The Canadian Hispanic Day Parade, or How Latin American Immigrants Practise (Sub)Urban Citizenship in Toronto

Abstract

The Canadian Hispanic Day Parade] is a way of giving a blow to the government, of saying Latin Americans are doing ... something. The community is at a low level and the government is not listening. But with the parade and the participation of local politicians, the government is forced to pay attention ... . They see that the parade is well organized and this goes against the ... negative images that the government has about Latin Americans.'' Joe Nu¨n ¬ ez, president of the Canadian Hispanic Day Parade Committee (interview

Migration and Maternity: Insights of Context, Health Policy, and Research Evidence on Experiences and Outcomes From a Three Country Preliminary Study Across Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom

“…Harsh criticism has been levied at the Canadian government for the obvious gap between policy rhetoric and action. National initiatives have been condemned as largely taking a superficial "food and festivals" approach to multiculturalism, with a lack of attention to the hierarchies of power and opportunity that perpetuate poor welfare outcomes for racialized groups (Levine-Rasky, 2006;Mahtani, 2002;Spitzer, 2000;Veronis, 2006). At a provincial level, strategies aimed at increasing the inflow of migrants are undermined in some areas by the unresponsiveness of public and private services to the needs of diverse newcomers (Reitmanova & Gustafson, 2008).…”

Risking publicity: masculinities and the racialization of public neighborhood space

“…Often considered the arena for democracy and negotiations of identities, public space also facilitates migrants' political claims making as they struggle for citizenship and political rights (Koopmans and Statham 1999;Veronis 2006). Access to public space therefore frequently appears as the necessary condition for full civic participation and the ability to exercise (urban) citizenship (Brodie 2000).…”

Immigrant Participation in the Transnational Era: Latin Americans' Experiences with Collective Organising in Toronto

“…Latin Americans' increasing diversity in the 1990s also brought intra-group tensions, competition and conflicts, primarily but not exclusively along the lines of nationality and class (see Veronis 2006bVeronis , 2007. The proliferation of professional associations is one example illustrating this new intragroup dynamic.…”

“…4 These data suggest that Latin Americans face barriers to achieve equal participation in Canada, yet the group has been actively engaged in the local nonprofit sector and established a network of community organisations to serve its needs and represent its interests. Furthermore, it recently developed a range of innovative community-based initiatives to lay claims to equal citizenship rights such as the appropriation of urban space through public parades (Veronis 2006b), projects to build cultural centres (Veronis 2007) and partnerships with other ethnic/racial and immigrant groups (Veronis 2006a). In order to make sense of Latin Americans' social and political participation in Toronto, it is important to examine their history of immigration.…”