Metropolis

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BACKGROUND

The Metropolis Project is an international project designed to conduct research and generate policy solutions on the impact of immigration on cities and on the integration of immigrants in Canada and in partner countries. Established in 1996, the Project receives support from a consortium of federal partners, including Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ( SSHRC), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). The goal of the Project is to conduct policy-relevant research on issues of immigration and immigrant integration by:

• Enhancing the capacity to conduct research in areas identified through the project;
• Conducting research on pressing immigration issues; and
• Facilitating the use of research in program and policy decisions.

In Canada, four C entres of Excellence, in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver, conduct research under the auspices of the Metropolis Project. The Centres of Excellence work in collaboration with all levels of governments, academics, policy makers, and community organizations. The international component of the project involves over twenty countries and the collaboration among many international research and policy organizations.

Currently in its second five-year phase of operation, Metropolis Canada has identified eleven policy priorities, many of which are of interest to HRDC. The priorities focus on the following public policy areas:

• Capacity of Canada and of Canadian cities to receive and integrate immigrants
• Integration of immigrant children and youth
• Social and cultural integration of immigrants
• Language related challenges and opportunities associated with immigration
• Negative attitudes and discrimination towards immigrants and minorities
• Labour market outcomes of immigrants in the context of economic restructuring
• Equality and fairness within the Canadian justice system
• Effectiveness of national asylum and humanitarian policies
• Capacity of Canada, provinces and cities to compete effectively for skilled immigrants in the new global economy
• Managing migration flows and integration within the context of demographic change and globalization
• Role of non-governmental organizations in the integration of immigrants and minorities

THE ROLE OF THE APPLIED RESEARCH BRANCH

Human Resources Development Canada's (HRDC) (http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca) mission is to "enable Canadians to participate fully in the workplace and in the community." Within HRDC, the Applied Research Branch (ARB) (http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/sp-ps/arb-dgra/arb-home.shtml) generates policy-relevant research to find solutions to the labour market, employment, human capital development, income security, social development, labour adjustment and workplace innovation issues and problems.

In relation to immigration and immigrant integration, ARB's key research interests are:

• Labour market outcomes

• Barriers to employment
• Economic (employment, earnings, and poverty) indicators of recent immigrants relative to previous cohorts of immigrants and the Canadian-born population
• Skills and credentials recognition
• Urban dimension
• Gender aspects
• Absorptive capacity

• Social inclusion

• Structural barriers to integration
• Low-income and economic security
• Development of immigrant children and youth

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