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Edmonton Journal

Newcomers face rising racism in Alberta as province debates immigration policy

Alberta resident Shamaila Akram says she can handle the increase in racial slurs and derogatory comments being thrown at her, but she worries about her newcomer and immigrant clients. Article content As debates unfold over Canada's immigration system, those who provide help to newcomers in Alberta say there has been an uptick of hostility toward immigrants. Article content Article content 'I hear from people in my own communities — women specifically who wear hijabs — many bad things and we realize there is a need to educate people,' said Akram, with Calgary's Centre for Newcomers. Article content Article content 'Clients are coming with severe anxiety and sometimes panic attacks after hearing racial slurs outside our door. We have instances where they're being harassed while walking in (the) downtown.' Article content Article content The Canadian Anti-Hate Network says charged debates about immigration in Canada and the United States are behind the rise in hostility toward immigrants online and in person. Article content Article content Racialized workers at the centre are increasingly being harassed, and he said people often walk by screaming at the centre. Article content Ernst said he and those working with immigrants noticed the increase in the last year as the immigration system returned to the spotlight. Article content Article content He said the ongoing Alberta Next panel led by Premier Danielle Smith that's touring the province to hear public grievances with the federal government is stoking that anger. Article content 'Since (the) Alberta Next panel raised its ugly head, it's also created additional hostility with some of the comments associated to that,' he said. Article content Ernst said he agrees that the population of newcomers in Canada and Alberta has exploded, but said governments need to stop using immigrants as scapegoats for housing and infrastructure issues. Article content 'It's not the people themselves that are creating that particular strain,' Ernst said. 'The problem is government policy.' Article content The Alberta Next panel has already made stops in Red Deer and Edmonton and will return to Edmonton again, with visits to Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in August. Article content Six surveys launched on the panel's website help inform what questions the government is putting to locals, and one of them is about immigration. Article content 'If Alberta isn't satisfied with the number or economic qualifications of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status,' says a video participants are required to view before taking the immigration survey.