Sex Selective Abortion: Reaching Out to Canada

Although many Canadians do not support abortion, it is a legal act in Canada. In his news article on abortion Bowles (2012) mentioned that female teens who get pregnant do not need the permission of their parents to abort their baby. He also stated that “[i]n fact, most Canadians - 80% according to a 2010 Angus Reid poll — don’t even know we have no legal restrictions on abortion”. On the other hand, most Canadians may not be also aware of the fact that the Canadian government has stopped recording and gathering information about abortion (Statistics Canada, 2012). I was very shocked when I read that. Why did the government stop looking at abortion as a serious issue?

The video above indicates that sex selective abortion has been a social issue in Canada lately, especially in Asian communities. Warawa & Ambrose (2012) state many women who live in Asian urban societies residing in Canada, started to have abortion based on the gender of the baby they are carrying. It is more likely for female babies to be aborted, because they are neither desired nor wanted by their parents.Various resources explained that girls face discrimination and unjust acts more than boys, because of their gender and what comes in favor of it. (Warawa & Ambrose, and Vogel 2012). In addition , many women are being forced to give abortion to their female babies.(Warawa & Ambrose, and Vogel 2012). 

Just like a conservative approach to sex selective abortion, the Canadian government should have a similar opinion on abortion, since that it is considered to be a Neo-conservative government. Conservatives oppose abortion and they look at it from a traditional perspective, supporting the ancient beliefs and thoughts on the issue (Mullaly, 2006, P. 71). Reporting on a meeting between abortion activists and Catholic students, Bakalinski (2012) explained that conservative deny the women’s right to have sex selective abortion, and they will completely support the pro-life movement. 

I strongly believe that the issue of sex selective abortion is very important because it has bad effects on the mother and on society as well. For instance, the number of females in the community will decrease. As a result, a change in the structure of community will occur, and it will affect all of us (Warawa & Ambrose 2012). However, abortion in general and selective sex abortion in particular are both linked to poverty, because many families who favor boys over girls highly suffer from ignorance, and have a lack of education (Warawa & Ambrose, 2012). I personally believe that women and men were made different for a reason. We both depend on each other for survival. If we want to stop discrimination towards women, as women we need to start looking at ourselves differently,with self-respect and appreciation. On the other hand, men also need to start seeing us as their partners and mates, not as their competitors or their enemies. 
-Farah 

References:

Bowles, A.(2011, March 07). Opinion: Abortion statistics show reality of a land without restrictions.  

National Post. Retrieved from: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/03/07/opinion-abortion-

statistics-show-reality-of-a-land-without-restrictions/

Bakalinski,P. (2012, November15). Catholic students to meet with pro-abortion/prostitution

groups on El Salvador trip: parents group. Life Sites News. Retrieved  from: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-students-to-meet-with-pro-abortion-prostitution-groups-on-el-salva

Golobon, A & Lilley, B. (2012, April 19). Alissa Golobon Byline with Brian Lilley- Sex Selective Abortion.Campaign Life Tv. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDPHegahmAM

Mullaly, B. (2006). The New Structural Social Work: Ideology, Theory, Practice. U.S.A.: Oxford University Press. 71-73 

Statistics Canada 2012, StatCan. Does Canada collect this information? Abortion. 
Retrieved from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/help-aide/collection-eng.htm

Vogel, L. (2012, February 21). Sex Selection Migrates to Canada. CMAJ. 184(3). Retrieved from:

http://www.ecmaj.ca/content/184/3/E163.full

Warawa,K. & Ambrose,R. (2012, October 18). The International Day of the Girl Child ignores Killing of girls by Sex-selective Abortion. Real Women of Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.realwomenofcanada.ca/international-day-of-the-girl-child-ignores-killing-of-girls-by-sex-selective-abortion/

Political Ideology & Husbandry: the Social-Democrat Man

http://www.skepticalob.com/2011/09/melissa-cheyney-and-oregon-homebirth.html

   

     Political ideologies are like the husbands of our stereo-typical societal history. As your brows furrow in confusion at that statement, first think of the role of men in the household as mirror to the role of government in society when it comes to social welfare.

     You have the feudalistic neo-conservative husband. When he comes home from his grueling day at work. He… well, sits at the dinning table and waits for his obedient wife to serve him his dinner. While he may be the one that pays for the roof over the heads of his family members, his contributions to the actual household are very minimal, if not non-existent. Much like the government from a neo-conservative approach in social welfare; it does little to help. Neo-conservatism also values inequality on an economic level. Precisely like the roles of separate genders in the household back in feudal times were unequal, on polar levels.

