Multimedia
AMSSA Research Connections E-Symposium: Temporary Foreign Workers in BC Communities
Date: 2010-06-16
Location: SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver
British Columbia is becoming the destination of more and more temporary foreign workers (TFWs) every year. In 2004, 26,795 TFWs were admitted into BC. By 2008, that number had more than doubled to 58,307, and TFWs accounted for 2.4% of the province's total labour force.
Who are these workers? Some of them are high-skilled and fill a very particular gap in the labour market. Most come to fill short-term or seasonal labour shortages in construction, hospitality/tourism, and agriculture, or to help families care for children, and sick or elderly relatives.
What are their stories? Who or what brings them here? Do they know what to expect? What issues do they face en route and on arrival? Are they subject to the same wages and protections as Canadian workers? Is this a mutually beneficial arrangement or exploitation?
AMSSA is pleased to see that academic, government, and public interest in these questions are growing.
Currently in BC, there are no government-funded programs to assist temporary foreign workers to adapt to their new surroundings, to understand their rights or Canadian programs and laws. Some are finding their way to immigrant settlement agencies, who do what they can to help, without funding.
This event marked an opportunity for settlement workers and researchers in the field to come together and connect over some of the most recent research on temporary foreign workers.
Welcome and Introduction
Timothy Welsh, Program Director, AMSSA
Evaluating Recruiters: Third Party Agents and the Temporary Foreign Worker Recruitment Process in BC
Sohee AhnSohee Ahn, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Labour Market Development, Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development (ALMD) presents research compiled for the Ministry by MITACS Intern and UBC Grad Student, Sarah Zell. The study focused on the recruitment of temporary foreign workers to the construction and hospitality sectors.
Research by Sarah Zell
Assessing Recent Reforms to the Live-in Caregiver Program: Do They Address Problems Identified with the Program?
Geraldine PrattUBC Geography Professor, Geraldine Pratt outlines the changes to the Government of Canada's Live-in Caregiver Program that came into effect on April 1, 2010 and examines them in light of her research with Filipino families who've come to Canada through the program.
Cultivating Farmworkers' Rights: Health and Safety Challenges in BC
Gerardo OteroSFU Sociology Professor, Gerardo Otero presents his recent research on working and living conditions for BC farmworkers, and compares the experiences of Punjabi-speaking workers with Permanent Residence or Citizenship to Mexican workers here through the Government of Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The research was commissioned by WorkSafe BC.
Question and Answer Session
Settlement workers from around the province get a chance to ask questions and comment on the research presented by Sohee Ahn, Geraldine Pratt, and Gerardo Otero.
AMSSA Research Connections E-Symposium - Immigration: The Next Generation
Date: 2009-09-02
Location: SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver
AMSSA organized and hosted this webcast research symposium to help connect frontline immigrant settlement workers across the province with current research in the field. The topic, Immigration: The Next Generation, exploring issues relating to the children of immigrants, was selected by our members at Regional Meetings held in Spring 2009. Many thanks to our presenters, Lee Gunderson of the University of British Columbia, and Miu Chung Yan, Acting Co-Chair of Metropolis BC.
Welcome and Introduction
Timothy Welsh, Program Director, AMSSA
Very Young Immigrant Students’ Long Term Success in Vancouver Schools
Lee Gunderson, Professor of Language and Literary Education, UBC
Bridging and/or Bonding: Studies of New Generation Immigrant Youth, Social Capital and Job Search
Miu Chung Yan, Acting Co-Chair of Metropolis BC
Question and Answer Session
Questions from Settlement Workers