On Resettled Refugee Integration in Canada (original) (raw)
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Summary on Resettled Refugee Integration in Canada
2011
This paper represents an overview and meta-analysis of existing research on refugee integration in Canada. The terms of reference for the work include three main components: 1) a summary of key research findings in sectors indicative of integration in Canada, such as labour force participation and income, housing careers, official language ability, and social links and practices; 2) the identification of research gaps related to refugee integration, especially as they pertain to age, gender, and diversity mainstreaming (AGDM); and 3) proposed areas of potential inquiry for UNHCR in future studies based on the findings.
Becoming Canadian: Conceptualizing Policy Approaches to Refugee Integration in Canada
2008
The integration of refugees into Canadian society goes beyond simple socio-economic measures of self sufficiency. While policy makers and academics often recognize the complex nature ofintegration, operational definitions tend to direct the focus of policy makers towards outcomes that measure successful settlement, over successful integration. This essay seeks to provide an operational definition that takes rights of citizenship as the foundational basis for integration over basic markers of success: employment, welfare, language etc. Such a definition must take into consideration the unique barriers refugees face as a result of past and present personal traumas and the structural rigidities of the immigration system. Creating an environment in which refugees gain access to their rights consequently allows them to participate in their own objective and subjective integration into Canada – and should be the chief objective of integration policy. As such, this essay suggests the strengthening of refugees human capital networks as a potential mechanism for achieving these goals.
For integration to work: Government assisted refugees in BC
2018
Briefly defined, economic integration is the "gradual process by which new residents become active participants in the economic…affairs of a new homeland" (CCR, 1998). The literature suggests this takes 12-15 years for refugees in Canada (Wilkinson & Garcia, 2017). Government assisted refugees often experience worse outcomes than other newcomers during this period. Several studies have investigated the divergence between groups to identify correlates with better outcomes, but few have evaluated practices that may rectify these differences. This paper attempts to fill this gap by evaluating policies for facilitating the integration of government assisted refugees in British Columbia. Three policy options are presented, which focus on labour market entry, income stability, independence, and skill development as foundations for longterm economic integration. As integration is complex and multifaceted, the options are designed to improve government assisted refugees' standing within five years rather than tackle all the challenges to integration refugees face.
International Journal of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education
Humans are on the move. As refugees are forced and flow over borders due to war, violence, upheaval, and opportunity, the value of their language and professional experience is constantly questioned and often dismissed. Past and present research holds that learning a new home country's language is the critical component in refugee adjustment, success, and connection (Chiswick & Miller, 1995; Kosyakova et al., 2022). Much attention is focused on providing basic language training to refugees as a path to self-sufficiency, but there is little focus on language training for specific professions of expertise to help refugees retain and contribute to highly skilled professions. With Refugees in Canada: On the Loss of Social and Cultural Capital, Ricento fills a void by examining the need to recognize the capital that refugees bring and the pressing demand to refocus the language curriculum to better support and promote professional transitions.
The integration of refugees into societies of the global north such as Canada and Germany has received limited public and scientific attention in the past. Since 2014, however, ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and in African nations such as Eritrea and Somalia, have triggered a massive increase of asylum seekers into Europe and led to considerable humanitarian commitments to resettlement in Canada; subsequently, attention on the topic has increased. Knowledge and in particular scientific evidence on integration trajectories and the risk and protective factors that inhibit or promote integration are sparse. Moreover, the void of international comparative studies in the extant literature poses a significant gap in research (Barslund et al., 2016; Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2016; Berry et al., 2006; Korntheuer, 2016; Korntheuer et al., 2017). With this publication we hope to support projects initiated within the Canadian German Research Coalition and to spark ideas for more com...
Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, 2019
There is little longitudinal research that directly compares the effectiveness of Canada's Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) and Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR) Programs that takes into account possible socio-demographic differences between them. This article reports findings from 1,921 newly arrived adult Syrian refugees in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. GARs and PSRs differed widely on several demographic characteristics, including length of time displaced. Furthermore, PSRs sponsored by Groups of 5 resembled GARs more than other PSR sponsorship types on many of these characteristics. PSRs also had broader social networks than GARs. Sociodemographic differences and city of residence influenced integration outcomes, emphasizing the importance of considering differences between refugee groups when comparing the impact of these programs.
