News
Flashes From Metropolis
July 20, 1998 (Vol. 1
No. 4)
In This Edition:
- International Project
- Centre Directors Meet in Ottawa
- Metropolis Road Trips
- Federal Involvement at the Centres
- Communications
- Conference Information
- Metropolis Accolades
____
News Flashes will focus on providing timely
information (bimonthly) concentrating on results,
upcoming events, and updates on the various experiments
underway at any given time. It is your
communications device, please make use of it. To get
information placed in News Flashes, or to comment
on its content or structure, please contact John Biles
at;
Tel: (819) 997-5791
e-mail: john_biles@pch.gc.ca).
International Project
The first Metropolis Interconference seminar was held
successfully in Gothenburg, Sweden on May 25 and 26,
1998. This seminar, which was organized by the City of
Gothenburg in conjunction with the Metropolis
International Secretariat, dealt with issues of divided
cities and immigration. The main plenary presenters
included Meyer Burstein of the Metropolis Project, Saskia
Sassen of Columbia University, Anne Power of the London
School of Economics, Roger Andersson of Uppsala
University, Ronald van Kempen of Utrecht University, and
Maurice Blanc of the University of Nancy.
Also participating was Brian Ray of McGill University
who represented the Metropolis Centre of Excellence in
Montreal. A result of his attendance, it was decided to
develop, in conjunction with Kristine Dosen of the City
of Gothenburg, a workshop on divided cities at the Third
International Metropolis Conference in Israel. This
workshop will be a direct follow-up to the Gothenburg
seminar and may lead to the establishment of a
policy-research network on this topic.
The success of the event in Sweden bodes well for
future Metropolis seminars of this sort. We look forward
to upcoming seminars in Montreal (October, on barriers to
employment), in Lisbon (October, on labour market
participation), and in Dubrovnik (February, on the second
generation). More information will be provided on each of
these sessions in future News Flashes.
Professors Dirk Hoerder and Christiane Harzig from the
University of Bremen, Germany are visiting the Toronto
Centre until August 30, 1998. Professor Hoerder is
working on two books: one on the writings of immigrants
from the 1840s to the present, and "Cultures in
Contact: European and Worldwide Migrations, Eleventh
Century to the 1990s." Professor Harzig is working
on a comparative study of immigration regulations in
Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden, with a focus on
domestic workers.
Centre Directors Meet in Ottawa
It will not come as a surprise to readers of News
Flashes, that one of the major thrusts of the
Metropolis Project Team over the past few months has been
to strengthen the Federal Government’s engagement in
the Project. Activity on this front continued at a
vigorous pace over the past two months, with a number of
important projects and events unfolding. Much of this
activity revolved around a visit to Ottawa by the
Metropolis Centre Directors from June 15 to 17, 1998. The
main purpose of the Centre Directors’ visit was
their annual meeting with the Project Team to discuss
issues of common interest. However, in an effort to set
the stage for renewed engagement by Federal Partners in
the activities, the Centre Directors met with the
Metropolis Steering Committee (Federal ADM level
committee), as well as bilateraly with each Federal
Funding Partner.
Meeting the Metropolis Steering Committee
The Steering Committee meeting allowed each Centre to
report on its achievements to date and on the challenges
it faces. Achievements go well beyond the more than 140
research projects currently under way and include, among
other initiatives, "brown bag" seminars, policy
research seminars, an internship program for student
volunteers, a Citizenship Education Research Network, a
commentary series, the establishment of consultative
mechanisms with all stakeholders, newsletters and a radio
series on immigration issues.
Some of the challenges noted by the Centre Directors
were the need to improve relations with federal partners
and the importance of developing effective means of
disseminating of research findings. For some there were
specific challenges like increasing the participation of
NGO’s in their consultative structures (Montreal)
and addressing the shortage of graduate students
(Vancouver).
Some highlights of the discussion that followed the
Centres’ presentations included the recognition that
i) efficient communication of research results is crucial
to the success of the Project; ii) the six-year time
frame for the project is too short to see the real
impacts of the research it produces; and iii) it is
important to produce research that has an impact on
policy development.
