Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are over 140 languages and dialects are spoken here, and just over 30 per cent of Toronto residents speak a language other than English or French at home. The top non-official home languages were: Chinese, Tamil, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
“Visible minority” is defined by Statistics Canada as “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour”
Background
Immigration to Canada can extends back thousands of years. The Inuit are believed to have arrived entirely separately from other indigenous peoples around 1200. Indigenous peoples contributed the culture and economy of the early European colonies and played an important role in fostering a unique Canadian cultural identity.
Immigration since the 1970s has overpoweringly of visible minorities from the developing world, since restrictions on non-white immigration was altogether removed, starting when Lester B. Pearson was prime minister with the revised Immigration Act, 1967. Currently, most immigrants come from South Asia and China and this trend is expected to continue.
Prior to 1885, restrictions on immigration were imposed mostly in response to large waves of immigration rather than planned policy decisions. The first Chinese Head Tax legislation passed in 1885, which was in response to a growing number of Chinese working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Subsequent increases in the head tax in 1900 and 1903 limited Chinese entrants to Canada. In 1923 the government passed the Chinese Immigration Act which excluded Chinese from entering Canada altogether between 1923 and 1947.
Statistics (please refer to chapter 2 of the text)
In 2001, 250,640 people immigrated to Canada. Based on the Canada 2001 Census total population of 30,007,094 people, immigration represented 0.834% population growth that year. On a compounded basis, that immigration rate represents 8.7% population growth over 10 years, or 23.1% over 25 years (or 6.9 million people). Since 2001, immigration has ranged between 221,352 and 262,236 immigrants per annum.[8] According to Canada’s Immigration Program (October 2004) Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world,[9] although statistics in the CIA World Factbook show that a number of city states and small island nations, as well as some larger countries in regions with refugee movements, have higher per capita rates.[10]
The three main official reasons given for the high level of immigration are:
A. The social component – Canada facilitates family reunification.
B. The humanitarian component – Relating to refugees.
C. The economic component – Attracting immigrants who will contribute economically and fill labour market needs (See related article, Economic impact of immigration to Canada).
There are three main immigration categories:
Economic immigrants
Citizenship and Immigration Canada uses several sub-categories of economic immigrants. The high-profile Skilled worker principal applicants group comprised 19.8% of all immigration in 2005.Canada has also created a VIP Business Immigration Program which allows immigrants with sufficient business experience or management experience to receive the Permanent Residency in a shorter period than other types of immigrations. The Province of Quebec has program called the Immigrant Investor Program [8]
Family class
Under a government program, both citizens and permanent residents can sponsor family members to immigrate to Canada.
Refugees
Immigration of refugees and those in need of protection.
Illegal immigration in Canada
There is no credible information available on illegal immigration in Canada. Estimates range between 35,000 and 120,000 illegal immigrants in Canada.
Issues involved
These cities are experiencing increased services demands that accompany strong population growth, causing concern about the capability of infrastructure in those cities to handle the influx. For example, a Toronto Star article published on 14 July 2006 authored by Daniel Stoffman noted that 43% of immigrants move to the Greater Toronto Area and said “unless Canada cuts immigrant numbers, our major cities will not be able to maintain their social and physical infrastructures”.[11] Opinions on how to address funding shortfalls vary, with others not citing immigration reduction as a solution. A public consultation by Mayor David Miller of Toronto, for example, emphasizes a better distribution of responsibilities among the three levels of government, and new funding models to address the concern.[12] Most of the provinces that do not have one of those destination cities have implemented strategies to try to boost their share of immigration.
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Obviously, the fee made it costly, and therefore harder, for Chinese immigrants to come to Canada. But it also had the side effect of separating families – some could only afford to send one family member to Canada, who would save money to fetch the rest. But, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was implemented in 1923, families were then separated for extended periods of time, as long as 20 years in some cases. Chinese-Canadians were offended by the act, and observed July 1 as “Humiliation Day,” closing shops and boycotting Dominion Day celebrations. It made many Chinese-Canadians feel like second-class citizens. Obviously, the fee made it costly, and therefore harder, for Chinese immigrants to come to Canada. But it also had the side effect of separating families – some could only afford to send one family member to Canada, who would save money to fetch the rest. But, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was implemented in 1923, families were then separated for extended periods of time, as long as 20 years in some cases. Chinese-Canadians were offended by the act, and observed July 1 as “Humiliation Day,” closing shops and boycotting Dominion Day celebrations. It made many Chinese-Canadians feel like second-class citizens.
