Learning how to “Skill” the Self: Citizenship and Immigrant Integration in Toronto, Canada by Kori L. Allan A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto © Copyright by Kori Allan 2014 Learning how to “Skill” the Self: Citizenship and Immigrant Integration in Toronto, Canada Kori Allan Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology University of Toronto 2014 Abstract The underemployment of foreign-trained professional immigrants became an intense focus of Canadian immigration policy and integration programs in the 2000s, particularly in Toronto, which receives more immigrants than any other Canadian city. This thesis examines how government conceived of this ‘skilled immigrant underemployment problem’ and in turn promoted particular solutions to address it. Rather than viewing the role of government as needing to intervene in the labour market, it largely focused on reforming individual immigrants. In particular, integration programs tended to focus on “soft skills” training, which construed individual immigrants as skills deficient and as requiring training in ‘Canadian workplace culture’. This dissertation thereby examines the ways in which immigrants were urged to sell the self, and how they were asked to become particular kinds of Canadian workers and citizens. I argue that these integration programs largely did not ameliorate un(der)employment, for they did not address the systemic discrimination new immigrants faced. Rather, I show how they increased the regulation of the un(der)employed and attempted to shape subjectivities in line with values ii dubbed ‘Canadian’, which were integral to post-Fordist forms of labour and (neo)liberal rationalities of government. More specifically, I demonstrate how immaterial labour is deeply assimilatory. Rather than merely produce material products, workers must embody a brand/product, affectively and effectively, in ways that are deeply classed, racialized and gendered. These behavioural dispositions, however, were rendered technical and thus governable through a skills discourse. Additionally, I argue that these interventions reproduced a transition industry that facilitated and contributed to the cycling of new immigrants through endless job fairs and other training programs, a process through which they became flexible and entrepreneurial citizens who accepted responsibility for their own “employability”. These programs thus constituted a means of rationalizing and managing (un)employment insecurity and of reproducing and regulating flexible labor. iii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank all of my research participants. I am grateful for their generosity, in giving of their time and in being so forthcoming when sharing their experiences and perspectives. I am deeply indebted to them for their kindness and insight. Obviously, this research and thesis could not have been done without them. Although some may not agree with my interpretations, I hope that this thesis justly captures the range of perspectives I encountered in the field. This research also would not have been possible without the financial support I received from the University of Toronto, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship fund and from the Department of Anthropology. I am also indebted to my advisor, Bonnie McElhinny, who was immensely supportive and who pushed me intellectually in highly productive ways. I especially appreciate her thoughtful and thorough reading of my work. I would also like to thank Monica Heller, who has been a wonderfully supportive, insightful and ever curious mentor. I am also grateful to Andrea Muehlebach, whose incisive, generous and challenging feedback has continued to inspire me. I feel immensely blessed to have had the above committee whose own research and expertise continually stimulate and inform my own work. I also must thank Bonnie Urciuoli, who served as my external, for providing very constructive and generous comments. I am grateful to Shiho Satsuka, Gavin Smith and Hilary Cunningham for their helpful feedback as well. I would also like to thank all of the faculty members who taught me at the Department of Anthropology, as they have contributed to this thesis in some way. I’d like to give a special thanks to Andrew Gilbert for teaching the first Dissertation Writing Group. He skillfully facilitated a productive workshop that got me writing. I am grateful to all of the workshop participants who provided much needed and helpful feedback on my research. I have also benefited greatly over the years from many conversations with my fellow graduate students from the Department of Anthropology, too numerous to name. The following are just a few: Lesley Howse, Catherine