Research Library

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of depression among African immigrant men in Southern Alberta. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative research design using focused semi-structured interviews with ten African immigrant men. Thematic analysis showed that African men went through episodes of sadness and frustrations due to intersection of challenges post-migration, which negatively impacted both their physical and mental health. However, instead of seeking professional help, they employed a series of coping mechanisms to mitigate, tolerate, or overcome the mental distress. It was evident that African men’s cultural constructions around masculinity influenced how they perceived, interpreted, and expressed their mental distress. Culture and masculinity also shaped their strategies for coping with the mental distress and behaviour towards help-seeking. It is recommended that stakeholders and policy makers apply cultural safety approaches to support African immigrant men to enhance their mental well-being. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of depression among African immigrant men in Southern Alberta. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive qualitative research design using focused semi-structured interviews with ten African immigrant men. Thematic analysis showed that African men went through episodes of sadness and frustrations due to intersection of challenges post-migration, which negatively impacted both their physical and mental health. However, instead of seeking professional help, they employed a series of coping mechanisms to mitigate, tolerate, or overcome the mental distress. It was evident that African men’s cultural constructions around masculinity influenced how they perceived, interpreted, and expressed their mental distress. Culture and masculinity also shaped their strategies for coping with the mental distress and behaviour towards help-seeking. It is recommended that stakeholders and policy makers apply cultural safety approaches to support African immigrant men to enhance their mental well-being.
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In 2016, Edmonton’s Vital Signs community report focused on the city’s immigrant and refugee population. The report discusses the value immigrants bring to the city, settlement and integration processes, statistics on newcomer health, employment and wellbeing, as well as true stories from Edmonton newcomers. In 2016, Edmonton’s Vital Signs community report focused on the city’s immigrant and refugee population. The report discusses the value immigrants bring to the city, settlement and integration processes, statistics on newcomer health, employment and wellbeing, as well as true stories from Edmonton newcomers.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

The CCIS Centre for Refugee Resilience Youth-Family Therapy Evaluation report highlights the positive impact of therapy services provided by CCIS to immigrant and refugee families in Calgary. The report covers the evaluation methods, client demographics, therapy outcomes, perspectives on coordinated family supports, opportunities for improvement, and conclusions and recommendations. The report also includes case examples and an executive summary. The evaluation shows that CCIS has been successful in addressing the trauma-related experiences of newcomer families and provides recommendations for further improvement. The CCIS Centre for Refugee Resilience Youth-Family Therapy Evaluation report highlights the positive impact of therapy services provided by CCIS to immigrant and refugee families in Calgary. The report covers the evaluation methods, client demographics, therapy outcomes, perspectives on coordinated family supports, opportunities for improvement, and conclusions and recommendations. The report also includes case examples and an executive summary. The evaluation shows that CCIS has been successful in addressing the trauma-related experiences of newcomer families and provides recommendations for further improvement.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

