Katherine Lippel, Distinguished Research Chair in Occupational Health and Safety Law at the University of Ottawa and leader of the policy component of the On the Move Partnership, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2021 at the age of 67. This tribute/homage to Katherine by her colleagues and friends, seeks to honor her and to …

Imelda Wong is an epidemiologist and occupational hygienist specializing in nonstandard work hours and occupational health and safety. She received her PhD from the University of British Columbia in 2012 and was the Mustard Fellow at the Institute of Work and Health from 2013-2015. In 2012, she was elected as a Director of the Working …

Research Recap: Mobile Workers in Alberta During the COVID-19 Pandemic With the designation of the oil sands industry in Alberta as an “essential” service on April 2, 2020, many workers in the industry’s fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workforce have since been continuing to travel and to remain on worksites for long periods in often crowded environments …

New video from the Canadian Foundation of Innovation A new video from CFI profiles OTM’s research examining work-related mobility in Canada. Many essential workers in the context of COVID-19 are part of the mobile labour force. Dr. Barbara Neis at Memorial University of Newfoundland is using knowledge about these workers’ mobility to contribute to a …

By Desai Shan Desai Shan is Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. As a dedicated researcher in the fields of maritime law and occupational health and safety (OHS), she has published several research articles on Canadian and Chinese seafarers’ rights to occupational health and safety, including Employment-related Mobility, Regulatory Weakness, and Potential Fatigue-related Safety Concerns …

Migrant workers face significant challenges on their journey to work in Canada, faced with large recruiter fees and exploitation and racism by their employers. When confronted with the situation of losing status, migrant workers are faced with a choice – to stay in Canada or return home. Very little is known about the workers that …

Filmed in Bay de Verde, ”A Year in the Field” is a 33 min. doc that looks at the field methods of cultural anthropology through the experiences of a young Estonian anthropologist, Joonas Plaan, researching fisheries and climate change. Find the video here. The password is: FINAL.

This paper by Kerri Claire Neil and Barb Neis explores how work-related mobility impacts families in Canada. Stories shared are based on the Families, Work and Mobility conference in Charlottetown and the Families On the Move satellite conference in St. John’s. Read the paper here.

By: Stephanie Premji Dr. Stephanie Premji is Associate Professor in the School of Labour Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. As a co-investigator with the On the Move Partnership, Stephanie worked with Access Alliance to look at the relationship between precarious employment and geographical mobility among immigrant workers …

By: Sara Dorow (Sociology Professor, University of Alberta) As someone who has studied mobile work for a number of years, I am struck by the sudden attention to the potential health hazards carried back and forth between oil sands worksites in Alberta and the hundreds of home communities to which fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers return …

By: Denboy Kudejira, PhD Researcher Department of Anthropology, Memorial University, DKudejira@mun.ca This blog is a summary of a working paper found here. Many workers in Zimbabwe rely on trade and travel to South Africa for their livelihood, but with the shutdown of the borders because of COVID-19, this reality is no longer possible. Women especially …

By Marit Aure Marit Aure is a co-investigator in On the Move. She is Professor of Gender Studies in Sociology, at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Marit does research and publishes nationally and internationally on work-related mobility, migrant integration, participatory art-based action research, elderly people, gender and equality, masculinities and fathering, place attachment and community studies. She is the Principal Invetisgator …

By Natasha Hanson and Kerri Neil Natasha is a Qualitative Methodologist and Research Manager with Horizon Health Network, a regional health authority in New Brunswick. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow, with the On the Move Partnership, in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Prince Edward Island. This postdoctoral research qualitatively investigated …

By Deatra Walsh Deatra Walsh has a PhD in sociology, a Master’s in rural development and a mobile biography. Her studies and work as a researcher, a post doc, a contract university lecturer, and a senior manager in government have taken her across Canadian town and city landscapes. She’s lived in Brandon, Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, …

By: Shiva Nourpanah and Kerri Neil Shiva Nourpanah is a SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence, University of Guelph. She is also Adjunct Faculty at the Department of International Development Studies, Saint Mary’s University and School of Occupational Therapy, Dalhousie University. Her areas of research include immigration, with focus …

By: Desai Shan Desai Shan is Assistant Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. As a dedicated researcher in the fields of maritime law and occupational health and safety (OHS), she has published several research articles on Canadian and Chinese seafarers’ rights to occupational health and safety, including Employment-related Mobility, Regulatory Weakness, and Potential Fatigue-related Safety …

By Gale Burford and Barb Neis Gale Burford is a member of the On the Move Advisory Committee. Gale is Professor Emeritus of University of Vermont and continues to consult on evaluation and research projects locally and internationally. He is a collaborator with the Restorative International Learning Community based at Dalhousie University. His research has …

A recent US publication has found that workers in the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, and Construction industries have the highest rate of suicide of any occupation. Find out what research is happening in Canada and how mental health and industry associations are addressing this problem in a profile of the issue here.

