The changing face of Canadian society became clear in a major report released late last year by Statistics Canada that looked at numbers of new immigrants that have reached the highest levels in three-quarters of a century and projected continuing rapid immigration growth through 2020.
The reality of these statistics raised the question of how prepared the majority of Canadian employers are to make the best possible use of this new labour force in the interest of their own business success.
Diversity! in the Workplace talked to three experts for their perspectives from the fields of human resources and diversity management, public policy and race relations.... [ read more ]
Grassroots members of Canada’s aboriginal population want to know where billions of dollars in government spending intended to improve their lives is going, the head of the organization representing more than 800,000 of the country’s off-reserve native population says.
Virtually no accountability exists on how federal government funding for programs targeted to the country’s aboriginal people is being spent, says Patrick Brazeau, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP).
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A class-action lawsuit against Citizenship and Immigration Canada has been allowed by the Federal Court of Canada over a claim that the department charged excessive fees for processing visa applications. The claim also could be applied to cases involving other departments or levels of government.
The class-action suit against the immigration department alleges the it illegally collected more than $700 million in visa application fees paid by new immigrants.
Richard Kurland, a Vancouver lawyer acting on behalf of a British Columbia resident who filed the initial claim, says the court decision is a first in Canada, allowing the action to proceed over excessive charges for visa application fees filed by millions of applicants.... [ read more ]
A common misconception is that that self-employment is a last resort option for a person with a disability who can’t find a conventional job, says Deanna Bhandar. That’s where the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Programcomes in.
“When our local offices are making their lending decisions, they consider the chances for success of each entrepreneur,” says Bhandar, provincial coordinator of the EDP initiative affiliated with the Community Futures Association of B.C... [ read more ]
An expanded federal program has been announced that will make it faster for employers in British Columbia and Alberta to hire foreign workers
The Expedited Labour Market Opinion pilot project is geared to greater numbers of specific occupations when there are no Canadian citizens or permanent residents available to fill the positions.
The federal government is committed to help businesses who face pressures from labour shortages, which is why it is adding 21 new occupations to the Temporary Foreign
Worker Program pilot project announced last September, Monte Solberg, minister of human resources and social development, said in announcing the expanded initiative....[ read more ]
According to CPAC President Howard Shen there was a demand from the Chinese community to “help make them successful in Canada.” So great was the demand, in fact, that in the last 15 years, the association has grown from 100 to 23,000. And it’s easy to see why. “In the past 10 years, from what we know, every year roughly 30,000 new immigrants are from China,” Shen says. “This is the single source of professional university-trained immigrants.”
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Canada Two women who were Bell ExpressVu’s first female senior executives have filed a gender discrimination suit against their former employer. Fran Boutilier and AlisonGreen claim that although they outperformed their male predecessors, they were subjected to a macho corporate culture that included a martial arts retreat that demanded the women practice kicks, punches and chokeholds. Bell denies any discrimination within its senior ranks and says the women were fired because of their management performance...[ read more ]
Dean Simmonds is the equity diversity officer with the Halifax Regional Police. As a kid, this was probably the last thing he ever thought he’d be doing.
“It was one of those things when I was growing up,” says Simmonds. “I didn’t see a police officer, so I didn’t think this job was for me.”
Simmonds grew up just outside of Halifax in North Preston, Canada’s oldest and largest indigenous black community. But it was a chance meeting on a basketball court with a HRP constable that would change his mind about what he was going to do with his life. Seven years ago he joined the police force. And unlike his experience as a boy growing up in North Preston, Simmonds puts a face to the job...[ read more ]
As a result of a national competition, the HRSDC Labour Program has hired 9 racism prevention officers as part of its Racism-free Workplace Strategy. The officers will work with federally-regulated private sector employers in 5 regions across Canada to eliminate discriminatory barriers experienced by visible minorities and aboriginals at work, and build linkages and partnerships with community organizations....[ read more ]
Dear Diversity@Work:
With increasing diversity in the workplace, it is becoming really confusing about what we should order for our lunch meetings. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I know I am going to offend someone. Do you have any guidelines as to what we should serve at our meetings at work? Perplexed
Dear Perplexed:
This is a question that I frequently come across in my workshops. Businesses and organizations are becoming more aware of the cultural and religious differences and want to accommodate diverse dietary needs. That is a good thing. But before we discuss these accommodations, it is important that we all understand the meaning behind the dietary restrictions of many religious groups, such as Jews, Muslims, Seventh-day Adventists, Buddhists and Hindus, to name a few...
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