     You have the liberal, modern day husband. He goes to work, and his wife does the same. They bring home the bacon in equal shares, yet somehow, the roles in the household remain unbalanced. The husband may offer to read the children a bedtime story and put them to bed, only after the woman spent the evening slaving away with household chores the moment she got back form work. The husband participates, but only where it is needed. In regards to Social Welfare and the role the government has form a liberal perspective, its participation is minimal, but it is there when there is a need.

     Finally, you have the balanced power-couple. Both financial and household duties are weights shared by the husband and the wife. The husband helps the wife witch chores in every way that he can, when help is needed. This would be the social democratic equivalent of a husband. Social democrats of government believe that when it comes to Social Welfare, cooperation is the key, and assistance is vital when there is a need to reach societal potential.

Poverty and the Welfare state: five evils I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weYttywhYbs

     This video was created by a group of students that based their information on the report made by William Beveridge who is considered by some as "the father of the welfare state"(Heys, 2012). While the video above may have been based upon the observations of William Beveridge of the British government, we can see where Canada has thrived and we can see where it has failed; we can see what “Evils” our country has conquered and the ones it yet still combats. Just as a recap, the five evils mentioned were:

• Squalor
• Idleness
• Want
• Disease
• Ignorance

     In the Social-Democratic approach, it is believed that people are an investment. The Social Welfare system is essential to counteract poverty (Hick, 2007). Generally, this video would be seen as more of a Social-Democratic ideology because, as it lists the evils that can lead to poverty, it also identifies what the government can do to help. It states the need for government intervention.

      In order to avoid Squalor, there must be room for everyone and the housing prices must be kept low so that people of low income can still afford to have a roof over their heads. Government intervention would be needed for people that cannot quite afford this necessary expense. It would also be in the government's charge, whether it is on a Municipal, Provincial or National level, to remove the "slums" in place for better housing. In order to avoid Idleness, there is a need for jobs. A way that the government can help is by setting up Employment Centres. To no longer have Want is to provide the poor with necessary State benefits. Disease would be the fault in this English video that is not quite applicable to Canada, considering the fact that our Canadian government does provide and fund our Health-Care System. Finally, the last and arguably the most important factor, or "Evil", that leads to poverty: Ignorance. Without first targeting the roots of poverty, we cannot hope for change. Education may not be the one key to preventing poverty, but it sure helps when an individual is looking for employment. Speaking as a student, perhaps the way the government could service us all in this area would be by lowering the astronomical tuitions fees...

     While there are still many unignorable kinks in our system, we are fortunate enough to have a Health-Care System. Luckily, the Canadian citizens are not financially impaired (punished) for being sickly. However... it would appear as though the poor are further impaired due to the ways of things, the ways of our government's operations. In Canada, once you fall into the pits of poverty, it is a hardly made possible to pull yourself back out.

References

Heys, R. (August 13, 2012). The Beveridge Report. British Medical Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2012 from http://211.144.68.84:9998/91keshi/Public/File/38/345-7870/pdf/bmj.e5428.full.pdf

Sewell, Sophia. (2008, June 16). Poverty and the Welfare state: five evils I. Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weYttywhYbs

Hick, S. (2007). Social Welfare in Canada: Understanding Income Security. Second Edition. Toronto: Thompson Educational Pub.

~ Valerie

Poverty and Mental Illness: A Marxist Lens

              Although we live in Canada, and most people have access to basic healthcare assistance, we don’t really take into account the amount of people that are impoverished living with a mental illness. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario (2007), people with a mental illness are often living in chronic poverty. They also state that it can be vice versa, in which poverty is a large factor for physical and mental illness. As if the social stigma associated with living in poverty wasn’t bad enough, when most people imagine a mental illness, they think of crazy whackos that are in a straightjacket talking to themselves; but that’s not the case.

                Mental health is defined as “emotional, behavioral, and social maturity or normality” according to Medical News Today (2009). The World Health Organization (WHO) states that especially in low-middle income families, mental health services are severely underfunded, which is a cause-and-effect relationship with multigenerational poverty; Approximately 2.4 million Canadians suffer from a mental disorder in a given year, which is 21.3% of the population, and most people (79%) don’t even know they have it (Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta 2011).

