Human migration is a global phenomenon and is on the increase. It occurs as a result of 'push' factors (asylum, natural disaster), or as a result of 'pull' factors (seeking economic or educational improvement). Whatever the cause of the relocation, the outcome requires individuals to adjust to their new surroundings and cope with the stresses involved, and as a result, there is considerable potential for disruption to mental health. This volume explores all aspects of migration, on all scales, and its effect on mental health. It covers migration in the widest sense and does not limit itself to refugee studies. It covers issues specific to the elderly and the young, as well as providing practical tips for clinicians on how to improve their own cultural competence in the work setting. The book will be of interest to all mental health professionals and those involved in establishing health and social policy.
"Becoming a Citizen is a terrific book. Important, innovative, well argued, theoretically significant, and empirically grounded. It will be the definitive work in the field for years to come."—Frank D. Bean, Co-Director, Center for Research on Immigration, Population and Public Policy "This book is in three ways innovative. First, it avoids the domestic navel-gazing of U.S .immigration studies, through an obvious yet ingenious comparison with Canada. Second, it shows that official multiculturalism and common citizenship may very well go together, revealing Canada, and not the United States, as leader in successful immigrant integration. Thirdly, the book provides a compelling picture of how the state matters in making immigrants citizens. An outstanding contribution to the migration and citizenship literature!"—Christian Joppke, American University of Paris
Recent immigrants and refugees — both children and their families — often struggle to adapt to Canadian education systems. For their part, educators also face challenges when developing effective strategies to help these students make smooth transitions to their new country. In Immigrant and Refugee Students in Canada, researchers join educators and social workers to provide a thorough and wide-ranging analysis of the issues at the preschool, elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels. By understanding these issues within the unique Canadian context, educators can work more effectively with newcomers trying to find their way. This book pursues three lines of inquiry: What are the main challenges that immigrant and refugee children and families face in the Canadian education system? What are the common aspects of successful intervention? What can we learn from the narratives of researchers, educators, social workers, and other frontline workers who work with immigrant and refugee families?
This volume on the resilience, commitment, and survival of refugees brings together the latest research and insights from 32 authors across multiple disciplines, united in their pursuit of social justice for the economic, social, and political rights of refugees. The book adopts a reflexive and relational stance without compromising the rigour and quality of research to allow the reader to appreciate the shared and distinct immigration and (re)settlement experiences of refugees and their communities in all of their complexity. This book will be a valuable resource to, and a source of reflection for, researchers, educators, students, service providers, and policymakers who are committed to envisioning Canada as a country where all newcomers feel rooted and safe.
Immigration is one of the major policy issues for the governments of Australia and Canada in the 1990s. This detailed comparative study describes Australian and Canadian migration patterns and policies and places them within the broader context of international population movements. As well as analyzing policies adopted by the two countries to foster social cohesion, some chapters also consider the economic and environmental consequences of immigration on their host countries. There are chapters on racism, ethnicity, language, aging, economic status, education, and the effects of immigration on crime. (Note: There is no set ISBN. The ISBN shown above is for Volume I; the ISBN for Volume II is 0-8020-7609-2.) Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
"In June 2007, the Fraser Institute held a conference in Toronto, Ontario, titled, "Immigration Policy, Border Controls, and the Terrorist Threat In Canada and the United States."The chapters in this volume, which arose from this conference, raise fundamental questions about weaknesses in Canada's current immigration policies and procedures." "The contributors to this volume identify serious threats and weaknesses in the immigration, asylum, and border regimes from both Canadian and American perspectives. The authors are not opposed to effectively managed immigration or allowing genuine refugees who pose no security threat to enter the country through a well-vetted system. All believe that the vast majority of immigrants pose no danger, but are simply seeking to improve their freedom and prosperity. Nevertheless given the stakes raised by terrorist attacks, the entry of even a small number of potentially dangerous individuals should warrant major attention and policy review."--BOOK JACKET.
During the Cold War, more than 36,000 individuals entering Canada claimed Czechoslovakia as their country of citizenship. A defining characteristic of this migration of predominantly political refugees was the prevalence of anti-communist and democratic values. Diplomats, industrialists, politicians, professionals, workers, and students fled to the West in search of freedom, security, and economic opportunity. Jan Raska’s Czech Refugees in Cold War Canada explores how these newcomers joined or formed ethnocultural organizations to help in their attempts to affect developments in Czechoslovakia and Canadian foreign policy towards their homeland. Canadian authorities further legitimized the Czech refugees’ anti-communist agenda and increased their influence in Czechoslovak institutions. In turn, these organizations supported Canada’s Cold War agenda of securing the state from communist infiltration. Ultimately, an adherence to anti-communism, the promotion of Canadian citizenship, and the cultivation of a Czechoslovak ethnocultural heritage accelerated Czech refugees’ socioeconomic and political integration in Cold War Canada. By analyzing oral histories, government files, ethnic newspapers, and community archival records, Raska reveals how Czech refugees secured admission as desirable immigrants and navigated existing social, cultural, and political norms in Cold War Canada.
"September 11, 2001, marked the end of innocence for Canada's ill-conceived, poorly run, and highly partisan immigration and refugee programs. In a tightly argued book sure to inspire controversy, Daniel Stoffman debunks the myths surrounding Canadian immigration and offers well-founded suggestions for change. " A Chinese fishing boat is intercepted off the British Columbia coast. The 123 people on board, seeking to enter Canada illegally, are arrested, then given taxpayers' money and legal representation. They apply for refugee status. Pending their hearings, they disappear. Welcome to Canada. An Algerian man is searched disembarking from a ferry from Victoria, B.C., to Port Angeles, Wash. His rental car turns out to contain explosives he plans to use to blow up the Los Angeles airport. The man turns out to be an al-Qaeda-trained terrorist bearing a Canadian passport in a false name. The terrorism of September 11, 2001, turned an intense spotlight on Canada's lax immigration and refugee programs. "The longest undefended border in the world" became, for the United States, a pressing security concern, and for good reason. Canada is the most immigrant-friendly country in the world, accepting (on a per capita basis) twice as many immigrants as the next most welcoming nation, many of them people about whom little is known. Canada's immigration program used to be run in the national interest. Now it belongs to those who benefit from it, either politically (most newcomers vote Liberal, so the Liberals use immigration to increase support) or economically (a whole industry has grown up around immigration, refugee, and multicultural issues). "Who Gets In" shows how this came about, explains why it's contrary to the national interest, and suggests ways to fix the mess. Daniel Stoffman points out that our immigration policy is based on two false premises: that immigration provides substantial economic benefits and that we need a huge influx of younger people to offset the aging of our population. Both assumptions he persuasively refutes. Add political correctness, diversity masquerading as multiculturalism, and a voting public that has not yet made immigration an election issue, and presto: you have the most generous, insecure, and muddled immigration system in the world. Like most Canadians, Stoffman heartily supports responsible immigration and a compassionate refugee program. We have neither, he argues, and it's time for Canadians to demand of their leaders that this most important program be rescued from political partisanship and returned to the foundations of national interest and humanitarianism on which it was built.
