On the Move Partnership: Employment-Related Geographic
Mobility in the Canadian Context
From daily commutes that take hours to jobs that take workers from home for days, weeks, months or years, the phenomenon of employment-related geographic mobility (E-RGM), or extended commuting, is widespread in the Canadian workforce.
To understand this reality and how it affects households and communities, and influences and impacts Canadian prosperity, the Vanier Institute of the Family is collaborating with 40 researchers from 17 disciplines and 22 universities across Canada and around the world.
The SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research at Memorial University of Newfoundland is providing the leadership for this one-of-a-kind, seven-year study.
The Vanier Institute’s role in this collaboration is:
- To publish findings from various project subcomponents on our website, in our e-newsletter and through social media
- To support PhD students who research the impact on families at the Institute
- To participate in conferences and panels for the project
The On the Move Partnership will increase our understanding of:
- The size and dynamics of extended commuting
- The impact of extended commuting on family life, neighbourhoods and home and host communities
- The impact on labour recruitment, training requirements, productivity, occupational health and other key domains of life in Canada
- Regional, sectoral and sociodemographic patterns and commuting trends since the 1980s
- The policies that have an impact on extended commuting
Engage, Participate and Collaborate
Dozens of students, along with participants from more than 30 community organizations representing industry, labour and government, have been analyzing and synthesizing E-RGM-related information.
- Graduate students may apply to conduct research at the Vanier Institute through post-doctoral internships.
- Families and community may keep updated on the project through our e-newsletter.
- The public will find updates on our Facebook page and can follow us on Twitter.
Funding
The On the Move Partnership receives funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) through its Partnership Grants funding opportunity, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Innovate NL, Memorial University, Dalhousie University and numerous other university and community partners in Canada and elsewhere.
Project Timeline
The project is ongoing from 2012 to 2019.
Project Lead
Dr. Barbara Neis
University Research Professor, Department of Sociology
Senior Research Associate, SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Vanier Leads
Nora Spinks
CEO
The Vanier Institute of the Family
Program Committee Member
Dr. Robert Glossop and Dr. Rosemary Ommer
Vanier Alumni Network members
On the Move Partnership Program Committee Co-Chairs
Ethics Approval
This project is ethics-approved by Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Resources
- On the Move, Digital Stories
- Shiva Nourpanah, Ivy Bourgeault, Lois Jackson, Sheri Price, Pauline Gardiner Barber and Michael P. Leiter. November 2018. Intersecting Policy Contexts of Employment-Related Geographical Mobility of Healthcare Workers: The Case of Nova Scotia, Canada
- Elise Thorburn, PhD (Memorial University), Work and Family: The Impact of Mobility, Scheduling and Precariousness
- Call-out: Families, Mobility, and Work Atlantic Canadian Symposium
- Employment Mobility and Family Gentrification in Montreal
- Circuits of Care: Mobility, Work and Managing Family Relationships
- Dorow, Sara. June 2016. Caregiver Policy in Canada and Experiences after the Wildfire: Perspectives of Caregivers in Fort McMurray
- Mills, Suzanne and Anne St-Amand. October 2015. “I Wanted a Career, Not a Job”: First Nations and Métis Employment in the Construction of the Lower Mattagami River Project
- Dorow, Sara, Marcella S. Cassiano and Chad Doerksen. January 2015. Live-in Caregivers in Fort McMurray: A Socioeconomic Footprint.
- Walsh, Deatra, Mary-Dan Johnston and Christine Saulnier. January 7, 2015. Great Expectations: Opportunities and Challenges for Young Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
For more information, please contact: research@vanierinstitute.ca