Discrimination agianst the older people: The case study of older immigrant workers in Canada - Thesis Example

?Introduction Immigration in Canada is often considered a way of countering the adverse effects of aging and low fertility. The government asserts for increased immigration to counter over the low birth rates as it has become necessary to maintain a viable work force (Ibbott, Kerr and Beaujot). This is the reason that the government has been trying to attract immigrants to solve the aging population problem. Immigrants now constitute the main source of labor force growth which impacts Canada’s capacity to fund social benefits in addition to offsetting the demographic effect of low fertility (Hum and Simpson). According to Immigration Watch Canada (IWC), Canada takes in approximately 250,000 immigrants per year and this is the highest per capita intake in the world. IWC considers this destructive and senseless. The seniors make up the fastest growing age group in Canada. In 2003 approximately 4.6 million Canadians were 65 years of age or older and this is expected to double in the next 25 years (Walsh). With immigration being the solution to the labor force, it can be expected that by 2017 about one Canadian in five could be a member of some minority group. This paper argues that while the nation is open to immigrants it has not been able to utilize talent and skill that it needs. Integration into the labor market is poor and discrimination such as lower wages for the university educated immigrant workers and lower pension income for the older immigrants are responsible for poverty among the elder immigrants in Canada in addition to leading to abuse, neglect and exploitation. Literature Review Immigrants and Immigration Immigrants are defined as foreign born individuals who are not citizens of the host country by birth (Bonikowska, Hou and Picot). Immigration is the turning point in an individual’s life and has a long-term impact on the individual’s quality of life (Da and Garcia). The immigration policy in Canada was initially directed towards three objectives. First, they wanted to attract the most skilled workers where the skills could be matched to the job openings (Grant and Grant). Second, family class immigrants were accepted with the purpose of reunifying families. Third, as a part of Canada’s international commitment, the policy also aimed at protecting the refugees. The immigration policy is tailored to maximize the economic contribution of the immigrants which is less likely to be fulfilled by the elderly immigrants (Baker, Benjamin and Fan). It was observed over time that the elderly immigrants, especially those that arrived after the age 55, became dependent upon social assistance and this increased the costs to society. Immigrants in Canada represent a fairly large group among older adults in Canada. Walsh states that in 2001, some 29% of individuals between 65 and 74 years of age and 28% of those aged between 75 and 84 were immigrants in Canada. The proportion of older immigrants is even higher in major cities in Canada. Eighty-two percent of older immigrants in Canada are sponsored by family members compared to 30% of all immigrants (Walsh). Again, about 75.6% of the older immigrants that have arrived in Canada after 1970 belong to the radicalized community. Women represent a larger portion of the older immigrants than men. Lower wages for the immigrants Every year more than 200,000 immigrants move to Canada in search of better economic opportunity but despite being better educated, the immigrants earn much less than their Canadian-born counterparts (Martin Prosperity). Canada is moving into knowledge economy but there is “brain waste” of immigrant professionals (UofTMagazine) as Indian engineers can be found working as cab drivers (Martin Prosperity). The recent immigrants face challenges such as discrimination, complication such as accreditation of foreign degrees, and an isolation that leaves a lasting impression on their lives (Lupick). For instance, a Zimbabwean-born academic works as a guard for Paladin Security not by choice but out of compulsion (Lupick). He is a certified physiologist with degrees from the University of Zimbabwe and the University of Minnesota, in addition to having teaching experience. None of this could fetch him a teaching job in Canada. Jobs are seldom advertised and even if they are, the employers already have someone in mind. The high paying positions are filled by applicants having inside information and this information is not available to the immigrants from visible-minority communities, contends Lupick. The immigrants receive on an average half to two-thirds less in earnings for their education and work experience than the native-born Canadians (Lupick). The Canada immigrants are better educated and degreed than the native-born Canadians but earn much less. The newest immigrants face the most job market constraints. Those that have arrived prior to 1991 have the lowest rate of unemployment (3.7%) while the newest arrivals have the highest (12.0%) rate of unemployment (Martin Prosperity). Gilmore finds that the average hourly wage for a core working Canadian-born employee is much higher ($23.72) than that of an immigrant ($21.44). The gap is wider for older immigrants. In 2008 the average hourly wage of older immigrant workers in Canada was 63 cents lower than the Canadian-born counterpart which is considered negligible. The country of origin also makes a difference on the employment and the type of jobs that an immigrant can expect (Lupick). While 87% of the recent immigrants from Europe were employed in British Columbia in 2007, only 60.7% of the Asian immigrants in BC found employment. Discrimination in government support The older immigrants, in principle, are eligible for support from three main federal and provincial sources (Baker, Benjamin and Fan). The Old Age Security (OAS) is usually available to all Canadian after the age 65 but there are restrictions on immigrants. A minimum residency period of ten years is required to receive any benefits. Their sponsoring families have to provide assistance for this period. The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a “top-up” to the OAS as the base is determined by the same residency requirement as the OAS. Some amendments do enable some older immigrants to avail of this grant to some extent. Because of the commitment made by their sponsors, older immigrants are not eligible to receive the Social Assistance (SA). Based on the data collected from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) the individual income is