Introduction

Our purpose on this page is to present a summary of the relevant aspects of our organization and how it has evolved over the years. This page briefly outlines our organization antecedents and mission statement. It also describes how our team works, the services we provide, the main characteristics of the online publication and finally, our accomplishments and goals.

Antecedents

Canadaimmigrants.com started as a research project in 1997, and it was formally released, in electronic/online format, to the public  on January 1, 2002. Initially, this project was developed to help immigrants of 'visible minorities' get suitable jobs in Canada; however, the response of the public has been broadening not only this original objective but also the area of influence at many different levels: geographic, social, political, and epistemological. In fact, due to the growing demand of some services, the project took a giant step forward; Canadaimmigrants.com was registered as Canada Immigrant Job Issues (an independent research organization) in the Richmond Chamber of Commerce in June 2002. With this transition, the website became our major product; an online magazine.

The organization mission

The mission of Canada Immigrant Job Issues is to articulate effective proposals to eliminate systemic racism in Canada. This mission is built upon three pillars: social commitment, financial independence and participatory research. Indeed, our work is extremely necessary since the Canadian bureaucracy and most immigrant-serving associations are blatantly neglecting the issues that affect skilled immigrants in this country.

Current services

At the beginning, we offered four types of services: Job matching, support, information, and consulting. After a few months of having the site on the Internet, companies and associations wanted us to publish their products, services and job opportunities, so we added free and paid advertising services.

1) Job matching. Job seekers who want to work in Canada can publish their resume on our website, so employers can see their profile and get their professional information. This service is free of charge for both job seekers and employers.

2) Support. We assist immigrants living in Canada who are in desperate situations by giving them some advice and comfort. If necessary, we help them find agencies where they can get appropriate assistance in their communities.

3) Information. We provide free information to prospective immigrants willing to migrate to Canada, and to students and professors wanting to use our materials.

4) Consulting. Our consulting services combine proven, disciplined approaches to develop totally or partially research projects on social issues.

5) Advertising. These services are subject to our fee policy that reflects our commitment to improve the situation of foreign professionals in Canada. Once approved their ads, companies or individuals must pay a fee to advertise their products, services and events.

As for job postings, it was necessary to determine the suitability of these postings because most Canadian companies frequently send us dead-end job opportunities, so we set the following guidelines:

A. There is no charge for posting job openings that companies offer to professionals and highly qualified workers (people holding bachelor degrees or higher) as long as they are fair-minded employers and give equal opportunities to immigrant and visible minority applicants.

B. To advertise job opportunities that don't require highly skilled workers there is a fee for each posting. This fee substantially increases when Canadian experience and/or qualifications are required.

The magazine

The online magazine was conceived as a platform to dialogue on current immigration and employment issues in Canada. Based on a longitudinal research design, these issues are studied over several points in time that allows us to observe their changes periodically. It also has a transversal intentionality that lets us grasp the phenomena and their complexity at particular points in time. Moreover, each page of the site aims to address a factor or actor that is relevant to the phenomena and it captures its behaviour at different levels.

In addition to that, as a participatory research, there is always room to explore new areas and methodologies while keeping the core content of the publication. Indeed, back in 2002, the website had a total of 38 pages, now it has 107 pages which feature the most recent content of each thematic section. There is also an archive’s comprehensive collection of past and unpublished materials to preserve historical continuity.

Major accomplishments

We measure our success not in terms of profits, but in terms of our ability to reach and influence those who are directly involved in the issues affecting highly skilled immigrants in Canada; otherwise, our work will be a useless intellectual exercise.

1. The online publication gets over 32 thousand visitors per month.

2. This publication has been recognized for its contribution to the study of immigration and systemic racism in Canada by foreign and Canadian research institutions. (See Appendix.)

3. We have reached several agreements with American and Canadian companies that have supported our work by providing licenses to use either their content or their products.

4. Most of our modest income comes from advertising, and from people who have favoured our work.

5. A series of deliverables will be published. The first one is a book on “Latin Americans in the Canadian labour market at the end of the 20th Century.” A second publication on "Skilled immigration & labour insertion in Canada" will be soon released.

Goals

Our mid-term goal is to publish a print magazine so that we'll be able to hire foreign and local researchers, and to offer a wider range of products and services.

Our long-term goals are to develop and support new research initiatives, and most importantly, to be part of the decision-making process with regard to population policies in Canada. Therefore, we have an open door to companies, organizations or individuals wanting to be part of these initiatives.

Appendix

Research Institutions and publications that have listed Canadaimmigrants.com as a reference.

International Organizations

• Anti-racism Information Service. Geneva, Switzerland

• Canadian History and Studies. Department of History Tennessee Technological University

• December18.net: Portal for the promotion and Protection of the Rights of Migrants

• Eactivist.org. USA

• European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations

• FedStats. The interagency portal to statistical information from the USA Federal Government

• Inmotion Magazine. US Multicultural Online Publication

• International Human Rights Founders Group

• Intute: Social Sciences. University of Manchester

• La Jornada sin fronteras. Migración Internacional. Mexico

• Magenta. The Netherlands

• L. McGraw-Hill Ryerson

• Migrants Rights International. Geneva, Switzerland

• Political Science Resources. UK

• Social Science Information System based at the University of Amsterdam

Canadian Institutions

• Canadian Ethnic Studies. University of Calgary

• Careers and Salaries. Edmonton Public Library

• Course of Anthropology: Race and racism in the modern world. University of Calgary

• Ethnic and Pluralism Studies. University of Toronto

• Human Rights Research and Education Centre. University of Ottawa

• Red de Estudios sobre Latinoamericanos en Canadá. University of Toronto

• Reference Collection on Statistics and Documents Canada. Mount Royal College

• Simon Fraser Public Interest Group. Simon Fraser University

Publications

• Ação afirmativa para a igualdade racial: características, impactos e desafios. OIT. Genebra.

• An Introductory Guide to International Migration in the Health Sector for Workers and Trade Unionists. Public Services International. 2003.

• Competing for Global Talent. International Labour Office. Geneve. 2006.

• Proyecto de Ley No. - Por el cual se dictan normas tendientes a procurar la protección, promoción y defensa de los derechos de las personas mayores." Government of Colombia.

• Recent immigrants as an “Alternate Civic Core” Providing Internet Services, Gaining Canadian Experiences. Concordia University.

• Scoping the Role of Canadian Diaspora in Global Diplomacy and Policy Making. University of Winnipeg.

• Trade in Services and South Asia: An Aggressive Agenda. Centad. Center for Trade and Development.

• Recognizing the Prior Learning (RPL) of Immigrants to Canada: Moving towards Consistency and Excellence. Red River College. 2006.

Canada Immigrant Job Issues
January 1, 2007.
Richmond, British Columbia.
 

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