Merritt, Alison Kooistra, Jim Stinson, Carmen Nave, and Arie Molema. Thanks also to Lameck for his insightful discussions on questions of race as I revised this thesis. I would like to especially thank Eugenia Tsao, who is not only brilliant, but also generous and encouraging. iv I will be forever grateful to the members of the Accountability Group that offered countless support and academic advice as I wrote this dissertation, including Jessica Taylor, Sharon Kelley, Lauren Classen, Alyson Stone, Laura Sikstrom, Lindsay Bell, Zoe Wool, and Sheri Gibbings. My life has been widened and enriched intellectually and personally from the many conversations I’ve had with you all. I would especially like to thank Jessica for patiently reading and commenting on so much of my work. I am also grateful to Sharon for her meticulous reading and support at the final hour. I also benefited greatly from two strong and inspiring mentors – Marnie Bjornson and Anna Polonyi. When I started the program, young and inexperienced, Marnie generously provided invaluable advice. Anna also shared her wisdom with me over many conversations. Learning from and with her has been a gift. This thesis took up too much of my time for too long. Indeed, it captured my soul. The emotional and intellectual labor that it entailed would not have been possible without the support and patience of my family and friends. I would like to especially thank Adam Coombs for his endless love, support, and encouragement. This thesis would not have been possible without it. I’m thankful he went ‘into the field’ with me and engaged in so many conversations about my research, before and after he became obsessed with neoliberalism. I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful partner in life. v Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………... 1 “Surgeon in that country, taxi driver in this one? We need to talk”: Canada’s ‘Skilled Immigrant Underemployment Problem’…………………………………………………… 7 Learning to Labour in Canada……………………………………………………………… 10 Governing the Soul at Work: Desiring Immaterial Labour…………………………………. 13 Selling Canadian Diversity……………………………………………………………… 17 Commodifying the Soul: Human Capital and Soft Skills in Late Capitalism…………... 20 Language and Communication in Late Capitalism………………………………………21 Flexible and Precarious Labour……………………………………………………………... 22 Precarious Labour in Toronto, Canada………………………………………………….. 24 The Training or Transition Industry…………………………………………………….. 26 Summary of Chapters……………………………………………………………………….. 30 Chapter 2: Selling Diversity: Integrating the Un(der)employed Skilled Immigrant in Toronto………………………………………………………………………………………….. 34 Immigration: Canada’s Economic Apartheid?....................................................................... 36 Capitalizing on Diversity…………………………………………………………………… 42 Toronto: Becoming a Globally Competitive City………………………………………. 43 TRIEC: Hireimmigrants.ca…………………………………………………………….. 51 Provincial and Federal Integration Programs……………………………………………….. 56 Ethnographic Fieldwork in Toronto: Learning to Labour in the ‘Field’……………………. 58 Chapter 3: Attracting the Ideal Future Citizen: A Genealogy of the “Skilled Immigrant” in Canadian Immigration Policy…………………………………………………………………... 63 The Figure of the Skilled Immigrant……………………………………………………….. 63 Immigration in a Settler Colony: From Confederation until WWII………………………… 67 The “Stalwart Peasant”: The Key to Canada’s Primary Economy (1867-1945)……...... 68 Nation-Building in Canada’s Industrial Economy: Post-WWII (1946-1966)……………… 70 The White Paper (1966)………………………………………………………………… 74 The Liberalization of Immigration: The Points System (1967)…………………………….. 75 Multiculturalism within a Bilingual Framework (1960s)…………………………………… 77 vi The Green Paper (1974)…………………………………………………………………… 80 Welfare-State Restructuring: Privileging the Self-sufficient and Highly Skilled Immigrant (in the 1990s)………………………………………………………………………………. 85 “Affordable Government”: Facilitating Partnership and Accountability…………………… 91 Maximizing the Benefits of Immigration: Selecting the Ideal Immigrant/Future Citizen…………………………………………………………………………………. 92 Minimizing the “Costs” of Immigration: Language……………………………………….. 95 Selling Diversity……………………………………………………………………………. 96 Active Citizenship and Integration…………………………………………………………. 97 Discrimination and Accreditation………………………………………………………….. 98 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002)…………………………………………. 101 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… 102 Chapter 4: Governed-by-contract: Working in the Immigrant Service Sector…………..……. 104 Contract Work in the Non-Profit Settlement Sector………………………………………. 106 Precarious Work in the Settlement Sector: Funding and Job (In)Security…………………