This review is based on the article authored by Smith and Ley titled Even in Canada? . The article focuses on the economic status of the immigrants in two Canadian cities; Toronto and Vancouver that have high population of immigrants struggling with poverty. Despite Canada being frequently identified as successful in establishing exemplary documentation of immigrant integration, its immigrants are still struggling to be fully integrated with society.
The article examines the importance of location in the construction and reproduction of immigrant poverty and social exclusion in the two gateway cities of Toronto and Vancouver. It discusses four contributing factors which are recognition that place has a profound effect on shaping the immigrant lives. This statement means the geographic regions have a direct impact on their life such as access to social amenities such as schools, hospitals or recreation centers. These locations also determine their accessibility to grocery shops and employment. The place matters in the shaping immigrants’ lives and the extent and character of social integration. Therefore, place interventions are essential in enhancing social inclusion and improving livelihoods.
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The second contribution is the consideration of the multiple geographical scales implicated in the construction and experience of poverty. This is illustrated based on the national, intrametropolitan, and neighborhood scales. The national scale views immigrants as newcomers and outsiders subject to controls and barriers not experienced by the native-born. A Canadian by birth gives one privilege that is not accorded to immigrants such as employment opportunities and accessibility to good housing standards.
The intrametropolitan scale of central city versus suburb raises distinctive issues of sociospatial isolation and exclusion. This is because the immigrants live in cities populated with their native people or other immigrants. These make the cities highly diversified and implicates the economic standards of the metropolitans. At the urban scale, the availability and access to services, jobs, education, and other support structures can be profoundly affected by suburban versus central city residence (Smith & Ley, 2008) .
The neighborhood scale of concentrated poverty is a result of immigrants settling in the neighborhoods that are relatively cheap and affordable to them despite the inability to get a decent job. These neighborhoods enable them to access free foods and cheap housing a contributing factor to a high concentration of poverty. The immigrants do not choose to live in this neighborhood but are forced to due to their economic standards. This enhances the development of the culture of poverty and stigmatization of the individuals. The neighborhood scale is essential in the elimination of isolation or its intensification. The combination of all the scales impacts leads to the reproduction of contributing factors for the increase in immigrant poverty.
Canada has a multicultural policy that has been copied by other nations to enhance the integration of the immigrants in the native society. Despite this, the immigrants in Canada are still faced with changes of combination due to different factors ranging from economic, social and political aspects. The barriers to immigrant economic integration require satisfactory explanation at a range of scales, including the national scale. The most barriers to the acquisition of employment are the language barrier where the immigrants do not have the desired English accent or the preference of the employer even when they had qualifications and were living a better quality life in their home countries.
In conclusion, the immigrant’s livelihood can only be achieved through implementing policies that promote the immigrants’ sense of self-worth and value in Canadian society that might lead to reevaluation about the migration decision itself. This will prepare the immigrants on what to expect once they migrate other than experiencing what they never thought or what was not their motivation for migration.
Questions
Why is it that despite the multicultural policy in Canada, immigrants are still not happy?
Is the inability to get decent employment the only compelling reason why immigrants have a high concentration of poverty?
Why it is that even immigrants with good jobs still do not have a sense of belonging?
Reference
Smith, H., & Ley, D. (2008). Even in Canada? The Multiscalar Construction and Experience of Concentrated Immigrant Poverty in Gateway Cities. Annals of the Association of the American Geographers , 686-713. Retrieved from Heather_Smith_-_EveninCanada1TheMultiscalarConstructionandExperien[retrieved_2019-03-17].pdf
