ImmigrantChildren.ca Archive

Author: marcocampana

  • 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

    Nov 20th is National Child Day in Canada and International Children’s Day across the world. It marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights instrument in the world. The Convention lays out the rights all children everywhere have in the rights of provision, the rights of protection, and the rights of participation. In 1990, Canada co-hosted the World Summit for Children, which launched the Convention.

    Two related conferences, coming up, are worth exploring:

    The University of Ottawa is hosting a symposium of the Interdisciplinary Research Labratory on the Rights of the Child, Nov 18-20, 2009. The symposium will examine children’s right to participation. The symposium will consider how to integrate the views of children into research. From the conference website: “Research results that more effectively reflect the views of children will assist child-service and child-protection organizations in improving the intervention policies and practices targeting their young clients”.
    The University of Victoria, along with the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), the British Columbia Association of Family Resource Programs and the British Columbia Association of Infant Development Consultants will host a conference Feb 4-6, 2010 entitled “The Rights of The Child” to be held at the Fairmount Express.
    Selected related links:

    Related immigrantchildren.ca post: Best Interests of the immigrant, refugee, culturally diverse child.

  • Education for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers

    From the Child Rights Information Network listserv: The annual report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education to be presented to the Human Rights Council in 2010 will focus on the right to education of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.
    The focus of the report will be on people of all ages living outside the country in which they hold citizenship. The principle of non-discrimination and the right to an education is framed within the four components of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability.
    This information will be collected via a survey. Submissions to vernormu@yahoo.es or to Vernor Munoz, PO Box 1245 ? 1007, Centro Colon, Costa Rica.  Deadline is January 20, 2010.

  • Federal funding for projects promoting integration

    The Department of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism are entertaining proposals for projects “Promoting Integration*“.
    Program Objectives:

    1. Ethno-cultural/racial minorities participate in public decision-making (civic participation) To assist in the development of strategies that facilitate full and active participation of ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious communities in Canadian society.
    2. Communities and the broad public engage in informed dialogue and sustained action to combat racism (anti-racism/anti-hate/cross-cultural understanding) To increase public awareness, understanding and informed public dialogue about multiculturalism, racism, and cultural diversity in Canada.To facilitate collective community initiatives and responses to ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious conflict and hate-motivated activities.
    3. Public institutions eliminate systemic barriers (institutional change) To improve the ability of public institutions to respond to ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious diversity by assisting in the identification and removal of barriers to equitable access and by supporting the involvement of these ethno-racial/cultural communities in the public decision-making process.

    Program Priorities

    1. Program Priorities:Support the economic, social, and cultural integration of new Canadians and cultural communities. Emphasis will be placed on projects which aim to: assist new Canadians and cultural communities to gain knowledge and skills for economic, social, and cultural integration and civic engagement; provide opportunities and support for the involvement of new Canadians and cultural communities to work in partnerships with various stakeholders towards identifying and resolving issues affecting them (schools, social services, employment, recognition of foreign credentials, justice systems, policing, media, etc.); improve the ability of public institutions to respond to, and integrate, ethnic, racial, cultural, and religious diversity by assisting in the identification and removal of barriers to equitable access.
    2. Facilitate programs such as mentorship, volunteerism, leadership, and civic education among at-risk cultural youth Areas of emphasis include projects that will: assist cultural youth at-risk to gain self-confidence, knowledge, and skills for participation and civic engagement (volunteerism); provide opportunities for youth through partnerships with their peers, adults, and community leaders as well as through mentorship initiatives, to gain practical learning experience and develop the skills necessary to contribute to the economic, social and cultural life of their communities; assist in addressing the root causes of cultural youth marginalization, detachment, and radicalization; assist youth in responding to racism and hate-motivated activities.
    3. Promote inter-cultural understanding and Canadian values (democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law) through community initiatives, with the objective of addressing issues of cultural social exclusion (parallel communities) and radicalization. Areas of emphasis include projects that will: foster interaction between different communities and support cross-sector collaboration in community-based projects to build and shape an inclusive and respectful society; facilitate collective community initiatives and responses to combat ethnic, racial, cultural and religious conflicts and hate-motivated activities; support community-based initiatives designed to facilitate inter-faith dialogue and increase understanding of the place of religion in Canada in order to combat ignorance and faulty assumptions and foster constructive and informed dialogue about multiculturalism, religions, racism, cultural diversity, and Canadian values; encourage activities aimed at reaching society at large to facilitate inter-cultural understanding and address the cultural social exclusion of some communities; increase awareness and understanding of racism and discrimination and take action to foster equal opportunities for all people; reduce or eliminate factors contributing to exclusion, disenchantment, and radicalization.

