Dialectics of Humanitarian Immigration and National Identity in Canadian Public Discourse

Humanitarian immigration is an important element in the construction of Canada’s identity as a liberal and compassionate country. Drawing on Hegelian dialectics, a discourse analysis of newspaper articles published between 1996 and 2001 examines processes of national identity formation through humanitarian immigration in the media. My interpretation of this discourse suggests that Canada’s national identity is constructed on the basis of material inequalities through negation and sublation of refugees. By representing refugees who experience gender violence, children, and victims of natural disaster as deserving, the media construes an identity of Canada as compassionate. War criminals, supporters of hate crimes, and violent offenders are involved only to a limited degree in this dialectic.L’immigration à titre humanitaire est un élément important dans la construction de l’identité du Canada en tant que pays libéral et compatissant. Utilisant la dialectique hégélienne, une analyse de discours est entreprise d’articles de journaux publiés entre 1996 et 2001 afin d’examiner les processus de formation de l’identité nationale à travers l’immigration à titre humanitaire dans les médias. Mon interprétation de ce discours suggère que l’identité nationale du Canada est construite sur la base d’inégalités matérielles, à travers la négation et la ‘réhabilitation’ (l’anglais ‘sublation’, et l’allemand ‘Aufhebung’) de réfugiés. En présentant les réfugiés victimes de violences liées au genre, les enfants, et les victimes des catastrophes naturelles comme méritants, les médias construisent une identité du Canada comme compatissante. Les criminels de guerre, les défenseurs des crimes de haine, et les contrevenants violents ne sont pris en compte que de façon limitée dans cette dialectique

Landscape and scale in media representations: the construction of offshore farm labour in Ontario, Canada

Thousands of migrant workers travel from Mexico and the Caribbean to Ontario every year to assist Canadian farmers in their horticulture operations. These migrants have become a structural necessity to the industry, ensuring growth and profits. I propose that exploitative and coercive labour practices are legitimated and sustained through cultural representations which identify migrants not only as outsiders to the community and a cultural threat, but also as economic assets and subordinate labour. A content analysis of the Ontario daily newsprint media between 1996 and 2002 reveals that the construction of offshore workers relies on coexisting dualisms created on different geographical scales. These dualisms work in tandem to produce a powerful and pervasive discourse of subordination

Chapter 5 Urban Migrant and Refugee Solidarity

Urban and local communities around the world are practising migrant and refugee solidarity. This chapter first identifies several dimensions that define a common urban solidary approach: legal, discursive, identity-formative, and scalar dimensions. Second, the chapter examines cities around the world where these dimensions can be observed although various labels are used to describe urban solidarity approaches. In Canada, the USA, and the UK, the label “sanctuary city” is often used; in Spain, Barcelona calls itself a “city of refuge,” and municipalities in Chile refer to themselves as “commune of reception” or “inclusive community.” Dimensions of urban solidarity approaches can also be observed in parts of Africa and Asia. By focussing on different continents and diverse geopolitical contexts, the chapter illustrates the complexity in the way in which urban migrant and refugee solidarity is understood and practiced

Chapter 5 Urban Migrant and Refugee Solidarity

Urban and local communities around the world are practising migrant and refugee solidarity. This chapter first identifies several dimensions that define a common urban solidary approach: legal, discursive, identity-formative, and scalar dimensions. Second, the chapter examines cities around the world where these dimensions can be observed although various labels are used to describe urban solidarity approaches. In Canada, the USA, and the UK, the label “sanctuary city” is often used; in Spain, Barcelona calls itself a “city of refuge,” and municipalities in Chile refer to themselves as “commune of reception” or “inclusive community.” Dimensions of urban solidarity approaches can also be observed in parts of Africa and Asia. By focussing on different continents and diverse geopolitical contexts, the chapter illustrates the complexity in the way in which urban migrant and refugee solidarity is understood and practiced

