NCJ Number
157277
Date Published
1993
Length
80 pages
Annotation
The legal problems of immigrants who also minorities in greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada were examined by means of an analysis of case records involving 4,516 contacts between clients and multicultural service agencies and interviews with 308 of these clients.
Abstract
Results revealed that 75.6 percent of the clients had at least one problem with a legal aspect. Criminal law problems made up 9 percent of the problems, civil law problems 45 percent, and administrative law problems 46 percent. Problems with immigration status, unemployment insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, tax filing, workers' compensation, and social assistance were the most common. The occurrence of certain problems may follow a pattern relating to the length of time in Canada. Findings indicate that the justice system needs to make adaptations to accommodate new Canadians and to facilitate integration and greater participation in society. Forming cooperative linkages between the justice system and the organizations serving ethnic and minority groups would promote respect for law and confidence in the Canadian justice system and would use the community as a resource for solving community problems and defining the needs of multicultural Canadians. Tables and appended additional results and background information