Most Current Research on Social Change in Canada

Most Current Research on Social Change in Canada

The Philippine Reporter believes that research matters. Hence, it is publishing information on some of the latest research gems significant to everyone.

This bulletin is a quick inventory of recent social research information. Its purpose is to promptly disseminate the most current external and internal research relevant to social policy. It is published by City of Toronto’s Social Development, Finance and Aministration Division.

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Canada’s Immigrant Labour Market, 2008 to 2011, Statistics Canada, December 14, 2012.

In 2011, employment among landed immigrants in the core working-age group of 25 to 54 increased 4.3% from the previous year. The majority of the growth occurred among established immigrants who had been in the country for more than 10 years. Over the same period, employment among core-aged Canadian born was virtually unchanged.

• The employment rate of core-aged immigrants in 2011 was 75.6%, compared with 82.9% for their Canadian-born counterparts

• The 2011 employment rate for core-aged landed immigrants was still 1.8 percentage points lower than in 2008, the start of the economic downturn

• Among Canadian born, the employment rate also fell between 2008 and 2011, down 1.2 percentage points

• Employment rates were progressively higher the longer immigrants had been in the country.

For link to the paper:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/121214/dq121214b-eng.pdf

Domestic Workers Across the World: Global and Regional Statistics and the Extent of Legal Protection, International Labour Office Geneva, January 09, 2013.

This report attempts to capture the size of the domestic work sector and the extent of legal protection enjoyed by domestic workers on the basis of a verifiable and replicable methodology. Its findings contribute to overcoming the invisibility of domestic workers and carry a powerful message: domestic work represents a significant share of global wage employment, but domestic workers remain to a large extent excluded from the scope of labour laws and hence from legal protection enjoyed by other workers.

• The “invisible” workforce is huge which includes caregivers, housekeepers, maids, servants, gardeners, drivers and other domestic staff

• Many domestic workers are still excluded from provisions that other workers take for granted with respect to essential working conditions, such as paid annual leave, working time, minimum wage coverage and maternity protection

• Officially, the head count for domestic workers is 53 million but, that excludes child workers (roughly 7.5 million) and undocumented immigrants

• In Canada many have a limited command of English or French and little knowledge of Canadian law, which “makes them especially vulnerable to abusive practices such as physical and sexual violence, psychological abuse, non payment of wages and abusive living and working conditions”.

For link to the report:
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/wcms_173363.pdf

Emerging Stronger 2013. By Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, Leger Marketing, Jan. 29, 2013.

This Index is one of the largest surveys ever conducted of business opinion in Ontario. It is a transformational agenda aimed at accelerating Ontario’s economic growth. It identifies Ontario’s challenges and advantages, and sets out practical and detailed recommendations for government and business.

Some of the recommendations:

• Enabling better access to capital for start-ups and small businesses through crowd funding

• Encouraging businesses to employ more Aboriginal people and people with disabilities

• Opening up more government services to private sector and not-for-profit delivery

• Utilizing Ontario’s large immigrant population to grow exports

• Allowing more employers to participate in training.

For link to the report:
http://www.occ.on.ca/EmergingStronger2013.pdf

Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2012 Report, by Bacchus Barua and Nadeem Esmail, Fraser Institute, December 2012.

This survey finds that wait times for surgical and other therapeutic treatments have decreased in 2012. The total waiting time between referral from a general practitioner and delivery of elective treatment by a specialist, averaged across all 12 specialties and 10 provinces surveyed, has fallen from 19.0 weeks in 2011 to 17.7 weeks in 2012. Compared to 1993, the total waiting time in 2012 is 91 per cent longer.

Key findings:

• Specialist physicians surveyed across 12 specialties and 10 Canadian provinces report a total waiting time of 17.7 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and elective treatment in 2012

• Patients in Ontario experience the shortest wait (14.9 weeks) followed by Quebec (16.6 weeks), and British Columbia (17.0 weeks)

• Patients wait longest for orthopaedic surgery (39.6 weeks) and wait least for medical oncology treatment (4.1 weeks)

• After an appointment with a specialist, Canadians wait approximately 3 weeks longer than what physicians believe is “reasonable” for elective treatment

• In 2012, throughout the provinces people are waiting for an estimated 870,462 procedures. Assuming that each person waits for only one procedure, 2.5 percent of Canadians are waiting for treatment

• Only 10.3 percent of patients are on waiting lists because they requested a delay or postponement.

For link to the report:
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/waiting-your-turn-2012.pdf