Mobile Work in Long Harbour New from the OTM Community Impacts Team! Long Harbour is a host community for most mobile workers employed at Vale’s nickel processing facility. Learn about how ERGM impacts the community and mobile workers in this new report by Heather Hall, Kelly Vodden, Josh Barrett, and Leanna Butters available here.

**Unfortunately due to the spread of COVID-19, we have to postpone this event to a later date. We hope that everyone stays safe and we look forward to coming to Burgeo to discuss the benefits and challenges of mobile work sometime in the future.** * * * * * * There is a long history …

Lachlan Barber is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University. An urban and cultural geographer by training, Lachlan’s research interests include geographies of policy change, mobility studies (including work-related mobilities and urban transport), and cultural heritage. Before moving to Hong Kong he held a post-doctoral fellowship in the construction …

Families, Work and Mobility Edited Collection Call for Abstracts/Stories and Poems Deadline: March 15, 2020 The On the Move Partnership (www.onthemovepartnership.ca), Tale of Two Islands Project and the Vanier Institute of the Family (https://vanierinstitute.ca) are collaborating in the development of a proposal to ISER Books (https://www.hss.mun.ca/iserbooks) for the publication of an open-access edited book of …

A recent publication by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that workers in the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, and Construction industries have the highest rate of suicide of any occupation. This issue is being explored in Canada by Dr. Sara Dorow, Chair of …

Waad Khogali Ali is a researcher with the Future Skills Centre (FSC). He recently finished his Ph.D. in the School of Geography and Earth Science at McMaster University. His research interests intersect the areas of migration, employment, skills, and regional economic growth. Hi Waad! Thank you for speaking with me today. Congratulations on successfully defending …

Sara Dorow is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Alberta, where she teaches and conducts research in the areas of globalization, migration and mobility, and gender, family and work. She has been conducting research and publishing articles on the lived experiences of the oil sands political economy of northern Alberta for over …

Hannah Johnston is a PhD student in the Department of Geography at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, working under the supervision of Dr. Beverley Mullings and Dr. John Holmes. Hannah is researching collective organizing strategies used by workers who are exempt from National Labor Relations Act coverage in the United States and are therefore unable to form …

Closing the Enforcement Gap: Improving Employment Standards Protections for People in Precarious Jobs Webinar Presentation with Leah Vosko, Andrea Noack, Rebecca Casey, Alan Hall, Mark Thomas, and Adam Perry. Join us for this webinar Thursday, February 13, 1:30 to 3:30pm NT In Person: 202 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s Watch online: https://bluejeans.com/227653232 RSVP: kcn177@mun.ca The nature of employment is …

Film Screening & Panel Discussion: “Digging in the Dirt” Digging in the Dirt (2019) is a powerful documentary on mobility and mental health in Fort McMurrary, AB. Profiling several oil and gas workers, their families, and experts in the field (including OTM Co-Investigator Dr. Sara Dorow), the film explores the benefits and costs of the industry as …

Layers of Vulnerability among Internally and Internationally Mobile Workers in the Context of Southern Africa Webinar Presentation by Denboy Kudejira What forms of deprivations and experiences are associated with contemporary forms of transnational labour migration? What are the implications of being a ‘foreigner and undocumented’ within a precarious labour market? These questions will be explored …

Save The Dates! Layers of Vulnerability among Internally and Internationally Mobile Workers in the Context of Southern Africa Webinar Presentation by Denboy Kudejira Join us for this webinar Monday, January 13, 1:00 to 2:30pm NT In Person: 202 Elizabeth Avenue, St. John’s Online: https://bluejeans.com/577936203 RSVP: kcn177@mun.ca What forms of deprivations and experiences are associated with …

Danielle Lorenz is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Alberta. She has been working on the Indigenous Stories team led by Drs. Alison Taylor and Tracy Friedel for the Alberta Stories project since 2015. The Alberta Stories includes 15 profiles of people working in the Wood Buffalo …

Dr. Stephanie Sodero is a Banting postdoctoral fellow in Medical Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. She recently submitted a book manuscript based on her PhD thesis, “Navigating Disruption: Mobile Society and Hurricanes Juan and Igor: A Travelogue,” completed at Memorial University. Stephanie sat down with OTM to tell us about her past and present …