                Now you’re wondering what the huge deal is with mental illnesses and how it relates to multigenerational poverty. The truth is, the programs to treat mental health, which is usually caused by poverty, in Canada is severely lacking. The total economic cost of mental disorders that are treated and not treated annually in Canada is 14 billion dollars (Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta 2011). The Marxist view of poverty and mental illnesses would illustrate collectivism and equality for all (Straka 2012), as people with an illness are still people who want to work, but aren’t given a chance. The benefits given to the people in need would help lower the deficit for mental illnesses and would be able to treat people to help them back up to a healthy state of being. Marxism also states that one class owns most of the wealth, and they want to spread it around so people will be able to afford the necessary healthcare to get back into the work force (Straka 2012).

                For people living in poverty with a mental illness, it is extremely difficult to break the cycle and discrimination that you’re faced in everyday life. According to the World Health Organization (2010), “people with mental disabilities encounter restrictions in the exercise of their political and civil rights, and in their ability to participate in public affairs.” This explains that people with a mental illness often don’t get a say in the role of the government and who gets elected. And if their voices are silenced, who is going to stand up for them?

                Organizations and policies exist to help these citizens living in poverty such as the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. According to WHO (2011), it will improve the lives of people living with a mental disability by carrying out specific actions including:

• Mental health services should be integrated systematically into all health services including primary level care.
• Mental health issues should be integrated into broader health policies, programmes, and partnerships.
• Mental health should be included in services during and after emergencies.
• Mental health issues should be taken into account within social services and housing development.
• Mental health issues should be mainstreamed into education, and children with mental and psychosocial disabilities should be supported to access schooling.
• Employment and income generating opportunities must be created for people with mental and psychosocial disabilities.
• Human rights should be strengthened by developing policies and laws that protect the rights of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities.
• There should be investment in developing the capacity of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities to participate in public affairs, including the support of service user-led movements.
• Development actors should create mechanisms to involve people with mental and psychosocial disabilities in decision-making processes.

As we grow into a new age where people are realizing the power that they have, I believe we can make a difference if our voices are loud enough. You just have to be the one to be able to grab their attention.

-Spencer Edgar

References:

Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta (2011). Mental Illness in Canada. Retrieved from: http://alberta.cmha.ca/mental_health/statistics/#.UKXB_Ia9e5U

Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario. (2007). Poverty and Mental Illness. Retrieved from: http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/backgrounders.asp?cID=25341

Medical News Today. (2009). What is Mental Health? What is Mental Disorder? Retrieved from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154543.php

Straka, S. (2012). Social Welfare Theory [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.courses.algomau.ca

World Health Organization. (2010). Mental Health, Poverty and Development. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/development/en/index.html

What lies ahead for our Children in Ontario?

       After looking through several google suggested sites and finding nothing interesting I checked out a news article on how Ontario is lacking in assisting those in need, and there is an alarmingly large number of those in constant need are women and children. This article is giving light to the fact that as well developed as our country is, we are still leaving many people out in the cold (Monsebraaten, 2012). There are plans to increase the amount of child tax benefits that parents get to support their children, however the amount of support an adult receives is considerably lower then the average for provinces in Canada. This issue alone makes it difficult for a single parent to afford adequate housing for their families, preventing them from finding a safe and stable environment to raise their children. Other services that support the public are also being cut by the masses, “Ontario has the least amount of public funding and have the fewest hospital beds per person, while the proportion of out-of-pocket health care costs are the highest in the country.” (Monsebraaten, 2012).

    

      This is caused from our extreme neo-liberal ideologists and greedy corporations, as we see globalization take shape in to a demanding world market, those without the money to support them selves are left in harm's way. We know that poverty is an oppression that has a very tight hold on society today, as the rich-to-poor gap grows, we are finding our selves in more of depression similar to the 1930's. The cuts are effecting education, and support services for those in need. There is much to be said by the statement “having deliberately emptied its cupboards, the Ontario government’s commitment to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent by 2013 is being swept aside.” spoken by reporters discussing the many cuts to the public sector (Monsebraaten, 2012).

      After digesting these findings I wanted to see how many people were using food banks through-out Ontario this year, and what I found was that this year was higher then any other year, including the 2008 recession. Every month it seems that over 400,000 people are having to turn to food banks in Ontario alone, and only 40% of these people are on Social assistance. There are also equal amounts of people with jobs that have had to seek assistance from food banks this year, and over 9% of all of these people are coming for the very first time (Ontario Association of Food Banks, 2012). This is truly a sad moment in Canadian history, as we are being forced in to a mass society with the globalization movement, we are forgetting how many people are suffering through this transition. There may be more wealth in the world today, however, there are also many more people starving and dieing due to the lack of healthy living conditions. If we have all the technology and more then enough supplies to go around, then why are there such small groups of people doing great. The more educated I become, the more I think that maybe those who are considered “conspiracy theorists” have some actual knowledge of what is happening in the world, that the rest of us are simply unable to comprehend.

