they landed. Over time, they reported greater improvement than their non-client counterparts.
• The first years are crucial. Newcomers have the highest rates of using IRCC-funded settlement services in their first few years after landing in Canada. This shows that newcomers use these services primarily to help with the early stages of settlement.
• Timing is important. Survey data suggest that both clients and non-clients of IRCC-funded settlement services were not as aware of how or where to get services as they would have liked, indicating lost opportunities for services to make timely contributions towards their settlement journeys.
• Support services are central to address barriers to success. Support services such as translation, child care, and transportation appear to be extremely important to IRCC Settlement Program clients, especially for those who face barriers to access. Not all Settlement Program clients require support services; however, those who need the services, need them a lot.
• Gender is a significant factor. Settlement programming design, such as when and where service delivery is provided, can have an impact on ability of newcomer women to access services.

Some important statistics based mainly on service access in their landing year:

• 70% of non-clients surveyed were unaware of the free IRCC-funded services available to them.
• 32% of eligible clients accessed Information and Orientation services (I&O). 13% of clients continued to receive I&O services five years after landing (mostly Resettled Refugees).
• 23% of eligible clients accessed Needs and Assets Assessment and Referral Services (NAARS).
• 13% of eligible clients had a Language Assessment (LA) and 9% took Language Training (LT).
• 11% of eligible clients accessed Support Services (SS) such as child care, translation, interpretation,
  transportation, short-term counselling, and provisions for those with disabilities
• 9% of eligible clients accessed Community Connections (CC) programs.
• 4% of eligible clients accessed Employment Related Services (ERS).

The majority of clients who received services said they were useful (the percentages vary somewhat for each service).

The report indicates "Several studies have revealed that many newcomers are not aware of the services that are
available and that this is particularly true of those experiencing conditions of vulnerability. Further study could help identify specific sub-populations of newcomers who are currently being under-served." It's interesting that they footnote "IRCC internal documentation" for this. When we know of many such studies.

What is this research about?

This report defines several introductory concepts relating to artificial intelligence and machine learning and provides a review of existing literature that acknowledges efforts made to
establish clarity on how the Canadian government uses artificial intelligence to manage migration to date.

What did the researchers find?

The researcher provides a critical appraisal of the safeguards Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced in the development and deployment of Temporary Resident Visa
(TRV) application pilot, reviews the humans-in-the-loop component of the pilot and the effort to avoid using black-box algorithms and offers additional recommendations for the Canadian Government on the TRV pilot, assessing accountability, methods for monitoring data and trends, the importance of transparency, completing an Algorithmic Impact Assessment and being intentional in the development and use of technologies in migration management.\

Specifically:

• Strengthen Lines of Accountability
• Monitor Data and Trends to Ensure the Algorithm is Up-to-Date
• Be Transparent in the Face of the Paradox of Immigration Policy
• Complete the Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment
• Be intentional in the development and use of technologies in migration management

What is this research about?

This article looks into ways in which existing studies address the possibilities and vulnerabilities of mobile communications, the social conditions, and the agency of refugees in engaging with mobile technologies in the different temporal and spatial dimensions of their migration trajectories.

What did the researchers find?

"Over the past decade, an expanding literature has explored the ways in which refugees rely on mobile communication technologies to stay in touch with a wider community and to access relevant information and services in their new places. Nevertheless, challenges linked to (a lack of) digital literacy and accessibility among refugees, and associated risks of technology use can negatively affect their empowerment and participation in a 'mediatized' society."

Some key observations from the researchers:

• The use of smartphones by refugees en route is emphasized by current studies to be of critical importance for planning migration routes and reducing the costs of travel - location-based affordances of the smartphone emerged as vital for refugees to progress in their journey, or in the case of an emergency situation
• Refugees draw greatly on social networks to gain knowledge about asylum procedures - smartphones have expanded migration networks that can facilitate the organization of migration journeys
• studies highlight problems regarding the lack of credible information emerging from social media ties, as refugees on the move experience a condition of “information precarity”
• A predominant theme found among the studies analyzed concerns the intersections between affects, emotions, and mobile media practices by refugees living in prolonged conditions of uncertainty - mobile technologies play an important role in refugees' maintaining interpersonal connections - they can also increase emotional stress among refugees
• The use of mobile technologies among refugees experiencing resettlement has been associated with social inclusion and opportunities to enhance access to relevant information that can nurture their daily lives. However, scholars claim that low levels of digital literacy among refugees, as well as socioeconomic, linguistic and cultural barriers can hinder their abilities to use ICTs for managing information efficiently
• Refugees tend to have high level of mobile phone use, but host societies and institutions lack adaptability to these tech-savvy users. Typically, services aimed at refugees do not profoundly engage with their literacies and needs or involve them in the design and implementation processes
• In the context of refugee health, mobile technologies can be used as an integrative part of face-to-face interventions. Considering the affordability and accessibility of mobile phones, scholars demonstrated that mental health apps and short messaging service (SMS) became complementary methods for monitoring mental health conditions among refugees

What is this research about?

This report is based on results from two online surveys (one for service providers and one for newcomers) supplemented by phone interviews with newcomers who have been unable to access remote services. The report outlines the extent to which the transition to online service delivery has impacted newcomers, especially those in vulnerable situations in the Toronto area.

What did the researchers find?

Researches confirmed there are emerging and persisting needs around access to technology for both service providers and newcomers. There is both digital divide among newcomers that has implications for how they can access digital services. In addition to a lack of technology access (devices and stable internet connections), researchers also noted language barriers, limited digital literacy, as well as concerns about privacy and security when accessing online services. They also found that services need to be made more accessible for newcomers.