Reading Note #4: Introduction - Integration and Inclusion of Newcomers and Minorities Across Canada

*apologies for the late post - the week this posting was due I was having difficulty accessing Blogger and just remembered I never went back to post    

        This introductory chapter by Biles et al.,  (2011) focuses on the integration and inclusion of newcomers and minorities across Canada. Like most introductory chapters in any volume, this reading provides reasons as to why the authors believed this study was of merit as well as snippets of what would follow in the chapters that follow. One of the central arguments of this is that “the challenges involved in integration, belonging, and inclusion cannot be shouldered by newcomers alone” (p. 1). Canadians play a “vital role” in facilitating newcomer integration, immigration and inclusion though. Integration, the goal for newcomers, is not spontaneous and requires crucial government action and community cooperation. In order for governments to properly and effectively help new immigrants and minorities integrate, they must be aware of local conditions and learn about the real, lived-experiences of individuals who are trying to integrate and belong.

            There were a couple “strengths” of this article that stood out to me and justified this as a useful/worthwhile reading in my mind. Firstly, immigration (and diversity) continue to be a reality in Canadian society. Not only that, a push for attracting the “best” and most “desirable” immigrants remains. Though Canada has been considered a desirable nation to migrate to in the past, it is imperative that Canada (and Canadians) find ways to motivate these migrants to stay (and contribute to society) after they arrive. Understanding that efforts on our part can and do have a large effect is important and right to emphasize. Secondly, I fully support the notion that integration and inclusion efforts must come from all levels of government, individual Canadians and communities. I think all too often, the burden is still placed on newcomers to “figure things out” and they are blamed when they do not “succeed”. This attitude has led to a lot of hostility towards newcomers and migrants in the past and has only been detrimental to sustaining a unified nation. Though I enjoyed this article overall, I did long for some more discussion about specific provinces and municipalities and how they have handled integration/inclusion. The authors discussed the changes in settlement patterns, highlighting that the traditionally popular cities are no longer the hot spots but I feel like more discussion about this would have been appreciated. Much of the literature that exists on immigrant settlement patterns focus largely only on popular locations. Consequently, I feel like I know very little about how the Maritimes, for example, has dealt with immigration inclusion and integration in the past. Do they have different attitudes or approaches? Are migrants hesitant to move there because there is a history of poor integration efforts and perhaps even racist attitudes towards newcomers? Certainly studying the places where migrants normally move to is important, but I think it is equally important to consider locations that have been less desirable in the past or have become less desirable because this might shed some light on what these locations have done “wrong” in the past.

            In terms of this reading’s usefulness to my teaching practice, I think it is a great reminder that a lot can (and should) be done by teachers when it comes to helping to integrate and include our newcomer/minority students and their families. There are so many resources that exists within communities (working at the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa has reminded me of this!). Unfortunately, many new immigrants, non-native English speakers and minorities are not aware of these resources who would likely be able to help with their integration into a new community/country because no one is thinking to share this information explicitly with them. The one question that really came to mind while reading this article in terms of government intervention and facilitation of integration is whether some interventionist tactics are too assimilationist? Are there aspects of living that are more important to help immigrants integrate? In my opinion, there are certainly aspects of integration that we push for that are more for our benefit (and comfort) than for the benefit of newcomers so I think there is room to question some integration motives.

Biles, J., Burstein, M., Friederes, J., Tolley, E ., & Vineberg, R. (2011). The integration and

inclusion of newcomers and minorities across Canada. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.