If there’s one thing that dominates modern life – it’s work. But before you can work, sometimes you have to travel a long time or go a long way to get there. For other people to work is to travel by land or sea. Learn all about it in our new video starring our Project …

  George Gmelch is Professor of Anthropology at the University of San Francisco with interests in migration, sport cultures, tourism, and environmental issues. Over a long career, he has done field research among Irish Travellers, English Gypsies, return migrants in Barbados, Ireland and Newfoundland, commercial fishermen, Alaska natives, professional baseball players, and Caribbean villagers and …

Please join us for the launch of the two latest On the Move Partnership digital stories. Take the opportunity to view these fascinating stories and to meet and talk with some of the film makers and participants. With films by Martin Bierne, George Gmelch, and Sharon Roseman. Event details: Wednesday, November 27 Room A1043, First …

We are pleased to release the summary report for the Families in Canada 2019, Families on the Move Satellite Event, with thanks to the Vanier Institute of the Family and the Families on the Move Steering Committee. Read the full report here.

The On The Move Partnership is one of three finalists for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Impact Awards (Partnership category) – one of the nation’s top research awards. Read more here

Dr. Sheri Price is Associate Professor at Dalhousie University’s School of Nursing and part of the team behind this new video on the rewards, risks and realities of providing mobile healthcare. Recently, Sheri sat down with On the Move to talk about her research and the role of digital media in knowledge dissemination. Your research …

Preliminary synthesis of existing research on the impact of housing prices and commuting costs on labour markets in big cities, with a focus on the effects these might be having for workers in the construction sector. Read the full synthesis here.

This second synthesis identifies key policy recommendations related to workers’ compensation coverage issues that affect mobile workers. The policy synthesis will be of interest to federal and provincial governments and to industry, labour and those who serve and support mobile workers and their families. It is based primarily on work done by researchers and partners …

Check out the first in a series of policy-related syntheses based on work done through On the Move. This first synthesis identifies key policy-related issues and recommendations related to extended mobility for work in resource extraction industries, with a focus on home, host and ‘hub’ communities. The policy synthesis will be of interest to federal, …

Health and the Mobile Workforce Webinar Series Presented by the Work Wellness and Disability Prevention Institute and the On the Move Partnership. Across the world a wide range of people are mobile for work – women and men, citizens and temporary foreign workers, new workers and those near retirement. From hours-long daily commutes, to travel …

Recently graduated from Memorial University’s Master of Gender Studies program, Lesley Butler is a research assistant with Sharon Roseman working on the production of digital stories for On the Move that help highlight personal histories of employment-related geographical mobility in Newfoundland and Labrador. Last week, Lesley sat down to talk with On the Move about …

In April 2019, On the Move (OTM) team members from across Canada descended into Reykjavik for the international conference, “Mobilities and Transnationalism in the 21st century,” at the University of Iceland. The conference was the closing event for the project, “Mobilities and Transnational Iceland,” founded by Rannis, the Icelandic Centre for Research. This interdisciplinary symposium …

In a recent report entitled “Unaccommodating: Rental Wage in Canada,” the Canadian Center of Policy Alternatives calculated the “rental wage” for cities across Canada. This “rental wage” is defined as the hourly wage required to afford to rent an average two-bedroom apartment using no more than 30% of their income. The highest average rental wages …

Last week, As It Happens highlighted The Chicago Defender, an iconic black paper centered on sharing stories of black people in America. The paper began in 1905 when black people were facing extreme oppression in the United States, and covered stories that mainstream papers ignored. Based in Chicago, the newspaper was able to reach readers …

Fort St. John Roundtables & Report. In the summer of 2018, researchers from On the Move convened in Fort St. John, BC in partnership with the City of Fort St. John, The Forge, and the University of Northern British Columbia’s Community Development Institute to deliver a series of roundtables with area industry and business, local …

The newest On the Move digital story! Stories Would Be Told: The Commuting Career of Kay Coxworthy, a story about work-related commuting on the ferry between Bell Island and Portugal Cove, and the powerful role of place, community, and storytelling in commuters’ lives. Featuring Kay Coxworthy. Director: Sharon Roseman. Producers and Editors: Sharon Roseman and …

  FAMILIES IN CANADA 2019 The Vanier Institute’s Families in Canada Conference 2019 was a national, pan-Canadian conference held in Ottawa, Ontario, with simultaneous satellite events co-hosted by university partners across Canada. In partnership with Families in Canada 2019, On the Move co-hosted the satellite event Families On The Move, which took place at Memorial …

