Critical Examination of Settlement Sector Discourses and Practices of Resilience: A Comparative Study of Three Ontario Cities

The proposed project builds on and will complement our transversal project entitled "Analysis of governance structures and policy discourses shaping migration and resilience: an examination of Canada's federal, provincial and municipal governments" by examining the resilience of the settlement sector in 3 Ontario cities: one gateway city (Toronto)& two second-tier cities (Ottawa & Kitchener-Waterloo). The project also builds on a previous SSHRC-IRCC funded study on the role of LIPs during the Syrian refugee resettlement initiative (PI: Walton-Roberts; co-PI: Veronis; 2016-17). The 3 main objectives of the proposed project are to:

1. Undertake a discourse analysis of how the notion of resilience is used, mobilized, framed by settlement sector organizations/actors-Immigrant Settlement Agencies (ISAs) &umbrella organizations (LIPs, OCASI, potentially RIFs),
2. Study the resilience of the settlement sector through examination of its practices in the face of changing immigration policies& emergency initiatives and ongoing restructuring related to neoliberal and austerity agendas(Shields; Lowe et al 2017; Trudeau& Veronis2009), and
3. Examine and compare the role of local/urban context in shaping settlement sector approaches, practices & strategies to meet immigrant needs/integration and advance community interests.

To advance the conceptual, policy and practice contributions of the Partnership, we need to consider how the concept of resilience has been mobilised in a productive manner (or not) by various actors. Our critical examination of settlement sector resilience will illuminate the complex three-way dynamics & interrelationships between government, settlement sector, and communities in building migrant resilience.

Research activities are planned for 18 months(Sep2018-Feb2020):

• Stage 1: Laying the foundation (Sep-Dec2018)
  1. Team: All+ RAs
  2. Aim1: Broad scan of literature on Canadian ISAs, LIPs, RIFs and impacts of state restructuring & immigration policy changes since 2000(eg Andrew, Fourot, Good, Paquet, Shields, Veronis, etc.)
  3. Aim 2: With community partners select ISA case studies: 2 in K-W; 3 in Ottawa; 4 in Toronto(total=9ISAs)
  4. Aim 3: Develop methodology for discourse analysis (tools for data collection and analysis)for Stage 2 & Ethics application for Stage 3
• Stage 2: Discourse analysis (Jan-June2019)
  1. Team: All+ RAs
  2. Aim 1: Identify, retrieve & select ISA documents (website, annual reports, proposals, procurement, contracts, etc.)
  3. Aim 2: Critically analyze how 'resilience ‘is used in ISA documents
  4. Methods:
     • Discourse analysis (Bhuyan & S-Carrier 2012) & as per transversal project approach Research questions Stage 2
     • How is resilience used/framed in ISA documents? What ideas, meanings, and practices lie behind the term as employed in the sector? How do these relate to state policies/discourses& governance structures? How do these relate to migrant groups &their needs? What are the implications for communities & specific migrant groups (skilled workers, refugees, families, students, non-status, class, gender, ethnicity/race, youth, LGBTQ, etc.)?
• Stage 3:Interviews (April-Aug2019)
  1. Team: All+ RAs
  2. Aim 1: With community partners select ISA case study reps, sector reps, & private sector reps (churches, group sponsors) for interviews: 15in each city (total = 45interviews)
  3. Aim 2:Discuss and verify findings of ISA discourse analysis in Stage 2
  4. Aim 3: Discuss practices of ISAs & settlement sector resilience at interface between state restructuring &community needs
  5. Methods:-Semi-structured in depth personal interviews
  6. Research questions
     • What are local approaches to immigration & settlement and which actors are involved? How are ISAs adapting to changing governance structures/state policies? What strategies do they develop to meet immigrant needs?
     • How is local context shaping settlement sector responses?
     • What are the main funding mechanisms?
     • How are ISAs & sector negotiating between dependency on state funding and accountability to community?
     • What main processes of restructuring, de/re-centralization have shaped local settlement structures and practices?
     • What are strengths/weaknesses of ISAs & sector in each city?
• Stage 4. Analysis dissemination (Jun/19-Feb/20)
  1. Team: All+ RAs+ UG work-study students
  2. Aim 1: Analysis &triangulation of data Stages 2 & 3
  3. Aim 2: Community feedback sessions in each city network to discuss findings &draft recommendations.
  4. Networking activities:
     • Regular meetings will be held within city networks as needed.
     • Regular conference calls will be held across city networks as needed.
     • We plan 3 larger networking activities:
       1. Methodology workshop (0.5 day) during Oct 2018SC meeting to develop the methodological approach and tools for secondary data collection and analysis.
       2. Writing retreats (2x1 day) during spring & fall 2019Steering Com meetings for data analysis, draft summary reports & policy briefs, plan & prepare dissemination activities

Principal Investigators:

• Virginie Mesana, virginiemesana@gmail.com
• Luisa Veronis, lveronis@uottawa.ca

• Rupaleem Bhuyan (University of Toronto)
• John Shields (Ryerson University)
• Margaret Walton-Roberts (Wilfrid Laurier University)

• Enrico del Castello, IRCC;
• Hindia Mohamoud, Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP);
• OCASI
• Tara Beddard, Waterloo Region Local Immigration Partnership (WRLIP).