After the door has been opened: Mental health issues affecting immigrants and refugees in Canada. Report of the Canadian Task Force on Mental Health Issues Affecting Immigrants and Refugees

Beiser, M. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1988.



From the report's executive summary: "The Task Force concluded that, while moving from one country and culture to another inevitably entails stress, it does not necessarily threaten mental health. The mental health of immigrants and refugees becomes a concern primarily when additional risk factors combine with the stress of migration.



"In Canada, negative public attitudes, separation from family and community, inability to speak English or French, and failure to find suitable employment are among the most powerful predictors of emotional distress among migrants. Persons who are adolescent or elderly at the time of migration and women from traditional cultures are also more likely to experience difficulties during resettlement. Canada can exert considerable control over these risk-inducing forces. It can provide the 'ounce of prevention' needed to ensure that most newcomers will have as much chance as Canadian-born persons of maintaining their mental well-being, despite the stress of migration."