Transforming the Mainstream:Immigration in Atlantic Canada, Past, Present and FutureA Research Symposium November 17-18, 2016 | Halifax, Nova Scotia

AUTHORSAther H. Akbari and Evie Tastsoglou,Saint Mary’s University.

Over the past 16 years, annual immigrant arrivals have more than doubled in Atlantic Canada. Provinces are also retaining more immigrants than before, and are attracting more international students. These trends are attributable to deliberate attempts by each province at government and community levels to welcome newcomers and to create conditions that will encourage them to stay. As the region’s rate of population increase declines, immigrants and international students are viewed as a source of future labour force growth in the region.1

Immigrants and international students arrive from different parts of the world. They are rapidly changing the ethnic, cultural and religious fabric of the regional population. Since 2000, Atlantic Canada has welcomed more immigrants from China, Philippines, India, Israel, Iran and Syria than before. In 2015, the top five source countries of international students to the region included China, Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria and South Korea.2 The recent inflow of refugees from Syria has further added to the demographic diversity of the region.3

Public policy debate on immigration in host countries has mainly focused on how immigrants adjust to their new environment, and also their overall impact on host societies. Very little is known about their impact on smaller regions within a receiving country. In November, 2016, the Atlantic Research Group on Economics of Immigration, Aging and Diversity held a research symposium to investigate how the established Canadian-born population in Atlantic Canada is responding to the increasing diversity of population due to the arrival of more immigrants and international students. In the title of the symposium, Transforming the Mainstream not only refers to past, present and ongoing changes, but also a shared, and collective vision of the direction of future changes. The symposium provided a forum for regional development planners, immigration policymakers, the business community, settlement organizations and

Transformingthe Mainstream

1 Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy. Now or Never. An Urgent Call to Action for Nova Scotians The Report of the Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy, Halifax, NS: One Nova Scotia, February 2014.2 Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as of March 31, 2016.3 In 2016, Canada resettled 34,135 Syrian refugees, about 9.5 percent (3435) of them arrived in Atlantic Canada (Source: IRCC, November 30-2017, 2016 Data).

academic researchers and students to exchange thoughts and experiences on how immigration is affecting the region; to share information on any specific measures they have adopted to accommodate the diversity of newcomers; and to share and discuss their visions about the future of Atlantic Canada in relation to immigration and cultural diversity in the 21st century.The event was co-chaired by Dr. Ather Akbari and Dr. Evie Tastsoglou of Saint Mary’s University. The Advisory Committee included: Nabiha Atallah (Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, ISANS); Craig McKee (Prince Edward Island Association of Newcomers to Canada, PEIANC); Cyprien Okana (Okana-Solutions Marketing, NB); Howard Ramos (Dalhousie University); and Ken Walsh (Association of New Canadians, ANC, of Newfoundland and Labrador). During the planning process, the committee members consulted regularly and held two formal meetings via teleconference to discuss the agenda and selection of speakers. The event agenda (as attached to this report) was approved by the Advisory Committee. It included a reception in the evening of November 17th at Pier 21. The Symposium on November 18th was in three sessions. Participants came from all four provinces and included members of federal, provincial and municipal governments; settlement agencies; business organizations; and university faculty and students. In total, 105 people registered; total attendance at the event was 79 (combined Pier 21 and at the Symposium). A summary of the proceedings of each session follows.

Welcoming Sessions

At the Pier 21 reception, Dr. Margaret McDonald (Dean, Faculty of Arts, Saint Mary’s University) welcomed participants on behalf of the university. She emphasized the importance of international students in the region. Being trained in Canada, international students represent a potential pool of skilled labour. They also provide economic benefits to the region while they are studying here. Furthermore, while they themselves benefit from the presence of domestic students in their classes, they also enrich the classroom atmosphere by exposing native-born students to various cultures from around the world. The keynote speaker at the Pier 21 reception was Mr. Steve Craig, Deputy Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). He welcomed the guests on behalf of Mayor Savage and Regional Council and shared some detailed information on the city of Halifax’s initiatives, and their rationale, to increase immigration. He also discussed how the attitudes and values of the host society contribute to help increase immigration. The City of Halifax has welcomed millions of immigrants since World War I. Pier 21, opened in 1928, was identified as having “the finest immigration facilities of any port in the world.” Until it closed in 1971, Pier 21 provided the transition space into Canada. In present times, “transition space” has taken on a whole new meaning and form: the whole community has become a transition space, and has a part to play in the settlement of new Canadians.Halifax has a comprehensive and well-functioning network for immigration services. Support for immigrants is advocated by many groups, intergovernmental cooperation and initiatives, input and support from the business community, universities, community organizations, and immigrant settlement services.