Due to lots of immaginat, heavy duty to services of health, education (like ESL for English as a Second Language), jobs, welfare, lot of money of welfare in refugees, city plan and facilities and crimes grown. Another way, the imagines help on economic development, like new house demend, small business grown, minopoty build up their community and poperty (land) grown and businese groet. Toronto start to delopment more north.
About two-thirds of the Chinese immigrants who came to B.C. during the last five years did not possess adequate English language ability at the time of landing. A majority of them spoke Cantonese and Mandarin as their mother tongue. As a result of the high concentration of Chinese immigrants in the family and independent worker classes, education qualifications of recent Chinese immigrants were somewhat polarized. Of those Chinese immigrants aged 20 or older who came to B.C.
during the last five yeas, 42 per cent had a secondary or lower education while 35 per cent had a bachelor degree or higher education.
A lot of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong and China student prefer to stay in Canada and refugees. The reggges increase the health, social benift , and creim.
Key people involved in the public awareness提醒 of the issue or the resolving決定 of the problem associated with the issue.
For discriminating against Chinese immigrants in past periods, an official government apology and compensations were announced on 22 June 2006.
Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in the former city of North York. It is a multi-cultural neighbourhood.
The Jane-Finch community has one of the largest concentrations of criminal gangs of any area in Canada. It also has “one of the highest proportions of youth, sole-supported families, refugees and immigrants, low-income earners and public housing tenants of any community in Toronto” (p.5, A Report of the Jane-Finch Street Involved Youth Issues Coalition, December 2002).
As well, there is a substantial and equally diverse population living in middle class detached, semi-detached, townhouses and high-rise tower blocks.
The area was alternatively named University Heights in January 2009 to get rid of its notorious tag.
Traditional methods used for resolving issues – if any
James Bissett, a former head of the Canadian Immigration Service, has suggested that the lack of any credible refugee screening process, combined with a high likelihood of ignoring any deportation orders, has resulted in tens of thousands of outstanding warrants for the arrest of rejected refugee claimants, with little attempt at enforcement.[16] Unlike in the U.S., refugees claimants in Canada do not have to attempt re-entry to learn the status of their claim. A 2008 report by the Auditor General Sheila Fraser stated that Canada has lost track of as many as 41,000 illegal immigrants.[17][18]
In the 1980s, there was a growing movement in Canada demanding payment and a government apology to make up for the injustices of the Chinese head tax. The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) has been seeking redress for those affected by the head tax since 1984, asking for financial compensation and a formal apology from the government.
In December 2000, three Chinese-Canadians — backed by the CCNC — launched a class-action suit against the government. It was unsuccessful, primarily on the grounds that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — introduced in 1982 — can’t be applied retroactively.
The decision was appealed. But the appeal was dismissed in Ontario Court of Appeal in 2002 and the Supreme Court of Canada in 2003. Ultimately, the courts felt the claim was a political issue, not a legal one.
And in 2003, the CCNC launched a new redress website and a Canadians for Redress Campaign.
In November 2005, the federal government, then led by Paul Martin and his Liberals, signed a $2.5-million deal to set up educational projects to commemorate those who paid the tax. The deal was struck with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians and 14 other Chinese-Canadian groups signed a deal with the federal government. But, the cabinet decided not to offer an apology because it could open the government to legal action. The agreement angered other Chinese-Canadian groups, including the Chinese Canadian National Council, who complained they had not been consulted.
In January 2006, then industry minister David Emerson said, after talking to lawyers, a full apology was in order. Then prime minister Paul Martin issued a personal apology on a Chinese-language radio program.
On April 4, 2006, newly elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised he would formally apologize for the head tax.
On June 22, 2006, Harper made a formal apology in Parliament. About 100 people, including some who paid the head tax and their families, boarded a train in Vancouver a week earlier to travel to Ottawa and hear the apology, in a journey dubbed the “Redress Express.” The public gallery in the House of Commons was filled with hundreds of people.
Harper apologized on behalf of the people and government of Canada for the head tax and the exclusion of Chinese-Canadians.
“We feel compelled to right this historic wrong for the simple reason it is the decent thing to do … a characteristic to be found at the core of the Canadian soul,” he said.
Harper also offered symbolic payments to compensate head-tax payers, or their spouses, and funding towards community projects. Susan Eng, of the Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families, called it a historic day.
In October 2006, Harper said payments of $20,000 would start in the fall and the money would go to about 400 survivors or their widows. “Addressing it directly and honestly has been an issue we felt strongly about for some time,” Harper said.
Questions to be answered/Critical Analysis
Does the literature support the hypothesis and conclusion described in your previous assignment?
What other questions did you find from reviewing the literature?
Any ethical道德 issues connected with research done in the
literature?
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