      

       With what we are facing today, without change, our children have no healthy future. I am personally trying to help make changes on how we consider food, as I feel that it should not be something we have to pay for. I believe that our ancestors had less issues with poverty because they supported their basic needs without relying on mass production, if they needed something they didn't have, they would trade something to get it. This bartering method seems much more sustainable then our current method of gaining what we require with credit, having to constantly compete with other people not only creates tension where but it also keeps people apart. Human beings are social creatures for a reason, we began taking care of our selves by gardening together in small groups, and helping our neighbors in times of need. This togetherness, this sense of connection, is highly important for our mental state as well as our physical state, community was created with this important factor in mind.

  

       Our children need to be taught these important methods of sustaining a healthy life, before it is lost completely in the world of capitalist beliefs. There are many situations that we cannot control, although this one may be a difficult one, it is something that we have the power to control. Simply having the knowledge means that we are capable of actively creating change, if we choose not to then we are allowing our children to continue to be oppressed and possibly face worse conditions in their futures. I personally cannot imagine a world where my children suffer any more then they already have, that is why I am trying to be apart of the changes that need to happen, like educational edible gardening for our younger generations. I hope to see less people struggling to live within my life time, as that would give me faith in my children's future without me.

Elizabeth

Refrences:

Monsebratten, L. (2012, August 29). Ontario dead last in terms of inequality, poverty and funding for public services. TheStar.com. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1248577--ontario-worst-province-in-terms-of-inequality-poverty-and-funding-for-public-services

Hunger Count 2012, Provincial Report. The Ontario Association of Food Banks. Retrieved from

http://www.oafb.ca/2012hungercount

It’s time to adapt policy to find better balance.

It’s time to adapt policy to find better balance.

While Canadians under 45 face a precipitous drop in their standard of living, the government prioritizes spending to Canadians over 55 Generation X came of age when wages were falling and housing prices were sky rocking. As a result 34 to 44 year olds have a debt level of 95 per cent of there household income.

Why do we spend so little on generations under age 45? Part of the answer is that we are spending more elsewhere, including on older generations.

 Research show that the dramatic pattern of tax cuts over the last decade does not play out neutrally across generations. During the 1980’s both federal government and the provinces were interested in using tax reform to produce better incentives for productive employment. A 1976 study “people and jobs,” by economic council of Canada argued for better co-ordination between tax and transfer policies and the goal of high employment 

Keynesian focus on institutional and demographic events to explain the dangers of fighting such inflation with restrictive monetary policy and fiscal policy which would result in unacceptable increases. In the unacceptable increases in the unemployment was the increase in the labour force with baby boomers and women,

Keynesian argued with the reimposition of wage and price controls of 1975 to 1978 to the 1980’s which is credited with slowing the inflation caused by oil price shock of 1973 to 74 (Clarence Barber and J. McCallum, unemployment and inflation: The Canadian Experience 1980)

With increasesing to retirement security and medical care we now collect five percent less of our economy in taxes than we did in the year 2000, our younger generations struggle to bridge the gap between stagnant wages and high housing costs, our current young. Canadian priorities need to change public spending on medical care is higher than pensions spending on older Canadians doesn’t have to come at the expense of spending on younger generation We need to find a way to make a balanced policy that is going to work for the people not just the government to make their books look good. Keynesian approaches didn’t work, we need to find a way to have lower housing prices and higher paying jobs, As generation X is fighting for change maybe it will be better for Generation Y.

Jen.M

Kershaw,P.November 4,2012.Governmemnt should help out young Canadians.vancouver sun
 http://blogs.ubc.ca/newdealforfamilies/

Davenport,P.November 1,2012.Economics.The Canadian Encyclopedia

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/economics

Tralee,P.September 21,2012.For GenerationX, it's all work and no kids, study finds.The Globe and mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/for-generation-x-its-all-work-and-no-kids-study-finds/article617574/

Wyn, J. (2012). The making of a generation: policy and the lives and aspirations of Generation X. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 44(3), 269-282.

Pressman, S. (2011). Microeconomics After Keynes: Post Keynesian Economics and Public Policy. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 70(2), 511-539.

