On the Move at Congress 2015

Blog
March 4, 2015
Author(s):
Dr. Barb Neis, Project Director; Danielle Devereaux, Communications and Outreach Coordinator, On the Move Partnership

The On the Move Partnership is thrilled to be partnering with CBC Ideas and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences to present: “On the Move: Temporary Foreign Worker Policy in Canada.” This public event will take place during 2015 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, on the evening of June 2nd at the University of Ottawa.  

On the Move is a seven-year SSHRC-funded programme of research happening in Canada investigating the spectrum of employment-related geographical mobility from daily commutes to prolonged absences and extended migration for the purpose of employment. We are examining labour mobility patterns within and between provinces and countries, in urban and rural contexts and across multiple sectors.

Over the past few years, different groups of temporary foreign workers have come to comprise an important segment of parts of the Canadian labour force. Some programs for temporary foreign workers, particularly those for low-skilled workers, have recently been a source of public controversy and are often the target of sudden and major policy changes. Our public event, “On the Move: Temporary Foreign Worker Policy in Canada,” takes a close look at the ways Canada’s changing policies are shaping the place of temporary foreign workers in Canada’s labour force and the opportunities and challenges experienced by these workers and their employers. 

The event will feature five On the Move Partnership researchers and will be moderated by CBC Ideas host Paul Kennedy and recorded for future broadcasting on Ideas. CBC Ideas host Paul Kennedy has been part of the On the Move Partnership since it began three years ago. Paul and the CBC Ideas team are producing a series of radio documentaries based on work being done by On the Move researchers and their community partners. Links to our first two On the Move CBC Ideas programmes, on Fort McMurray and on Prince Edward Island truckers, are available here.

“On the Move: Temporary Foreign Worker Policy in Canada,” will be of interest to anyone concerned with finding policies that will produce a fair and just Canadian labour market, including policymakers, employers, especially those who employ temporary foreign workers, employees, union representatives, researchers attending Congress 2015 and the general public—we hope you’ll join us!

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On the Move: Temporary Foreign Worker Policy in Canada

A panel discussion followed by a Q&A with the audience

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

University of Ottawa

Room 12102 Desmarais (DMS)

7:30-9:30 pm

Free admission. Everyone welcome. 

Panelists (left to right): 

 

Katherine Lippel, Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section), University of Ottawa

Delphine Nakache, Law Professor, School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa

Sylvie Gravel, Professor in the Department of Organization and Human Resources, Université du Québec à Montréal

Eric Tucker, Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Sara Dorow, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Alberta