Older Immigrants: Losing Independence

As a result of the baby-boom generation and low birth rates, Canada’s population has been growing older (Ward & Belanger, 2011). By this I mean that there are now much more elderly people than ever before. The number of immigrants in Canada is also on the rise and thus, the amount of aging immigrants has also been increasing.  In fact, due to its emphasis on family reunification, immigration policies in are now letting Canadians sponsor elderly relatives to reside in Canada as immigrants (Boyd & Vickers, 2000). One study even found that almost half of the recent immigrants aged 65 and older live with their family members (Ward & Belanger, 2011). However, having lived in their country of origin for more than half of their lives, adjusting to a brand new country, such as Canada, definitely poses many conflicts in their daily lives.

Even though they are reunited with their families when they come to Canada, older immigrants must still go through a lot of changes in their lifestyle. They must leave behind “familiar attitudes toward seniors and customary ways of life”. Despite of this, many elderly immigrants, especially parents coming to live with their children, feel very strong conflicts between cultural expectations and their responsibilities to their children (Ward & Belanger, 2011). Thus, many of them try to find work to help support themselves as well as their family. Sadly this may be very difficult, as these immigrants are at (or almost at) the age of retirement.  On the contrary, if they do happen find work, older immigrants most likely won’t be able to work long enough to receive a pension plan that will support them throughout the rest of their lives; some haven’t even lived in Canada long enough yet to qualify for basic old age security benefits (Boyd & Vickers, 2000).

 The fact that older immigrants cannot take care of themselves financially means that they have to become dependent on their family so that their needs can be appropriately met. However, according to Ward & Belanger (2007), one of the key areas of conflict between older people and their family members is independence versus dependence. In fact, it is believed that their life satisfaction depends on how much control they have over their own lives. Unfortunately, recent elderly immigrants do not have a lot of control. Because these elderly immigrants come to Canada so late in life, it may be more difficult for them to learn a new language and be independent enough to go out and do things for themselves. This prevents them from creating new social networks and interacting with others besides the people in their family. There are nursing homes meant for specific ethnic groups that do exist to help older immigrants reconnect with their culture, but the waiting list may be very long.  Consequently, this constant need to depend on others could lead to feelings of loss and isolation because “the more assistance [an older immigrant] needs, the more independence and decision-making power are given up” (Ward & Belanger, 2011).

The loss of independence many older immigrants experience when migrating to Canada obviously causes them to be dissatisfied with their lives. As a result, many older immigrants leave Canada and return to their country of origin by age 75 (Boyd & Vickers, 2000). Although there are resources for the elderly in general, Canada needs to find more ways to do more for the elderly who have recently arrived in Canada. Without these resources, they will not be given a chance to really experience how lucky they are to be living in Canada.  After all, how can a person, especially one who is of age, enjoy the remainder of their lives if they feel like they can’t choose how to live it?

               

-          Adrienne A.

Reference List:

Boyd, M. & Vickers, M. (2000). Elderly immigrants. Canadian Social Trends, pg. 5. Retrieved on November 23, 2011: http://proxycheck.lib.umanitoba.ca.proxy1.lib.umanitoba.ca/libraries/online/proxy.php?http://proquest.umi.com.proxy1.lib.umanitoba.ca/pqdweb?did=631086551&Fmt=2&clientId=12305&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Ward, M. & Belanger, M. (2011). Grey Power and the Sunset Years. The Family Dynamic: A Canadian Perspective (5^th ed.) (pp. 195-216). United States: Nelson Education Ltd.