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Old 10-09-2007, 01:05 AM
 
4,281 posts, read 15,707,930 times
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Quote:
They can find employment and housing within this community without having to learn English, and can learn through the social network the lay of the land. In short, the U.S. is less of a culture shock and less of an isolating experience for a Mexican immigrant, than Canada would be.
Right on the button. Hard to believe you're a deposed dictator.

Another consideration might be the fact that the Canadian tender fruit and vegetable sector is limited to small, isolated areas. This likely makes it difficult for migrant labourers to establish a viable presence.
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Old 10-09-2007, 01:22 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cornerguy1 View Post
Another consideration might be the fact that the Canadian tender fruit and vegetable sector is limited to small, isolated areas. This likely makes it difficult for migrant labourers to establish a viable presence.
True. It's also, to state the obvious, very seasonal in Canada. Workers are needed in large quantities for short periods of time.

In BC's Okanagan Valley, you find a lot of backpackers from Quebec who arrive to pick for the season. Sometimes the season comes early, and there's more fruit than pickers. That's when they need to "import" temporary workers from elsewhere.

In the Fraser Valley, the agricultural belt by Vancouver, you have a lot of Chinese and Sikh elders harvesting the fields - immigrants who likely came because they were sponsored by other family members. This has been the demographic of the local farms for decades now, as there's a long established Chinese and Sikh community in Vancouver.

Whereas, there has never really been a Mexican community in Canada. The only workers from Mexico we see are here temporarily during the short season when fields/orchards/vines need harvesting and there's a lack of local workers. And when this happens, it actually makes the news here. I'll see if I can find an article or two.
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:01 PM
 
Location: MSP
558 posts, read 1,315,749 times
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Well, you can rule out the cold factor. There is a pretty large hispanic population in rural Minnesota due to the large processing plants in that area. While southern Minnesota is not quite as cool as Manitoba etc. It could be comparable climates. You could also compare Chicago's climate to Toronto's (I think?) But Chicago also has a very large hispanic commuity. I agree with the pre-established network theory and that they would feel more comfortable and at home in the U.S (lower 48) than Canada.
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:31 PM
 
Location: Hougary, Texberta
9,019 posts, read 14,196,885 times
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Its absolutely the fact that there's no Hispanic "infrastructure" in Canada. The "Mexican Jobs", god that's such a bad stereotype, are taken by the Vietnamese, Sudanese, and to some extent South Asian populations that do have the cultural infrastructure to thrive.
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, BC
1,048 posts, read 6,429,377 times
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Here are two articles about Mexican workers in the Okanagan Valley:

Mexican workers grateful for Canadian opportunity - article (Penticton Western News)

By Mark Brett, Sept 21, 2007

BCNG Portals Page (R) (http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=102&cat=23&id=1069173&more=0 - broken link)


Farming It Out - Feature Story (Okanagan Life Magazine)

Agriculture wouldn’t be sustainable in the Okanagan without the strenuous labour of seasonal guest workers. It used to be French-Canadians we underappreciated (even despised) in this role. Now the workers are coming from Mexico — under a new set of rules. Just how is this latest, essential yet almost invisible, group of people being treated?

By Karin Wilson, Sept 2007

okanagan-life-feature-story (http://www.okanaganlife.com/okanagan-life-feature-story/okanagan-life-feature-story.php - broken link)

Last edited by Robynator; 10-09-2007 at 05:02 PM..
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Old 10-14-2007, 12:14 PM
 
25 posts, read 213,141 times
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i think it also has to do with language.
it may not be a big deal, but canadians dont learn spanish, they learn french.
people coming here from mexico would have a harder time communicating.
where as in the US they learn spanish in schools, and would have an easier time
confronting immigrants just arriving to the country.
although, i dont know if i would let that stop me, if i had a choice.
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Old 11-07-2007, 06:25 AM
 
431 posts, read 2,121,070 times
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Default It's not that easy

Quote:
Originally Posted by ProLogic View Post
I have yet to find out the exact reason for this. I have seen all these articles about how there are a lot of lower class jobs there. Even seen articles that say that some restaurants close early due to the lack of people to work them.
The real question is, why don't immigrants hop the border to Canada? Not literally hopping the border because there really is no border between the U.S and Canada but why don't people from Mexico and South America set there sights on Canada? Coming to America it is hard to find a low-skilled job here in California, the state that has massive amounts of illegals coming in. It is much easier to get a passport to go to Canada and fly there than it is to pay a smuggler to smuggle in to the U.S. I'm Mexican-American myself and I've heard my parents talking about it costs around $3500 per person to smuggle them in through the border. If I was in Mexico I would fly me and my family with those $3500 and still have some cash left over to pay for a Hotel until I find a job. I just don't get it. Could if be the lack of information? Possibly.
You can't just get a passport and go to Canada. If you do not have the ability to obtain a visa, you are not going to go anywhere. Just because you buy a plane ticket, it does not mean you can enter your country of destination. I think most Americans take it for granted that we are free to travel pretty much at will without question. That is not true of many other nations. I am from the Dominican Republic, my husband is from Egypt and in both of our countries, you have to get permission from the govt to get a visa and a passport in order leave. It's not a matter of just filling out a form and paying a fee. That's why people try to "escape" by boat, by foot or with the help of smugglers.
Here is a description of Tom Hanks movie "The Terminal" which might explain how someone can get on a plane, but still not be able to enter the country:

The Terminal" tells the story of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal’s international transit lounge until the war at home is over.
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