Available evidence in Canada suggests children born to immigrants face a greater risk of poor mental health outcomes. However, these comparisons often mask important ethno-racial differences in mental health risks and outcomes among immigrant populations. Recent evidence suggests African immigrant children have some of the poorest social and mental health outcomes in Canada. Despite this awareness, research has yet to identify community-based strategies for addressing the stressors underpinning such outcomes. This study used data obtained from focus groups with African immigrant parents in Edmonton, AB and surrounding towns to identify child mental health stressors and child mental health promotion strategies in the African immigrant community. Available evidence in Canada suggests children born to immigrants face a greater risk of poor mental health outcomes. However, these comparisons often mask important ethno-racial differences in mental health risks and outcomes among immigrant populations. Recent evidence suggests African immigrant children have some of the poorest social and mental health outcomes in Canada. Despite this awareness, research has yet to identify community-based strategies for addressing the stressors underpinning such outcomes. This study used data obtained from focus groups with African immigrant parents in Edmonton, AB and surrounding towns to identify child mental health stressors and child mental health promotion strategies in the African immigrant community.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This Parkland Institute report examines the lives of undocumented migrant workers living in Alberta. It discusses the results of a research study of 32 undocumented workers, outlines the circumstances that led to their loss of status, describes their work and living conditions, and explores their reasons for staying and their hopes for the future. This Parkland Institute report examines the lives of undocumented migrant workers living in Alberta. It discusses the results of a research study of 32 undocumented workers, outlines the circumstances that led to their loss of status, describes their work and living conditions, and explores their reasons for staying and their hopes for the future.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This is an environmental scan. It examines the impact of federal policy changes on the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) and the flow of nominees to the Alberta labour market and communities. It was found that the AINP has taken on a broad scope of helping to achieve provincial economic and labour market needs. It is mainly low/semi-skilled TFWs who use the program to achieve residency, as the federal immigration streams tend to have higher requirements. The program itself has been criticized for creating a vulnerable environment for TFWs in addition to its limited capacity to process applications in a timely manner. The key learnings of the report find that immigrant retention is best achieved through community and family support. Although there were moves away from this with the closing of the family stream of the AINP in 2013, the new Liberal government has highlighted family reunification as a key immigration goal. However, federal and provincial immigration goals have also been shown to conflict with each other, as the provincial labour market need for low/semi-skilled workers is misaligned with the federal target of a highly-skilled and educated workforce. Lack of intergovernmental communication in the past resulted in confusion and little consideration of how immigration streams may influence each other. Behaviour of employers is also as a key factor contributing to TFW vulnerability. Thus, we recommend increasing intergovernmental communication and lateral dialogue on policy changes and how they may affect other immigration streams. Long-term labour market assessments are recommended to support the provision of residency to immigrants who are needed most. Furthermore, the AINP’s structural complexity should be reduced to be more inclusive, consistent and easy to access for applicants. Greater accountability, transparency and oversight should also be employed to reduce labour abuses and reduce the vulnerability of nominees of the program. This is an environmental scan. It examines the impact of federal policy changes on the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) and the flow of nominees to the Alberta labour market and communities. It was found that the AINP has taken on a broad scope of helping to achieve provincial economic and labour market needs. It is mainly low/semi-skilled TFWs who use the program to achieve residency, as the federal immigration streams tend to have higher requirements. The program itself has been criticized for creating a vulnerable environment for TFWs in addition to its limited capacity to process applications in a timely manner. The key learnings of the report find that immigrant retention is best achieved through community and family support. Although there were moves away from this with the closing of the family stream of the AINP in 2013, the new Liberal government has highlighted family reunification as a key immigration goal. However, federal and provincial immigration goals have also been shown to conflict with each other, as the provincial labour market need for low/semi-skilled workers is misaligned with the federal target of a highly-skilled and educated workforce. Lack of intergovernmental communication in the past resulted in confusion and little consideration of how immigration streams may influence each other. Behaviour of employers is also as a key factor contributing to TFW vulnerability. Thus, we recommend increasing intergovernmental communication and lateral dialogue on policy changes and how they may affect other immigration streams. Long-term labour market assessments are recommended to support the provision of residency to immigrants who are needed most. Furthermore, the AINP’s structural complexity should be reduced to be more inclusive, consistent and easy to access for applicants. Greater accountability, transparency and oversight should also be employed to reduce labour abuses and reduce the vulnerability of nominees of the program.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This study sought to examine the challenges encountered by immigrant-serving agencies in meeting the health needs of temporary foreign workers and their families in one Canadian province. Some of the challenges that agencies face in delivering programs and services for temporary foreign workers and their families include the time required to build trust with this population, temporary foreign workers’ reluctance to use services due to fear that it will affect their immigration status, and the emotional labor associated with working with temporary foreign workers. This study sought to examine the challenges encountered by immigrant-serving agencies in meeting the health needs of temporary foreign workers and their families in one Canadian province. Some of the challenges that agencies face in delivering programs and services for temporary foreign workers and their families include the time required to build trust with this population, temporary foreign workers’ reluctance to use services due to fear that it will affect their immigration status, and the emotional labor associated with working with temporary foreign workers.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

