CHANGING TOGETHER…
A CENTRE FOR IMMIGRANT WOMEN
“A Journey from Displacement to Settlement”
CONFERENCE
At Inn on 7th
Edmonton, Alberta
March 15th, 2003
Funded by:
Alberta Human Rights
Changing Together…
A Centre for Immigrant Women
CHANGING TOGETHER…A CENTRE FOR IMMIGRANT WOMEN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Sonia Bitar
I would like to start by thanking our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers for the hard work and commitment in making Changing Together a good place to work in.
In 18 years of existence, Changing Together…A Centre for Immigrant Women has remained the only Centre for immigrant and refugee women in Edmonton. We revisited our vision, mission and mandate of the agency and were very happy to know that our focus is still on helping immigrant and refugee women and their families to overcome all the barriers that challenge and keep them from integrating into our friendly and welcoming society.
We continue to enjoy serving our seniors and helping them to move away from the isolation that they encounter in their new country, Canada, by welcoming them into groups that are just for them. At Changing Together we not only provide a friendly and welcoming environment for all immigrant and refugee women but we also provide meaningful programs to facilitate their participation into Canadian society. We are focusing more on the advancement of women into technology. We encourage women to practice their rights and responsibilities in all aspects of Canadian life.
I would like to conclude by mentioning that we are revising our manuals for the Mentorship Program. The Live-in Caregivers manuals are ready for distribution. All of our programs and services are in place because of the support and generous funding from our funders who believe in us and in our expertise. Thank you.
I want to share with all of you what I received from a friend; this echoes what we believe in at Changing Together:
WOMEN SHOULD KNOW
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …one old love she can imagine going back to...
and one who reminds her how far she has come...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a youth she's content to leave behind...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a set of screwdrivers, cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who always makes her laugh
and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny... / EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to fall in love without losing herself...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder and when to walk away...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect but its over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone even ifshe doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go, be it to her best friend's kitchen table or a charming inn in the woods when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day a
month and a year...
The Honourable Anne McLellan
Minister of Health
Member of Parliament for Edmonton West
Thank you for the introduction.
It is a great pleasure to be here this morning. Good morning everyone. Bonjour tout l’monde.
First of all, I want to bring greetings form three very special colleagues. If you look at your program, I think you will see their portfolios reflected in the discussion you will have during the day. First of all, my colleague, the Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister Of Citizenship and Immigration Canada; my colleague, the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage; and the Honourable Jean Augustine, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women Canada.
I know that Jean came to Changing Together as your guest speaker last year. She told me how much she enjoyed that experience and wanted to have me extend a very special greeting to all of you this morning.
Jean will be following with interest the discussions that take place here today and the recommendations that may help her in the very important work that she is taking on, on behalf of both the multicultural communities and also women.
I also want to welcome all the participants here today who come not only from the City of Edmonton, but also from other parts of our province.
I want to say a special thank you to Sonia and to the Board Members of Changing Together for organizing this conference. This is the 5th Inter-provincial Conference.
I know that these things don’t come together without a great deal of work and I want to say how important Changing Together is as an organization in our community. The work that you have done over the years and the success that you have had, that is important. While there are challenges – this is by no means a perfect society – there has been enormous success over the years. So many of those successes for immigrant and refugee women and children are due to the hard work of Changing Together.
So, on behalf of the Government of Canada, I just want to say a big thank you to all of you for everything you have done to help new Canadians integrate into our society.
The theme of this year’s conference is “A Journey from Displacement to Settlement”, with a focus on the critical areas of concern for immigrant and refugee women and youth. I’ve got to say, I was very impressed by the breadth of your program when I reviewed it because you are dealing here today with complex issues. Everything form the effects of war on children – I think Brian has spoken very outwardly about why we all need to re-double our effects to avoid war – to the continuing challenge of fighting tuberculosis, not only around the world, but within our aboriginal community here at home.
As Minister of Health, this is an issue that I am very, very concerned with and I’ve had the opportunity to talk a little bit with your guest speaker this afternoon on that subject, Dr. Nancy Gibson, from the University of Alberta.
Clearly, when we talk about displacement, settlement, integration, globalization, we sometimes forget that there are important health implications to all of that. I have become very aware of the health implications of globalization and the movement of people from country to country and from continent to continent.
I’m very glad that you’re looking at that issue today because I think it’s one that’s going to become more important for all of us as people move more freely, either to resettle or simply to travel and visit.
It is the goal and responsibility for the Federal Government to address the challenges and celebrate the success of its citizens in achieving full participation in social, cultural, economic and political aspects of life.
In that regard, we are celebrating our 30th anniversary of Canada’s Multicultural Policy. We were the first country in the world to adopt a multicultural policy. I think we see effects of that today.
Multiculturalism is about diversity and celebrating diversity. But it is also about ensuring social cohesion in that diverse society. I think we know that these two things are not always easy to obtain. But I do believe that our multiculturalism policy was put in place to ease that road or to make these two companions more compatible. I think we’ve had enormous successes in this country in relation to the objectives of our multiculturalism policy. We should be very proud, but not complacent, because this is not a perfect society.
There are challenges – enormous challenges in some cases – especially for immigrant women and children, and our Aboriginal people in this country. And we must not forget that.
I think that this country can offer a great deal to the rest of the world. Your experiences can offer a great deal in terms of how we celebrate diversity but at the same time ensure the social cohesion that is so important to have prosperous, safe and secure communities for all of us.
I just want to say a couple of words about something Jean referred to recently – some Stats Can numbers. In fact, some of them are very, very positive and optimistic in terms of how our society is changing and with people coming from all over the world to become Canadians.
