“Policy Options“, the publication of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) has several stories on immigration and immigration policy in their June 2008 issue. We are pleased that 2 of the reports touch on issues related to immigrant children and families, although slightly disappointed in an article by Robin Sears.
Sears writes on the history of immigration policy in “Canada: If you build it, people will come” and notes that Canada received thousands of “guest children” during WWII in order to provide them with “safe haven”, but neglects to report on the shameful accounts of the 100,000 “home children” who were brought to Canada to serve the nation’s workforce needs.
Nik Nanos provides analysis on a recent poll in “Nation building through immigration: Workforce skills come out on top” and reports that “four Canadians in five thought family reunification was important or somewhat important”.
Category: Research
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Recent research/reports on immigration
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The New Canadian Child & Youth Study
The latest issue of the Metropolis Bulletin, The Bridge, re-releases an article on the New Canadian Child and Youth Study. The article was originally published in 2005.
The New Canadian Children and Youth Study (NCCYS) is a longitudinal study of 4,000 immigrant and refugee children living in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. The objectives of the study are to:Compare the physical health, mental health and functioning of immigrant and refugee children with the majority culture children participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY)
Identify and describe psychosocial developmental issues common to all children as well as those specific to immigrant and refugee populations
Investigate the effects of immigration vs. refugee status on children’s health and well-beingCompare mental health risk factors for immigrant and refugee children with NLSCY childrenInvestigate the effects of visible minority status on immigrant and refugee children’s integration, development and mental health
Investigate, cross-sectionally and over time, the effects of the like-ethnic community, and of the receiving society on children’s integration and mental health
Describe the evolution of personal identity (including ethnic community and peer effects)
Examine intrafamilial risk and protective factors for children’s well-being
Examine regional effects on resettlement and adaptation.Researchers in the NCCYS are:
Morton Beiser, University of Toronto and CERIS, The Ontario Metropolis Centre
Linda Ogilvie, University of Alberta
Joanna Anneke, Hospital for Sick Children and CERIS Director
Robert Armstrong, Child and Family Research Institute
Jacqueline Oxman-Martinez, Centre for Applied Family Studies. -
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. -
SSHRC Strategic knowledge clusters – 11 new research initiatives
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) announced funding of 2.1 Million for 11 new Strategic Knowledge Clusters last week. Funding continues for the next 7 years.
In announcing the funding, the Minister of Industry, the Honourable Jim Prentice said “Canadian scholars and researchers will continue to produce world-class results so that we, as a country, may use this knowledge to enhance the quality of life of all Canadians“.
Chad Gaffiled, President of SSHRC said “These talented researchers will help advance understanding of complex issues in our society and inform decision makers in government, business and communities across Canada”.
Of the 11 newly funded initiatives, these 3, of interest and relevance to the Early Childhood Working Group and Canadian Coalition for Immigrant Children and Youth:Canadian Forum for Public Research on Heritage, with Luc Noppen, Université du Québec à Montréal
Canadian Refugee Research Network, with Susan McGrath, York University
Strategic Knowledge Cluster on Early Childhood Development, with Michel Bovin, Université Laval.The three are clearly linked and we look forward to the work undertaken and especially to the linkages that must be made among them, if the knowledge clusters are to, as Gaffield says “advance understanding of complex issues” and as the Minister of Industry emphasized “to enhance the quality of life of all“.
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Graduate program in refugee and migration studies at York University
York University offers a graduate diploma program in Refugee and Migration Studies. Coordinated by the Refugee Studies program at York, the program allows students in a graduate program at York to specialize in migration and refugee studies. The program encourages students to consider how they can best serve both the Canadian and international communities in this area of public and humanitarian policy.
The Centre for Refugee Studies at York University is “engaged in research on refugee issues which inform public discussion, policy development and practice for international, governmental, advocacy and service organizations. The Centre also supports teaching in refugee and migration studies”.
For more information, see the Centre for Refugee Studies page at York U. -
Developing positive identities: Young children and diversity
The Bernard van Leer Foundation has released a resource on the theory and evidence of how identity can be impacted by adversity, discrimination and diversity in early childhood, entitled Developing Positive Identities: Young Children and Diversity.
This release is the latest in the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Early Childhood in Focus series. Earlier editions were Attachment Relationships: Quality of Care for Young Children and Early Childhood and Primary Education: Transitions in the Lives of Young Children. -
On new shores: Int'l forum on issues of immigrant and refugee children, youth and families
The 2008 On New Shores: International Forum on Issues of Immigrant and Refugee Children, Youth and Families conference program is available. This is a tentative program, but we are thrilled to see so many sessions devoted to young immigrant children and their parents/families.
The conference will be held Nov 6-7/08 in Guelph, Ontario and is sponsored by Dr. Susan Chuang, Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph.
Some of the events, sessions and workshops with Canadian content include:Thurs. Nov 6th, Session 2:
Z Sonia Worotynec, Canadian Coalition for Immigrant Children and Youth, Valerie Rhomberg, Canadian Mothercraft Society and Ken Setterington, Toronto Public Library on The Children’s Picture Book as Immigrant Literature.
Poster sessions:
Alka Burman, Early Literacy Consultant, Peel Region: Providing an Anti-Bias Environment.
Fri. Nov 7th Keynote:
Janice MacAuley, Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs, Dr. Susan Chuang, FRAN, University of Guelph, Christopher Friesen, Canadian Immigration Settlement Sector Alliance: The Canadian Way: Welcoming Immigrant and Refugee Families.
Fri. Nov 7th Session 4:
Judith Bernhard, Ryerson University: Por necesidad: Challenges of Multi-Local Parenting.
Mehru Ali, Ryerson University: Loss of Self-Effacacy among Immigrant Parents.
Roma Chumak-Horbatsch, Ryerson University and mylanguage.ca and Z Sonia Worotynec, Canadian Coalition for Immigrant Children and Youth: Immigrant Children in Toronto Child Care Centres: A Language Profile.
Visit Dr. Chuang’s webpage at the University of Guelph for more information. -
Graduate student awards from CERIS
The Joint Centre of Excellence in Immigration and Settlement (CERIS), the Ontario Metropolis Centre, is accepting applications from Ontario graduate students (Masters and Doctoral levels) for a graduate student research award. The award is to support research related to immigration and settlement that is Greater Toronto Area or Ontario-focused. Ten awards of up to $500 are available.
See the CERIS website for information and the application form.
Deadline is May 20/08. -
Call for papers: Migration, policy and society
Statistics Canada Research Data Centre (RDC) has issued a call for proposals for their 6th annual conference, Oct 17-18/08 to be held in Ottawa. The theme this year is international and internal migration. The conference will be hosted by the Carleton Ottawa Outaouais Local (COOL) at the University of Ottawa.
Deadline is May 9/08.
For more info, see either the COOL site or the RDC site. -
childtrafficking.org updated
childtrafficking.org, hosted by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre has updated its digital library and added the 2007 report by Save the Children UK, Legacy of Disasters: The Impact of Climate Change on Children. From the report:
“Overall, natural disasters are likely to lead to unprecedented numbers of ‘environmental refugees’ or ‘environmentally displaced people’. Regions that rely most heavily on agriculture will be most affected; environmental migration is already most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, but millions of people in Asia and India are also on the move.
“The UN estimates that by 2010 there will be 50 million such people worldwide. Given the demographics of the countries most likely to be affected and the traditional composition of displaced populations, most environmentally displaced people will be women and children”.Visit childtrafficking.org or Save the Children UK to read the report.