lower for the recent older immigrants. They have much lower levels of OAS/GIS benefits but they do receive SA to a large extent. However, the mid-term immigrants (those that have been in Canada between 10 and 19 years) collect the highest level of transfer income as they receive higher OAS/GIS payments. Despite this, the immigrants, women and ethnic minorities are subject to institutional barriers which restrict their access to government support (Kaida and Boyd). The state of the recent older immigrants is deplorable as they have very poor economic outcomes. Their living conditions too are poor as they live in poor households. The non-wage benefits such as pension plans and life insurance coverage for the immigrants is much lower than the Canadian-born counterparts (Gilmore). This is endorsed by Hum and Simpson who estimate a significant gap of 43 percent between the private pension incomes of all immigrants compared to the Canadian-born workers. Grant and Grant cite the reason for this as the inability of the immigrants to accumulate as much savings and pension entitlements prior to age sixty-five. The immigrants have a shorter work career and a lower average annual income and hence they suffer a more significant decline in income once they retire. The immigrants receive nine percent less income than the native born Canadians. Even amongst immigrants the income varies across nations and it is significantly lower among the Asian immigrants. Besides, Canada has mandatory retirement age. Workers are encouraged to retire prior to the age of 65 and disincentives exist for those that continue beyond the age of sixty-five, contend Grant and Grant. Kaida and Boyd contend that state social policies unequally support the older people which make the senior immigrants vulnerable to social risks such as poverty. The family too has to share the responsibility of the well-being of the elderly immigrants. This has implications on the elderly immigrants particularly for the recent arrivals as they do not have access to government support. Since the immigrants are less likely to find jobs that are full time, or permanent and in the public sector, they are less likely to receive social wages from employment or pensions. Unemployment and exploitation Immigrants to Canada face several problems but the financial abuse is more prominent among those that have landed more recently as they experience greater problems in finding employment. Lupick states that in 2002 approximately 54% of the immigrants had university education. However, in 2007, the unemployment rate for these immigrants was four times that of the native-born Canadians. The qualifications and the university degree of the immigrants often go unrecognized. The plight of immigrants is such that a metallurgical engineer trained in Congo and Belgium is compelled to accept the job of cleaning the washrooms for the sake of his children. An engineer trained in Asia has to retrain to work in Canada. Some of the professionals have been practicing in their country of origin for over 20 years as doctors, nurses or IT professionals but when they land in Canada they face glass door and glass ceiling barriers (Lupick). These immigrants do not have access to high-paying firms and nor can they have access to high-wage jobs. The children have to be left unattended as the immigrants cannot afford day care expenses on their meager salaries. The unemployed form a “network of entry” but the recent immigrants from the African countries are not permitted entry into these networks. Thus, since the immigrants from the visible-minority communities are not well represented, insider information is not available to the new immigrants. This then forces them to accept jobs essential for survival of the family. The older immigrants have a longer average work week than their Canadian-born counterparts (Gilmore). Abuse and neglect of the elderly Life expectancy in Canada has been on the rise over the past decades and nearly half the older victims are abused by some family member (Guruge et al). Approximately 55% of the homicides against older women in Canada are conducted by their spouses. World Health Organization defines elder abuse as “…a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person” (qtd. by Walsh). Elder abuse among the immigrants in Canada can be classified into five categories – physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, financial or material abuse, sexual abuse and neglect (Walsh). Elder abuse can further be segregated under three different themes as per the definition of World Health Organization. These include neglect (isolation, abandonment and social exclusion), violation (when legal, medical and human rights are violated) and deprivation which can include deprivation of finances, status and respect. The characteristics of the immigrants differ based on the period of immigration. The more recent immigrants have different characteristics than those born in Canada. Walsh contends that their labor market experiences have been different when they were younger; they needed to learn a new language in order to enter Canada; they tended to live in core urban areas most of their life. In addition, they have less savings for retirement and very few compared to the earlier older immigrants would be eligible for Canadian Public Pension Plans. Hence, the younger and the older immigrants’ undergo different experience in terms of socio-economic wellbeing, government support, social support networks, and overall life satisfaction (Da and Garcia). The elderly immigrants feel they become care receivers and have no economic value. Besides, they are perceived as less educated and illiterate. In addition, moving residence at a late age in life can be challenging and is associated with an increasing need for care and support (Da and Garcia). They have to learn a new language, adapt to a different lifestyle, different social and cultural values. The process of acculturation adds to the stress of the elderly who have already been experiencing declining income status and health conditions. Older immigrants often do not recognize that they are victims of abuse. They may also be ignorant of the legal and human rights or the resources available to them (Walsh). In addition, there could be issues such as social isolation and exclusion, caregiver stress, language barriers, dysfunctional family dynamics or personal characteristics of the victim that lead to elder abuse. In most cases the elders may not report abuse either out of shame, ignorance or discomfort in discussing the issue. The older South Asian immigrants in Canada