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Saskatoon
jails its youth more than any other province | Attitudes:
Lockwood
Saskatoon intolerance
City unable to keep immigrants
Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix,
November 23, 2004
Saskatoon's track record for
attracting and retaining immigrants is one of the worst in the
country, prompting calls for the city to do something about it.
The alarm is being sounded
by the city's own Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee
(CDRR).
"It is apparent that the
figures for immigration to Saskatoon and the retention rate of
those who initially settle here do not compare favourably with
the major cities in our neighbouring provinces.
In fact, it is among the lowest
in Canada," states a report from the CDRR, which is going
to the city's planning and operations committee today.
The report recommends city
council develop a "strategy and action plan" to accommodate
more immigrants to Saskatoon; address the difficulties facing
newcomers to improve the retention rate and take advantage "of
the many opportunities and benefits that increased immigration
can offer."
Over the past year, the CDRR
reviewed issues relating to immigrant and refugee resettlement
in Saskatoon. In 2002, 1,665 people immigrated to Saskatchewan
with 43 per cent settling here.
Most recent national census
figures indicate 57 per cent of the people who came to this province
between 1991 and 2001 remained. That pales in comparison to 78
per cent, 86 per cent and 88 per cent for Manitoba, Alberta and
B.C., respectively.
The national average for retention
is 82 per cent.
The CDRR is worried that newcomers
do not feel welcome, have no job prospects and no support system
to help them adjust.
The Open Door Society assists
refugees and immigrants to adapt to life in Saskatoon by providing
English classes, employment preparation, counselling and advocacy,
but it scrapes by on mainly volunteer help and year-to-year project
funding.
Former provincial MLA Pat Lorje
flagged the need for improved funding to that agency in a 2003
government document when she was studying and reporting on immigration
for the province. The Open Door's main funder is Citizenship
and Immigration Canada while the city provides scant funds from
time to time, said Gatdeet Wakou, acting director of programs.
As a sitting member of the
CDRR, he said the city needs to take a more active role, not
just in funding agencies like the Open Door Society but supplementing
it with their own programs.
"What are they supporting?
What are they doing to help the people who come here?" said
Wakou, an accountant from Sudan who came to Saskatoon seven years
ago and stayed because he found work.
This past summer, two Saskatoon
families who wanted to stay had to return to their respective
homelands of Romania and Hungary after the federal government
denied them immigration status. In each case, there were errors
made in filling out the applications.
Prior to leaving the city,
both families spoke of difficulties understanding the forms and
in making appeals to stay.
The families had lived in Saskatoon
several years, had jobs and were contributing to the city's economy
and culture (one individual was a chef at a restaurant and created
a popular Hungarian night).
"There needs to be a way
for people who have established themselves here and committed
to Saskatoon to bridge that gap from no (immigration) status
to having status without being forced to leave the country and
reapply," said Helen Smith-McIntyre, chair of the Saskatoon
Refugee Coalition.
Her organization provides advocacy
and support for refugees and promotes their value in the community
at large. But it is funded through donations and struggles with
its mandate.
A key to keeping people here
is not just the availability of jobs but recognizing the experience
people have gained in other countries, she said.
"Many employers ask for
Canadian experience but how can you get started if you don't
have that?" she said, suggesting the politicians in charge
fund programs to upgrade immigrants' job experience to the accepted
Canadian standard.
"Without that, people
end up doing menial work until they decide to look elsewhere."
Many taxi drivers in the city,
for example, have PhDs and other degrees in engineering, economics,
and law but they are not recognized by local institutions. With
the provincial government forecasting a Saskatchewan labour shortage
of 30,000-70,000 within 10-15 years, something must be done,
the CDRR has urged.
Winnipeg has a successful immigrant
settlement strategy that provides a range of services and programs
to facilitate the integration of foreigners, according to the
CDRR report. As a result, Manitoba has grown by up to 10,000
people a year while Saskatchewan has stalled. Manitoba's population,
once on par with Saskatchewan, is at 1,180,000 while Saskatchewan
remains at or slightly below 1,000,000.
Similarly, Calgary has the
Immigrant Aid Society, which helps people find work and provides
a range of interpretation and translation services for things
like certificates, licenses, and various documents.
Although the federal government
wants to shift the pattern of immigrant settlement away from
the main centres of Vancouver and Toronto, Saskatoon shouldn't
wait passively for immigrants to magically appear, Lorje said
last month at a Prairie Policy Centre breakfast.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004
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