Horgan calls for national anti-racism program; will pitch idea to PM, premiers

2020/06/06 Leave a comment

The challenge lies in the specifics, and better information in terms of what works, is more effective and is scaleable.

My experience when running the multiculturalism program, rather dated now, was that small projects, while worthwhile in many ways, had little long lasting impact and that previous strategies have had little impact on the communities most affected:

Saying Canada’s diversity and multiculturalism mean we need a national strategy to combat racism, Premier John Horgan will make his case to the Premiers and federal government today.

Each Thursday Horgan attends a weekly conference call with other provincial and territorial leaders and the Prime Minister. Today he says he will push for a “coast-to-coast-to-coast” strategy to tackle racism.

“I think that lifts up all Canadians and we can identify and recognize that it’s a diverse, multicultural country; better to have a national approach to these issues and having provinces fully supporting those.”

He also took a moment to express his horror at the death of George Floyd in the U.S., and understands the need to protest and have your voice heard right now, despite the pandemic.

“Be responsible to yourself and more importantly, to the people around you,” he asked of British Columbian’s planning to attend protests.

Horgan acknowledged a series of well-known historically racist events and policies, including the Chinese Head Tax, the Komagata Maru incident, aimed at South Asian migrants and ongoing racism towards Indigenous people.

The premier also spoke out recently against alleged racially-motivated attacks against Chinese-Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Horgan calls for national anti-racism program; will pitch idea to PM, premiers

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Virtual citizenship ceremonies coming for new Canadians whose dreams were crushed by COVID-19

2020/06/05 Leave a comment

Needed albeit imperfect compared to in-person ceremonies:

Citizenship tests and ceremonies have been cancelled for more than two months because of the global pandemic — but newcomers could soon be taking their oaths online through virtual citizenship events.

On March 14, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it would cancel the ceremonies “until further notice.”

Dhiti Nanavati has been working hard for years to reach her “life goal” of becoming a Canadian citizen. The Toronto-based software company marketing manager said she was deeply disappointed when her scheduled March 27 ceremony was called off.

“I was really looking forward to becoming a Canadian citizen and not knowing when the oath ceremony will take place is naturally very distressing,” she said.”A lot of personal sacrifices have gone into making this a reality and the uncertainty about the ceremony is unsettling. It’s like you’re almost at the finish line of a race, only to be told you have stop because the race is cancelled.”

She said she would welcome an online option. She may soon get one.

In a statement to CBC, the department said the citizenship ceremony represents “the culmination of years of hard work for new Canadians and their families.” It said it will begin scheduling virtual ceremonies, starting with those who already had ceremonies scheduled and have a pressing need for Canadian citizenship.

“IRCC will then work to implement virtual citizenship ceremonies for other cases as quickly as possible,” it said.

Since the pandemic hit, IRCC has considered granting citizenship only in exceptional cases, to people who need it for employment or essential travel.

Last month, University of Manitoba researcher Adolf Ng, who is working on a study related to supply chain management issues during the pandemic, became the first person to be awarded Canadian citizenship through a virtual ceremony.The government says it’s working out a way to administer the ceremonies that protects the integrity of the legal process and also reflects the significance of the occasion. No firm timeframe has been established.

Andrew Griffith — author, fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a former senior immigration official — said that in a pandemic climate, virtual ceremonies are probably the most efficient and practical way to avoid a growing backlog of citizenship cases. No one who has paid the fees and passed the tests should be forced to wait, he said.

But Griffith said something will be lost in the translation from an in-person ceremony to an online one.

“I think there’s something particularly special about when the group of 30 or 40, or however many there are, actually sit down together, look around the room and see the diversity of the people who are applying for Canadian citizenship and take the oath as a group,” he said.

Typically, a person takes the solemn oath before a citizenship judge or official, usually in a group setting. Taking the oath of citizenship is the final legal requirement that applicants older than 14 years old must meet to become Canadian citizens.

A sense of security

“It gives you that security,” Griffith said, adding that a sense of security “is pretty valuable, given the state of the world right now.”

Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Zool Suleman said those who have “gone through all the hoops” to become a Canadian should be granted citizenship, even during a pandemic.

Despite global travel restrictions, some people may still need to obtain passports quickly for essential work or other types of travel, he said. Others, he said, might have other reasons for not wanting to wait to obtain their citizenship — tax reasons, for example, or a wish to relinquish citizenship in another country.

“There could be financial reasons, or purely political or social reasons,” he said.

Suleman agrees that the communal experience of becoming a Canadian is precious, but he predicts people will find their own ways to mark the special day.