    *Still no official definition of “integration” from the Federal government.

  • Call for survey participation: HR implications in early childhood education

    The Child Care Human Resources Sector Council (CCHRSC) is undertaking a research project examining the human resource implications of emerging issues in early childhood education.
    The research project includes conducting preliminary research on emerging issues in ECEC including involvement of the formal education sector, the inclusion of children with special needs, the inclusion of children from varying socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, school-age and family-home care.
    Project team members are inviting participation in an online survey. If you have any questions, please contact Kathleen Flanagan or Jane Beach at kathleen.flanagan@yahoo.ca or janebeach@shaw.ca.
    The survey closes at midnight Nov 13/09.

  • Auditor-General raises concerns about Canadian immigration policy/system

    Auditor-General Sheila Fraser has raised serious questions around Canada’s immigration policies and system.
    Specifically, the temporary worker program (TFW) is, according to Fraser, growing in spite of internal concerns of fraud and abuse. One of the criticisms is that employers are using the program to bring in their relatives, she claims.
    From the Globe & Mail: “It looks a little suspicious on the face of it,” citing a scenario in which a small business with revenues of $20,000 could sponsor an employee – who is also a relative – at a $40,000 salary.

    “The report notes that Canadian immigration is moving away from a federal system in which points are awarded to applicants with high-level skills. Instead, Ottawa is handing over more responsibility for immigration to the provinces with little knowledge of who the provinces are bringing in.
    “The Auditor-General also reviewed the impact of controversial new powers awarded to Canada’s immigration minister that were included and passed as part of the Conservative government’s 2008 budget bill.
    “We found that the Department [of Citizenship and Immigration] has made a number of key decisions in recent years without properly assessing their costs and benefits, potential risks, and likely impact on programs,” Ms. Fraser told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “Some of these decisions have caused a significant shift in the types of foreign workers being admitted permanently to Canada. There is little evidence that this shift is part of any well-defined strategy to best meet the needs of the Canadian labour market.”
    Source: Globe and Mail online, November 3/09.

  • Now we are 2: immigrantchildren.ca celebrates its 2nd anniversary

    Nov 3/09 marks the 2nd anniversary of immigrantchildren.ca. Although the blog seems quiet (not a lot of comments), I see through the blog stats that people do come. Welcome. Enjoy. Feedback, criticisms, observations always welcome. Comment here, or contact me at zs dot worotynec at utoronto dot ca.

  • Liberal Pink Book, Vol III: An action plan for Canadian women

    The Liberal Party of Canada released yesterday their Pink Book, Volume III: An Action Plan for Canadian Women. I tweeted overall disappointment in not addressing immigration issues and specifically that there was no discussion or proposal for improving the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program that brings women to Canada as nannies to provide child care for Canadian women (often leaving behind their own children in the process).
    The third volume in the Pink Book series does make commitments on child care and on a “national care-giving strategy” (p. 8) but doesn’t connect the dots. Here’s what they say about early learning and child care, under the general heading of Women in the Economy:

    “The National Liberal Women’s Caucus recommends that a new federal Liberal government: Work with the provinces and territories to build a system of affordable, accessible and high-quality early learning and childcare spaces across the country, including programs to meet the unique needs of rural families” (p. 6).