The Halifax Economic Growth Plan sets a long term vision to grow Halifax’s population to 550,000 (a population growth rate of about 1.7 percent per year) and GDP to $30 billion by 2031. Increasing immigration is an important step towards achieving this goal. Between 2000 and 2015, the city has averaged more than 2,085 immigrants each year. To achieve the 1.7 percent growth, the city needs to attract more immigrants and retain them. This can be achieved through various means such as: compiling an inventory and increasing awareness of the initiatives and programs that assist immigrants’ integration into Canada’s labour market; sharing Halifax’s

value propositions with universities, employers, and public sector partners working to attract students and employees to Halifax; working with provincial stakeholders to identify ways to leverage Halifax’s migrant and ethnic communities to attract talent and; and investing in Halifax.

Some of the initiatives undertaken by the city to make Halifax a better place to live and work for newcomers include:

• Participation in the Housing and Homelessness Partnership and Affordable Housing Working Group to determine appropriate mechanisms to support and encourage a range of affordable housing in HRM, which is one of the first challenges that many newcomers face; • Passing a motion by Council to seek provincial legislative amendments to give immigrants with permanent residence status the right to vote in municipal elections; • Launching a Local Immigrant Partnership (LIP) to help settle new-comers; • Providing transit passes for first year of settlement; • Relief on fees for the 28 owned and operated recreational facilities for the first year of settlement ; and • Collaboration with other settlement agencies to facilitate access to transit, recreation and library services through use of an ID card or municipal services card.

The Symposium was opened by Dr. Patricia Bradshaw, Dean, Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University. Dr. Bradshaw informed the audience about internationalization of education at Sobey School which has established a link with Beijing Normal University (BNU), where the Sobey School’s faculty members offer courses. About 30 percent of students at Sobey School are international from many countries including China, India, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and the Bahamas.

Lynn Adams, Acting Director, Policy, Advocacy and Coordination at Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) welcomed the audience on behalf of ACOA. In July 2016, the Government of Canada launched the Atlantic Growth Strategy to promote economic growth in Atlantic Canada. The strategy emphasizes a skilled labour force, and emphasizes increased immigration as a key component. The first activity arising from the strategy is the Atlantic Immigration Pilot which will admit up to 2,000 additional immigrants and accompanying families in 2017, with rising numbers in the following years depending on performance. Retention of international students is also an important component. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is responsible for the immigration component, with Employment and Social Development Canada leading the skills portion.

Ms. Adams also referred to ACOA’s support to EduNova, a non-profit co-operative with a mandate to coordinate international marketing efforts of Nova Scotia’s education and training sector by launching the Student Retention-to-Residency Pilot. This will assist 50 international students to live and work in Nova Scotia after graduation.

that Canadians support immigration. Particularly, in Atlantic Canada, there is a high degree of support for government’s plans for newcomers and refugees from Syria and elsewhere.

Many studies have found that immigrants contribute to economic growth through innovation and creation of new businesses and jobs. About 35 percent of Canada Research Chairs are foreign-born, even though immigrants are one fifth of Canadian population. Skilled immigration programs in Australia and Canada can partially explain why these countries narrowly missed the impact of the global financial crisis.

According to 2011 National Household Survey, 4.1 percent of the Atlantic population is foreign-born (much lower than the 20.6 percent of the Canadian population). Over 35 percent of the foreign-born immigrated between 2001 and 2011, and 24.5 percent immigrated between 2006-2011.

A major issue of policy concern relating to new immigrants is their greater difficulty in economic assimilation than those who came in the past.

