Educator Gloria Ann Wesley reads from her children’s book “Abigail’s Wish”.
Related links
Loyalists in Canada
Book of Negroes
Category: Atlantic Provinces
NB, NS, PE and NF and Labrador
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"Abigail's Wish", a story about a young Black girl Loyalist new to Canada
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United Nations Human Rights Committee asks Canada to stop the deportation of former child refugee Abdilahi Elmi
I’ve added some links into the Media Release:
August 23, 2019
Media Contact: Emmanuel Onah, 780-281-0627
UN Calls on Canada to Halt Abdilahi Elmi’s Deportation
Edmonton, Toronto – The United Nations Human Rights Committee today called on Canada to halt Mr Abdilahi Elmi’s deportation while his case is under review by the UN Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr. Elmi’s deportation is currently scheduled for August 26th. Like the well-documented case of Mr. Abdoul Abdi, Mr Elmi was given refugee status as a child and then taken into state care which failed to apply for proper immigration documentation for him. Mr. Elmi left Somalia as a child, has no family there and does not speak Somali.
“Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale has the power to stop Mr Elmi’s deportation, and he must use it. It is clear that the primary reason that Mr Elmi faces deportation is because of collective systemic failures of the justice and child protection system, and these wrongs must be righted, starting with letting Elmi stay,” says Emmauel Onah of African Canadian Civic Engagement Council, one of the organizations part of the Justice for Elmi Campaign.
“Canada has an admirable track record of respecting interim measure requests from the United Nations Human Rights Committee to suspend removal while that Committee considers whether Canada’s intended action complies with its international human rights obligations. We would call on Canada to continue that tradition by respecting the request for interim measures issued today,” added Professor Audrey Macklin, University of Toronto Chair in Human Rights Law.
The full UN decision.
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12
On Canada Day, Pier 21 will host a screening of Lester Alfonso’s documentary “12“. This National Film Board (NFB) documentary tells the immigrant story as experienced by 12 twelve-year olds. Alfonso, who arrived in Canada at the age of 12 explores how arriving in a new land on the cusp on teenage-hood impacts identity. He interviews others who arrived also at the age of 12 and seeks to find, as he says, “12 lessons from my former self” (Source: 12 Trailer).
See the trailer on YouTube. -
Recent reports on immigrant women
Two recent research reports on immigrant women are:
Metropolis Canada releases Providing Services to Immigrant Women in Atlantic Canada: From the Abstract: “Immigrant women, like women everywhere, suffer violence and look for support to help them deal with it. This article describes some of the findings of research conducted in 2005 and 2006, which found that being an immigrant was a factor not only in immigrant women’s experiences of violence in Atlantic Canada, but also in their access to support services. Immigrant women and the professionals who provide services to them describe some of the barriers they face and conclude that fully funded and coordinated prevention and intervention programs and services to immigrant women are needed in Atlantic Canada”.
Atlantic Metropolis releases Integration Outcomes for Immigrant Women in Canada: A Review of the Literature 2000-2007” From the summary: “…a common thread throughout the literature is the centrality of care-giving or kin work in immigrant women’s lives. The majority of women come to Canada with their spouse or family, as family class or spouses or dependents of economic class immigrants and this has a direct impact on how to best understand immigrant women’s settlement experiences. The authors suggest that this experience is best understood from the perspective of their role and relationships within the family and that make her needs and barriers to integration uniquely gendered. They also suggest that literature about women’s integration should be examined from the perspective of care-giving or kin work as this provides for a more comprehensive picture of why immigrant women’s integration outcomes may be different from that of immigrant men…”.
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CIC funding announcement for Nova Scotia: Benefits children and families, says YMCA
The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration today announced 10.3 milliion in funding to support 3,000 immigrants to Nova Scotia. “We need new Canadians and we need to help them settle comfortably in our communities” said Peter MacKay, MP for Central Nova and federal Minister of National Defense and Atlantic Canada Opportunities agency.
YMCA VP for Community Outreach and Family Services, Brenda Millar, was pleased with the funding – some of it going to the YMCA:“Our YMCA programs help create stronger communities. We achieve this by helping immigrants settle in their new communities, as well as by educating members of our Nova Scotia communities about the issues and barriers that newcomers face in adjusting and adapting to a new language, culture, climate and community, while maintaining their own. With our special emphasis on programs for immigrant children/youth and their families, Citizenship and Immigration Canada ensures that we can promote diversity as part of building more inclusive communities”.
