Canada and the British immigrantWeaver, Emily P. (Emily Poynton)
History
Canada and the British immigrant
Weaver, Emily P. (Emily Poynton)
Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- Economic conditions
Young women and girls coming to Canada need especially to be on their
guard against persons of both sexes, masquerading as benevolent and
disinterested, who are seeking to entrap the unwary into the terrible
life of the “white slave.” If ever at a loss where to go, they should
accept advice only from uniformed officers of the Immigration
Department, from one of the deaconesses or ladies wearing the
“Travellers’ Aid” badge, or from an officer of the Salvation Army, which
also looks after immigrants. A safe place to make inquiry for lodgings
and employment is, of course, any branch of the Young Women’s Christian
Association, of which there are many in the Dominion. (See Appendix,
Note F, pg. 301, for list.) In summer, a secretary of the Y.W.C.A. meets
the steamers at Quebec, and will do her best to help girls on their way.
The Presbyterians, the Methodists and the Church of England in Canada
have chaplains who meet the immigrant ships at the ports of Halifax and
St. John in winter, and at Quebec in summer. There are also agents of
the Y.M.C.A. at these ports to assist newcomers in every way possible.
If the immigrant can find time on landing to speak either to a chaplain
or to an agent of one of the societies named above, it may prove very
helpful in finding friends in the place to which he or she is going, for
these secretaries will give addresses of clergymen or others anxious to
befriend the newcomer; and it is a great advantage to have someone to
refer to in a strange place, even if it is only for the sake of being
able to obtain disinterested and reliable information. For instance,
suppose a girl comes out intending to try dressmaking in a country place
(as suggested previously), if she has a card of introduction to a
Y.W.C.A. secretary or to a minister, though they might not be able to
tell her offhand of a district where she could hope to be successful,
either would certainly be able to put her into communication with
another secretary, or clergyman’s wife, or secretary of a Woman’s
Institute, who would give the information needed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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