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HB NEWS RACIAL DIVERSITY SURGES IN REGION AS IMMIGRATION DOUBLES IN PAST FIVE YEARS RACIALIZED PEOPLE ACCOUNT FOR 29 PER CENT OF THE REGIONAL POPULATION, UP FROM NINE PER CENT IN 1996 JEFF OUTHIT jouthit@therecord.com Immigration has exploded in this region after years of decline, and racial diversity i is surging. ceived in the previous five years, according to new census findings. It's why cinemas are showing movies from India, the country that supplied the greatest num- ber of recent immigrants at 6,580. It's why grocers are selling prod- ucts from around the world, and why foreign students are filling campus classrooms and _ hall- ays. Of the nation's 41 biggest ur- ban areas, only four others saw a greater acceleration in immigra- tion in the past five years, Statis- le share of immigrants between 2001 and 2016. Racialized people now account for 29 per cent of the population, almost one in three. Compare this to a generation ago in 1996 when An aerial photograph of Waterloo Region with Kitchener in the centre. chief cxecutive « oft the Ke Kitchener: Waterloo Mult an agency that hone ta Lamieants settle: + Canada has boosted immi- gration by 10 per cent since 2016. And while Toronto remains the top immigration magnet, high housing costs are leading more newcomers to settle outside To- ronto. . The federal government sees fewer thanonein 00d racialized (a category including refugees from Syria and Eritrea. all racialized groups plus Indige- + University and college cam- nous identities). puses are drawing foreign stu- i i LuciaHarri- dents (mostly from India and Chi- son identifies three reasons why na) under a program that Puts immigration is surging. She's them on track to immigrat« There is a payoff for everyone as immigration rises, Harrison says. "I keep saying we're not hav- ing enough babies and immigra- tion is the way that we will grow our economy," she said. "To me, i just adds to the richness country that was aesay ai verse." She expects governments and agencies will face more calls to erase systemic barriers that im- pede racialized people. "The issues of systemic racism in our policies, it's more likely that they will be challenged as the number of racially diverse people increase," she said. “I think that's good thing." Metroland File Photo One example is_ policing, where data reveals the dispropor. tionate use of force against Black people and the disproportionate documentation of Black people who are not suspected of a crime. jobs. They don' 11D COLEIEM | S “There are plenty of jobs, but 5 it's really hard for people to take © to get your kids settled in school ifs & you don't know where you're g0-Z =% oo Ss io 8 fa & ag Ks 2 ge 3 is transient housing. So to be able to settle, people need housing. She worries also abouta ashort- 5 age of family doctors that is leav- ing immigrants and others with- out access to primary medical 2202 '0} J8qUeAON care "Beople come here and there have been many studies that when people first arrive, their health declines,” she said. "Anda big part of that is they don't have access to equitable health care." 1e 2021 census found that one in four r aoraat of this region is This is slightly higher t than th he national average. It is higher than most big cities, but it is far below the Greater To- ronto Area where almost half of residents are immigrants. India supplied the most immi- grants to the region in the last five years at 24 per cent of the total. Other leading countries include Syria that supplied nine per cent of the total and Eritrea that sup- eight per cent. China and Hong Kong supplied five per cent of recent Another After counting racialized stu- dents for the first time, local school boards intend to examine barriers that may impede minor- ity student The high cost of housing is a burden for immigrants as it is for others, Harrison said. “We're wel- coming so many new people into our country and into our commu- nity. Housing has not kept up at all," she said. Waterloo is the most racialized city where 36 per cent of the pop- ulation is not white. In Kitchener, 84 per cent of the population is ra- cialized and in Cambridge, the least diverse city, 26 per cent of the population is racialized. South Asians are the top ra- cialized group in the region, fol- lowed at a distance by people who are Black and by people who are Chinese. } eo 'e[D]UOIyDOOLETEM