Policy recommendations:

• Modify the point system to vary the points awarded for educational attainment; • Improved credential assessment processes (such as improving databases of program equivalencies); • Improved labour market information and access to educational systems, workplaces, and professional associations; and • Cross-cultural training for both employers and employees to reduce intended and unintended labour market discrimination.

Session 1 Economic Impacts of Immigration in Atlantic Canada

Achieving the Full Potential of Migration Nation Advantages Tony Fang, Memorial University of Newfoundland

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2011) recognized migration as an important issue facing the developed and developing world in 21st century.4

On a per capita basis, Australia and Canada continue to be the two largest immigrant-receiving countries in the western world. Major issues for Canada’s immigration program are:

• Annual intake; • Patterns of immigration and types of immigrants; • Settlement and integration (maximizing social welfare so migrants contribute); • Macroeconomic impact (do migrants create jobs or take jobs?). Immigrants increase aggregated demand for goods and services (especially housing and related goods) and this roughly offsets any increase in unemployment as they enter the labour market and search for employment; • Greater net gain in productivity from accumulation of new capital and the reorientation of output in the economy to investment goods and to net exports; • Impact on public treasury. Government expenditures increase in response to new immigration. However, taxes and Canada Pension Plan contributions increase when new immigrants begin to work, offsetting the increase in expenditures; and • Long-term impacts: Innovation, entrepreneurship, and international trade.

An aging population has long term effects. A population growth rate of 1% is needed to sustain the current population level in Canada. Given low fertility rates, immigration is needed to sustain the current population level. Past surveys suggest 4 http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/country/4fd6f87f9/unhcr-global-trends-2011.html

“That’s not my Problem” to “Let’s get it Done!”: Transforming Mainstream Attitudes to International Qualifications Recognition (IQR) Jan Sheppard Kutcher, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)

IQR is important for economic integration of newcomers. Qualifications include credentials, competencies, and experience. However, there are challenges in adopting a proper system. Regulation is a provincial responsibility but national organizations play an increasing role. There is variation in the occupations that are regulated provincially; in the assessment approaches of regulated occupations; and in the relationship between licensure and employment. Nova Scotia’s approach to IQR is integrated and collaborative which is a win-win for all stakeholders. IQR is a complex challenge.

Some solutions:

• Occupation-specific programs (e.g. pharmacy bridging program); • Funding to assist newcomers in regulated occupations; and • Legislation in Nova Scotia: Fair Registration Practices Act 2009 (FRPA).

Multi-stakeholder work groups:

• Regulatory bodies are not solely responsible. There is a need for a variety of key stakeholders to collaborate; • Always be action-oriented; • International graduates can share their perspectives, and challenges. After several meetings trust develops. Working in collaboration removes the burden from the individual; Groups sustain the momentum for change; and • Occupation-specific.

Achievements:

• Identified clear pathways; • Eliminated unnecessary barriers (e.g. in pharmacy); • Created new pathways; • Developed a variety of programs for understanding Canadian practices; • Gaining first-hand experience (law); • Accessing competences in the workplace (e.g. engineers); • Promote regional collaboration; • Make direct connections to the pan-Canadian partners; • Encourage mainstream partners; and • Provincial retention of immigrants.

“Breaking Through the Double Glass Ceiling: Changing the Mindscape of Employer’s Hiring Policies and Practices” Donna Safatli, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)

This report is based on an ongoing two-year project aimed at promoting the hiring and promotion of immigrant women professionals. More than half of new immigrants arriving in 2011 were women, most of whom were underemployed. The project started with focus groups with underemployed immigrant women, employers from different sectors, immigrant women who had successful careers in order to understand the challenges faced by immigrant women, and the barriers employers face. The report ends with recommendations.

The project is currently in its third phase. Its recommendations will be shared with employers to develop a joint action plan. This will include a forum, “Stepping Up and Moving Up,” on March 5, 2017.

Top three goals:

• Discovering the reasons behind underemployment; • Building awareness: sharing knowledge about barriers; and • Using employer-specific best practice tools.