Migration Borders Freedom

International borders have become deadly barriers of a proportion rivaled only by war or natural disaster. Yet despite the damage created by borders, most people can’t – or don’t want to – imagine a world without them. What alternatives do we have to prevent the deadly results of contemporary borders? In today’s world, national citizenship determines a person’s ability to migrate across borders. Migration Borders Freedom questions that premise. Recognizing the magnitude of deaths occurring at contemporary borders worldwide, the book problematizes the concept of the border and develops arguments for open borders and a world without borders. It explores alternative possibilities, ranging from the practical to the utopian, that link migration with ideas of community, citizenship, and belonging. The author calls into question the conventional political imagination that assumes migration and citizenship to be responsibilities of nation states, rather than cities. While the book draws on the theoretical work of thinkers such as Ernst Bloch, David Harvey, and Henry Lefebvre, it also presents international empirical examples of policies and practices on migration and claims of belonging. In this way, the book equips the reader with the practical and conceptual tools for political action, activist practice, and scholarly engagement to achieve greater justice for people who are on the move

Labour market marginalisation of young Latinos in San Antonio, Texas: A geographical perspective of neighbourhood processes

Latinos cluster in the lower segments of the U. S. labour market and therefore suffer disproportionately from labour market marginalisation and poverty. This dissertation examines supply side forces of the ethnic division of labour. Expanding upon structuration theory and realism, the research investigates the role of place in shaping career decisions of Latino youth. A case study of greater San Antonio, Texas, uses quantitative analysis of U. S. Census data to examine the patterns of youth labour market marginalisation in census tracts. In addition, qualitative in-depth interview analysis was conducted with twenty-nine youth and seventeen community-based institutions in two selected neighbourhoods. The results indicate that place is a mechanism engaged in the social construction of labour market marginality. Geographically narrow activity pattems and spatial isolation expose youth to place-based processes of labour market marginalisation and allow them to be stereotyped according to where they live. Cultural exclusion and discrimination are at the heart of the problem of youth labour market marginalisation. The results stand in sharp contrast with contemporary research, associated with the underclass debate, that provides the basis for public policy making

Municipal Responses to 'Illegality': Urban Sanctuary across National Contexts

Cities often seek to mitigate the highly precarious situation of Illegalized (or undocumented) migrants. In this context, "sanctuary cites" are an innovative urban response to exclusionary national policies. In this article, we expand the geographical scope of sanctuary policies and practices beyond Canada, the USA, and the UK, where the policies and practices are well-known. In particular, we explore corresponding urban initiatives in Chile, Germany, and Spain. We find that varying kinds of urban-sanctuary policies and practices permit illegalized migrants to cope with their situations in particular national contexts. However, different labels, such as "city of refuge," "commune of reception," or "solidarity city" are used to describe such initiatives. While national, historical, and geopolitical contexts distinctly shape local efforts to accommodate illegalized migrants, recognizing similarities across national contexts is important to develop globally-coordinated and internationally-inspired responses at the urban scale

Was ist urban? Beitrag zur Debatte „Was ist Stadt? Was ist Kritik?“

„Urbanität“ ist ein epistemologischer Begriff, der keine zugrunde liegende Essenz besitzt. Aus geographischer Perspektive interpretiere ich diesen Begriff – grob anlehnend an Henry Lefebvres Arbeit zu Raum (Lefebvre 1991) – in verschiedener Weise. „Urban“ kann einen administrativen Raum beschreiben, der durch die territorialen Grenzen einer Stadtverwaltung bestimmt ist. Zum Beispiel definieren Stadtverwaltungen in New York, Berlin oder Toronto ihre Bevölkerung durch territoriale administrative Stadtgrenzen. In Kommunen werden zum Beispiel politische Auseinandersetzungen geführt, um Stadtbewohner_innen, denen der Nationalstaat Aufenthaltspapiere verweigert, als gleichberechtigte Bürger zu behandeln, die ein Recht auf kommunale Dienstleistungen besitzen. Auch andere soziale und politische Kämpfe, etwa um das Recht auf erschwinglichen Wohnraum werden häufig in diesem administrativen Raum ausgetragen