Upon Arrıval

Hı,

When you read about ımmıgratıon ıssues ın Germany, France or the Netherlands for example, the dıscussıon often revolves around ıntegratıon. In Canada, perhaps owıng to our more loosely defıned sense of ıdentıty, the offıcıal lıne ıs one of multıculturalısm and the acceptance of all cultures alongsıde one and other.

I would be ınterested ın explorıng the extent to whıch dıfferent ımmıgrant groups ın Canada ıntegrate ınto "Canadıan" socıety. The lıne of questıonıng could start off wıth: In your opınıon, do recent ımmıgrants to Canada have access to the tools and/or programs necessary for them to begın contrıbutıng to both the Canadıan economy and socıety ın general? 1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Dısagree 5. Stongly Dısagree

Thoughts?

HI Jaime,

I completely agree with you about the importance of incorporating the concept of integration and immigration in our survey; however, I think the question you suggest may be just a bit overloaded...How about just asking whether 'recent immigrants to Canada have access tools/programs' necessary for them to adequately integrate into Canada?" The only part I'm concerned with is the aspect of newcomers contributing to both Canadian economy and society in general--this part seems too broad. What do you think?

Hey guys,

I was just wondering if the questions you guys are asking line up with Jaimie's objective which is to find out the extent to which different different immigrant groups in Canada integrate into Canadian society. Presumably all immigrant groups will have equal access to the tools/programs that allow them to integrate. And just to clarify by tools/ programs are we're referring to stuff like English classes, education on Canadian values, settlement programs right?

Aman, I think your question is important because it measures the adequacy of existing programs, but I think if we're going to understand Jaimie's objective, we need an additional question that measures the extent to which different immigrant groups feel integrated into Canadian society. I'm thinking the only way we can do this is by having two questions:

1) If you were born outside of Canada, what is your country/continent/area of origin? 2)Do you feel that you belong in Canadian society?

The second question is a bit tricky. I'm not really sure what the best wording would be for that question.

Anyways, I hope that makes sense. Let me know what you think.

Aman,

I like your rephrasing. Good call on being more direct by using the word integrate.

I think that in general, our survey might be more interesting if we pursue a line of questioning that asks about something the respondents already know. By that I mean I don't think we should have to preface our questions with stats that might sway their responses. For example, if we decide to tell respondents that there are x number of immigrants every year, they might think it a huge number when in reality it could be low relative to other years/other countries etc. Our own biases tend to come through the more context we try to provide as a preface.

Thoughts?

Jaime

Hey guys,

Although I think integration is a crucial aspect of immigration, I'm worried we're getting away from our topic: the Issue of Admission. I think any questions on integration would be best left to the "Issue of Settlement" group. Thoughts?

Jaime: Agreed. Let's refrain from using specific numbers for the reasons you mentioned.

Dana: You raise a good point. Hmm.. but on the other hand, immigrants (upon arrival) can also feel extremely overwhelmed and may require specific assistance right away (i.e. esl programs for example), in order to help them with the transition into settlement...I suppose we can ask if the respondent thinks the programs we have in place are adequate for when the immigrants first arrive...so they are then prepared for settlement? Or something along those lines..? Let me know what you all think!:)

I'm still not convinced about the "Upon Arrival" topic. Once immigrants (who have gone through the immigration application process, which presumably is what we're discussing) arrive onto Canadian soil, they have already been admitted. The only exception to this is asylum seekers, whose application to stay in Canada can be either accepted or rejected. Their "issue of admission" is still up for debate, but not for immigrants who have already been admitted by the Citizenship & Immigration Canada and are now physically in Canada. I really believe that our topic of admission ends once immigrants have arrived in Canada. Any questions regarding welcome programs, assistance, integration into society belong under settlement.

Just had a thought about your point, Aman. How about including a question related to integration/treatment of asylum seekers. The MV Sun Sea from Sri Lanka garnered a lot of press and attention last August so it's likely that respondents will have an opinion or at least have the incident relatively fresh in their minds. Maybe we could ask a question about the Sun Sea in particular, or asylum seekers that arrive in a similar manner.