Canada's Syrian Refugee Program, Intergroup Relationships and Identities
Canadian Ethnic Studies, 2018
This decade has seen a rapid escalation in forced migration. Never before has the world seen so many people forcibly displaced, both within their countries, and across international borders (UNHCR 2017). Those who are displaced across international borders as a result of violence and/or persecution, and whose country of origin cannot, or will not, protect them, are refugees. Not only has the number of refugees increased, but so too has the length of displacement for those in protracted situations (Devictor and Do 2016). Unfortunately, the number of refugees who find permanent solutions to this displacement (integration in the country of asylum, return to the country of origin, or resettlement in a third country) make up a tiny proportion of those who are displaced; only 765,500 out of 22.5 million refugees in 2016 (or 3.5%) achieved a permanent solution, of whom only 189,300 were offered resettlement (UNHCR 2017). It is therefore important to examine the conditions under which a greater number of permanent solutions are made possible, as models that could be taken up more broadly. Canada's initiative to permanently resettle a relatively large number of Syrian refugees is one such example, with Canada's unique private sponsorship model being of particular interest internationally as a way of increasing resettlement opportunities. The continuing conflict in Syria is just one of many current drivers of forced migration, but one that has displaced 6.6 million people internally, and 5.6 million across international borders in the past seven years (UNHCR 2018). In 2015, the newly elected Canadian federal Liberal government undertook a widely publicized initiative to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees under the slogan "Welcome Refugees." This initiative harkened back to the resettlement of 60,000 Indochinese refugees in Canada in 1979-1980, which marked the beginning of Canada's private sponsorship program (Labman 2016). Mirroring the earlier initiative, the Welcome Refugees program engaged large numbers of citizens, many as private sponsors, and garnered
Refugee Student Integration: A Focus on Settlement, Education, and Psychosocial Support
Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education
The rapid response to settle Syrian refugees in Canada has had a profound effect on communities, schools, and social service agencies. This article discusses a research program that examined the integration and settlement of Syrian children and youth in Winnipeg and Calgary. Through the examination of the school and community contexts, the research focused on the educational and psychosocial needs of re-settled Syrian refugees and the reciprocal learning between refugee, immigrant and Canadian-born students. With contributions from youth, parents, and relevant stakeholders, the research identified gaps in programming and services as well as promising practices that support newcomers. Issues surrounding trauma, interrupted schooling, separation and loss, racism and discrimination complicated the settlement and integration efforts. Findings indicate that Canadians and Canadian service providers have a major role in supporting the successful integration of refugees. Cultural support wo...
Structural Context of Refugee Integration in Canada and Germany
GESIS-Schriftenreihe, 2017
Der deutliche Anstieg von Asylsuchenden in Europa und die deutliche Ausweitung des Resettlementprogrammes in Kanada führen in Deutschland und Kanada zu neuen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen. Evidenzbasiertes Wissen muss in beiden Kontexten neu generiert werden, um Integration von Geflüchteten erfolgreich gestalten zu können. Von 2006 bis 2015 nahm Kanada 266.000 Personen als Flüchtlinge auf. Deutschland gewährte im gleichen Zeitraum 266.000 Asylbewerbern und Asylbewerberinnen Aufenthaltstitel und nahm zwischen 2012 und 2015 mehr als 40.000 Personen innerhalb humanitärer Aufnahmeprogramme auf. 2015 wurden in Deutschland mehr als 890.000 Asylsuchende registriert. Aktuell stehen nun beide Länder vor der großen Herausforderung, nicht nur die akute Notversorgung zu garantieren, sondern diesen Bevölkerungsgruppen Zugang zu allen wesentlichen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen zu ermöglichen. Um in diesem Prozess auch im internationalen Kontext voneinander lernen zu können, versucht diese P...