Barriers:

• Accent, language and occupational jargon; • Application process: unfamiliarity with the application process, job interviews and preparation of online CV. • Lack of resources or awareness of resources; • Lack of access to professional development opportunities; • Credential recognition and Canadian work experience; • Feeling unwelcome and unvalued; and

Suggestions to break through the barriers:

• Cultural competency, safety training; • Conducting ongoing cross-cultural workplace assessment; • Application process: training for interview process and how to use online system; diverse hiring panels; and recognizing and valuing international experience; • Implementing language and accent awareness training; • Mentorship program; • Promoting professional development courses and training; • Providing leadership opportunities on different projects; • Family-centred policies; • Having employers volunteer to gain cross-cultural competencies; • Building awareness (sharing the barriers immigrant women face); • Using employer specific best practice tools; and • Indentifying employers who instigate change.

Summary of Discussion Between the Audience and Presenters: A question asked whether there are multi-stakeholder groups for trades-people the same way as there are for professionals. The response was that we have not had much experience with immigrants in trades, and it remains to be seen whether the multi-stakeholder group in various professional groups can be successfully adapted to trades. Another question was whether there are gender-specific obstacles to the hiring or promotion of immigrant women who are professionals (other than the obstacles that prevent their hiring as immigrants). Although the response was that focus groups in the study mentioned barriers that affected both men and women, a more general discussion ensued among members of the audience on the specific gender barriers that immigrant women are faced with. The most common were: 1. Women are primary care-givers;2. Women also see failures as their failures and not organization failures; and3. There are intersections of immigrant status and gender/family and employment. For example, a couple needs to have credentials recognized: man goes first while the woman stays home with children; when her time comes, there might be more obstacles such as too much time has passed.Discussion followed on the recommendation that employers be encouraged to volunteer. It was stated that volunteering is very important as it gives employers an understanding. It is a cultural exchange: not only immigrants learn but so do employers. It is about learning different perspectives.

Session 2 Social Impacts of Immigration in Atlantic Canada

Refugee Claimants in Atlantic Canada Julie Chamagne, Executive Director, Halifax Refugee Clinic

The primary goal of the Halifax Refugee Clinic (HRC, or Sanctuary House) is to provide legal services for those refugee claimants who cannot afford a lawyer. There is a difference between a refugee claimant (asylum seekers) and government-assisted or privately sponsored refugees. The former arrives with no status and thus does not have access to housing or other services while going through the process of status determination. Therefore, the clinic also offers settlement services to claimants who cannot access government-sponsored settlement services. The work of the HRC is premised on the principles of access; inclusion; privacy and confidentiality; safety and comfort; empowerment; strengths-based approach; cultural competence; and anti-oppression.

Testimonials were presented by two former refugee claimants:

Nadja Uriyo, Immigration Assistant, City of Moncton: When she arrived, she was receiving help from a church. A challenge was that there was no help with the process of status determination in Moncton. With the help of HRC she was able to get refugee status and now works for the City of Moncton retaining immigrants and refugees with the Local Immigration Partnership.

Akram Ben Salah, Executive Director of the New Brunswick Refugee Clinic: He applied for status determination with no legal assistance. Language and cultural barriers were the main obstacles. He opened a New Brunswick Refugee Clinic to fill the need and help refugees.

Community Transformations Catherine Baillie-Abidi, Saint Mary’s University; Athabasca University; Red Cross

Newcomers to Canada, including persons with refugee backgrounds, are transforming the mainstream in Atlantic Canada. To explore the social impacts of transnational migration and the shifts in the social fabric of Atlantic Canadian communities, Baillie-Abidi highlights community-based programs/workshops from her time with the Canadian Red Cross as well as community-engaged programs focused on shared learning and development

The Red Cross is doing work to disprove myths about refugees and share their experiences with the general public. This includes such initiatives as:

• A documentary to challenge negative stereotypes about refugees in the UK. Children were taught to take action and tackle negative stereotypes; • “A Story to Tell and a Place for the Telling:” storytelling program about migration and settlement through public libraries; • “Sharing stories of war and peace” (e.g. between refugees and veterans); and • “Invisible Women, Concrete Boundaries”: Exploring the experiences of women with refugee backgrounds in Nova Scotia and the resulting policy and practice changes within education, health and community services.

