Hidden Side of Canadian Immigrants & Jobs

[NatureFairy]

A European-based professional trying in vain to be hired in Canada posted this & I thought it would be worth it to share this with the potential expats here, as it gives a more realistic, balanced view of the situation for a large proportion of immigrants, so that people won't develop unreallistic expectations.

Taxi Driver Syndrome by Jeffrey G. Reitz - The Literary Review of Canada

This really confirms what I've been hearing, except that the article sort of contradicts itself by stating that immigrants still technically have a better chance, so technically, they're still better off despite driving taxis with a Bachelor's degree. Also, they're wrong about the racial issue; I've lately spoken to 3 Europeans & 2 Americans who have the same difficulty.

Undoubtedly, if you're lucky to have a solid offer, many immigrants, particularly Irish I notice, do quite well. But for a large portion, it seems it's not worth it. Too many try for Vancouver (increasing competition in an already expensive city that contends with foreign investors) thus making it like New York, or worse.

What do people here think?

[Freddy_uk]

As an engineer Im finding it difficult. Everyone wants peng but you can't get this without 1yr as an engineer in Canada. Im visiting later this month so hopefully convince someone Im worth the risk.

[NatureFairy]

Hey Freddy,

Thanks for responding. What part of Canada are you looking at?

Yes, it's more difficult to secure work than expats think, and even you having trouble as an engineer tells me lots. You're always hearing that engineers are needed everywhere!

I've no idea WHY the Canadian govt let in all these immigrants & encourages more to come when they're only needed to fill low-paying jobs that should go to native Canadians who actually need them.

I've been doing my research for awhile now, & I don't think they need immigrants as much as people think. Sure there are a few who will luck out in finding jobs in certain skills, but for the rest, when people get there all they hear is that they need Canadian certification + experience! Obviously, they don't want immigrants that much.

It's funny how the article states that the govt set up orgs to assist immigrants ....I'm guessing immigrants can't find work there either!

It probably doesn't help that so many want to move to Vancouver or Toronto.

[Freddy_uk]

Well I'm looking at Alberta as that's were i have started the process to licensed as an engineer, but equally any province would be fine. You have to focus your efforts a little if only to reduce the number of job advertisements you read.

I have read and been told about doctors etc just driving taxis etc because the can't get their qualifications recognized. That is true, my wife's family in Canada know such immigrants.

I think some don't do their research and fly to Canada, enter on the points system and look for work. It's a funny system were someone with an engineering degree has enough points to enter as a fsw, but to work as an engineer has to then become licensed by the province.

The license is in too parts, engineer-in-training which determines if your qualifications are equivalent to Canada, or provisional license which determines if you have also had equivalent experience to that of a Canadian professional engineer. The problem is employers what the peng status, no immigrant can achieve this without first having one of the two licensing options I first mentioned and then getting an engineering job in Canada. So you can't get peng without finding work, and it's difficult to find work that's doesn't specifically say they want peng.

It's always going to be easier for an employer to hire a canadian.

[Sirtravelot]

...Yeah, I'm just going to say what everyone is thinking: Canada is racist towards immigrants.

When I lived there there was a website that made it on the news discussing the issues with immigration. The big problem was 1. The weather causing immigrants to return to where they came from and 2. Highly educated people being turned down and being forced to drive taxis or minimum wage jobs.

You should have seen how quickly that website had been taken down.

Canada. Not even once.

[NatureFairy]

You didn't read the article, did you?

No, Canada IS NOT racist towards immigrants, & not everyone thinks that; some people actually bother to critically analyze a situation. European expats have the same trouble. I'm sick of the PC liberal sheep who throw the race card at every opportunity.

Non-English speakers must learn English/French and at least TRY to adapt to Western values. Like someone else said on another thread here, Canada's allowed themselves to become pretty multicultural at a great deal of expense. Lots of different people living together often end up clashing....history is filled with examples of this. A good current one would be in Europe, where a small % of muslims demanding tolerance for their religious practices, plus their refusal to comply with Western law has led to massive crime, rape etc & triggered nationalist parties looking to preserve their nations against sharia.

And I hope you're not referring to Indians, as some of them do find success. Lately, Indian expats have been found to be guilty of massive fraud w.r.t. their qualifications & experience, so the govt taking a bit of precaution isn't unreasonable. And you'll notice the article I posted is STILL up, & in a Canadian publication, no less.

