Page 474 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

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CONFLICT AND DIVERSITY: CANADA / QUÉBEC 445

deemed useful for economic integration in applicants had to meet, between 1981 and
Canadian/Québécois society, such as educa- 1992 they were expected to have taken
tion, training, occupation, a job offer and courses and/or participated in community
knowledge of English or French. In 1978 a activities during their live-in service, despite
subcategory of ‘investor’ was added to the the fact that they are typically living in afflu-
independent category: for them money for ent neighbourhoods with poor public trans-
investment largely replaces the skills criteria. port. 28 In contrast, professional and technical
The second basis of admission is as a ‘spon- workers who obtain temporary work permits
sored’ immigrant, financially dependent for experience no such constraints. In fact, by the
10 years on an independent immigrant or a latter part of the twentieth century, this became
Canadian citizen. Sponsored immigrants are a means of fast-tracking their work authoriza-
not assessed using the points system. In tion, which has, since 2001, been extended to
1978, a third category of immigrant was their spouses (Abu-Laban and Gabriel,
29
added, ‘refugee’. Based on the Geneva 2002). These workers are much more likely
Convention definition, a refugee is a person to be of American or European origin.
who, ‘owing to well-founded fear of being That normally only one person per family,
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, typically a man, is assessed as an independ-
nationality, membership of a particular social ent immigrant, results in women being
group or political opinion’ (quoted in disproportionately admitted as legal depend-
Anderson, 1993: 46), is outside the country ents. As such they are particularly vulnerable
of his/her nationality or habitual residence to domestic violence, even though (or per-
and is unable, or, because of such fear, haps because) they may make significant
unwilling to return to it. Refugee claimants contributions to the family income as
may be selected abroad or assessed when wage-earners from the time they arrive. The
they arrive in Canada. reduction in 2001 of a spouse’s obligatory
That having money to invest allows one to dependency from ten to three years provides
become an independent immigrant by side- a welcome attenuation of the effects of this
stepping the ‘universal’ criteria of the point sexist practice, without, however, eliminating
ˆ
system suggests class bias in immigration it (Coté et al., 2001).
policies, favouring neo-liberalism. Turning now from immigration law, since
The criteria for the attribution of temporary 1969 a number of government measures legit-
work permits, the exception in a settler imizing ethnic diversity have been introduced,
society, also reflect class bias, together with including, for Canada, the Official Languages
racism and sexism. These permits have been Act (1969), which makes both English and
largely given to seasonal agricultural work- French official languages in Canada; the
ers, who are non-European men (Satzewich, Multiculturalism Policy (1971), subsequently
1991), and to the more numerous live-in formalized as the Multiculturalism Act
domestic workers or caregivers, on contracts (1988), which declares that Canada is a mul-
of one to two years, who are predominantly ticultural society; the Employment Equity
non-European women. 27 Both accept work- Act, which defines women, Aboriginals, vis-
ing conditions that Canadians refuse. For ible minorities and people with disabilities as
example, domestic workers are constrained ‘designated groups’ for whom employment
to reside with their employer, and changing equity is to be promoted (1986); and the
one’s employer was initially impossible. While Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982),
it is now possible for live-in caregivers to together with federal and provincial Human
apply to become independent immigrants at Rights Codes. Whereas federal multicultural
the end of their contract (as was also true into policies are premised (often implicitly) on the
the 1960s), in addition to the criteria other use of English or French in communication