Since the beginning of conflict in Syria, 52, 720 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and March 2018. Schools are one of the first and most impactful systems that young refugees enter and the quality of early school experiences significantly influences how successfully and quickly they settle. Yet, there is limited research examining the school experiences of refugee children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the social, emotional, and academic adjustment experiences of newcomer Syrian refugee children between the ages of five to eight years within Edmonton schools. Following themes emerged during this study: (1) Role of Language in Adjustment, (2) Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Education, (3) Bonds and Relationships, (4) Initial Frustrations, Anxieties, and Fears, (5) Children’s Unique Strategies for Adapting in School, (6) Parental Involvement in the Schooling Process, and (7) Role of Personal Qualities in Adjustment. Since the beginning of conflict in Syria, 52, 720 Syrian refugees were admitted to Canada between November 2015 and March 2018. Schools are one of the first and most impactful systems that young refugees enter and the quality of early school experiences significantly influences how successfully and quickly they settle. Yet, there is limited research examining the school experiences of refugee children. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the social, emotional, and academic adjustment experiences of newcomer Syrian refugee children between the ages of five to eight years within Edmonton schools. Following themes emerged during this study: (1) Role of Language in Adjustment, (2) Attitudes and Perspectives Towards Education, (3) Bonds and Relationships, (4) Initial Frustrations, Anxieties, and Fears, (5) Children’s Unique Strategies for Adapting in School, (6) Parental Involvement in the Schooling Process, and (7) Role of Personal Qualities in Adjustment.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

This publication has no Abstract to dispaly

On May 3rd, 2016, a wildfire swept through the Northern Alberta resource community of Fort McMurray, scouring the political-economic landscape and leading to the largest prolonged evacuation in Canadian history. In serving as the primary service centre for the Athabasca tar sands— the world’s third-largest known oil deposit— Fort McMurray has also become a notable outpost of transnational labour. Migrant caregivers, in particular, are precariously tied to this ‘land of opportunity’— bound by short-term employment contracts tied to single employers. Thus, in following the assertion that “there is no such thing as a natural disaster,” this thesis draws upon their experiences to reveal how the everyday manifestations of capitalist crisis that exist in this place were responsible for rendering the wildfire into a disaster in the lives of tens of thousands of people. In drawing upon the experiences of this social reproductive workforce, I argue that the crisis of social reproduction (i.e. biological reproduction, the reproduction of the labouring class, and provisioning and carework), in particular, is the thread of capitalist crisis capable of illuminating the other strands of crisis at the foundation of this disaster and explicating the interconnections between them. Moreover, it is in specifically focusing on the crisis of social reproduction, I argue, that we are able to not only understand the political-economic foundation of this disaster but also how its impacts were reabsorbed into everyday life through the social reproductive labour of this largely disposable workforce. In drawing upon the concept of surplus value, I argue that in much the same way that this value is extracted from workers to rebuild the physical infrastructure of communities in the wake of disaster, families extracted migrant caregivers’ social reproductive surplus value in order to rebuild the social infrastructure of their everyday lives and re-establish the crises at the foundation of this disaster. On May 3rd, 2016, a wildfire swept through the Northern Alberta resource community of Fort McMurray, scouring the political-economic landscape and leading to the largest prolonged evacuation in Canadian history. In serving as the primary service centre for the Athabasca tar sands— the world’s third-largest known oil deposit— Fort McMurray has also become a notable outpost of transnational labour. Migrant caregivers, in particular, are precariously tied to this ‘land of opportunity’— bound by short-term employment contracts tied to single employers. Thus, in following the assertion that “there is no such thing as a natural disaster,” this thesis draws upon their experiences to reveal how the everyday manifestations of capitalist crisis that exist in this place were responsible for rendering the wildfire into a disaster in the lives of tens of thousands of people. In drawing upon the experiences of this social reproductive workforce, I argue that the crisis of social reproduction (i.e. biological reproduction, the reproduction of the labouring class, and provisioning and carework), in particular, is the thread of capitalist crisis capable of illuminating the other strands of crisis at the foundation of this disaster and explicating the interconnections between them. Moreover, it is in specifically focusing on the crisis of social reproduction, I argue, that we are able to not only understand the political-economic foundation of this disaster but also how its impacts were reabsorbed into everyday life through the social reproductive labour of this largely disposable workforce. In drawing upon the concept of surplus value, I argue that in much the same way that this value is extracted from workers to rebuild the physical infrastructure of communities in the wake of disaster, families extracted migrant caregivers’ social reproductive surplus value in order to rebuild the social infrastructure of their everyday lives and re-establish the crises at the foundation of this disaster.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly