Many have come to believe that educated immigrants are somewhat misled by the Canadian government into believing that because a high status position was obtained in their native country, that Canadian society offers similar opportunities. While this is possible, a certain amount of research beforehand would reveal that the credentialisation process in Canada is somewhat exclusive to foreign degrees and work experience. If for some reason, a new immigrant has been unaware of these circumstances, they can still return to their native country and their previous occupation. However, many will continue to stay because research indicates that the second generation of immigrant families not only achieve parity with native Canadian salaries, but earn roughly 10% above their native Canadian counterparts (Hum and Simpson 2007). Therefore, although life may be hard for immigrant parents, who could fare much better in their home countries, many of them sacrifice their comfort for their children.
In 2005, China and Korea constituted two of the top eight sources of immigrants to Canada, with China representing the greatest influx (Liston and Carens). What these two countries have in common is that their cultures are strongly influenced by Confucianism. This may be significant because one of the main themes of Confucianism is the virtue of filial piety. This term denotes the respect that a child shows their parents and is the most important relationship other than to the sovereign. This relates to the immigration topic because it is possible that some parents of Chinese or Korean ethnicity may decide to struggle in Canada, believing that their children will succeed and take care of them in old age. Therefore, the sacrifice made is somewhat of an investment into their retirement years. Obviously this does not represent the motivations of all educated immigrants from China and Korea, and in the same way, many immigrants of other cultures may be motivated by these ideas. However, it is a possibility that culture influences the decision to make that sacrifice.
One of the main reasons why the second generations of immigrant families succeed is because they are more educated than native Canadians. Studies indicate that second generation men acquire about 8% more years of schooling than their native Canadian counterparts, while second generation women acquire about 5% more schooling (Hum and Simpson 2007). Obviously a higher educated segment of the workforce will achieve higher average incomes. A possible reason for their higher education statistics may be because of the educational attainment of their parents. Studies by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) show that parents with a university degree or higher qualification are more confident that their child would go on to higher education (91% compared with 74% otherwise) (Istance 2006). Moreover, Canadian immigrants, on average, who arrive through all different classes, are better educated than their Canadian counterparts (Hiebert 2006). To put it simply, educated immigrants expect their children to attend postsecondary education. These statistics would indicate that an immigrant’s decision to stay in Canada, despite having a low standard of living, could result in higher educational attainment and status for their children.
Additionally, children who grow up with educated parents who work at low paying jobs might feel the psychological pressure of living up to expectations. If the parent is sacrificing to offer the child the hope of a better future, then the child may feel the obligation to succeed. Again, the Confucian values of filial piety may play a role in the child’s motivation to please their parents.
To put this into the context of Canadian immigration policy, this should encourage the government to keep its doors open to immigration. Although recent immigrants are not faring particularly well in the Canadian labour market, future generations will end up contributing just as much as native Canadians or even more. Some critics claim that Canadian immigration is framed around failure and wasted human capital evidenced by the iconic figure of the cab driver with an engineering degree or PhD (Hiebert 2006). While it is true that Canadian society could benefit from the experience and education of immigrants, the reality is that a strong command of the English language is essential in most high paying jobs. The upside of the situation is that because most immigrants are arriving with secondary education, their children are more likely to fill those high paying positions. Therefore, the positive effects of Canadian immigration policy using the ‘points system’ may not be realized until the second generation grows into a very qualified workforce.
The problem, however, is that the percentage of actual applicants who immigrate though the ‘points system’ program is less than 50% (Hiebert 2006). The admitted immigrants are most likely highly educated, and would contribute their future children’s human capital, but if a large percentage of admitted immigrants are not chosen based on educational attainment, then these positive benefits may not be realized. Therefore, the Canadian government should consider raising the percentage of people admitted through the points system so that their children’s human capital can contribute to the future of Canadian society. Of course, this can only be realized if the immigrant is made aware that they might not attain a high paying occupation, depending on different circumstances such as Canadian experience and language proficiency. However, if they decide that their children’s future is worth staying, then this could benefit both Canada and the immigrant family.