“Legally, it will all be the same,” he said.

Once people get to the point of taking the oath at a citizenship ceremony, they’ve already checked off a number of other requirements regarding residency and language. They’ve also passed a test on Canadian history and values and paid fees of $630 each.

Stuck in limbo

Citizenship comes with the right to vote and apply for a Canadian passport. Some jobs, including employment with the Canadian Armed Forces, require citizenship.

Last year, nearly 250,000 people became Canadian citizens.

Yasir Naqvi, chief executive officer of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, said that final step of taking the oath provides a profound sense of belonging. It’s also a way for people to express affection for their adopted home, he said.

“They understand why the process is halted at the moment, but at the moment the delay is a source of anxiety because they want to become Canadian citizens and move on with the next chapter of their life as a Canadian,” Naqvi said.

Soran Kareem of Hamilton, Ont. arrived as a refugee from the Kurdistan region of Iraq five years ago.

He said 2020 was shaping up to be a joyous year: his college studies were wrapping up, his son was learning to walk and he and his wife were on their way to becoming Canadian citizens.They filed their applications in October 2019 but are now in limbo due to delays caused by the pandemic.

“We have been living in stress and uncertainty because we do not know when we can do the test and the ceremony,” he said.

“My wife and I have a lot of stress and worry about this situation because we have many plans (for) when we get the citizenship, especially for studying and moving to another city. We cannot do anything because we do not want to change our address. That could make the citizenship process longer.”

Kareem said allowing people go through the citizenship process online could put to rest many of those concerns.

Parvinder Singh of Toronto took his test on March 10 and hasn’t heard anything since. He said he understands the unprecedented situation officials are dealing with but hopes the government will act fast to help those waiting for citizenship.

“It’s a long process and just coming on to the last point and finding yourself stuck is frustrating,” he said.

Source: Virtual citizenship ceremonies coming for new Canadians whose dreams were crushed by COVID-19

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Liberal election promise to strengthen anti-racism strategy, double funding still unmet

2020/06/05 Leave a comment

Given only six months into the mandate and the ongoing focus on COVID-19, somewhat unfair to criticize the government at this stage.

And as noted in the related post (Heather Scoffield: Justin Trudeau says he wants to tackle racism. Ahmed Hussen has a plan), the effectiveness of some of these and previous initiatives is yet to be demonstrated:

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls for action against anti-Black racism in Canada following new mass protests over police violence, a promise by his party to double funding and strengthen Ottawa’s national anti-racism strategy remains unmet.

The $45-million strategy, unveiled a year ago and called “Building a Foundation for Change,” provides a framework for a government-wide approach toward tackling racism in the public service and in federal policies and pratices, establishing a $4.6-million anti-racism secretariat in October to oversee such efforts.

The three-year strategy also includes $6.2 million to improve race-based data collection, $3.3 million for public education, as well as $30 million for two programs providing grassroots organizations funding for community-based projects and events.

In the 2019 election, the Liberal Party promised to “strengthen” and double funding for the strategy. While the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed many promises from the election, the party proposed $341 million in new spending over four years to support diversity, anti-racism and multiculturalism initiatives, including $50 million for the current fiscal year.

Brittany Andrew-Amofah, senior policy and research analyst at the Broadbent Institute, said now is a good time to meet its commitment. She said the Trudeau government has yet to offer new action on addressing racism since the election.

“We haven’t seen any legislation or actual policy commitments that they can point to,” she said. “I think the main thing is moving some words to action.”

In recent days, as anti-racism demonstrations have taken place in American and Canadian cities in response to the police killing of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, Trudeau and other federal Liberals have cited the anti-racism strategy as one of the measures his government has taken to address systemic racism in the country.

Andrew-Amofah said while the strategy provides a necessary framework to inform federal decision-making and help to improve policy outcomes for racialized Canadians, at the very least, legislation is still needed to establish permanent guidelines and funding.

She added that any anti-racism strategy should also endorse a shift in policing and justice and consider a directorate that deals specifically with anti-Black racism. Currently, there is no federal anti-Black racism strategy.

“We need to understand that racism does disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous peoples more than it does other races,” she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Diversity, Inclusion and Youth Minister Bardish Chagger did not say whether the Liberal government would soon move on its election promise to improve funding for the anti-racism strategy.

“What’s been made clear over the past few weeks is that there is much more work to be done to combat racism,” said director of communications Danielle Keenan. “Our government remains committed to doing that work.”

