0:11 Hello, Ryerson. I'm Sarah Wong. 0:13 And I'm Yumi Kim. 0:14 And this is the first episode of Immigrants of Toronto. So Immigrants of Toronto is a weekly podcast where we interview different immigrants from different countries to gain a first hand experience of what it takes to live in Canada. My reporter, Yumi Kim has a new story for you. So who did you talk to this week? 0:32 Hi, so I talked to Hoban Kang, an immigrant from South Korea who's currently are working to get PR or permanent residency. 0:39 Hi, my name is Hoban Kang. I'm 25 years old and I've been in Canada for four years and half. 0:48 So I talked to her about why she wanted to come here and what her status is in Canada right now. 0:54 I'm currently here with my working permit. I originally came to Canada to study English, but then I found that this country is a great place to live as a woman. I took an English test and got accepted into George Brown for fashion design, which I majored in university in Korea. 1:18 So today I followed her to her workplace to see what she does on a daily basis and the steps she's taking to get her PR. 1:25 After I graduated. I wanted work at Canadian company like Canada Goose, Roots or Lululemon. So I apply several companies here, but I got offer Lululemon. I take TTC every morning around 10am at Yonge and Bloor station rich where I live right now to Osgoode station. I am a seamstress at Lululemon on Queen Street West and I've been working here for a year and a half. So as a seamstress I gather all the items from Eaton Centre and Queens relocation and the items are needed a alteration and hemming or repair. So this is the first process of hemming I'm calling these are extra hem from these pants. 2:40 This is the machine for needed fabric. Our company carries a lot of stretch fabrics and I'm just operating by my foot and hand there is stopper. A dial to control the speed. 3:09 You guys been busy with rushes? A little bit. 3:11 Did I spell right? Yeah. Okay. You got it. Yeah. 3:19 All the items from in-center and crunchy they have the specific chalk mark here. So that where the folding line is and this goes away with iron steaming. 3:49 I first I had trouble getting used to all the different terms they use. For example, I learned about cuffs at college. But then here we use different term for that. 4:07 I also talked to her coworkers about what they think of Hoban and her status as an immigrant. 4:12 My name is Hugh. I thought she was very lovely. She's very hard worker and she's really, really nice. I think it's very admirable. And my mother was a citizenship judge so I really know how hard people have to work to get their PR. I spoke to Melissa Arlantico, who also works at Lululemon. 4:27 I am an educator at Lou lemon Athletica. Hoeven is a really hard worker and she's really fast at her job. I'm actually first generation here so my entire family immigrated from the Philippines so I can appreciate the work and the strength that it takes to travel away from your homeland. To set up somewhere where you think that there's going to be a lot of opportunities. So I think that is awesome for her and I wish that things were a little bit easier for immigrants because I understand there's a lot of work. 5:06 We also spoke to John Shields. He's a professor in politics and public administration at Ryerson. He's also an expert in immigrant settlement and integration policy. 5:17 If you live in a place like Toronto, it's pretty hard to ignore the impact of of immigration. The truth is we actually need more skills and also when immigrants come, they spend money. They create employment. Studies that have been done, there's been a whole lot of studies, but studies that have been done, show that immigrants are a positive contributor to the economy. They tend to pay more in taxes than they take out of the system in terms of the use of services. We know that the labour market is rapidly aging, and immigration is going to be an important component to sort of filling those gaps. When Canadians are asked to define themselves today, it is not hockey. It's not maple syrup. It's not certainly not the Mounties. If you ask them what is the defining feature of Canada, a plurality of them are going to say, oh, well, it's multiculturalism. 6:29 I think those are very profound words. Are there any difficulties Hoban is facing in terms of the integration process? 6:36 Yeah, she told me about some of the challenges she's facing. 6:50 Some of the hardship I faced, I think, were mainly cultural difference and language barrier. Being able to study English gave me a lot of pressure. I think it's a pain for immigrants to meet all of the requirements and it's really time consuming, because I have to spend my time to meet my lawyer quite frequently. And I have to study for English test while working and it costs a lot and also prepare all the documents. 7:33 Did Hoban come to Canada with her family. 7:37 No, she came alone. And she talked to me about how that affects her. 7:40 I think the main thing is that I'm here alone, like my family are back home, and I have to look after myself. There is no one to take care of me when I'm sick, you know. So sometimes I feel homesick and lonely. I just missed my parents a lot nd my dogs as well. 8:04 So what is hoping doing right now? 8:06 I'm currently preparing for my English test and I have to get seven or higher to meet the requirements. To get PR, there are actually several ways to get PR. What I'm going for is score based type. Which you have to meet a specific score. But first of all, you need to have a lawyer who can help you with all the steps. And there are other requirements like a year full time working or two years part time working experience. Proof of Canadian university or college certificate a and they also require you financial status. 9:00 And what happens if she doesn't get permanent residency? 9:04 She told me that it would affect her overall life in Canada. 9:09 I'm gonna have to stay here as a working permit and I would have to extend my visa every two years. Which is painful costs a lot of money. I also don't get any health benefits, so like if I need a surgery I would have to pay a lot of money. Overall, I want to be successful in my career, make a lot of money and get my PR Of course, and be happy here in Toronto. 9:43 And that's it for this week's episode. I'm Sarah, and I'm Yumi this has been Immigrants of Toronto for RSJ Radio. Thank you and we're looking forward to next week.