Work Segmentation in the Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park Area
Perron 1 of 13
The Suburbs and Local Labour Market Integration:
Work Segmentation in the Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park Area
Shawn Andrew Taylor Perron
SOCD21: Immigrant Scarborough
Professor Paloma Villegas
April 2, 2014
The Suburbs and Local Labour Market Integration:
Work Segmentation in the Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park Area
Introduction
Despite being accepted through Canadian immigration as skilled citizens, immigrants are increasingly confronted by barriers keeping them from employment in their fields.[1] Several scholars have pointed to discrimination against forms of human capital as the major cause of concern here. They argue that employers have devalued foreign credentials in favour of 'Canadian experience.'[2] Others claim that the social capital immigrants formulate when landing in ethnic communities is the main inhibitor of economic stability. Strong connections in Chinese immigrant communities, for example, ensure quick employment but these positions are often limited to the ethnic economy with low income and little opportunity for upward mobility.[3] These approaches of human and social capital are easy to generalize and have been foundational for policy development to improve immigrant integration into the Canadian labour market.
While issues related to human and social capital are evident, in this essay I utilize a spatial approach by analyzing the local labour markets in immigrant neighbourhoods. In 2010 Three Cities Within Toronto report found that the majority of low-income immigrants were concentrated within the inner suburbs, otherwise known as City #3.[4] In this way it is important to frame barriers related to immigrant integration within the context of suburbanization and suburban sprawl. Here I apply this frame of reference to perform a case study on the Kingston -Galloway / Orton (KGO) Park Area in Scarborough which holds a considerable volume of subsidized housing occupied by immigrants. Drawing on participant observation and research I will attempt to illustrate that a major economic barrier for KGO residents is the lack of reliable job opportunities within the local Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and along Kingston road labour market. This 'category killer' site segments local immigrants within minimum-wage and part-time retail positions.
The Suburbs and Labour Market Integration (Literature Review)
Several scholars have concluded that area of settlement has a significant impact on the economic stability of immigrants. Karen King found that immigrants who resided in small urban or rural Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in Ontario (ex. Peterborough and Brantford) earned more or similar to the Canadian-born population. Conversely, in larger urban centers such as Hamilton and Ottawa Canadian-born residents typically earn 20% more than immigrants. Accordingly we find that in Toronto, the largest 'gateway' CMA in Ontario, immigrants on average typically earn 58.8% less than Canadian-born. In other words, the credentials of immigrants have stronger agency in smaller communities making it easier to find reliable work in their fields.[5]
How can we explain this contrast of labour market integration? We may begin by noting that this income inequality in Toronto was less significant prior to 1961 and only began to escalate in 1970. This time period correlates with a major trend sweeping across post World War Two North America: suburbanization. To introduce this topic I will turn to some United States examples. Dolores Hayden has illustrated that in order to accommodate the mass income of veterans the Federal Housing Administration gave subsidies to real estate agents unionized by the National Association of Real Estate Boards for the unregulated construction of cheap homes. Communities such as Levittown, NY and Lakewood, CA quickly emerged. However, due to lack of incentives there was a significant lack of well designed city centers, residential neighbourhoods, transit, or public space. Referred to as 'edge cities' this construction expanded upon the edges existing downtown centers. Customary of these neighbourhoods were the construction of 'category killers:' minimum-wage, part-time big box, and chain retail stores designed to cover all needs and services at discount price. As less became local these neighbourhoods were increasingly constructed for car-owners able to commute.[6]
However, as decades passed these cheap homes quickly became popular settlement destinations for the massive immigration flows after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This was certainly the case for immigrant families living in the periphery of Long Island. However, Sarah Mahler illustrated that this was accompanied by a trend in the 1980s local economy which produced a large volume of low-wage and dead-end jobs ('category killers') few natives would take. Instead these positions were occupied by immigrants experiencing issues related to labour market integration, a segregated housing market, and struggling to afford basic finances. These neighbourhoods originally constructed for middle-class and car-owning resident capable of commuting downtown were now occupied my low-income immigrants unable to afford transportation.[7] Within these neighbourhoods immigrants quickly became dependent on and limited to local 'category killer' retail stores for employment.