would refrain from discussing such issues due to cultural sanctions against disclosure. Filial piety (respect for the elders, harmonizing the family, making sacrifices) has been the cultural heritage of the East Asian society but under the influence of the Western culture this too has been steadily decreasing among the older immigrants in Canada. The older women immigrants experience emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse in addition to threat and control from their husbands, children and even children-in-law (Guruge et al). As the older women become dependent on their husbands and children after immigration, the respect and love diminishes. The possible reasons as stated by Guruge et al could be because the spouses have been in Canada for a longer period and hence have greater proficiency in the English language and knowledge of the Canadian society. The women thus abused are unable to leave the family environment because of unfamiliarity with the Canadian ways and lack of financial resources. Language and transportation pose significant barriers as the older immigrant women have to continue to cope with abuse and neglect. Transportation problem isolates them and leaves them dependent on the abusers. The immigration sponsorship criteria also prohibit them from leaving the abusers. The immigration policies and the sponsorship rules have a profound impact on the older immigrants. These create significant isolation and strong dependency on the family. The immigrant family is further under stress due to poverty and underemployment. The older immigrants that have enjoyed higher status in the country of origin and who are forced to accept low status in Canada are vulnerable to abuse and neglect (Beaulieu, Gordon and Spencer). Abuse and neglect at any age can have a significant impact on the physical and wellbeing of people but it has a greater impact on the older adults, contend Beaulieu, Gordon and Spencer. First Nation and Inuit Communities in Canada are two such cultures in transition where the older immigrants do not hold the same status as the earlier generations. Unemployment and severe lack of housing has thrown people together. Such forms of abuse or neglect can cause severe health problems or even death. With age physical resiliency is reduced and they do not have the same stamina to defend themselves as other adults. In addition, financial abuse leading to psychological abuse (depletion of the immigrant’s finances) reduces the ability to take care of their own health, nutrition and wellbeing. In native communities abuse or neglect is considered the community’s problem but this is not the case with the immigrants. The immigrants feel isolated because of language and other barriers. Women face inequalities throughout the life which makes them more economically vulnerable in their old age (Kaida and Boyd). Women are also burdened with unpaid work responsibilities at home simply because they have no access to work-related pensions. Co-residence with the family can reduce poverty for the elderly immigrants but it can have a negative impact on the mental health. Seniors living with the children are likely to develop a feeling of isolation if they are subject to domestic chores throughout the day. The elderly women are more likely to experience such abuse as they are the primary caregivers at home. Co-residence can also lead to conflict with the family members because of the intergenerational differences. The elderly immigrants also experience gaps in the cultural identities and proficiency in the host country language which can lead to psychological isolation thereby impacting their mental health. Conclusion Literature on under utilization of immigrant talent, lower wages and discrimination in government support for the immigrants have been reviewed. Canada is experiencing shortage of labor because of an aging population and low birth rates. While they need skilled immigrants and they are open to immigrants, the educated and qualified immigrants have to face discrimination in obtaining jobs. Their qualifications and university degree are not given due recognition and often need to retrain in Canada. The university educated immigrants even face discrimination in wages against the native-born Canadians. The high poverty rates among the older immigrants in Canada can largely be attributed to the lack of government support. Since the older immigrants have fewer years of work life their contribution towards pension is also less, thereby further disqualifying them from receiving government support. However, it appears that the immigrants, especially from the visible-minority communities are subject to abuse of different types. They undergo financial or material abuse as government support is adequately available only to immigrants that have been in Canada for more than ten years. Those with less than ten years of residency are dependent on their family and have to co-habit with others. This can lead to mental abuse for the older immigrants. The family support helps to mitigate poverty to some extent but women in particular are vulnerable to abuse due to poverty. Their living conditions are below average and they experience social exclusion and psychological isolation. These can have a negative impact on their physical and mental wellbeing. The recent elderly immigrants are the most vulnerable to neglect and abuse, particularly the women. Thus, factors such as under utilization of talent of immigrants, lack of integration into the labor market, discrimination in wages and government pension plans are responsible for poverty among the elder immigrants in Canada. This is turn is responsible for abuse, neglect and exploitation of the older immigrants. Works Cited Baker, Michael, Benjamin Dwayne, and Fan, Elliot. "Public Policy and the Economic Wellbeing of Elderly Immigrants". Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network. Working Paper No. 52. December 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Beaulieu, MArie, Gordon Robert M, and Spencer, Charmaine. "AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF OLDER ADULTS IN CANADA: WHAT’S WORKING AND WHY." Report prepared for the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Committee of Officials (Seniors) September 2003. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Bonikowska, Aneta, Hou Feng and Picot, Garnett. 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"Elder abuse among immigrant older adults in Canada: A summary of the research evidence." Metropolis Priority Seminar Ottawa, ON. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Read More