The Red Cross also has an Inclusive and Welcoming Communities initiative that includes several programs:

• IWK Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee: Working with health care practitioners and newcomers to create more inclusive practices and services; • Working with private refugee sponsorship: - Baillie-Abidi found there were different reactions to two refugee crises: the Kosovo crisis in 1999 had almost no community involvement; the Syrian crisis in 2015/16 had active involvement; and - She also emphasized the importance of including children in community engagement initiatives.

Ways Immigrants influence Nova Scotia Health Care Delivery Wenche Gausdal, Refugee Settlement Manager, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)

As part of ISANS Immigrant Health Task Force in 2005 several programs have been created to address immigrant health needs including a Newcomer Community Wellness Program, and Transitional Health Clinic for Refugees. ISANS also has a Quality Assurance committee which includes newcomers to ensure proper and effective health care delivery.

The Newcomer Community Wellness Program was set up because ISANS found that health care services were not set up for immigrants. ISANS consulted with newcomers to learn what perceptions, practices and resources were needed to address wellness and mental health. They found there was need for increased capacity building on how to deal with trauma. As part of the program they prepared tools and resources available in different languages. They also began working with the Dalhousie Dental Hygiene School to offer services to newcomers.

Challenges faced by newcomers:

• Funding priorities, policies and service delivery processes; • Knowledge and skills in serving diverse populations and global health including: - Interpretation services; - Coordination of services; - Access to information; - Access to health services such as mental health and primary care; and - Support for those who need care at home and special needs services.

Building Healthy Communities - Immigration in Smaller Centres In Hae Park, Provincial Coordinator, YREACH Program, YMCA

The YReach program provides services to newcomers in nine communities across Nova Scotia, offering information, orientation and settlement support to immigrants and refugees and their families who are new to communities outside HRM. Services include education workshops, on-site school settlement for children, and multicultural events at schools and in communities

The program builds awareness directed at the community and works with local partners to create welcoming communities.

There are challenges and barriers in smaller centres:

• Transportation; • Limited employment assistance and settlement services; • Availability of multicultural food; and • Less diversity

What is happening in the community under the surface?

• Community lacks interest; • Do not know how to work with immigrants; • Racism; • Lack of resources; • Friendly but not friends; and • Do not know how to meet immigrant needs.

Raising our Voices, making our Mark: Immigrant and Migrant Women organizing for Community Transformation Maria Jose Yax-Fraser, York University / Saint Mary’s University and Immigrant/Migrant Women’s Association of Halifax (IMWAH)

Over the past four years, IMWAH has worked to address the challenges, celebrate the contributions and respond to the unique needs and concerns of immigrant and migrant women and girls. In this presentation, Yax-Fraser highlights how, through its four objectives, community projects, advocacy work and participation in community boards and committees, IMWAH and its members are contributing to the transformation of the mainstream environment in Halifax; and how through its gender and cross-cultural focus and vision IMWAH is transforming immigration discourse and settlement practices in this area. IMWAH consists of women from different backgrounds (artists, academics, community developers). Most work in immigration-related fields.

Why do immigrant women organize?

• Gender-neutral or male-biased (sexist) state policies pertaining to immigrants render women marginal; • Immigrant women tend to arrive as “family class” (dependents); and • Lack of consideration for women’s contributions in society

Three areas of marginalization:

1. In the policy process: Admission systems reproduce stereotypical roles in migratory patterns. Most often in family immigration it is men who come as independent immigrants and women come as dependents but they might have comparable education and work experience. This excludes women from some settlement services and can deepen their dependence on their husband;

2. In the settlement and integration process: Institutional, social and cultural factors such as exclusion of some categories of immigrants from language training deepen dependency of women. Even when status is not an issue, women stay home and look after their children (due to the lack of childcare) while men go to language classes; and

3. In the labour market: women continue to organize.

Summary of Discussion Between the Audience and Presenters: A question asked whether there are customized services for immigrant youth with mental health issues such as anxiety. It was responded that there are no specific services provided by the settlement organization, so immigrant youth are referred to a clinic the organization works with.It was commented that social networks are very important for labour market opportunities. Settlement agencies are in a good position to help establish high quality social networks. Quite often people in Nova Scotia already have friends so it is hard to break into existing networks. Settlement organizations assess clients’ needs and then connect individuals and families to resources in the community.It was further asked if immigrants and refugees posed any particular social problems such as family violence, etc. The response from the panel was that settlement organizations, such as ISANS, run orientation sessions about Canadian family law and then individual follow-up sessions. Furthermore, there is a very small percentage of cases with family violence. An additional challenge has been that women experiencing violence at home come to shelters but do not have access to language services. Finally it was asked what orientation programs are in place to deal with cultural shock faced by children. The panel responded that the settlement organizations do work with children exploring labels and explaining that we belong to different communities.

