Jan 14, 2025 Story by: Editor
Sudbury – Aiming to better understand and address the challenges faced by the Black population in northern Ontario, researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University, in collaboration with the Northern Ontario Black Economic Empowerment Program, have released a comprehensive socio-economic profile of the community.
Their findings, presented in the report titled The Black Population in Northern Ontario: Socioeconomic Profile and Service Gap Analysis, outline key recommendations to tackle systemic issues, create opportunities, and bridge disparities. Among these suggestions is the need for policies that leverage the education and skills of the Black population more effectively.
Based on data from the 2021 census, the region’s Black population has more than doubled over the past decade, now exceeding 5,000 people. Surveys conducted with 220 respondents across cities including North Bay, Thunder Bay, Greater Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, and Kenora highlighted several trends. Notably, 44% of participants arrived between 2017 and 2024, with a significant influx in 2023 aligning with the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, which aims to address labor shortages.
Highly Educated but Underutilized Workforce
The report revealed that 53% of respondents hold at least an undergraduate degree. Despite their qualifications, many find it challenging to secure jobs in their fields. “We were surprised that most of the respondents who arrived in northern Ontario as immigrants reported that their foreign qualifications were accepted but they are not working in their fields of training,” explained researcher Stacey Wilson-Forsberg in an interview with The Star. She attributes this issue to a mismatch between qualifications and the region’s labor market needs.
Wilson-Forsberg emphasized, “Definitely being able to work in one’s field of training, utilizing one’s skills and full potential for a salary commensurate with those skills and potential” is critical for progress. She noted systemic racism embedded in immigrant employment services and the labor market as contributing factors. “Everyone benefits when the Black population (especially immigrants) are working in their fields, whether that be in companies or as entrepreneurs,” she added.
Key Recommendations
The report urges provincial governments to collaborate with professional associations and licensing bodies to create clearer pathways for skilled immigrants with international credentials. Additionally, it advocates for universities and colleges to enhance and financially support bridging programs that help newcomers transition into careers matching their training.
The study also criticizes the requirement for Canadian work experience, describing it as a barrier with “racist undertones” tied to accent and name discrimination. Researchers acknowledged Ontario’s recent Bill 149, which prohibits employers from demanding Canadian experience in job postings but highlighted loopholes allowing employers to reject candidates without it.
Employment services must also abandon the “deficit approach,” which channels highly educated individuals into low-paying, unskilled roles. “People with master’s degrees should not be told to ‘remove’ the designations from their CVs so that they can be sent to warehouses and greenhouses to work,” the report states.
Addressing Systemic Racism
The research identifies systemic racism in various sectors, including education, healthcare, and real estate. It calls for anti-Black racism training and unconscious bias awareness. Moreover, the report advocates for an Afro-centric approach to healthcare, a need echoed by the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario and the Black Health Alliance.
“The shortage of family physicians is happening across Canada, but especially in smaller, more rural areas,” Wilson-Forsberg said. She stressed the urgency of training Black medical professionals in Afro-centric healthcare as the Black population continues to grow. “Nigeria is now the third or fourth source country for immigrants to Canada. That is a big deal,” she noted, adding that northern Ontario medical schools have the potential to lead the country in addressing this need.
Future Research Directions
This study marks the beginning of what researchers envision as a long-term initiative. Future projects will include a French-language survey targeting Francophone Black communities, developed with support from Francophone associations and Collège Boréal. Additionally, researchers aim to deepen their understanding through qualitative interviews and explore relationships between Black and Indigenous populations with Lakehead University.
Researcher Rosemary Kimani-Dupuis highlighted the importance of collective advocacy in overcoming systemic barriers. “Black communities disproportionately face structural and systemic barriers across many dimensions of service provision, e.g., healthcare, housing, employment, etc. Collective advocacy strengthens efforts and catalyzes change across systems in Canada for Black communities,” she said.
Kimani-Dupuis expressed hope that their findings and recommendations would contribute to equitable outcomes, aligning with similar efforts by organizations like the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario and the Black Health Alliance. Source: BayToday