Keenan added that “while COVID-19 has resulted in a change of programming for many organizations, we remain available to support however we can.”

Recent departmental figures suggest community program funds at Canadian Heritage are well tapped into, with spending nearing or exceeding annual authorities provided. The strategy includes two program funds, the Anti-Racism Action Program and the Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program. The latter program includes a stream offering funds for projects to support Black youth.

While federal dollars support the work of many grassroots organizations, Andrew-Amofah said more transparency is needed in order to determine whether program funds is truly meeting the government’s priorities in combating racism.

She said program funding should also not divert attention away from whether broader federal policies are actually improving the livelihoods of Black Canadians and eliminating injustices they face. That includes examining poverty, food insecurity, housing and precarious employment.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called on Trudeau to introduce legislation to end racial profiling at the RCMP, CSIS and Canada Border Services Agency and move to end over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous people in federal prisons.

Singh also said Ottawa can do more to improve access to affordable housing and education for Black and Indigenous people in Canada.

“Those are just some of the things that the government can do immediately that would go beyond the pretty words of a prime minister that says he cares,” he said in a news conference Wednesday,

While Trudeau has spoken about the need for all Canadians, including himself, to acknowledge and combat anti-Black racism in Canada, his government has yet to signal whether it will introduce new policies to support such an effort.

Andrew-Amofah added that since many issues such as housing, education and labour fall largely to the provinces, Ottawa should also consider adding conditions on federal transfers that can compel greater anti-racism action from premiers.

In the election, the Liberals also promised to slap significant fines on social media companies that are too slow to remove hateful content, as well as to increase funding for “community-led initiatives to promote inclusion and combat racism.”

Source: Liberal election promise to strengthen anti-racism strategy, double funding still unmet

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Parliamentary association chair defends Canada-China group as critics call for its suspension

2020/06/05 Leave a comment

Engage for what purpose when the two Michaels are still detained under awful conditions, repression of religious minorities such as the Uighurs continue, and China proceeds to end Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Wilful naiveté at best. Arguments mirror those used by the International Metropolis Secretariat to justify the holding of Metropolis in Beijing that our petition successfully cancelled.

These kinds of contacts should be suspended until the Michaels are released at a minimum:

As Beijing’s behaviour grows increasingly strong-willed and the Canada-China relationship continues to flounder, some are calling for the suspension of a parliamentary association between the two countries, while one of the co-chairs says the group facilitates dialogue.

The 50-member Canadian-side of the Canada-China Legislative Association, which was founded in 1998, is composed of MPs and Senators who work to “promote better understanding” in the bilateral relationship on both common interests and differences.

“There’s so much to be gained from maintaining that discussion,” Independent Senator Paul Massicotte (De Lanaudière, Que.) told The Hill Times. “We have an immense interest in this relationship—[from a] human rights point of view, economically, future growth, climate change. There’s so much to gain from our relationship, in spite of the fact that we have serious disagreements about some key issues.”

Sen. Massicotte is one of two co-chairs of the Canada-China Legislative Association. Liberal MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.), the group’s other co-chair, didn’t respond to an interview request.

“Its [purpose is] to be frank and chat with each other and maintain as good relations as we can, in spite of possible differences—in this case, serious differences between our approach as a country and our value system and their thought pattern,” Sen. Massicotte said about the association. “But just because you disagree with somebody doesn’t mean you put an end to it.”

He said if the association is suspended, the dialogue between the two countries would be damaged.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute fellow Shuvaloy Majumdar called for the association’s suspension in a National Post op-ed last week, citing China’s National Party Congress’ imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong which threatens the “one country, two systems” foundation of the region.

“Canadian Parliament has no business legitimizing the masquerade of Beijing’s National Party Congress as it institutionally represses Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and constitutional rights,” wrote Mr. Majumdar, a former policy director to multiple foreign affairs ministers in the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper.

Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.) released a joint statement last week with his counterparts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, calling the imposition of the national security law “a deep concern” and “in direct conflict with its international obligations under the principles of the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration.”

Mr. Majumdar told The Hill Times that the parliamentary association gives the Chinese Communist Party “unrivalled access to lobby Canadian Parliamentarians.”

“If you were interested in the spirit of dialogue with the Chinese people, then why not also pursue similar arrangements with Hong Kong’s Legislative Council or with Taiwan’s Parliament in conjunction with the National Party Congress?” he noted. “That’s not happened. So this is not about dialogue.”

Mr. Majumdar added that China’s National Congress has “broken faith” with the sprit of “honest dialogue” with the imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong and that they are “subverting and distorting” an understanding of China in Canada that is coming at the cost of Canadian interests.