Expats on the whole are having difficulty, because of the trouble the article mentioned. The system is geared towards making expats -ALL EXPATS, even Europeans- dump their savings into the economy & stringing them along on a low paying job...this works for everyone because Canada gets educated people who will work hard to send their kids to school rather than return home, & educated immigrants are less likely to turn to crime.

[Freddy_uk]

Originally Posted by Sirtravelot

...Yeah, I'm just going to say what everyone is thinking: Canada is racist towards immigrants.

When I lived there there was a website that made it on the news discussing the issues with immigration. The big problem was 1. The weather causing immigrants to return to where they came from and 2. Highly educated people being turned down and being forced to drive taxis or minimum wage jobs.

You should have seen how quickly that website had been taken down.

Canada. Not even once.

I wouldn't go so far as to say they are racist. They are protecting professional titles, sadly this makes it more difficult to find employment in those fields for immigrants. The flip side is you can have a country like the UK where it's much easier, but you can end up with people in skilled jobs that shouldn't be.

I'll get there eventually.

[NatureFairy]

Originally Posted by Sirtravelot

...Yeah, I'm just going to say what everyone is thinking: Canada is racist towards immigrants.

...

If they're so racist towards non-euro immigrants (because immigrants could be whites too, don't you know) then why have they invited them to come over & spread out in their most popular cities (Vancouver, Toronto) for decades now?

And many DO obtain good jobs, or at least their kids do. Like I said, all immigrants are lured to prop up the economy & make things easier for native Canadians. Even after the FSW guidelines are revised, I do think people from all backgrounds will STILL have a chance, providing they have lots of $$$$$$ to feed into the economy.

[Sirtravelot]

Originally Posted by NatureFairy

You didn't read the article, did you?

No, Canada IS NOT racist towards immigrants, & not everyone thinks that; some people actually bother to critically analyze a situation. European expats have the same trouble. I'm sick of the PC liberal sheep who throw the race card at every opportunity.

Non-English speakers must learn English/French and at least TRY to adapt to Western values. Like someone else said on another thread here, Canada's allowed themselves to become pretty multicultural at a great deal of expense. Lots of different people living together often end up clashing....history is filled with examples of this. A good current one would be in Europe, where a small % of muslims demanding tolerance for their religious practices, plus their refusal to comply with Western law has led to massive crime, rape etc & triggered nationalist parties looking to preserve their nations against sharia.

And I hope you're not referring to Indians, as some of them do find success. Lately, Indian expats have been found to be guilty of massive fraud w.r.t. their qualifications & experience, so the govt taking a bit of precaution isn't unreasonable. And you'll notice the article I posted is STILL up, & in a Canadian publication, no less.

Expats on the whole are having difficulty, because of the trouble the article mentioned. The system is geared towards making expats -ALL EXPATS, even Europeans- dump their savings into the economy & stringing them along on a low paying job...this works for everyone because Canada gets educated people who will work hard to send their kids to school rather than return home, & educated immigrants are less likely to turn to crime.

Sorry, my wording was not correct so I'll take it back. It's not racist, it's "discriminatory against immigrants". That counts towards Europeans and whites as much as any other race or nationality.

So what you are saying is that Canada gets expats to come over, buy a house, spend taxes, work a low paying job...and this works for everyone because Canada gets educated people who will work hard (are we talking about the doctors who turned into taxi drivers here?) and send their kids to school, rather than return home.

Not my particular experience, but I do know several Europeans who have returned home or plan to.


Bolded part: One particular case study was of a man of Indian background, yes. This was ten years ago and he was a man who was highly specialized in India.

[NatureFairy]

Not my particular experience, but I do know several Europeans who have returned home or plan to.

Yep, so do I, hence my rejection of the 'racist' label.

On the Indian issue, yes, this has happened to many Indians as well. But their situation is a bit different, imo. If so many educated Indians leave India, the brain drain will affect the 900 million poor they have. What will happen to them, I wonder?

And yes, Canada benefits greatly from the money immigrants bring in. But only EDUCATED immigrants. Poor immigrants won't have much. If you can only get a low paying job but have the opportunity to send your kids to Canadian school so they'll be able to enter the job market, lots would take that offer, especially since Canadian life is relatively easy going.