The Impact of Social Assistance Programs

           There is a stigma attached to the importance of social welfare programs. Neoconservative journalist Margaret Wente believes that without the availability of such programs, Canadian residents would face more severe issues of poverty, hunger, violence and crime (Wente, 2012).  After the shooting that broke out on Danzig Street in Toronto that killed two, the Canadian population desperately called for the need to generate more social assistance programs within the “troubled” areas of Ontario (Howlett & Mills, 2012). 

However, Wente proposes the existence of various numbers of social assistance programs already present within the city of Toronto.  These programs include free summer camp, programs to find jobs for young adults with criminal records, and funding the less fortunate for community college (Wente, 2012).  Among greater city “priority” areas, the Canadian government had already invested over 120 million dollars to improve social assistance programs, most apparently within Toronto (Wente, 2012).  As a Neoconservatist, Wente suggests the majority of government funded social assistance programs within these areas are not beneficial towards the population because many Canadians within greater city regions continue to live among poverty, and violent, crime infested areas (Wente, 2012).  Wente proposes that the government has refused to take time to investigate the effects such social assistance programs have provided for these issues.  Because of the lack of such basic statistics, Wente believes it almost impossible to understand whether these social programs that spend billions of dollars to help the poor and susceptible indeed provide beneficial to such communities or not (Wente, 2012).  Wente’s ideas drift towards a neoconservative ideological view.  This is because such ideology calls for the dismantling of the social welfare state, as Wente wants to reduce the amount of social assistance programs available that aid the public by investigating and terminating those that don’t seem beneficial or useful to troubled communities (Wente, 2012).

             Being of the Liberal party, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty applies a liberal ideological analysis towards the recent outbreak of gun violence (Howlet & Mills, 2012).  Although Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford pushes to hire more police officers to patrol the area, McGuinty criticizes Ford for voicing his refusal for the development of more youth related social programs (Howlett & Mills, 2012).  He also proposed sending police into higher priority areas to make arrests and seize guns (Howlett & Mills, 2012).  Ford’s ideas illustrate a neo-conservative analysis with emphasis on importance of strict punishment (Hicks, 2004).  Neoconservatives also carry the belief that the political government may need to resort to authoritarian rule to protect the political order (Hicks, 2004).  Ford believes it unnecessary to provide more social programs, as he does not believe “hug-a-thug” programs would prevent the reoccurrence of gun violence (Howlett & Mills, 2012).  This again provides us a key component of the neoconservative ideology.  Such ideology believes the existence of social programs should cease, as it rejects all Liberal efforts to make equality of opportunity a reality (Drury, 1997).  However, McGuinty’s statement reflects the efforts of liberal ideology.  Although such ideology blames the unfortunate, it believes the importance to reform social programs in order to balance severe cases of need (Bracken, 2004).  McGuinty also noted that all three levels of the government, police and those working with young people must work together to solve the problem (Howlett & Mills, 2012).  This again distributes ideas from the liberal ideology because it believes that power is shared between private individuals, pressure groups and the state (Bracken, 2004).  All three groups working together would ensure that no group rose high enough to dominate (Bracken, 2004).  

             From a Neo-conservatist view, it is evident the belief that government structures are not equipped in investigating a more beneficial approach to social assistance spending, as they believe the welfare state unnecessary (Drury, 1997).  This becomes palpable when identifying the underlying ideologies behind the similar ideas of Margaret Wente and Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford.  “We’ve organized ourselves in such a way that mostly we have no idea what we’re doing,” says an inside representative of the Canadian House of Commons (Howlett & Mills, 2012).  However, a cut to any program may provide a negative reaction amongst the disadvantaged population of Canada (Wente, 2012).  We cannot expect a Neo-conservatist government to spend time and funding studying the impacts of social welfare programs within Canada, when such type of government offers no interest in doing so.  Perhaps our government structure might want to look towards a more liberal, or social democratic ideological view.  As stated before, although the liberal ideology blames the unfortunate, it also tends to support the importance of social welfare within the system (Bracken, 2004).  Our government should actively work towards promoting realistic solutions to persistent social problems.  But for now, our country still suffers. 

-    Kara

References:

Wente, M.  (2012, October 13).  “The awful truth about social programs.”  The Globe and Mail.  Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/margaret-wente-the-awful-truth-about-social-programs/article4610262/.