Immigrants decide to stay in Canada for various reasons. Some, hoping that Canadian society can offer them the same position they had in their native country, are disappointed once they arrive, since they cannot obtain their job of choice. For whatever reason, they stay, and can be comforted by the fact that their children can grow up to become very successful members of Canadian society. Other educated immigrants are already aware that dream jobs are not available, but simply want to immigrate to offer their children an opportunity to succeed in Canada. Either way, these immigrants are contributing something to the future of Canada, so Canadian immigration should reflect their desirability.
Bibliography
Hiebert, Daniel. “Winning, Losing, and Still Playing the Game: The Political Economy of Immigration in Canada.” Tidschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Vol. 97, no. 1 (2006), pg. 38-48.
Hum, Derek and Wayne, Simpson. “The Legacy of Immigration: Labor Market Performance and Education in the Second Generation.” Applied Economics, Vol. 39, no. 13 (2007), pg. 1985-2009.
Liston, Mary and Caren, Joseph. “Immigration and Integration in Canada.”
Instance, David. Demand Sensitive Schooling: Evidence and Issues. OECD Publishing, 2006.
1 comment:
Your essay provides an interesting perspective on the issue of why many Canadian immigrants are not employed in jobs according to what they expected prior to arriving in Canada. While many critics of the Canadian immigration system argue that immigrants are blatantly misled about the jobs they can attain upon arriving to Canada, few critics take into account the trade-offs that these immigrants accept.
While the government of Canada’s website for immigration does provide a disclaimer about potential discrepancies between a job that an immigrant desires versus one that will be available to him or her, some immigrants are nonetheless disappointed by the job that he or she may have to settle for. Instead of arguing how these immigrants have been uniformly ‘deceived’, you provide an attractive alternate discourse for why these immigrants remain in the country—for the future benefit of their children.
It cannot be forgotten, however, that many immigrants choose to leave their country of origin in search of a ‘better life’, where this previous life may not have been necessarily terrible for them, but may not have provided maximal opportunity for achieving success and/or happiness. It has been proven that second-generation Canadians fare well, not only in comparison to first-generation Canadians, but also to fourth and fifth-generation Canadians. The incentive for first-generation Canadians to live in Canada is that their children can potentially have high success rates in the Canadian economy, even if their parents had to settle for jobs below their educational or skill level. For those immigrants who have left their previous countries in search of a better life both for themselves and their families, they are at least guaranteed a better life for their families and potentially one for themselves.
For some immigrants, the benefits that come with being a Canadian citizen outweigh the circumstance of not entering into a job one expects. The first benefit has already been mentioned, that is, how one’s family benefits. Some other perks that Canadian citizens enjoy are access to the education system, welfare, health care, and the right to vote.
As Daniel Hiebert points out, however, “immigrants who are well educated are actually penalised, in relative terms, compared with those who are not” (Hiebert, 44). His argument is a reflection of how there is a high demand for labourers in Canada and how highly educated immigrants have difficulty attaining a job that correlates to their skill level due to the requirement of Canadian work experience and different educational standards. Immigrants who are not highly educated find jobs relative to their skill level fairly quickly because those jobs are in demand. Since highly educated immigrants cannot immediately find jobs in their field, they are forced to settle for the labour jobs that are beneath their potential skill level. This shows that Canada’s trade-offs are more beneficial to some immigrants than to others.
Arguments criticizing the Canadian immigration system should not imply that the onus should be placed on Canada to accommodate every immigrant that desires to enter the country. This is both an impractical expectation as well as something that is not normatively required. Similar to any other man-made system, Canada’s immigration policy may have its flaws, but it also has a wealth of potential that, in some instances, can arguably outweigh these flaws.
Works Cited:
Hiebert, Daniel. “Winning, Losing, and Still Playing the Game: The Political Economy of Immigration in Canada.” Tidschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Vol. 97, no. 1 (2006), pg. 38-48
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