While these are American examples, Toronto also has evidence of immigrant suburban neighbourhoods. Similarly, S. Wang and J. Zhong have argued that these 'ethnoburbs' (suburbs heavily populated by 'visible minorities') attract the majority of immigrant settlement in Toronto, rather than downtown. These communities often develop their own ethnic economies, political institutions, and cultural centers.[8] Connections can also be made within J. Hulchanski's 2010 Three Cities report. He found that in addition with high concentrations of low-income and immigrant demographic the Toronto suburbs (City #3) are overwhelmingly dominated by blue-collar jobs with higher paying white-collar positions located downtown.[9]
We can now hypothesize an answer to our original question in this section. It seems plausible that there is more economic disparity amongst immigrants and native-born Canadians in large CMAs because these urban centers have higher volume of suburban sprawl, wherein immigrants become segmented to minimum-wage and part-time 'category killers' employment. Conversely, in smaller CMAs the city center is more accessible to immigrants and there is less potential for spatial segregation. In summary - studies seem to suggest that immigrant communities are negatively impacted by the poor employment opportunities found in the local labour markets of suburbia.
The Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park Area
A useful foundation to explore this area of investigation is provided by the Kingston The Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park (KGO) area. This region is defined by its low-income immigrant demographic. The City of Toronto's Kingston-Galloway Priority Area Profile reported that of the 23, 042 KGO residents in 2006 61.4% was represented by non-white ethnicities (or 'visible minorities') and received 2,195 immigrants in this year alone. The most populous of these ethnic groups were Black, South Asian, and Filipino. The same report found that 29% of the population was considered low income people (much higher than the 19.4% city average). This region was also regarded as having the highest concentration of subsidized housing in Ontario with 85% of the population in Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) buildings. Accordingly it has been designated as a 'priority area' by the City of Toronto because it is underserved in libraries, food banks, community centres, and other social services.[10]
However, it is important to note that the financial situation of this area does not seem to reflect low human capital. About 20% of residents hold a College or other non-university degree, ~10% a apprenticeship or trades diploma, and ~10% are recorded as having a Bachelor's Degree. Thus, there must be some barriers, whether institutional, social, or spatial at play here keeping immigrant residents from successful labour market integration.[11]
It useful to situate these findings within the historical context of the region. Although West Hill was originally established here in 1879 it was not until after the second World War that we can point to major infrastructural transformations and population growth.[12] Like Long Island discussed above, Scarborough provided an important site of expansion of cheap housing for Canadian veterans. After the 1976 Immigration Act a few decades later however these suburban homes became popular and affordable settlement destinations for immigration[13] (which jumped up by 600% after this legislation). Accompanied by this was Scarborough's gradual incorporation as a inner suburb of Toronto in 1953 and borough in 1967.[14] Without any planned center Scarborough and the KGO area may be considered an 'edge city' of downtown Toronto. The central labour market may be found within the Lawrence/Morningside Plaza (conglomeration of the West Hill Shopping Centre, the Morningside Crossing Stores, and the Kingston Square Stores) which pours out along Kingston road. Characteristic of 'category killers' these box retail institutions dominated by chain corporations such as McDonalds, LCBO, Dollarama, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Food Basics. This intersection provides the community with goods from grocery, fitness centers, and medicine to alcohol and entertainment .
Figure1. The Kingston-Galloway / Orton Park Priority Area[15]
Figure2. The Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and Kingston road labour market[16]
Methodology
This Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and Kingston road labour market also provides an important foundation for analyzing the conditions of local employment. In order to evaluate this site I developed a neighbourhood profile which compiled local research and recorded two instances of participant observation (field notes). In the profile I drew on studies and resources related to the history, population and immigration statistics, social services, and employment. One of my major sources was the City of Toronto's Kingston-Galloway Priority Area Profile which is a document prepared by the Social Policy Analysis and Research section in the Social Development, Finance and Administration Division using information from the 2006 Census.[17] Also central were maps and service information provided by the Resource Guide for the Kingston-Galloway/Orton Park Community booklet.[18] I also utilized local articles such as Mike Alder's report in Metroland related to immigrant protests in 2013 for a raise in minimum-wage.[19] Each of these resources was important for establishing the context and background of the area - as discussed above - before jumping into fieldwork, analysis, and research.
Each of my instances of participant observation were collected within the Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and Kingston road stores. My first site was at a Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill from ~7:00pm to 8:00pm. To contrast these findings my second site was located within the cheaper Kentucky Fried Chicken / Taco Bell restaurant during lunch hours (~1:30pm-2:30pm). Each of these sites provided areas to observe employment without intruding within the social environment. Impersonating a customer I purchased a meal at each site and while eating recorded observations within a notebook related to the setting, customers, and staff of each. Afterwards I transcribed this information with some research for reference. This provides the main foundation for my findings and analysis here.
