Housing remains a prominent issue for immigrants when trying to settle in an area. Vulnerable immigrant groups such as low-income, visible minority groups rely heavily on government and non-government organizations that provide funding and resources for attaining housing. Another major aspect in the process of immigration is the integration into the host community. “Integration refers to the long-term process through which immigrants come to participate fully in their new society” (Hoernig and Zhuang, 2010, 156). Some aspects that hinder the immediate integration of immigrants in communities are culture, language, ethnicity, race, and religion. Although immigrants are expected to integrate into society, multiculturalism argues that minority groups can still fit into Canada's society and still have separate social values and practices (Hoernig and Zhuang, 2010, 157).
It is important to analyze whether housing segregation is the lack of social and economic integration or is an indication of people wanting to live close to others of the same ethnocultural backgrounds. Segregation amongst minority and majority groups within Canada can be looked at through the lens of propinquity. It is the physical or psychological proximity between people in a given area or location. Spatial assimilation in Canada is what we claim to be multiculturalism. This spatial assimilation is the process by which a group of people attain residential propinquity with members of the majority non-immigrant population. It is popular however to see clusters of ethnoburbs within our major cities in Canada. An ethnoburb is a group of a particular ethnic minority population residing within proximity to each other; they may not always be the majority in an area but there is a significant amount of people belonging to this minority (Urban Dictionary). Perhaps the minority in Canada prefer to live with people they can relate to, without having to fear discrimination and racialization within their community.
The Index of Dissimilarity
The index of dissimilarity “measures the minimum percentage of a group’s population that would have to move for each neighborhood to have the same percentage of that same group as the CMA areas as a whole” (Kobayashi et al., 2012, 87). The higher the number on the scale, the higher the residential segregation is between the two populations being measured. The lower the value on the scale, the lower the degree of residential segregation. In Canada Latin Americans are the most residentially segregated immigrant population, with a mean index of dissimilarity of 69.5; they also happen to rank the lowest for socio-economic status as well (Kobayashi et al., 2012, 81). The most integrated immigrant population in Canada is the Chinese; the Chinese have the highest socioeconomic status in Canada of immigrants (Kobayashi et al., 2012, 79-80). This could be because the Chinese have been immigrating into Canada for a very long time since the 19th century, and have found a way to integrate themselves into Canadian culture, customs, and practices. The index of dissimilarity cannot measure the level of potential interaction between groups based on spatial propinquity. The index also cannot measure the quality of these interactions that take place between the white majority and the colored minority. The index is merely only a measurement of relative location, it does not address the issues of why integration is not or does not always work.
Location within Canada
Canadian cities are receiving the highest amount of immigrants across the world. Statistics show that 94% of all recent immigrants are living in Canada’s cities, with 73% of these immigrants residing in our largest cities: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (Sandercook et al., 2009). Native-born Canadians are not always as receptive to immigrants as it is deemed to be by the general public. These native-born Canadians are not necessarily being racist towards immigrants but are certainly discriminatory because of their fear of competition. According to Schissel et al., the variable that is the most consistent to influence attitudes towards immigrants is population growth; adding people faster means immigrants will become less receptive (Schissel et al., 1989, 303). To solve this issue along with many others, Canada should offer economic immigrants’ opportunities to work in areas in Canada that are not heavily populated and where the job market is not as competitive. By providing immigrants with work opportunities in Alberta for example, we are lessening the effect immigration is having on the economy and the people residing in places such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal (Schissel et al., 1989). Instead of having people who are native-born and already living in the three largest cities in Canada move to other locations to find work, Canada should be providing incentive for immigrants to go to areas. It could potentially help solve housing segregation issues and job-related discrimination. However, it is important to acknowledge that people do have the right to migrate anywhere within Canada as they so choose to do, but with the opportunity for prosperity, it could be possible to see less migrating even within Canada.
Access to Health Care
Temporary immigrants to not have access to the health care amenities in Canada but are servicing and providing economically and socially for the country in as much as any other citizen. Canada is known for its exceptional health care system; however, many of our immigrants do not get the opportunity to utilize these services as they are faced with many barriers when attempting to access these services.
Why is the Health of Immigrants Important?
The health of immigrants is incredibly important to Canada, 1/5 of our population is foreign-born, and immigrants contribute to approximately 50 percent of the nation’s population growth and nearly 70 percent of Canada’s labor force (Kobayashi, 2012), therefore, these numbers accumulate to a huge part of our society. Immigrants contribute to enhance all aspects of Canadian society; unfortunately, it is observed that the health advantage that immigrants come to Canada with deteriorates after a few years of exposure to the country. This healthy immigrant effect is observed in immigrants in most developed countries around the world (Kobayashi, 2012).
Reason for Deteriorating Health Conditions
Two factors can be linked to the cause of deteriorating health conditions of immigrants. The first factor is social, Dr. Kobayashi claims that 28 percent of new immigrants do not know either of the two official languages, thus, immigrants face a linguistic barrier. They also lack the familiarity of the Canadian health care system, leading to them being afraid to reach out for the aid they need. There are also discriminatory reasons for the deteriorating health of immigrants; poor socio-economic status, inability to obtain a job, and earning low wages are all contributions. An immigrant can have stress associated with settlement in a new country, encompassing things such as finding a job, house, money, and education for their children or themselves.
Conclusion
In 2030, immigrants will be the sole contributions to Canada’s increasing growth in population; immigrants in 2030 are expected to match the death rates in Canada (Kobayashi, 2012). Although Canada has done much to provide a multicultural and diverse nation, there are still covert ways discrimination is occurring across the nation. It is necessary to acknowledge this discrimination to put a stop to it.
Canada should be providing job opportunities for the immigrants they are allowing into the country, instead of having them compete with native-born Canadians. Providing affordable housing in desirable areas will help with the spatial assimilation of ethnic groups, it will allow more integration between minority and majority populations. By recognizing the discrimination and racialization immigrants are still faced with today we will be able to continue to work toward John McCallum’s famous quote ‘a Canadian, is a Canadian, is a Canadian’.