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Canadian Public Health Association conference: Sessions on immigrant children and families
The Canadian Public Health Association is holding its annual conference this year in Halifax, Nova Scotia from June 1-4. Sessions on or related to immigrant children and families include:
Immigrant and Migrant Health – I
Development of a framework to examine the determinants of health among Canadian immigrants, with Marie DesMeules
Studying intra-metropolitan health disparities in Canada: how and why globalization matters, with Ted Schrecker
Migration, Health and equity issues for Canada in the context of global migration, with Janet Hatcher Roberts
Using administrative data to analyze the health experience of African Nova Scotians, with Mikiko TerashimaFocus on Children’s Health
Children immigrants’ risk of physical inactivity according to family origin and length of residency, with Mathieu Bélanger
Immigrant and Migrant Health – II
Meanings of health, illness and help-seeking strategies among punjabi-speaking immigrants, with Beatrice McDonough
Migration and perinatal health surveillance: An international DELPHI survey, with Anita Gagnon
Migration to industrialized countries and perinatal health: A systematic review, with Anita Gagnon
Childbearing migrant women and equal access to research participation, with Amy Low
For more information, see the PDF program. -
10th Metropolis conference presentations available
The 10th annual Metropolis conference was held April 3-6 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A post on this blog, dated Dec 13/07, listed sessions, presentations, workshops and keynotes related to early childhood immigrant issues. PDFs and HTML versions of many of the presentations are now available at the Atlantic Metropolis site and searchable by topic or by presenter.
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Immigration: Quelling the conflict between French and English Canada?
At the annual Canadian Association of Principal’s Conference, currently being held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, keynote speaker Gwynne Dyer said:
“…federal immigration reforms since the 1960s have changed demographics in a way that is largely responsible for quelling the conflict between French and English Canada. It has essentially…saved this country as a political entity. These policies have resulted in classrooms in large urban centres with children with diverse culturally backgrounds, creating challenges for Canadian educators….It’s been a journey that’s occurred with remarkably little conflict. This is an extraordinary accomplishment, which you might want to bare in mind next time you deal with the downside”.
What do you say, educators? Is Gwynne right?
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Federal funding announcements galore!
There have been a rash of funding announcements from the federal government lately, including:
December 2007
Dec 17/07 “Minister Finley announces new federal commitments to help newcomers settle in Canada”, which includes a link to a handy at-a-glance chart showing the provincial/territorial breakdown of dollars from 05-06 to 08-09.
Dec 18/07 “Government of Canada supports Saskatchewan in attracting immigrants to the province”. Included in this announcement was the “Going to Canada” website that provides “links to information and services when planning a temporary stay or making Canada your new home”. The website is available in English and French. Not much info on children.
January 2008
Jan 7/08 “Government of Canada announces new funding for research on immigration and diversity”. The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Dr. Chad Gaffield, President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) jointly announced research funding of $7.5 million over five years for Metropolis, the Canadian arm of the international consortium of research centres on immigration and settlement.
Jan 18/08 “Government of Canada provides funding to help newcomers settle in the Peel region”. The funding will support the Peel Newcomer Strategy Group.
February 2008
Feb 1/08 “Government of Canada announces funding to help immigrants settle in Lethbridge“.
Feb 1/08 “Government of Canada joins partners in launching a Tool Box to help attract immigrants to smaller communities”. The Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Tool Box of Ideas for Smaller Centres was developed by the National Working Group on Small Centre Strategies.
Feb 8/08 “Government of Canada announces funding to help newcomers settle in the city of Toronto“. Included in this announcement, a mention of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), established in 2007 to help support internationally trained individuals in having their credentials assessed, recognzied and to find work in their chosen field.
Feb 19/08 ” Government of Canada invests to help immigrants settle in St. John’s“. In this announcement, something about/for immigrant children! A 3-day event, entitled Sharing Our Cultures is an annual event held to promote cross-cultural awareness among children and teachers. This year it will be held to coincide with March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Feb 20/08 “Government of Canada provides funding to help newcomers settle in Brantford“.
Feb 20/08 “Government of Canada provides funding to the Learning Enrichment Foundation to help newcomers in Toronto“.
Feb 21/08 “Government of Canada announces funding to help attract francophone immigrants to New Brunswick“. Funding went to Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick (SAANB).
Feb 22/08 “Government of Canada provides funding to help newcomers in North Bay“.