Lunch Hour Guest Speaker: Judy Towers, Nova Scotia Deputy Minister of ImmigrationPopulation growth through increased immigration has been identified as an important component of the Atlantic Growth Strategy5 , which covers all four Atlantic Provinces.Ms. Towers spoke of an interest in developing a research plan for Nova Scotia and posed four questions for the academics in the room:1. How do we best position ourselves to attract top talent? a. UK has perceived prestige, Australia has phenomenal lifestyle – how do we brand Canada and Atlantic Canada?2. How do we sell Nova Scotia in other countries? a. Which markets should be targeted? Students, skilled workers, families?3. How do we encourage employers to use immigration as a hiring tool? a. Particularly in industries with skills shortages.4. Where are the measures of how well we’re doing? What measures do we have?

5 The Government of Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces launched Atlantic Growth Strategy in 2016 to work together to build a vibrant economic future for Atlantic Canada by focussing their efforts and resources to stimulate the region's economy, support the middle class and address both longstanding and emerging regional challenges. More information can be found at http://www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/ags-sca/Eng/atlantic-growth.html.

The Impact of Immigrant Cultures on Small Host Societies: The Example of the Moncton Armenian Festival Sylvia Kasparian, Université de Moncton

Immigration does not rhyme only with the word integration, but also with culture and language contact. The influence is bi-directional, it is not only the immigrant who changes through integration into the mainstream, the mainstream also changes in contact with the culture of the newcomers. The transformations are in both ways. The city of Moncton is a good example of that.

Only 30 years ago Moncton was still a small dual city with two solitudes -francophone and Anglophone - and a pale shadow of invisible, ignored Aboriginal society as background. A few Chinese, Vietnamese, French, African, South American, and Asian immigrants were living there, integrated in one of the communities. In the last 20 years, because of demographic decline and the massive exodus of New Brunswick residents toward other provinces, the province of New Brunswick with its program Canada 2000 (the Provincial Nominee Program which facilitates immigration) and other programs aiming at enhancing multiculturalism in New Brunswick; the actions of the francophone minority group to stimulate francophone immigration in the region; and finally the international student recruitment actions at the Université de Moncton in Africa and francophone countries, have changed the initial portrait. Now much larger African, Korean, Italian, Lebanese, French, and more recently, Syrian and other communities compose the mosaic of the greater Moncton area. This has transformed local dynamics and culture. So many multicultural or cultural events organized by these communities or multicultural associations reshaped the dialogue, the sensibility, the knowledge and the tastes, and enriched the greater Moncton Area.

In this presentation, Kasparian shows how the dynamics created by immigrants and their culture has changed the mainstream culture in Moncton in the last 20 years. Focusing on a specific cultural event, the Moncton Armenian festival (2005-2015, www. festivalarmenien.com), she reveals, through the event’s vision and concrete examples of activities, the transformations that have taken place in the host society.

The Moncton Armenian Festival happens every two years:

• The goal is to promote Armenian culture and give people the opportunity to experience the culture during the festival; • Volunteers come from different backgrounds, i.e. Franco/Anglo/Armeno-phones; and • The festival has had a positive impact on the community by increasing awareness, solidarity and acceptance.

CAFI (Centre d’ accueil et d’accompagnement francophone des immigrants)6 also plays an important role in the Moncton community by organizing events that bring people together such as film screenings and creating dialogue between festivals.