    Continuing in the same category, they propose to “Establish a ‘Bridging-to-Employment’ program covering the first 6 weeks of salary for new immigrant and visible minority women employees. Workplace educational programs should also be expanded to help break down existing racial and gender stereotypes” (p. 7).
    The problem with these policy directions include not recognizing that much of the patchwork that is the child care system in Canada is provided by immigrant women in the informal, unlicensed sector.  Canada brings in TFWs/nannies to address labour shortages. The human resource issues in regulated child care are numerous and are being examined by a federal body, but again, there is no link made in this third volume of policies to improve life for women in Canada.
    A truly comprehensive plan for women in Canada requires reconciling immigration policy that exploits migrant women workers, does not deliver ‘high-quality’ early learning, and furthers racial and gender stereotypes with the plans to create an affordable, accessible and high quality system. The overlaps and gaps are clear.
    An interesting piece is the attention paid to language in legislation, including a commitment to change foreign policy wording of “children in armed conflict” to “child soldiers”. Curious.

  • Call for papers: Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS)

    The Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario will host the 3rd annual conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS) from May 6-8, 2010.

    From the call, as posted on the forced migration discussion listserv*:

    “In recent years, the idea of change has charged political debate in countries around the world and has, in some cases, catalyzed the election of new governments and the creation of innovative programs and policies. This period has also been one of significant change for the field of forced migration.  New policies and increasingly securitized perceptions of forced migration have created new practices such as interdiction, detention and expedited deportation that have changed the protection landscape in both the global North and South. At the same time as scholars have questioned the labelling and bureaucratic categorization of forced migrants, the United Nations has piloted new approaches to improve the protection and assistance available to members of traditionally marginalized categories, particularly internally displaced persons. Massive displacement in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis raised the profile of environmental refugees as an issue predicted to grow in importance as the impacts of climate change become increasingly evident. In Canada, the government has recently announced that it is preparing a package of changes to the refugee determination system, including the fast-tracking of claims from countries that are generally considered safe. As a precursor to more sweeping anticipated changes, the government has already imposed visa requirements on Mexico and the Czech Republic in an attempt to stem the flow of refugee claimants from those countries.
    “The 2010 CARFMS Conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, displaced persons and advocates from diverse disciplinary and regional backgrounds to discuss the changes and challenges faced in the field of forced migration. We invite participants from a wide range of perspectives to explore the practical, experiential, policy-oriented, legal and theoretical questions raised by different processes of change affecting forced migrants at the local, national, regional and international levels.
    “Proposals are being sought from the following broad sub-themes:

    • Asylum, protection and durable solutions: Needs, current practices and prospects for reform
    • Theorizing the changing field of forced migration
    • Experiencing displacement: Changes and challenges”.

    250-word abstracts for proposed conference papers and panels are due by January 29, 2010 and must be submitted via the conference website. For more information, contact Heather Johnson – johnsohl@mcmcaster.ca.
    * The Forced Migration Discussion List is moderated by the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), University of Oxford. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the RSC or the university.

  • Hold the date! On new shores, 4th annual U of Guelph conference, Sept 30-Oct 1/10

    Dr. Susan Chuang is the organizer behind the annual “On New Shores: Understanding Immigrant Children” conference at the University of Guelph. Dr. Chuang and the University of Guelph will host the 4th annual On New Shores conference from Sept 30-Oct 1, 2010. immigrantchildren.ca will post calls for workshop and presenter proposals as soon as they are released.

  • ECE professional development conference, Toronto

    Toronto Children’s Services and the School of Early Childhood Education at George Brown College are partnering to present Raising the Bar, Lifting the Field, a professional development event for early childhood practitioners on Dec 2/09 in Toronto at the BMO Institute for Learning.
    Several sessions will be of interest to immigrantchildren.ca readers, including:

    • Inclusion and family support: Promoting diversity in your community. This session, led by Patricia Hunt, Family Supports Institute Ontario, will address LGBTQ issues.
    • Toronto childcare centres: A Language profile. Dr. Roma Chumak-Horbatsch, of mylanguage.ca, will present findings from a 2008 study conducted in collaboration with Toronto Children’s Services.
    • Developmentally inappropriate practice? The Role of reflective practice in supporting inclusion. Lisa Phyllis, Early Years Coordinator for Humber College will expand practitioners understanding of how to create and maintain inclusive environments.