Renewed funding from SSHRC and CIC to support collaborative immigration research partnership among Ryerson, U of T and York
TORONTO, February 11, 2008 -- The Ontario Metropolis Centre (CERIS), one of five national research centres that studies the effects of immigration and settlement upon urban centres through the national Metropolis Project for research on migration, diversity and immigrant integration, has been awarded $1.5 million in funding over five years from the federal government.
CERIS, part of the national Metropolis Project, is a collaborative research partnership between Ryerson University, University of Toronto and York University faculty. Its researchers examine immigration and settlement issues in Canadian society. Its partners include departments within all three levels of government, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, and the United Way of Greater Toronto.
The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Dr. Chad Gaffield, President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), announced a total of $7.5 million over five years for five Metropolis research centres.
“The successful integration of immigrants is crucial to Canada’s social and economic well-being,” said Minister Finley. “We have much to gain from exploring the effects of migration on the strength of our economy, the security of our nation, and the relationships between different cultures living side by side within our borders.”
The funding includes $3.1 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and $4.4 million from a consortium of federal departments and agencies led by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
One of the world’s largest networks of policy-makers and scholars, Metropolis has propelled Canadian researchers to the forefront of worldwide immigration and settlement research. Established in 1995, it provides a national and international forum for policy-related research on the effects of immigration and settlement on urban centres through its base of innovative partnerships among researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. It has also trained a new generation of researchers now employed within Canadian universities and the public service and non-governmental sectors.
“The Metropolis Project is addressing urgent societal issues as we attempt to build a more inclusive society and to understand the connections between immigration and globalization. Metropolis also provides invaluable training for students who assist in this research, thus building future capacity,” said Dr. Gaffield. “This effort clearly shows the benefits of investing in knowledge and talent, as set out in the Government of Canada’s new Science and Technology Strategy.”
At CERIS, the new funding will support faculty and graduate research proposals across six domains:
· Citizenship and Social, Cultural and Civic Integration
· Economic and Labour Market Integration
· Family, Children and Youth
· Health and Well-Being
· Justice, policing and security
· Welcoming Communities: Building Capacity in Regions, Cities and Neighbourhoods
“Renewed funding will enable CERIS to further expand and promote a highly productive network of academic and community researchers, graduate student trainees, policy makers, practitioners and funders engaged with migration, diversity and civic participation in the Greater Toronto area and the Province of Ontario,” said Professor John Shields, CERIS director from Ryerson University.
The Centre will facilitate, support and undertake interdisciplinary policy- and practice-relevant research at the local, provincial, national and international levels as part of the Metropolis network. “Initiating additional knowledge exchange and transfer activities across all stakeholders will be a key focus for the Centre, allowing us to further optimize the ‘uptake’ of research findings for knowledge mobilization among policy makers and practitioners,” said Dr. Anneke Rummens, CERIS director from the University of Toronto,
“Research has confirmed some of the challenges facing business-class immigrants in Canada,” says Professor Valerie Preston, CERIS director from York University. “Entrepreneurial knowledge, for example, is not 100 per cent portable. Researchers have demonstrated that individuals who successfully build a business in one place may experience unanticipated difficulties when starting over in a new country. Adapting to new consumer markets, cultural assumptions and forms of regulation is more complex than was initially believed.”
Other CERIS research, for example, on housing and labour markets, has brought growing attention to the difficulties faced by newcomers to Canada in finding affordable, adequate housing and in finding meaningful employment in Canada that recognizes their skills and educational qualifications attained abroad.
“It’s encouraging that we continue to support scholarship on immigration and settlement in Ontario,” says Debbie Douglas, executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.
Ryerson University is Canada's leader in career-focused education, offering more than 95 PhD, master’s, and undergraduate programs to 25,000 students. Ryerson University has a significant and growing research portfolio aimed at expanding knowledge, enhancing practices and methods, and playing a key role in the life of the city, province, and country. With more than 64,000 registrations annually, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
The University of Toronto has assembled one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in breadth and depth on any other Canadian campus.
U of T faculty co-author more research articles than their colleagues at any university in the US or Canada other than Harvard. As a measure of impact, U of T consistently ranks alongside the top five U.S. universities whose discoveries are most often cited by other researchers around the world. The U of T faculty are also widely recognized for their teaching strengths and commitment to graduate supervision.
U of T attracts undergraduate, graduate and professional program students from across Canada and abroad. Our students have unique opportunities to learn from top researchers. Off campus, they can enjoy the extraordinary amenities and attractions of the Toronto region, Canada's pre-eminent urban cluster. On campus, students are able to craft intimate learning communities within a unique undergraduate college system, participate in more than 1000 clubs and co-curricular activities, and compete on a wide variety of intra-mural and inter-collegiate sports teams.
Established in 1827, the University of Toronto today operates in downtown Toronto, Mississauga and Scarborough, as well as in ten renowned academic hospitals.
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Media contacts
Joyann Callender, Media Relations Officer, Public Affairs, Ryerson University, 416 979 5000 x7161/ jcallend@ryerson.ca
Paul Fraumeni, Research Communications, University of Toronto, 416 978 7765/ paul.fraumeni@utoronto.ca
Elizabeth Monier-Williams, Research Communications, York University, 416 736 2100 x21069/ eamw@yorku.ca
