A preliminary investigation of the contributions of sponsored parents and grandparents in Canada

The discussion is centered on the perceived lack of potential economic contributions of these immigrants; however, such a focus overlooks the gendered nature of this type of immigration and the many non-economic contributions these immigrants make. [...] Recognizing the importance of the family to immigrant settlement and integration, most receiving countries have implemented relatively generous family reunification policies which allow for the sponsorship of relatives who did not accompany the original migrant at the time of immigration. [...] Consequently, the value of family class immigration has not been addressed and any discussion as to the balance of different immigrant classes is severely hampered by the absence of empirical data establishing the validity of different arguments (Rumbault, 1997). [...] The reason for this gap is in part due to the perceived marginal (and gendered) nature of the subject matter; family immigration may be of less interest because of its connection to the social, feminine, private sphere rather than the economic sphere (Kofman, 2004; Rumbault, 1997). [...] In fact, if the percent of those homemaking and caring for a family member are combined in the second wave, then the percent of parents and/or grandparents doing either as a main activity is about 29 percent and the drop from homemaking is much less dramatic, with a only a four percent decrease between the two periods.