Middle East and Southeast Asian Refugees in Canada and Finland: Case Studies in"Mature" and in "Incipient" Multiculturalism

Abstract

In this article a case study of resettling Middle East and South Asian refugees in the Metropolitan Toronto area is presented and juxtaposed with a parallel study conducted in Finland. The main strategies for labour market participation in Canada wereeducation, "volunteering" and networking activity. The agency principle was pronounced. Interethnic accord is evident at individual level, while at thegroup level of collaboration it is more elusive. The large size of the communities and Canadian mu1 ticultural policy allows for a decentralized style of intra-communityactivism, but in Finland, the mode of issue-focused civil and political activism across groups could enhance participation of small communities.