Meetings with the Federal Partners
Bilateral meetings with six of the seven Federal
Partners were also organized. The participating Federal
Partners were Citizenship and Immigration, Health Canada,
Canadian Heritage, Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation, Human Resources Development Canada and
Status of Women Canada. Each department described its
research program and its interest in the Metropolis
Project. There was some discussion of the current and
planned links between the Centres and Federal Partners.
More importantly the discussion that followed each
presentation led to the identification of potential
collaboration which will be followed up thoroughly by the
Project Team over the coming months.
FEDERAL ENGAGEMENT: HOW WILL WE GET THERE?
The Metropolis Project Team does not only talk about
enhanced Federal participation in the Project, it has
designed a number of focused initiatives aimed at
promoting and nurturing such involvement. Among these
initiatives are three which will set the foundation for
lasting relationships between the Centres and the Federal
Partners. These initiatives are the Research Pathways,
the Federal Policy Pathways and a Strategy for Delivery
of Research to the Policy Process.
The Research and Policy Pathways initiatives have
similar objectives. The first consists in a mapping of
the research project approval process in each of the
Centres, identifying relevant committees and individuals
and presenting recommendations to Federal Partners on the
best opportunity (time and place) open to them to get
involved in the definition of research plans in each
Centre. The second initiative deals with the mapping of
the policy development process in each Federal Partner
department, identifying individuals and their roles in
these departments, as well as identifying regional staff
who (or have the potential to) interact with the Centres.
In addition to collecting and presenting basic facts
about who’s who in each Centre and Partner
department these initiatives allow the Project Team to
discuss the creation of additional opportunities for
interaction between the Centres and Federal Partners.
The Strategy for Delivery of Knowledge to the Policy
Process is still in the design stages. The aim of this
project is to bring the knowledge of the Metropolis
Network, whether it be in the form of completed research
projects, of advice on a given subject at a point in time
or any other form, to the policy process in a timely
fashion. In order to do this the Project Team plans to
work with policy units in Federal Partner departments,
first, to map the policy development process and, second,
to overlay on this map a set of modalities that direct
the required research to the policy issue being
considered. These modalities could be implemented by the
Project Team. Examples of dissemination vehicles are a
conference call with selected Metropolis researchers on a
specific issue, or the commissioning of a synthesis of
research on a given subject. The means chosen would
always be customized to the specific need of the policy
process at a given time
Metropolis Road Trips
Jean-Pierre Moisan visited the Prairie Centre for the
Centre’s Board of Governors’ meeting on June
19-20, 1998. The main topics of discussion were the
Centre Directors’ Ottawa meeting and, flowing from
that, federal involvement in the Prairie Centre. In
addition, the Board considered and approved the projects
funded from the 1998 RFP.
Meyer Burstein made an opening address at the
"Rights to the City" conference organized by
Engin Isin at York University June 26-28. It was an
excellent opportunity to present Metropolis to a wider
network of Toronto based and international scholars. Many
of the international participants expressed an interest
in becoming involved with Metropolis.
Meyer Burstein attended the June 19 Management Board
Meeting of the Toronto Centre. The chief topic of
discussion was the follow up to the Centre
Directors’ meeting in Ottawa. High on the agenda was
ways to involve the federal departments more in
CERIS’ activities. Minutes from this meeting
can be made available upon request.
Federal Involvement at the Centres
Upcoming Meetings
Toronto Centre
Partnership Advisory Council Meeting September 11,
1998 9-11 a.m.
Research Retreat September 25, 1998
Working Seminar on Immigration and Settlement
Issues October 3, 1998
Prairie Centre
July 15-16 Meeting of Health Canada
representatives and health researchers
October 29-31 OR November 5-7 Regional workshop of
stakeholders in Prairie Centre
Communications
The next three issues of the Metropolis Newsletter
will be thematic: the September 10th issue will focus
upon federal involvement in the project, the
December-January issue will focus upon the international
project and the theme of the May issue will be
communications.