Figure3. Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill Figure4. Kentucky Fried Chicken / Taco Bell
Findings & Analysis
'Gateway cities' in Canada (Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto) consistently attract the highest volume of the country's immigrant settlement. These CMAs include ethnic suburban communities (or 'ethnoburbs') which supply familiar goods and services to ease transition into Canadian life. However, the lack of city centers or reliable employment in these 'edge cities' is a vital structural barrier against immigrant integration into the labour market. This issues is prevalent within the Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and Kingston road labour market located within the KGO area. My participant observations at Swiss Chalet and KFC/Taco Bell include three main findings/observations which illustrate this local economic infrastructure and its problematic effects.
The first and most significant finding was that each of these minimum-wage and part-time institutions were primarily staffed by middle-aged adults of non-white ethnicities during my sittings. For example, my server at Swiss Chalet appeared to be aged in his 40s and of South Asian descent. This observation was consistent amongst the other servers, cooks, and manager - only one server of which was of white ethnicity. In KFC/Taco Bell I witnessed a higher volume of younger employees, but the demographic majority was parallel to that of Swiss Chalet. This finding seems to correlate with the Priority Neighbourhood Profile statistic that 17% all residents and 22% of those employed in part-time work are located in the retail economic sector.[20] While retail establishments are not inherently an issue, the high volume of these businesses in the local labour market is problematic. This source of employment alone does not provide enough income for what appears to be local immigrant adults with debt related to parenthood, rent, health, settlement expenses, etc. Rather, these employment conditions seem to qualify for what Stapleton et al. describe as the 'working poor' in Toronto. He reported that immigrants are over-represented within this group especially located in suburban high-rise buildings. The United Way's Vertical Poverty report, for example, found that people living in private-sector housing experienced considerable issues in regards to paying rent despite high employment rates.[21]
One might argue that KGO residents have commute opportunities to access more reliable work. However, this apparent segmentation of resident employment within the local labour market is moreover supported by my second observation: many customers and staff coming and leaving from these institutions did so on foot. While at Swiss Chalet there were less customers for longer durations of time, KFC/Taco Bell served customers on the go. Despite this constant influx it was rare to witness any customer interaction with automobiles in nearby parking lots. This seems consistent with above statistics which illustrate that many local low-income residents lack the expenses to afford large payments such as those involved with car ownership. Furthermore, while mass transit is present it does not seem to offer many chances for upward mobility. Taking the 305 and 354 TTC bus routes may transfer one to similar problematic 'category killers' in the suburbs. Alternatively, these routes may take one to the congested rail transit at the Bloor-Danforth and the Yonge Subway stations to commute to the competitive and discriminatory labour market downtown.[22] In this way it seems that residents of this low-income immigrant community have limited commuting opportunities which restricts them to the local labour market within the Lawrence/Morningside Plaza and along Kingston road.
Some scholars may argue that these issues are symptomatic of more generalized and widespread issues related to the marginalization of immigrant social capital or discrimination against immigrant human capital. For example, M. Nakhaie and A. Kazemipur, using the Longitudional Survey of Immigrants in Canada, illustrated that the Socio-Economic Scale of immigrants is strongly influenced by their social networks. They found that while homogenous immigrant communities increase the rate of finding a job within four years of settlement these positions are often less reliable and stable than those found through school teachers or referral. In this way it may be supposed that KGO residents are concentrated within low-income work because they rely on somewhat limiting social ties from friends and family within their neighbourhood.[23] Jeffrey Reitz, on the other hand has found that within recent years there has been an increasing devaluation of foreign education and experience in favour of Canadian experience. In addition to prejudice, employers often lack the knowledge or resources to convert these skills into the Canadian labour market.[24] Reitz then may argue that immigrants are segmented within the KGO area because of institutional discrimination which excludes them from higher-paying positions downtown.
While barriers against immigrant social and human capital may exist within the KGO area these issues are significantly structured by spatial and infrastructural problems related to suburban sprawl. As discussed above, the problem of 'category killers' and immigrant segmentation within low-paying jobs is characteristic of major suburban regions of the United States such as Levittown, NY and Long Island. In the case of Toronto, academics such as Eric Fong and his colleagues have illustrated the unique economic characteristics of suburban labour markets through the examples of Chinese businesses. For example, they found that in suburbs Chinese businesses were more clustered than in the city due to the low density of suburban land development and the dispersion of ethnic members. They explained that "locating in another suburban neighbourhood, even an adjacent neighbourhood, may suggest spatial separation from other co-ethnic businesses."[25] In other words, different local labour markets are significantly distanced - allowing for the structural segmentation of economic space.