Integration and Inclusion of Newcomers and Minorities across Canada (review)

Following the creation of the Metropolis project and its network of research centres in the mid-1990s, there has been a flood of publications on immigration and settlement issues in Canada, and Integration and Inclusion of Newcomers and Minorities across Canada is a welcome addition to this burgeoning literature. Edited by John Biles, Meyer Burstein, James Frideres, Erin Tolley, and Robert Vineberg, this volume examines the settlement and integration programs across Canada in an integrated fashion. The volume consists of a general introduction, 13 substantive chapters, and a conclusion. Expectedly, the introduction charts the course of the book, detailing its objectives and the themes of the subsequent chapters. Besides the first two chapters that chronicle the history of federal and provincial/territorial relations in immigration, the volume moves from the west coast, with British Columbia as Chapter 3, through the Prairies and Central Canada to Atlantic Canada, before dealing with the northern territories in the last substantive chapter.

In Chapter 1, we learn from Robert Vineberg that while many see the provincial interest in immigration as a recent phenomenon, it actually goes back to the nineteenth century, with the first federal-provincial conference on immigration taking place in 1868. However, as the Dominion government gained more experience in immigration, with the peopling of the federal territories of the West, the interest of the provinces waned, until the post-war era when normal immigration resumed and the flow of refugees increased. As Vineberg points out, at present all the provinces are involved in immigration. In Chapter 2, Joseph Garcea and Neil Hibbert deal with the history of federal-provincial involvement in immigration, using the policy frameworks of multiculturalism, human rights, anti-racism, and employment and pay equity as their point of departure. While the chapter describes these frameworks lucidly, it lacks a critical insight into their efficacy.

In Chapter 3, Dan Hiebert and Kathy Sherrell examine the various immigrant integration initiatives in British Columbia, showing how neoliberalism has influenced the government’s involvement in this area since 2001. In their estimation, the level of coordination between the various ministries concerned with immigration and social policies leaves much to be desired. The next three chapters deal with the Prairie provinces. James Frideres writes splendidly about the “four strong winds” blowing in Alberta’s immigration “without direction.” He notes that in the absence of a clear immigration strategy, immigrant organizations have difficulty procuring funds from the provincial government. Joseph Garcea examines the situation in Saskatchewan in Chapter 5, detailing the persistent challenges in aligning the operations of the government with those of NGOs in the provision of immigrant services. In Chapter 6, Tom Carter and Ben Amoyaw discuss Manitoba’s struggles in attracting immigrants, shedding light on the existing immigrant services in the province. Manitoba seems to lack adequate coordination between its ministries when it comes to the provision of immigrant service.

In Chapter 7, John Biles, Erin Tolley, Caroline Andre, Vic Esses, and Meyer Burstein write eloquently about Ontario, highlighting the extensive downloading of services that went on under the Conservative government of the 1990s. As they point out, because Ontario has for decades received the bulk of Canada’s immigrants, it has a long history in dealing with diversity; yet, racism continues to unsettle many of its minorities. In Chapter 8, Annick Germain and Tuyet Trinh show how the tensions between decentralization and recentralization of immigrant services delivery in Quebec have rendered the system unstable.

The next four chapters deal with Atlantic Canada, with Chedly Belkhodja and Christophe Traisnel writing on New Brunswick in Chapter 9; Marguerite Cassin on Nova Scotia in Chapter 10; Reeta Tremblay and Amanda Bittner on Newfoundland and Labrador in Chapter 11; and Godfrey Baldacchino, Paula Brochu, and Craig Mackie writing parts 1, 2, and 3 of Chapter 12 on PEI, respectively. The recurrent theme across these chapters concerns the difficulties in attracting immigrants to...