Journals
A special issue of the Canadian Journal of Regional
Science, edited by Jeffrey Reitz, will be published
in September 1998. This issue features Metropolis
research papers and papers on policy-research issues
viewed from both Canadian and international perspectives.
A special issue of the Journal of Canadian Ethnic
Studies will be released in December 1998. This
Metropolis issue will be co-edited by Sharon McIrvin
Abu-Laban and Peter Li, both researchers at the Prairie
Centre. At present they are requesting papers to be
considered for their issue. Submissions need to reach
either editor by August 1, 1998. They can be reached at:
Sharon McIrvin
Abu-Laban
Dept. of Sociology
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2H4
sharon.mcirvin.abu-laban@ualberta.ca |
Peter Li
Dept. of Sociology
University of Saskatchewan
9 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 5A5
li@usask.ca |
A special issue of Refuge, edited by
Michael Lanphier, a researcher at the Toronto Centre,
focussing on the Legislative Review process is currently
in the early stages of development. Contributions with
abstracts are invited by October 15, 1998. Please contact
Michael Lanphier at
lanphier@yorku.ca
Another issue of Refuge is forthcoming with the topic
"NEW CARGO: The Global Business of Trafficking in
Women." Submissions must be received no later than
September 30, 1998. For more information please contact
Marilou McPhedran at
marilou@web.net
The David Lam Chair in Multicultural Education at UBC
is collecting papers on current research in the field of
multicultural and anti-racist education in Canada. The
goal is to produce a textbook for Canadian universities.
For more information please contact Dr. Zahra Montazer at
zmontaze@unixg.ubc.ca
Seminars
The Vancouver Centre is continuing its successful
brown bag seminar series with four more planned
presentations. Each of these presentations develops into
a discussion paper which are then posted on the website.
The upcoming seminars are:
September 17: Gillian Creese "The New Reality:
Government Restructuring and Immigrant Integration"
October 15: Gordon Dicks and Arthur Sweetman
"Education and Ethnicity in Canada"
November 3: Parin Dossa "Between Speech and
Silence: Mental Health Research Among Elderly Canadian
Muslims"
February 1999: Francine Dansereau "Effects of
'Pairing' Between New Immigrant Families and Established
Families"
The Prairie Centre also runs a brown bag seminar
series. The most recent presentation within the series
was given by Lloyd Steiner. It was entitled
"Confounding Venture Capital and Bureaucratic Forms
of Governance: the Canadian Immigrant Investor
Experience." The next scheduled seminar is to take
place in the fall. Dr. Frank Trovato will present
"Migration and Survival: Differential Mortality
Across Immigrant Communities in Canada." More
information will be in the next issue of News Flashes.
In Toronto a seminar series has recently been launched
by York, Ryerson, and the University of Toronto. The
(Greater Toronto Area) GTA Forum is a forum designed to
promote a sharing of ideas, knowledge and professional
experience about a broad range of GTA-related issues
among academics, urban professionals and public
officials. The Forum will meet approximately once a month
starting in September. It has had two meetings thus far:
one on "Regional Tax Sharing" and one on
"The Immigrant Experience in the GTA." The
presented papers are available for a nominal fee. To
receive a membership application form or to order papers,
please contact Daisy Couto at
dcouto@yorku.ca
Other "Products"
The Prairie Centre has recently completed a video on
diversity in the classroom. "Cultural Conversations:
Diverse Cultures, Complex Teaching" is available
from the Centre for $15 + G.S.T. For more information or
to order copies of the video, please contact the Prairie
Centre at
pcerii@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
The final report of the Health Domain seminar is now
available. It can be found on the Metropolis website or
you can obtain more information from Carol Silcoff at
carol_silcoff@hc-sc.gc.ca
Conference Information
Third International Metropolis Conference
The Third International Metropolis Conference will be
held in Israel November 30-December 3, 1998. It will be
held in a conference centre in Zichron-Yaccov (South of
Haifa). A preliminary programme and registration
materials are now available on the Metropolis website
(
international.metropolis.net/events/index_e.html)
or from International Project Director, Howard Duncan,
(
howard.duncan@9522apx.cina.cic.x400.gc.ca).