ON THE MOVE WITH CBC IDEAS Paul Kennedy, host of CBC Radio Ideas, has been an On the Move partner since our research project began. Paul and his team have produced a series of six radio documentaries based on On the Move research. The latest installment, “On the Move: Commuting, Work, Life,” is now available …

Call for Papers Special Issue — Engaging rhythmanalysis in critiques of precarious work-related mobilities   Co-editors: Lachlan Barber (Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University) Emily Reid-Musson (Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland)   Description: Work mobilities  – travel to and from work, travel as part of work, travel in search of work and livelihoods, and travel within the …

Over the past seven years, the On The Move Partnership has researched a wide variety of employment-related geographical mobilities (E-RGM) to and within work. On the Move’s focus has been on the Canadian context including people coming temporarily to Canada for work from countries in the Global South. Little research has been done on temporary …

Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau Congratulations to On the Move team member Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau on recently being named to the Expert Panel on Modern Federal Labour Standards! The panel is studying five main issues identified during consultations conducted in 2017-2018 on modernizing federal labour standards in Canada and relate to the changing nature of work. These issues include: …

On March 26-27, the Mobile Labour Symposium was held at the University of Lisbon. The symposium was organized by the Colour of Labour project in collaboration with the EASA Anthropology and Mobility Network. The aim of the symposium was “to combine and link ethnographic and analytical approaches to the worlds of ‘mobile’ work, whether contemporary …

A multi-year research project led by On the Move Partnership policy lead Dr. Katherine Lippel was recently awarded $1.4 million for research on the challenges faced by injured workers looking to return to work. The project is looking at precarious workers, immigrants, mobile workers and mental health. The full interview is available online.

The On the Move: Employment-Related Geographical Mobility in Canada & Beyond International Symposium took place Nov. 18-22 in St. John’s, NL, bringing together researchers, students and community partners from across the On the Move Partnership team and elsewhere to discuss research findings, dissemination, and plans for the future. The event was a great success! Related news and …

The report Interprovincial Employees from Newfoundland and Labrador, 2005-2014, by Christopher Macdonald Hewitt, Michael Haan and Barbara Neis is now available online. This report by the statistics component of On the Move, seeks to examine interprovincial employment from Newfoundland and Labrador between 2005 and 2014 and uses maps and graphs to visualize data from the …

Memorial Presents: How Work-Related Travel is Changing Our World, a public forum held in partnership with the Harris Centre as part of the On the Move: Employment-Related Geographical Mobility in Canada & Beyond Symposium. This panel presentation was webcast live. The recording of the event is now available online.

A great radio documentary from CBC Radio’s The Doc Project: “Adrienne Pan is a host at CBC Edmonton. Her husband, Ben, is a utility welder who works on pipelines. When they first met, Ben had decided to leave that life behind. Then, three years into their marriage, he got back into it. Ben is now …

Project Director Dr. Barb Neis and Dr. Christina Murray of UPEI were recently award the 2018 Mirabelli-Glossop Award for Distinguished Contribution by The Vanier Institute of the Family. In a letter of congratulations to Drs. Neis and Murray, Nora Spinks, CEO of The Vanier Institute, congratulated both women for their work as leaders, scholars and …

Recordings of sessions held at the Families, Work and Mobility Atlantic Canada Symposium are now available online. Held in Charlottetown, PEI, May 15-17, 2018, the symposium facilitated dialogue between those studying, serving and supporting families experiencing work-related mobility and brought together (face-to-face and virtually) policy and civil society leaders from multiple sectors, researchers studying the intersectionality …

Leanna Butters recently completed her MA in Environmental Policy at the Environmental Policy Institute, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. Leanna’s thesis, completed in Sept 2018, is titled “Identifying the Built Space Impacts of Fly-in/Fly-out Employment-related Geographical Mobility in Deer Lake, NL.” Leanna joined On the Move as an MA student. As research assistant for the On …

On the Move’s Desai Shan recently won the Ron Rice Award for Best Conference Paper at the 2018 Canada Transportation Research Forum (CTRF) for her paper “Work-related Mobility and Fatigue on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River: Canadian Seafarers’ Experiences.” Congratulations to Desai on the award and on the $1000 prize money that accompanies …

As part of the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Community Development Institute’s (CDI) Speakers Series, On the Move Project Director Dr. Barb Neis presented a public talk, “On the Move: The Opportunities and Challenges of Labour Mobility for Rural and Remote Canada,” focusing on some of the key issues our researchers have been investigating …

Two new summary reports from the Newfoundland and Labrador Community Impacts team are now available: Mobile Work in the Straits and South Coast and Fly-in/Fly-out Commuting in Deer Lake.

