Canada is a diverse country, with people of many backgrounds. Every year, there is an influx of newcomers, many of whom speak different languages, looking to start a new life. While plenty of us recognize that Canada is a country of immigrants, we may overlook the struggles associated with resettlement in Canada. In particular, we may disregard the language barriers that prevent many newcomers from having positive resettlement experiences (Danso, 2002, as cited in Oudshoorn et al., 2020, p. 895). These language barriers may affect various aspects of one’s settlement experience, including their experiences in the education system, healthcare access, housing and their experiences in the labour market.
Education
Going to school is an important part of many of our lives; we see it as a key to our future success. However, language barriers may prevent newcomers from comfortably adjusting to the Canadian education system. Indeed, many refugees are concerned about their academic success due to their placement in grades based on their language abilities rather than their academic abilities (Brewer, 2016, p.137). This is problematic as it prevents newcomers from achieving their true academic potential and hinders their ability to resettle comfortably in Canada. So, how do you ensure that refugees have a positive resettlement experience within the education system? To begin with, we must avoid essentializing newcomers. For example, not all refugees may be proficient in the literacy skills of their first language (MacNevin, 2012, as cited in, Brewer, 2016, p. 137). Conversely, schools often use language instructional models that depend on refugees’ proficiency in their first language literacy skills which is a barrier to refugees’ participation in mainstream classes (MacNevin, 2012, as cited in Brewer, 2016, p. 137). This may lead to teachers struggling to teach refugees beginner literacy skills (MacNevin, 2012, as cited in Brewer, 2016, p. 137).
Healthcare
Language barriers affect multiple domains of newcomers’ resettlement experiences, including healthcare. In fact, 37.5% of refugees who responded to Statistics Canada’s Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants stated that health care was rendered inaccessible due to language, six months post-arrival (McKeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 526). Numerous studies have also cited language as a barrier for immigrants’ access to healthcare (Kalich et al., 2015, p. 698). One particular reason for this is the frequent need for translation services, which don’t work well with mental health services (Kalich et al., 2015, p. 704) and pose challenges for other health-related appointments. For instance, they may cause lengthy health appointments and lead to issues with confidentiality (Mckeary & Newbold, 2010, pp. 529–531). A particularly concerning finding is the fact that translation services may lead to misunderstandings with future health consequences (Mckeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 529). One can only imagine how detrimental this may be to refugees’ health, especially considering how they have to navigate subsequent appointments and prescriptions in English (Mckeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 530). It is also important to note that translation costs are not covered under provincial health care plans, which shifts the financial responsibility of healthcare to refugees and community health care providers (Mckeary & Newbold, 2019, p. 530). Health care providers may also deny refugees access to healthcare based on their language ability (Mckeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 532). This can have negative consequences for refugees who are in dire need of care and may lack linguistic ability. To move forward, we have to advocate for the inclusion of refugees’ needs in governmental health care budgets (McKeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 530). Investments also need to be made into “developing interpretation services, promoting cultural competencies among professionals, and hiring professionals who share refugees’ ethnicities and languages” (Mckeary & Newbold, 2010, p. 542). It is essential to highlight the importance of hiring professionals who have similar backgrounds to patients as sometimes barriers to healthcare can also include different cultural beliefs, and limited understanding between the professional and the patient. This finding is substantiated by Kalich et al. (2015), and further built upon as it was also noted that a communication barrier exists between healthcare providers and community service agencies that support immigrant health (p. 706).
Housing
Most of us can agree that everyone deserves to have a roof over their head. More importantly, everyone deserves to live in safe, affordable, and high quality living conditions. However, this may not be the case for newcomers who experience language barriers to finding decent housing (Damaris, 2019, p. 13). In particular, Syrian refugees are left vulnerable to substandard housing conditions because language barriers prevent them from accessing housing assistance resources (Damaris, 2019, p. 4). This vulnerability is compounded by their inability to advocate for housing rights, due to their limited proficiency (Oudshoorn et al., 2020, p. 900). To combat these language barriers, Canada’s settlement policy tries to resettle refugees within urban communities on account of advantageous factors, such as proximity to language classes, which more effectively facilitates the integration process of refugees into society (Damaris, 2019, p. 6). However, this may act as a double-edged sword since it also limits the areas that refugees can reside in. Moreover, upon housing Syrian refugees, communication problems with landlords were also linked to language challenges (Oudshoorn et al., 2020, p. 899). It is important to remember the importance of good communication between tenants and landlords to ensure their housing needs are met.
Jobs
Working is an essential source of income in many of our lives. We would not be able to afford the things we have if it were not for our jobs. However, refugees often face language barriers when securing jobs (Oudshoorn et al., 2020, p. 900). This extends to immigrants, who also experience language barriers to “gaining respect in the workplace” (Hande et al., 2019, p. 719). Most of us have probably heard about immigrants ending up with precarious, and often exploitative work (Hande et al., 2019, pp. 713–715). However, we might not know why this is the case. Language may partly explain this phenomenon. This is because limited English proficiency has been shown to leave newcomers vulnerable to exploitation (Hande et al., 2019, p. 724). For example, Param, a new immigrant to Ontario, signed English paperwork he couldn’t understand (Hande et al., 2019, p. 712). This led to his exploitation where he worked long hours without an income, holidays, or breaks (Hande et al., 2019, p. 712). To make matters worse, immigrants find it difficult to file claims about their exploitation with the Ontario Ministry of Labour because of the lack of translation services (Hande et al., 2019, p. 719). In order to further support newcomers, the Ontario Ministry of Labour should take steps to include appropriate translation services.
Thus far, we have discussed numerous ways that language barriers can impact newcomers’ settlement in Canada. We also briefly touched on further actions we could take to support newcomers. However, it is important to point out that this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are still a plethora of challenges that are specifically linked to language barriers and resettlement, which are beyond the scope of this article. It is also essential to note that newcomers are not a homogeneous group, and will experience settlement into Canada differently. Essentializing them would be counterproductive, especially as we are trying to promote positive resettlement experiences for newcomers. We also have to avoid putting their perceived needs over their actual needs when creating solutions to their problems. For example, all refugees may not want or need to learn the dominant language (Brewer, 2016, p. 136). Regardless, I hope this article gave you an insight into some of the many challenges newcomers may face upon arrival to Canada!
References
Brewer, C. A. (2016). An outline for including refugees in Canadian educational policy. Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, 7(1), 133–141.
Damaris, Rose. (2019). Creating a Home in Canada: Refugee Housing Challenges and Potential Policy Solutions. Migration Policy Institute. www.migrationpolicy.org/research/canada-refugee-housing-challenges-policy-solutions.
Hande, M. J., Mian Akram, A., & Condratto, S. (2019). “All of This Happens Here?”: Diminishing Perceptions of Canada through Immigrants’ Precarious Work in Ontario. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 21(3), 711–729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00683-y
Kalich, A., Heinemann, L., & Ghahari, S. (2015). A Scoping Review of Immigrant Experience of Health Care Access Barriers in Canada. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 18(3), 697–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0237-6
McKeary, M., & Newbold, B. (2010). Barriers to Care: The Challenges for Canadian Refugees and their Health Care Providers. Journal of Refugee Studies, 23(4), 523–545. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feq038
Oudshoorn, A., Benbow, S., & Meyer, M. (2020). Resettlement of Syrian Refugees in Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 21, 893–908. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00695-8