Session 3 Cultural Impacts of Immigration in Atlantic Canada

6 http://www.cafi-nb.org/

Feeling at Home? International Students Negotiating Diversity on the Atlantic Canadian Campus Sinziana Chira, Dalhousie UniversityInternational students are one of the fastest growing migrant categories in Atlantic Canada. Through a qualitative analysis of 72 migration histories of students from 29 countries, Chira explores modes of community building and outreach on and off campus amongst international students who live in Atlantic Canada’s four provincial capitals, and locates such activities within the settlement and migration projects of this demographic. Drawing on a nationally and ethnically diverse sample, this study also affords an exploration of community and belonging within and across ethnic lines and within historical and current realities for established ethnic communities and newcomers to this region.Canada is seventh most popular destination for international students. They come to Canada because of low tuition and cost of living, and the country’s image of multiculturalism and openness to immigration. The former is especially true in Atlantic Canada. The region has experienced the fastest growth in the international education sector in Canada outside Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Chira found in her study that international students in Atlantic Canada do not follow their ethnic community ties, and consider the lack of diversity in the region as an asset, because many students want Canadian social networks, to speak English fluently, integrate into Canadian culture and become independent. Some students found comfort in their ethnic communities but, at the same time, that such communities could be limiting and prevent them from making Canadian friends. There was concern that Canadians can be too interested in people’s background, and newcomers feel like they can’t get away from their background. The constant questions about where they’re from and what they’re doing here can be exhausting and reduces people to their country.

The DiverseCity Multicultural Street Festival Mark Carr-Rollitt, Prince Edward Island Association for Newcomers to CanadaDiverseCity is a multicultural street festival that happens in Charlottetown, Montague and Summerside in Prince Edward Island. Over the past ten years, the festival has grown from 200 attendees to 29,000, and has become the second largest event in PEI. The festival maintains its core values of being representative, free, safe, accessible, entertaining, and fun.

The purpose of the festival is:• to celebrate diversity; • to make newcomers feel welcome; and • to connect newcomers.The festival is the result of multi-year engagement with newcomers, locals and the Mi’kmaq community. The festival includes food vendors, performances, and information booths that allow newcomers to meet with local service providers such as the police and firefighters. The festival gets funding from all levels of government and have recently begun getting private sponsorships as newcomer businesses want to give back and other businesses have begun to see the value of the immigrant market.The impacts of the festival include: (1) to give many vendors their first business opportunity; (2) the best business day for many vendors, providing income for many newcomers; (3) opportunity to meet people and develop partnerships; (4) providing locals with their first taste of ethnic foods; and (5) increasing the retention of newcomers by helping them feel included and connected. The power of such events to bring people together should not be underestimated. Time, effort and goodwill are needed for a successful event.

A Retailer’s Perspective on the Influence of Newcomers Cynthia Thompson, Sobeys Inc.

In 2017, Canada will celebrate its 150th anniversary. The year will also hold special significance for Sobeys as the company will be celebrating 110 years as a proudly Canadian business focused primarily on food retailing. The grocery industry has changed dramatically and the company itself has transformed. At its heart, however, Sobeys continues to hold true to two important principles - a commitment to local farmers and food processors, and a focus on the evolving needs and expectations of customers. This presentation shares a few recent stories of the Sobeys experience on both fronts in Atlantic Canada, drawing on examples that are particularly relevant to building supplier relationships with newcomers, and meeting the grocery shopping needs of immigrants.

Sobeys works with small vendors to grow their businesses and sell products at Sobeys. The company has an Atlantic manager, who scouts farmers markets and small businesses to sell their locally made products at Sobeys stores.

For example, Sobeys worked with Atlantic Beef Products to expand their production and promised them a market for halal meat, which is now sold at Sobeys locations across the Maritimes. To make halal meat, Atlantic Beef Products works with an Afghani immigrant in PEI who is their official halal butcher and who apprentices other butchers from across Canada to learn the proper way of preparing the meat.

“Peace by Chocolate” is a new business started by Syrian refugees in Antigonish who had a background making chocolate. With support from the community, these refugees were able to build a production facility and are now working with Sobeys to ensure food safety regulations are met and preparing the paperwork necessary for them to expand production and sell at Sobeys locations.

Sobeys is also growing their international aisle to meet needs of diversifying cities, though there is a challenge with communicating with communities on what products they want.

The presenter also shared a story of a cake decorator at a Sobey’s location who came to Canada without much English but with a background in home economics. ISANS helped find her the job and had an interpreter go to Sobeys with her and introduce her to the equipment and processes so that she could begin working there.

