Centre for Newcomers in Calgary, Alberta hosted a conference on settlement of LGBTQ+ newcomers. Key themes from the conference include: 1) complex barriers faced by LGBTQ+ newcomers; 2) service gaps for LGBTQ+ newcomers; 3) lack of Canadian research on this topic; 4) several promising programs currently exist.
This report summarizes the key themes of the two-day conference and documents the key outcomes of the brainstorming and action planning sessions. It also provides a summative evaluation, documenting both the expectations and feedback from conference participants. Centre for Newcomers in Calgary, Alberta hosted a conference on settlement of LGBTQ+ newcomers. Key themes from the conference include: 1) complex barriers faced by LGBTQ+ newcomers; 2) service gaps for LGBTQ+ newcomers; 3) lack of Canadian research on this topic; 4) several promising programs currently exist.
This report summarizes the key themes of the two-day conference and documents the key outcomes of the brainstorming and action planning sessions. It also provides a summative evaluation, documenting both the expectations and feedback from conference participants.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly
Recent statistics indicate that Alberta will continue to be a popular destination for African immigrants, however African families face parenting challenges that threaten their integration, mental health and general wellbeing. This meeting, the first of its kind in Alberta, brought together around 150 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including African immigrant parents, service providers, policy makers and researchers across Alberta. This report is a summary of the presentations, panels and focus groups in the meeting. Recent statistics indicate that Alberta will continue to be a popular destination for African immigrants, however African families face parenting challenges that threaten their integration, mental health and general wellbeing. This meeting, the first of its kind in Alberta, brought together around 150 stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including African immigrant parents, service providers, policy makers and researchers across Alberta. This report is a summary of the presentations, panels and focus groups in the meeting.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly
The “Accessing Mental Health Services in Alberta” research project was initiated by the Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) to assess the diversity of mental health services available to newcomers in Alberta and offer recommendations for improving accessibility. The report highlights the challenges that newcomers face when accessing mental health services, as well as gaps in the existing mental health system in Alberta. Overall, the report emphasizes the importance of addressing the specific needs of newcomers in mental health service provision and improving accessibility to ensure that all Albertans have access to the care they need. The “Accessing Mental Health Services in Alberta” research project was initiated by the Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) to assess the diversity of mental health services available to newcomers in Alberta and offer recommendations for improving accessibility. The report highlights the challenges that newcomers face when accessing mental health services, as well as gaps in the existing mental health system in Alberta. Overall, the report emphasizes the importance of addressing the specific needs of newcomers in mental health service provision and improving accessibility to ensure that all Albertans have access to the care they need.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly
Following a peak in the number of migrants admitted to Canada via its Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the program underwent significant changes in 2014 and 2015 that will undoubtedly affect the lives of temporary foreign workers in Canada. These changes include a limitation on the length of time temporary foreign workers are allowed to remain in the country, a greater distinction between high- and low-wage workers, and more restricted rights for low-wage workers. So far, the impacts of these recent policy changes on temporary foreign workers in Canada have not been the subject of much research. Thus, we sought to examine the impact of recent policy changes of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program on these migrants specifically in Alberta. Findings from the focus groups reveal that the recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program policy have created a burden for temporary foreign workers as well as their employers, intensified the exploitation of migrant workers, and contributed to a high level of anxiety and poor mental health status among these workers. This study has two major policy recommendations: (1) grant open work permits to temporary foreign workers, and (2) create pathways to citizenship for low-skilled temporary foreign workers in Alberta. The study also recognizes a need for future action research. Following a peak in the number of migrants admitted to Canada via its Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the program underwent significant changes in 2014 and 2015 that will undoubtedly affect the lives of temporary foreign workers in Canada. These changes include a limitation on the length of time temporary foreign workers are allowed to remain in the country, a greater distinction between high- and low-wage workers, and more restricted rights for low-wage workers. So far, the impacts of these recent policy changes on temporary foreign workers in Canada have not been the subject of much research. Thus, we sought to examine the impact of recent policy changes of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program on these migrants specifically in Alberta. Findings from the focus groups reveal that the recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program policy have created a burden for temporary foreign workers as well as their employers, intensified the exploitation of migrant workers, and contributed to a high level of anxiety and poor mental health status among these workers. This study has two major policy recommendations: (1) grant open work permits to temporary foreign workers, and (2) create pathways to citizenship for low-skilled temporary foreign workers in Alberta. The study also recognizes a need for future action research.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly
There is limited global research addressing the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in general, and a dearth of scholarship specific to the unique context in Alberta, Canada. While academic attention on the broad topic of professional migration of social workers has gained some traction over the past decade, the emerging literature has so far lacked a comparative gender analysis of the experiences of professional migration among social workers. The purpose of the present study was to develop enhanced understanding of the experiences of professional adaptation of migrant social workers in the Albertan context through a comparative gender analysis. This dissertation emerged from my involvement as a research assistant on a national study on the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in Canada. While coordinating data collection for the Alberta site of the national study, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 male and female migrant social workers that had migrated to Alberta, Canada within the past decade. From these 17 interviews, 10 transcripts of interviews were selected as cases for secondary analysis in order to answer the question: How do female and male migrant social workers in Alberta experience their professional adaptation to practice in their new context? The research method employed in the secondary study was interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), a form of qualitative inquiry that examines how people make sense of significant lived experiences. Intersectionality theory and postcolonial feminisms provided the theoretical framework for the study, facilitating attention to both the macro-level factors that structure lived experiences and interactions, and the micro-level processes and interpretations that shape social identities. Engaging with the detailed personal accounts of the participants provided new understandings of how male and female migrant social workers both similarly and differentially interpret and make meaning out of their experiences of professional adaptation. The study makes an important contribution to existing knowledge about professional adaptation in the context of transnational labour mobility. Notably, it is among the first studies to explore the professional adaptation processes of migrant social workers in Alberta, as well as among the earliest works to engage in a qualitative comparative gender analysis that explores these experiences. There is limited global research addressing the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in general, and a dearth of scholarship specific to the unique context in Alberta, Canada. While academic attention on the broad topic of professional migration of social workers has gained some traction over the past decade, the emerging literature has so far lacked a comparative gender analysis of the experiences of professional migration among social workers. The purpose of the present study was to develop enhanced understanding of the experiences of professional adaptation of migrant social workers in the Albertan context through a comparative gender analysis. This dissertation emerged from my involvement as a research assistant on a national study on the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in Canada. While coordinating data collection for the Alberta site of the national study, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 male and female migrant social workers that had migrated to Alberta, Canada within the past decade. From these 17 interviews, 10 transcripts of interviews were selected as cases for secondary analysis in order to answer the question: How do female and male migrant social workers in Alberta experience their professional adaptation to practice in their new context? The research method employed in the secondary study was interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), a form of qualitative inquiry that examines how people make sense of significant lived experiences. Intersectionality theory and postcolonial feminisms provided the theoretical framework for the study, facilitating attention to both the macro-level factors that structure lived experiences and interactions, and the micro-level processes and interpretations that shape social identities. Engaging with the detailed personal accounts of the participants provided new understandings of how male and female migrant social workers both similarly and differentially interpret and make meaning out of their experiences of professional adaptation. The study makes an important contribution to existing knowledge about professional adaptation in the context of transnational labour mobility. Notably, it is among the first studies to explore the professional adaptation processes of migrant social workers in Alberta, as well as among the earliest works to engage in a qualitative comparative gender analysis that explores these experiences.
This publication has no Abstract to dispaly
