Around the nucleus of activities that take place in religious places are many other institutions such a social clubs, places where people gather after work, in the evenings and on the weekends to meet old friends, play games, watch sports and chat about people they know. Here also information is exchanged about births, marriages, jobs and gossip about the neighbourhood, the city, politics or practical matters. There are also a number of businesses such as travel agencies, local immigrant banks, credit unions, union halls, grocers and food importers, ethnic newspapers, restaurants and boarding houses.
The immigrant press is important for many reasons. One, of course, is the atmosphere of freedom – political, cultural, economic, and religious – which exists here. Since much of the press, print, television and radio comes from ethnic and religious minorities even in their lands of emigration, Canada has often been the first opportunity to publish what people want. And people, who before emigrating had read no newspaper because of marginal literacy, poverty, repression, or limited social world in which the word of mouth was sufficient, developed a need to maintain ties with their own kind and their land of emigration. Also there is a tendency to trust an interpretation of events presented in one’s own language by men and women who share not just the same origins, but also migration experience and the new ethnoculture developing in Canada.
The playing field, rink or gym is described as an arena for the true meritocracy, a world where raw talent rather than accent, surname, or appearance defines the individual. Many see sports as breaking down ethnic and racial barriers. But for immigrant parents some are concerned about a world in which their own children are under the sway of strange adults in the schoolyard or playground rather than contributing to the family economy and submitting to family discipline and the loss of values and ways of life. Participation in sports is seen by teachers, coaches, the YMCA, nurses, police and playground instructors as a way for them to integrate immigrant children into the traditions and customs of Canada, improve their English, and habits. Within the neighbourhood, sports could be seen to pass a heritage language, encourage religious participation, or make connections between working immigrant parents and their kids. For a parent from Italy or the Jamaica, the desire to pass on an interest in soccer or cricket as the sport of play and viewing may be a way to communicate in the new Canadian environment where hockey may seem distant and unappealing.
Street life also creates a way to understand neighbourhoods. How do people use public spaces like sidewalks? Do they chat, linger and hangout in front of stores or do they move along quickly? Do people change the landscape of their yards or colour of their houses to give it a distinctive look? In other sections we will see how examine the labour and small businesses within the life of ethnic communities as well as discuss the way in which social institutions encourage a sense of Canadian citizenship.