We talked about some numbers this morning and I hope today and at other times, the people in this room will look at some of these numbers and help us, as Governments, understand what is going on here so that if new programs are needed you can help us shape those.
You may have read this week the story on the trend of better-educated immigrants earning less than newcomers a decade ago. Jean has mentioned the fact that we are attracting a great many highly educated immigrants to this country.
According to the 2001 census report. 62% of immigrants living in Canada have post-secondary training of some sort. Recent immigrants are particularly important in vital fields, such as computer related occupations, accounting, engineering and natural and health sciences. More education has not led to more income.
Immigrants and refugee women earned just 60.5 cents for every dollar earned by a Canadian born worker in 2000. That is down from 70.5 cents in 1990. That’s a 10-cent decline over decade. I think we need to address that pattern.
Immigrant woman who have lived here for 10 years are doing a bit better, earning 87.3 cents for every dollar earned by a Canadian born-worker in the same year, but even that is down from 93.3 cents in 1990. The average immigrant to Canada is better educated and better qualified than his/her Canadian-born counterpart, but this has not translated into higher wages. This “brain waste” has been estimated to cost as much as $2.4 billion per year in lost income. That doesn’t even take into account the lost potential; people not being rewarded and acknowledge for their skills. The cost is something we cannot afford as a nation.
As a government we have to do a better job to identify and eliminate barriers to full, gainful employment and help individuals realize their career ambitions. One such roadblock is the problem of credential recognition—to get highly skilled, immigrant professionals into jobs for which they are qualified as soon as possible. That is why our government is working with professional association, the province and territories and others to unlock those skills.
The Government of Canada is currently supporting the Voluntary Sector Initiative to identify solutions to address the lack of recognition of foreign qualifications. We also need employers to be even more open to the skilled newcomers around us.
As Minister of Health, I have become particularly aware of this issue, because of the shortage of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, but particularly doctors and nurses.
We know, for example, that we have many foreign-trained doctors – both in our province and across the country – who are not able to practice their professions. They are not able to upgrade their skills because there are not enough places for them to return to medical school or nursing school and this is a real problem.
Now, we are starting to move. My colleague here in Alberta, Gary Mar, is starting to move on these issues. The province has put money in place to create residencies especially targeted at foreign- trained doctors. The Government of Ontario has a very ambitious program for over the next five years. They are going to move 600 foreign-trained doctors through their credentials into the practice of medicine.
That’s just one example of where we are failing. We are failing these skilled people who come to our country and we are failing everyone who lives here because the people who are already here are not enjoying the benefits of those people’s skills and abilities, whether it’s in terms of improving health or in other areas. So I want to underscore how important that challenge is and the fact that we are all need to do better.
I want to especially acknowledge Mrs. Kamal Sehgal, who is the coordinator of the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women. She is going to be presenting here today. The Alberta Network of Immigrant Women (which is based in Calgary) is a very good example of the positive work that is starting to be done here.
Supported by, among others, Multicultural Canada and, I believe, the province, to look at this whole question of how we engage key stakeholders to reexamine residency and training procedures, and develop a database of international medical graduates for use by health, education and International Medical Graduates.
I want to acknowledge that while we have had successes, many challenges still remain and there are failures. We need to figure out that we need to do, the programs we need to figure out what we need to do, the programs we need to put in place, to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to fulfill their true potential.
I just want to mention another program, and that is Changing Together’s Mentorship Program. This Mentorship Program connects mentors and protégés who develop mutually supportive relationships and employment opportunities for immigrant women. It includes a Mentorship Manual for Immigrants, which is designed to assist immigrant women in their search for employment. A program like that acknowledges the fact that there are unique barriers for immigrant and refugee women who have left everything behind and relocated in our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is much on your plate today. I have touched briefly on a couple issues that are, I think, of particular importance. We need to ensure that those who come here are provided the opportunity to maximize their potential, maximize their skills, because that is not only important for them but it is important for us as a productive, inclusive, socially cohesive nation.
On behalf of the Government, I want to thank you all for being here this morning. My colleagues and I look forward to the outcome from the various discussions and the recommendations you have that may help us, at whatever level of government, wherever we are. Non Government Organizations do a better job for immigrant and refugee Canadians.
Thank you very much for inviting me here this morning and have a great day.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
The Trade in People and Canada’s Role
Marie Boti, Executive Director
Productions Multi-Monde, Inc.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen and friends. Thanks to Sonia, Blythe, and other new friends at Changing Together for inviting me to this conference. It's an opportunity to connect with my own roots; I grew up in Edmonton, went to the University of Alberta and left for Montreal in the 70's, and have been there ever since. I came to a Grade 9 class reunion last year in Edmonton, and through an old school chum, I heard about Changing Together…A Centre for Immigrant Women. Changing Together heard about me and the films I have made.
The theme of your conference, “A Journey from Displacement to Settlement”, begs the question of the quality of settlement taking place in Canada, on grounds of equality and fairness, or by creating a group of second-class citizens filling low-income jobs below their qualifications, especially in these times when people of colour become easy targets of the war on terror, and forced displacement is more rampant than ever. It is an important question to ask.
I have spent the last ten years making documentaries about migrant workers, mostly domestic workers from the Philippines. I would like to tell you how this interest began, and how it is reflected in the 3 films we have made. I'll show you some short excerpts of these films as we go along. I’ve divided my presentation into four parts: 1) “How I Got Involved in Migration Issues”, 2) “Making of Brown Women, Blond Babies”, 3) The International Context and the Making of Modern Heroes, Modern Slaves”, and 4) “Resistance, Demands and Gains Made in the Rights and Welfare of Migrants in Canada”.