Summary of Discussion Between the Audience and PresentersIn the discussion session with audience that followed the presentations, it was mentioned that different stakeholders took different approaches to support the cultural events. For example, municipal governments usually provide in-kind contributions due to their lack of monetary resources. Clientele for the cultural events is diversified and includes not only immigrants but also non-immigrants in the mainstream population. This is also true in the market for international food which is dispersed throughout the region and in some places the customer base is very small. Also, on the input supplier side, Sobeys Inc. has a diversified pool of suppliers for each category of items they provide to their customers, so by contracting Syrian refugees as a chocolate supplier there is no risk of replacing existing local manufacturers. Questions on international students were mostly on their pathways for permanent residence. It was noted that, based on a survey conducted by Canadian Bureau of Education, 70 percent of international students in Atlantic Canada want to become permanent residents but only about 5-20 percent actually stay. International students do not perform well under the federal government’s Express Entry system. Educational institutions do not use transition to permanent residency as a tool to attract international students.

myths surrounding the economic impacts of immigration exist and more data and research is needed to address them. For example, do immigrants take away jobs from original residents and what is their impact on public finances? With respect to social impact and integration of immigrants, special attention is paid to refugee claimants who may need legal assistance, health care and education services. Special programs that highlight the positive contributions of immigrant women and facilitate their settlement and access to health and social services are designed and carried out by ISANS and IMWAH. Furthermore, programs for humanitarian-class immigrants specifically are designed by the Halifax Refugee Clinic and Red Cross, in order to address stereotyping of refugees and facilitate community integration. The YREACH program helps with refugee and newcomers’ settlement in smaller centers where newcomers face some unique challenges with respect to transportation, availability of settlement services and lack of multicultural environment. The most important issue to be addressed by policymakers is to educate local communities in cities and in smaller centres about the importance of sustaining the population, the demographic, economic and social contributions of immigration, and the high value of cultural diversity. With respect to cultural impact on mainstream population, cultural events organized by local communities and settlement organizations really help bring newcomers and the mainstream population together to understand each other well but also increase the visibility of newcomers and ethnic communities in everyday life. These events have been very popular in both large and small centres. By introducing the mainstream population to different music and different types of food, these events also create new demands for goods. Businesses are responding to these new demands enhancing the attractiveness of Atlantic Canadian communities to newcomers. Local governments and community organizations are well equipped to hold events that bring the community together. Policy should encourage these stakeholders in their efforts by meeting their resource needs.

As Atlantic Canada seeks to change its role from a provider of a “transition space” for newcomers to their final home in Canada, it is important for each stakeholder to play a role and to do so well. This public outreach event brought together governments, settlement agencies, community organizations, businesses and academic researchers from all four provinces to discuss how they are responding to the diversity of cultural and social practices and values that newcomers bring with them. The overall lesson derived from this event is that the Atlantic experience in immigration matters has become richer and deeper. Settlement agencies and governments are tackling increasingly detailed and localized issues, which were either overlooked or could not be dealt with in the past. The region currently lacks the critical mass of immigrant population necessary to attract and retain more immigrants. Given the current climate surrounding the immigration matters in Atlantic Canada, there is a strong chance that the region will see more arrivals and higher retention rates in the near future.The economic case for immigration in Atlantic Canada is strong. The 2016 census revealed that over the period 2011-16, the regional population grew by only 0.42 percent, with the population of New Brunswick even declining, while the national population grew by 5 percent. Population aging and decline has serious economic, political and social consequences for the region and immigration is viewed as a tool to address this problem. To attract and retain skilled immigrants, settlement organizations, such as ISANS, PEIANC, ANC-NL, and CAFI are playing important roles by bringing different stakeholders (governments, employers and professional organizations) together and establishing simple and clear pathways to international credential recognition so that the process is expedited. Programs for newcomers that train them in understanding Canadian practices are very important for their faster integration in labour markets. Attention is also paid to issues faced by immigrant women in labour markets by collecting evidence that can provide input to design policy. Several

Concluding Remarks and Emerging Policy Directions

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Atlantic images purchased from Canstock.