1962 - Elimination of Overt Racial Category from Immigration Law
1967 - Introduction of Point System, Focusing on Immigrants' Skills and Education
1976 - Immigration Act
Shift of Focus from Family-Class to Economic Class
Creation of Refugee Priorities
Allowance of Temporary Foreign Workers
Indo-Canadian Immigration
Gujarati Immigrants from Gujarat, from East Africa, and from Britain after World War II
1961-1982 - Approximately 32,000 East Indians arrived in Canada from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda
1970s and 1980s - Approximately 90,000 came from the British Caribbean
Sizable group of Sikh immigrants from Punjab to Canada since the 1990s
Indo-Canadian Immigrants: Push and Pull Factors
Push Factors
Political persecution in East Africa - In 1972, Uganda's president announced the expulsion of Asians from his country
Khalistan movement in Punjab
Rising population
Lack of opportunities
Ambition
Pull Factors
Canada's immigration policy
Relatives and family members
Business opportunities
Education
Indo-Canadian Community
Diverse in origin, religion, and language
Average income slightly lower than the Canadian average
Several prominent figures
Negative stereotyping (myth-making) against Sikhs
Fundamentalists vs. moderates
Political conflicts
Domestic violence
Arranged marriages
Tara Singh Hayer
Born in Punjab in 1936, came to Canada in 1970, and had a number of different jobs
Recognized journalist
Established Indo-Canadian Times in 1978
Criticized terrorism openly
Commemorated 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi
Criticized the Sikh Khalistan separatist movement - to create a separate nation in Punjab
Assassinated in Surrey, BC, 1998
Immigrants from Hong Kong
Push Factors
Return of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the UK to China (1997) - political and economic uncertainty (1987-1994)
Pull Factors
Canada's interest in economic-class immigrants
Investors' class - $250,000
Some returned to Hong Kong in the 2000s
About 300,000 Canadian citizens live in Hong Kong
Challenges for New Immigrants
Class Issues
Images of wealth - anti-Asian racism
Hong Kong immigrants and "monster houses" disputes in the 1990s
Deskilling issues
Transnational Life
Canadian-born generation moved to Hong Kong
Educating children in Canada
Seeking jobs in Hong Kong
Deskilling Issues
Gu Aman
15 of 30 Hong Kong women the author interviewed held professional, administrative, or quasi-professional positions in their home country, but only 3 were employed in similar fields prior to emigration
20 Chinese women she interviewed had been professionals in engineering, accounting, and teaching before they came to Canada, but only 3 of them were employed in professional positions in Canada
Kara Somerville and Scott Walsworth's study on the Greater Toronto Area
Statistics Canada
1980s immigrants earned more than those who came in the 1990s
Causes
Employers' unfamiliarity with the non-Western world
Language barriers
Centralization of immigration policy
Gender inequality in terms of skills and education
Immigrants from the Caribbean
Jamaicans
Sizable community in Nova Scotia and Ontario before World War II
Many students before 1960
Jamaican immigration to Canada (1973-1977) - family class
In 1976, the Immigration Act
Shifted focus to economic and refugee categories - impacts on Jamaicans
Haitians
Many students since 1967
Unstable political situation in Haiti - immigration peaked in 1980 and 1981 - many settled in Quebec (French-speaking)
Live-in Caregiver Program (1992-)
Shortage of domestic workers in Canada
Requires Grade 12 education
A working knowledge of English or French
Minimum 12-month full-time training
Live with employers for 2 years
Attracted many migrants from the Caribbean initially but were replaced by immigrants from the Philippines in the 1990s:
99% female
Approximately 74% were from the Philippines in 1997
Approximately 85% were from the Philippines in 2010
More than 60% had a bachelor's degree, and approximately 30% a college diploma
Challenges (Tami Friesen, 2003)
Excessive or unpaid work
Inadequate accommodation and food
Difficulty in changing employer
Pressures - Michel Foucault
Race, gender, and class - crossroad of discrimination
Labour Transition (Ethel Tungohan, et al., 2005)
Difficulty in participating in the labour market as former caregivers
Filipina Feminist Organization's survey
45% of caregivers remained in this occupation for 4 to 6 years
Challenges in upgrading skills - financial issues and length of time
Pressures as the sole source of family income
Networking and community ties
Majority decided to stay in Canada
African Immigrants
Push Factors
Famine
Ethnic conflicts
Independence
1970s - British and Portuguese settlers from Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to Canada and South Africa
Family or refugee classes rather than economic class
1980s and 1990s - 80% of African refugees from Ethiopia and Somalia
1981 - African-born immigrants - 0.19%
Muslims
Pre-World War era - approximately 700-800 European Muslims
First Islamic seminary in North America established for the study of Islamic religion by an East Indian in Cornwall, Ontario, in 1983 - rise of community
