Newcomers and work

Immigrant workers account for much of the labour force growth in Canada. IWH research seeks to understand the work experiences of recent immigrants or newcomers to Canada. The focus of this research includes the barriers newcomers face in understanding and accessing their occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation rights and responsibilities, and the tools and programs needed to help ensure they can be safe and productive members of the Canadian labour force.

Featured

Two male workers assemble vegetable crates in a warehouse
At Work article

Employers struggle to provide newcomers with OHS training, support: IWH study

Employers are responsible for providing OHS training and support to keep workers safe. When it comes to workers who are new to Canada, workplaces face particular challenges following through on this responsibility.
Published: November 29, 2022
IWH Speaker Series

Safe work integration of newcomers: Employer perspectives

Published: October 13, 2020
Construction Comment logo
IWH in the media

Employers struggle to provide newcomers with OHS training, support: IWH study

A reprint of this IWH At Work article was included the February 2023 issue of the OCA's Construction Comment magazine.
Published: Construction Comment: Ottawa Construction Association, February 2023
Daily Commercial News logo
IWH in the media

Report urges worker safety while respecting cultural differences

Growing numbers of immigrants are welcomed as an important tool in Canada's economic growth, but systemic OHS improvements are needed to ensure they can work as safely as their non-immigrant co-workers, Don Wall reports on an IWH study.
Published: Daily Commercial News, January 2023
Project
Project

Creating safe workplaces for newcomers

An IWH qualitative study is looking at feasible and effective approaches for helping employers create safe workplaces for newcomers.
Status: Ongoing
Two male workers assemble vegetable crates in a warehouse
At Work article

Employers struggle to provide newcomers with OHS training, support: IWH study

Employers are responsible for providing OHS training and support to keep workers safe. When it comes to workers who are new to Canada, workplaces face particular challenges following through on this responsibility.
Published: November 2022
Journal article
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Safe work integration of newcomers: Employer perspectives

Employers play an important role in the safe and sustained work integration of immigrants and refugees in Canada. Despite this, we know little about employers’ expectations, experiences and challenges in relation to the hiring and retaining of newcomers. In this presentation, Dr. Basak Yanar shares insights gained through a recently completed project on the work integration of newcomers. She discusses the perspectives of employers, as well as the experiences of immigrant-serving organizations that work with employers in promoting safe and sustainable work integration.
Published: October 2020
Journal article
Journal article

Safe employment integration of recent immigrants and refugees

Published: Journal of International Migration and Integration, June 2020
A roomful of people listen intently to workshop presenter
At Work article

Supporting settlement agencies to raise OHS awareness among newcomers

Newcomers to Canada face a higher risk of workplace injury and illness, due in part to a lack of knowledge about their OHS rights and responsibilities. Settlement agencies can help raise this awareness, but they also need support from the prevention system to do so, according to a recent project.
Published: April 2020
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Capacity building and evaluation of OHS training in settlement agencies

Newcomers to Canada are at an increased risk of workplace injury and illness, due in part to a lack of knowledge about their rights and responsibilities in occupational health and safety (OHS). Settlement agencies are well-positioned to promote OHS awareness among newcomers, but some may lack the resources and capacity to do so. In this presentation, Institute for Work & Health (IWH)'s Dr. Basak Yanar joins Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW)'s Eduardo Huesca to talk about the development and delivery of the OHS capacity-building workshops for settlement agencies. They will share results of an evaluation capturing the experiences of service providers and newcomer clients, and discuss opportunities for Ontario’s OHS system partners to further support the settlement sector.
Published: January 2020
Journal article
Journal article

Tool for the meaningful consideration of language barriers in qualitative health research

Published: Qualitative Health Research, January 2020