A report from the Royal Bank of Canada states that despite higher levels of education, new Canadians earn less and are less likely to have a job than native-born Canadians. More than 40% of recent immigrants have a BA or higher, but are only earning $28,000 per year on average. The unemployment rate for immigrants at 12% is higher too than for native Canadians. In terms of gender, male immigrants earned 7% more than female immigrants while the employment rate for women was greater than for men at 2.5 percentage points. The gap in both cases is worse in Canada’s 3 major cities—Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. "While Canada has done a great job of attracting foreign talent, integrating newcomers effectively has proven to be more of a challenge," the report says.

A provincial task force has been created to review the system under which skilled immigrants and foreign investors come to B.C. and Canada. The 9-member group consisting of business and community leaders will review the Provincial Nominee Program, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Immigrant Investor Program, assessing how efficient each program is, and how to improve the federal government's responsiveness to immigration needs throughout Western Canada. A final public report will be submitted to the premier by March 31, 2012.

The Department of National Defence (DND) must pay a former employee with a hearing disability more than $27,000 for failing to provide him with a sign language interpreter. Jeffrey Stringer, a draftsperson at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in Trenton, Ontario, was fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), written English but had difficulties understanding spoken English. He requested an ASL interpreter on several occasions such as for his performance evaluations or to understand the instructions for his BlackBerry, but was refused. A Canadian Public Service Labour Relations Board found the DND’s failure to accommodate Stringer put him at a disadvantage compared to other employees. The DND was also criticized for not consulting any experts or training management to help with accommodation, even though Stringer was hired through an employment equity program.

The federal government is now making it easier for foreign nannies and caregivers to live and work in Canada. Until now live-in caregivers had to work for 3900 hours or 2 years before they could file for permanent residence. The new open work permit will speed up this process by about 18 months allowing them to seek other work while they’re waiting for permanent status. Before foreign caregivers had to continue living with their employers after their jobs were finished, waiting for their application for permanent residence to be reviewed. In 2010, nearly 14,000 foreign caregivers were granted permanent status.

The Vancouver Sun has launched a Chinese-language website offering the latest in local and international news from various sources such as Agence France Presse.  Taiyangbao.ca—or Sun Newspaper—will include all the regular features of a major publication such as business and immigration news, as well as a blog by Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland that provides an in-depth guide to immigration issues, all in simplified and traditional Chinese language characters.

The union representing pilots at Air Transat says the company is planning on hiring foreign pilots while simultaneously firing some of its Canadian staff. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says 17 of its members received layoff notices. The airline’s holding company, Transat A.T., which has an agreement with CanJet Airlines to operate flights to southern destinations this winter, plans to hire foreign pilots to meet those staffing needs. "The hiring of even a single foreign pilot when there are unemployed Canadian pilots is unacceptable,” says Captain Dan Adamus, president of ALPA's Canada Board. Air Transat has not commented on the layoffs.

A survey in Cambridge, Ontario has shown that foreign-born residents continue to face barriers integrating into the community. Lakhdeep Singh Dhaliwal, a cultural diversity specialist with the Cambridge YMCA, told 570 News that the Cambridge Community Cultural Diversity Survey revealed that “discrimination, racism, barriers to employment are apparent in Cambridge." Nearly 160 people, representing 27 countries and 5 different languages, took part in the survey.

The Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations has released 2 publications on promoting inclusion and diversity: Humanly Possible: Workforce Inclusion Plan and Beyond the Boomers: A Guidebook for Building an Immigrant Workforce in the Nonprofit Sector. For more details, http://www.calgarycvo.org/.

Asia

SHRM India is doing the first research project focused on multi-generational diversity in the workplace in collaboration with Prof. Vasanthi Srinivasan from IIM-Bangalore. Until now there has been no single study focused on this subject. The research will also explore the mechanisms that organizations can use to strengthen multi-generational collaboration. India is the world’s second largest country with more than 1.21billion people of whom 64.9% are between 15-64 years of age.

For more information on the study, click here.

According to recent results of a survey by the Dallas Diversity Task Force, diversity scores for 15 out of 20 of the largest law firms in the Dallas County area, decreased from 2010 to 2011. Of the approximately 840 equity partners at the surveyed firms, less than 6% are minority lawyers, 15% had no minority partners at all, 70% had no African-American partners, 70% had no Native American partners, 55% have no Asian-American partners, and 40% have no Latino partners.

According to a new survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), organizations with a formal diversity recruitment strategy hired Hispanics at a higher rate ( 8.3%) compared to those without one (4.6%) . The survey which polled 228 organizations noted that more than 85% of employers undertaking diversity recruiting target Hispanics, African-Americans and women.

The governor of Alabama is working to revise a state immigration law that allows police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce sufficient identification. The law has led to widespread departure of Hispanic workers, leaving the state with a shortage of workers. Governor Robert Bentley stated he did not plan to repeal or weaken the law, considered to be the toughest in the nation.