A strain on your relationship?

[Merlyns_Tim]

Hey Merlyn,

I think this boils down to the government trying to regulate labour costs (wages) so that they don't spiral out of control. Immigrants as you rightly say seem to have an advantage but for various reasons that include they are less inclined to moan (they are appreciative of the fact they are in Canada in the first place), they will generally take the menial jobs or tasks that citizen's think are below them and will generally not speak out about any mal-practice.

Having lived in the UK all my life, when we had the credit boom and money seemed to be flowing like tap water, our "wise" government did EXACTLY the same thing and approved so many immigration applications (that and there is a free trade between all EU members), they drove the price of labour and wages down. Obviously the first to complain were the nationals and those that had lived in the UK for years. Immigrants from Countries like Australia, New Zeland and a lot of eastern Europe did not care because the exchange rate was crazy high, so not so good wages were more than made up for by the amazing exchange rate. They sent all their excess money home to family members to pay for their family and properties abroad.

So immigration is a tool that a country's government can use to beat the nationals with and negate inflation and the "real" costs that Canadian families have to endure. Their goal is to minimise labour costs and to try and get everybody working for less money. Obviously the issue is when immigrants are sending the money they earn back to other countries, taking all the $$$ out of the economy. When a recession or depression hits, the people who do this will move on to the next country and rinse and repeat.

The after effects of this happening are catastrophic and a country is left with those who don't want to work and suck up more of the economy in the way of benefits. It really is a frightening scenario and after 4 years, the UK is no better than when the recession hit.

I think you pretty much hit the nail right on the head with this assessment.

For people who have worked most of their lives for a couple of hundred pesos a day, to suddenly be able to work for around $10.50 and hour as minimum wage is a huge step up, and as you said a lot of what they make will go back to their home countries rather than into our own economy here. The cost of living in Canada is high though and must be a shock to a lot of newcomers.

 

[AnaMaria]

My wife is also a professional. Do all new immigrants struggle with not having Canadian work experience? Does it matter the profession and the region?
I'm just wondering what I could do to help her avoid having to take a job she is over qualified for.

As Parker says, it depends on where you are and what profession she is qualified for. Immigrants, particularly immigrant women of color, have difficult time getting a job because of inequality that exists in Canada. Canada values certificates more than work experience. Foreign credentials are not recognized in Canada. Working in a menial category does not qualify as "Canadian experience". Have you not seen many PhD holders working as a taxi driver? I am volunteering to gain Canadian experience but I have to cut it back because volunteering costs me money. I am in the downward spiral and experiencing first hand all these horror stories I studied ???

What you can do? Save a lot of money and search for what credentials/certificates she is required for her profession.

 

[amikety]

Immigrants, particularly immigrant women of color, have difficult time getting a job because of inequality that exists in Canada.

I very much resent that comment. I'm not 'of color' (we all are different colors!) and I can't find a job either.

I actually feel being white is a disadvantage to me as people prefer employees from Asia or India.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

It may not be right, but to me it seems if two people of equal qualifications, (or even if the Canadian is higher qualified) apply for the same position in an awful lot of cases the immigrant gets the job.

When my son finished high school he finished on the honor roll and with three separate awards, as well as being told before the year ended that if he was going on after high school that he could have a scholarship in Communication Technologies. I couldn't afford on my salary to send him away to school though, so he got a job where I worked and did an excellent job, never was late, never missed time, was really liked by the machine operator he helped etc.
He eventually trained a new employee an immigrant who could barely speak English to do the same job. The man was nice enough but really not good at the job (packing forms off the end of a printing press which sometimes are numbered forms) so he might get them in the wrong cartons etc.
When the recession hit both my son and the immigrant were in a permanent lay off, and when things eventually started to pick up again both applied to come back. The immigrant got the job over my son, who knew the job better, could communicate better and who didn't have a problem knowing how to package numbered forms.

I'm not sure if the government gives kick backs to companies that hire immigrants, ... but to me anyhow it appears that in most cases an immigrant stands at least as good a chance as anyone else to get the job they apply for.

I would say that the decision to rehire the immigrant was based on the fact that he would stay in the job. Your son would most likely move on to greener pastures having a much broader skill set.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

Depends on where and what profession. I'm the Canadian, and I am BARELY am working in my field. I am a Child and Youth Worker graduate, so I went to school to work with children and youth.. Out of my 5 on-call jobs, three of them have to do with children. NONE of them are full time hours, nor part time hours honestly. The economy is horrible right now where I am (Southern Ontario) but Alberta right now is doing VERY well.

Unfortunately your profession relies heavily on government resources. A Ferderal Conservative government mixed with a very right leaning Liberal Provincial government and that is why you have to have 5 on-call jobs. My sympathies. I work for the Post Office, have my own small business and am now looking to fill in what little free time I have with a casual job. I feel your pain.

My wife is a civil engineer. We will be staying here in Winnipeg where there seems to be a ton of jobs in her field if the Job Bank is accurate. She may require some accredation and join an association in her industry. Gotta make some cash to pay for all that.

 

[parker24]

Unfortunately your profession relies heavily on government resources. A Ferderal Conservative government mixed with a very right leaning Liberal Provincial government and that is why you have to have 5 on-call jobs. My sympathies. I work for the Post Office, have my own small business and am now looking to fill in what little free time I have with a casual job. I feel your pain.

My wife is a civil engineer. We will be staying here in Winnipeg where there seems to be a ton of jobs in her field if the Job Bank is accurate. She may require some accredation and join an association in her industry. Gotta make some cash to pay for all that.

Yes, sadly. I work one job in a school board, my friends from college work in group homes and rehab centres.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

As Parker says, it depends on where you are and what profession she is qualified for. Immigrants, particularly immigrant women of color, have difficult time getting a job because of inequality that exists in Canada. Canada values certificates more than work experience. Foreign credentials are not recognized in Canada.

Can't say I agree with your assesment. Canada has had affirmative action since the 1970's. This is a policy that intentionally discriminates against white males in order to provide more access to meaningful employment for women and ethnicities. So really you have the advantage over me. There are many government funded agencies that are paid to help new Canadians find employment. I'm assuming you have tried these with no success?

There is a problem with foreign educations not being treated equally with Canadian degrees but there is even inequality between the provinces. A degree in Ontario may not be recognized in Manitoba. A degree in Manitoba may not be recognized in BC. Canada is a nation of regions......unfortunately.

 

[sounion]

lol this discussion is turning into another strain. can we say it's hard to find a job in general? no need to worry about the details. that's my opinion at least. ;D

 

[mamad2020]

A lot of you are in better shape than us form Ankara VO. The wait time used to be 6 months but it increased to 16 after all the VO closures.
It's definitely hard. We've been apart for 2 and a half months and it feels like it's been a year. The only thing that keeps me going is being busy with school and my plan to visit her again in April. Other than that, she can't get a temp visa to come here so that's out of the question. We haven't really thought of being apart for 17 months. All I know is that after this six months, I don't know how we can survive.

 

[bonitanita]

A lot of you are in better shape than us form Ankara VO. The wait time used to be 6 months but it increased to 16 after all the VO closures.
It's definitely hard. We've been apart for 2 and a half months and it feels like it's been a year. The only thing that keeps me going is being busy with school and my plan to visit her again in April. Other than that, she can't get a temp visa to come here so that's out of the question. We haven't really thought of being apart for 17 months. All I know is that after this six months, I don't know how we can survive.

It's absolutely disgusting that a VO can be allowed to take that long. What a way to trample on a relationship!