Howlett, K. & Mills, C.  (2012, July 20).  “McGuinty calls for cops and social programs in wake of shootings.”  The Globe and Mail.  Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/mcguinty-calls-for-cops-and-social-programs-in-wake-of-shootings/article4432066/.

Drury, S.  (1997, May 17).  “Demise of the Tory Tradition:  Conservatives have forgotten their debt to the poor.”  University of Regina, Faculty of the Arts.  Retrieved from http://phil.uregina.ca/CRC/herald_demise.html.

Bracken, D.  (2004).  “Elements of Ideology Liberalism.”  Social Welfare Policy Analysis.  Retrieved from http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~bracken/lib.html.

Immigrant Poverty in Canada

First off, I am writing about Immigrant poverty caused by unemployment in Canada by addressing the social policy issue of employment equity and I will be writing through a liberalism ideological point of view. Immigrant poverty is definitely an issue here in Canada, (Hick, 2007). This is a serious issue because immigrant poverty is being caused by unemployment due to discrimination in the workplace, (Hick, 2007). Everybody should have a right to equal opportunities and chances in life, including immigrants. The numbers of immigrants living in poverty is alarming because “poverty among recent immigrants stands at 27 percent, and their annual wages and salaries are one-third less than those of other Canadians,” (Hick, 2007). The government is not doing enough to provide social equality and justice for unemployed immigrants.

The two biggest forms of discrimination that immigrants face in the workplace are discrimination due to language skills, and discrimination due to non-recognition of foreign credentials. Unemployment in the immigrant population creates poverty among them. Discrimination among employers is a huge cause to unemployment among immigrants. Immigrants face discrimination in the workplace that could lead to unemployment and poverty because “it is assumed that if they do not speak English well they will not be able to work effectively,” (Bakan, 2000). This is not at all true, and it should be up to the government to provide sufficient training to these immigrants to increase their chances of obtaining a beneficial job opportunity that could sustain their basic needs and help them to rise out of poverty. There are many causes to immigrant poverty, and “the non-recognition or the undervaluing of foreign education, skills, and credentials are emerging as key factors that help explain why recent immigrants do not do as well in the job market,” (Hick, 2007). Discrimination is the major factor to unemployed immigrants, something that can quickly lead to poverty. Policies needed to prevent discrimination in the workplace that can lead to unemployment and immigrant poverty are, “employment equity, credentials recognition, promotion of the ‘hidden skills’ of new immigrants to prospective employers, and provision of language and skills training to new immigrants,” (Hick, 2007). With these policies in place we can try to eliminate discrimination towards immigrants in the workplace, get many immigrants into the work force, and help develop the prosperity of Canada’s economy. To achieve this, our governments must increase funding to programs and policies that will prevent discrimination towards immigrants, and give them a fair start in Canada.  

The Employment Equity Act in Canada is an act that is enforced to protect workers and prospective workers, including immigrants, from workplace discrimination, (Bakan, 2000). Policies surrounding the workplace were implemented because “as the work force has changed in modern times, especially with larger numbers of women and immigrants becoming a permanent part of the Canadian work force, one form of protecting workers against arbitrary managerial practices is to ensure a system of employment equity in hiring, retention and promotions,” (Bakan, 2000). The Employment Equity Act is a step in the right direction for the Canadian government to help protect immigrants, but it is very abstract and hard to make sure it is being enforced at all times. The Employment Equity act is important to immigrants to prevent unemployment that could lead to poverty because “the purpose of this Act is to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfillment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment,” (Department of Justice, 2012). Equality in the workplace is very important to all workers, especially immigrants, because it provides freedom and equal opportunities.

Although Canada has implemented some policies surrounding immigrant unemployment, there are still huge numbers of immigrants who are living in poverty due to unemployment in this country. These immigrants are living in poverty largely due to unemployment that is directly caused by discrimination among employers towards immigrants for several reasons that are unrelated to their abilities in the workplace. The Employment Equity Act in Canada is great, but the government should invest a lot more time and money into Immigration poverty to guarantee them an equal start in our country.

 

References

Bakan, A. Kobayashi, A. (2000). Employment equity policy in Canada: An Interprovincial Comparison. Queen’s University. Abigail Press, p. 47, 55. Retrieved from

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/SW21-46-1999E.pdf

 Department of Justice. (2012). Employment equity act. S.C. 1995, c. 44. Retrieved From

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-5.401/page-1.html#h-2

 Hick, S. (2007). Social welfare in Canada: Understanding Income Security. Second Edition. Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. P. 99-100.

                                                                                                               -Lyndsay