In addition to the workshops which were laid out in
the last issue News Flashes, there will be a
plenary session focussing upon public policy responses to
migration and integration and the differences in
approaches between the Netherlands and Canada. This
session will be divided into two distinct parts. The
first section will deal with policies and programmes
designed to engage immigrants in their first few years
after arrival and the second session will focus upon
longer term integration issues especially concerning
children and youth in the educations systems of the two
countries. For more information contact Meyer Burstein at
mb_metro@istar.ca
Third National Metropolis Conference
The Third National Metropolis Conference will be held
in Vancouver January 14-16, 1999. It will be preceded by
a one day seminar on Social Justice organized by the
Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Canadian
Heritage.
A preliminary programme for the conference should be
available in the near future. In the interim, please
contact David Ley (
davidley@unixg.ubc.ca)
for more information. A preliminary programme for the
Social Justice Seminar should also be available by the
end of the summer. For more information on the seminar
please contact John Biles at
john_biles@pch.gc.ca
In addition to domain sessions similar to the model
established at the Montreal Conference there will be
several plenary sessions. Most notably these sessions
will include sessions on: research from the American
portion of the Metropolis network, international research
findings including researchers from Australia, issues
faced by settlement services in an age of devolution, and
the importance of language to immigration policies.
Related Conferences
Roots of Our Future, A Learning Circle in Global
Equity
(Trent University August 18-28, 1998)
Linda Slavin
[tel] (705) 748-1314
[fax] (705) 748-1626
E-mail: tip@trentu.ca
8th International Network for Urban Research and
Action (INURA)
(Toronto September 14-20, 1998)
Theme: DiverseCity
Roger Keil
INURA Toronto
Environmental Studies
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario
M3J 1P3
Third Turkish-German Psychiatry Conference:
Psychosocial Care in a Migration Society
(Berlin, Germany September 15-19, 1998)
Dr. E. Koch
[fax] 00-49-6421-404-431
Crossing Boundaries: German and American Experiences
with the Exclusion of and Inclusion of Minorities
(Buffalo, New York September 17-19, 1998)
Patricia Maz
[tel] (716) 645-2181
[fax] (716) 645-5954
International Conference on Self-Employment
(Burlington, Ontario September 24-26, 1998)
http://cerf.mcmaster.ca
5th International Conference For Health and Human
Rights
(Cape Town, South Africa December 3-6, 1998)
Mulugeta Abai
[tel] (416) 363-1066
Canada and Central Europe at the Threshold of the 21st
Century
(Budapest, Hungary May 13-16, 1999)
Sub-themes: Canada's First Nations, Founding Nations,
Immigrant Heritages, Culture in Retrospect, the Future
Ahead
Blaguss Volanbusz Bureau
[tel] (361) 117-7777
[fax] (361) 266-1585
[e-mail] torekya.blaguss@volanbusz.hu
6th Triennial Conference of the Nordic Association for
Canadian Studies
(Reykjavik, Iceland August 5-8, 1999)
Theme: Comparative Research on Challenges Faced by Canada
and the Nordic Countries
[e-mail] engua@hum.aau.dk
Human Rights in Europe Since 1945
(Oslo, Norway Aug 6-13, 2000)
Carole ink
[fax] (614) 292-2282
Metropolis Accolades
David Ley, co-director of the Vancouver Centre, was asked to present the prestigious Wiley Lecture at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers in Ottawa in early June 1998.
Jean Viel, the Metropolis Project Team's senior project coordinator, has a new addition to the family - son Alexandre was born June 27.
Anneke Rummens, academic coordinator for the Toronto Centre, has a new addition to the family - son Nikolaus Anastasios Rummens was born June 3.
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