Migrant Dreams, a film by Min Sook Lee is streaming free online for the month of May. The documentary tells the story of migrant workers in Leamington, ON left with debt and broken dreams by an employment system that leaves them vulnerable to being taken advantage of by recruiters and employers. Although focused on Indonesian …

BY STEVEN HIGH It is not every day that you get the opportunity to get to know the man behind the voice. But this is precisely what happened to me over two sunny days in February as I had the pleasure of hosting Paul Kennedy, the long-time host of CBC Radio’s Ideas. Paul had come …

What happens when your commute includes ocean travel? The research of On the Move co-investigator Sharon Roseman and trainee Diane Royal was recently featured in Memorial University’s Gazette as part of a special feature showcasing Memorial’s leadership and expertise in cold ocean and Arctic science, technology and society (COASTS). Read the feature article “Across ‘The …

Congratulations to On the Move researcher Dr. Katherine Lippel on winning this year’s Gold Medal at the annual Impact Awards, presented by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The Gold Medal is SSHRC’s highest research honour and comes with $100,000 in research money. Read more here.

Will migrant workers rescue rural regions? Challenges of creating stability through mobility An On the Move presentation by international co-investigator Marit Aure. The seminar will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 1:30 pm (NL time) at the On the Move Core Office and will be streamed online via Bluejeans. Abstract: Many rural communities experience new …

Kathy Fitzpatrick joined the On the Move Partnership as a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, having completed a BA and MA in Geography at Simon Fraser University. Kathy’s research examines employment-related geographical mobilities (E-RGM) within the working lives of Newfoundland home care workers. She has conducted interviews with …

Dr. Adam Perry joined the On the Move Partnership in 2015 as an affiliated post-doctoral fellow. He holds a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto, and is currently undertaking SSHRC-funded post-doctoral research in the School of Social Work at McGill University. His research examines the dynamics of internal migration …

Dr. Imelda Wong joined the On the Move Partnership in August 2015 as an affiliated post-doctoral fellow. She is both an occupational epidemiologist and an industrial hygienist, and is currently an ORISE Scholar at the Centres for Disease Control / National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC/NIOSH). Her research primarily focuses on the broad …

Hannah Johnston joined the On the Move Partnership in June 2014 as an affiliated doctoral fellow. Working under the supervision of Dr. Beverley Mullings and Dr. John Holmes, she is pursuing a PhD in Geography at Queen’s University. Her doctoral research examines the collective organizing strategies used by workers who are exempt from National Labor …

Joshua Barrett joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Field Research Component of the On the Move Partnership as a Master’s fellow in September 2014. Working under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Vodden and Dr. Keith Storey, he is currently working on finishing up the thesis portion of his M.A. in Geography. The primary purpose of his …

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), a primary funder of the On the Move Partnership, describes knowledge mobilization as a means of  “ensuring that all citizens benefit from publicly funded research. It can take many forms, but the essential objective is to allow research knowledge to flow both within the academic world, and …

by Delphine Nakache The On the Move Partnership is partnering with CBC Ideas and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences to present: “On the Move: Temporary Foreign Worker Policy in Canada,” a panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A as part of Congress 2015. This free public event will take place Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 19:30 – 21:30 …

par: Frédéric Décosse, CNRS-LEST Lieu d’enquête: Sud du Mexiqu Bref aperçu de la recherche menée par Frédéric Décosse auprès des travailleurs migrants mexicains employés dans l’agriculture canadienne par le biais du Programme des Travailleurs Agricoles Saisonniers (PTAS). Avril 2013, quelque part au Sud du Mexique. Rendez-vous est pris avec le responsable local du volet « mobilité professionnelle » …

By: George Gmelch and Diane Royal Field site: Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada Anthropologist George Gmelch, a professor at the University of San Francisco, first came to Newfoundland as an ISER Fellow over 40 years ago. Last summer and the summer before, accompanied by his graduate student research assistant Diane Royal, George returned to Newfoundland work with the …

By international co-investigator Anna Karlsdóttir, University of Iceland. Field site: The the tourism corridor of the Canadian Rockies through Jasper National Park, Lake Louise, Banff National Park and Yoho National Park, AB, and Golden and Revelstoke, BC.         My research in Iceland focuses on employment-related geographical mobility in Iceland’s most visited tourism corridor …