“It ought not to be tolerated.”

Sen. Massicotte, who met with Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu alongside Mr. Dong on Feb. 26, said he raises the issues of disagreement in all the meetings the association has with Chinese officials.

“You can do it politely,” he said. “You can raise up issues that you don’t agree on, but you don’t have to be disagreeable.”

“Usually we’ll say we agree to disagree because we don’t have the same starting point or same culture. We don’t brush over our differences,” said Sen. Massicotte, calling discussions with the Chinese ambassador “very cordial.”

Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton, Alta.), vice-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association, said there should be a consideration to the association’s role going forward.

“I think we do need to review the activities of the legislative association,” he said. “Does that mean suspending the association? Perhaps. But we need to have those discussions in light of what needs to be and what will be a different relationship between Canada and China, at least in the short and intermediate term, as a result of the fallout of COVID-19 and the unlawful actions the Chinese Communist regime has taken against Hong Kong.”

Mr. Cooper said that there needs to be an overall evaluation of Canada’s bilateral relationship with China stemming from how Beijing handled the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials who were involved in “silencing and jailing whistleblowers” in the early days of the virus’ outbreak and officials “involved in the cover-up” of the pandemic.

He said the parliamentary association has not met as an executive since the start of the year.

“So at this point, the association, speaking as an executive, has been inactive,” Mr. Cooper said.

Debate over parliamentary group comes at tipping point for Canada-China relations

It was feared that a B.C. court judge ruling against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou last week on a “double criminality” principle, which continued her extradition trial, would further inflame tensions between Canada and China.

The Chinese Communist Party-supported Global Times stated that the decision would bring about the “worst-ever” period in the bilateral relationship. So far, retaliation has been muted, as reported by The Globe and Mail, with a Chinese government spokesperson commenting on the 50thanniversary of Canada-China relations

Ms. Meng was arrested in December 2018 at the behest of the United States. The arrest of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China soon followed in apparent retaliation. The two Canadians have been detained by Chinese authorities ever since.

The parliamentary association took a trip to China in January 2019 shortly after the arrests of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor, during which then-co-chair and now-retired senator Joseph Day said the detained Canadians were not on the agenda. Mr. Cooper, who was also on the trip, brought the cases up and said raising the issues didn’t help “in the sense that they are still in China,” but added at the same time that discussing the issue “did not hurt.”

Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques, who served in the post from 2012 to 2016, said the Canada-China Legislative Association “can be useful.”

He added that it takes “a bit of guts” for Canadian Parliamentarians to raise contentious issues with Chinese authorities, noting that he has experienced foreign affairs ministers that were reticent to raise contentious issues with China.

“If it’s properly managed, we should proceed,” he said. “But, on the other hand, if something dramatic were to occur in Hong Kong, I think we will have to think about sanctions against China and then maybe the suspension of those [association] visits would be required.”

“The key is preparation,” said Mr. Saint-Jacques of when Canadian Parliamentarians in the association travel to China.

He said that when he was ambassador he would “regularly” meet with the members of the association when he returned to Ottawa to give briefings on important issues and prepare them for upcoming trips.

When the group arrived in China, the visit would start with a breakfast at the embassy to give the MPs and Senators the latest information that Canadian diplomats in China have collected before they met with Chinese officials, he said.

With Parliamentarians from many different parties and political ideologies, Mr. Saint-Jacques said it gives the Chinese officials an insight into the Canadian system where politicians don’t speak with one voice, unlike in the Chinese system.

While he said that the association can serve to legitimize the National Congress, it is better than the alternative of no contact.

“If you have no contacts, then you leave them to think that things work the same way here than over there,” he said.

Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, said he has long been calling for the suspension of the association.

“I feel that we are being played by the Communist Party in this association,” said Prof. Burton, a Macdonald-Laurier Institute fellow.

He said the parliamentary association serves as a way for the Chinese government to establish “moral equivalency” between Canada’s Parliament and China’s non-democratic National Congress.

“The Members of Parliament who go have a very pleasant time in China with delicious banquets and interesting tourism … but I don’t see it as furthering the interest of Canada in any way,” he said.

Prof. Burton said Parliamentarians can engage with Chinese diplomats in Canada through other forums such as the Special House Committee on Canada-China Relations.

“Typically, Parliamentarians don’t have the expertise to represent Canada’s position effectively and tend to be put into photo-ops and make joint statements that support the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda in Canada,” he said.

Since the creation of the association, there has been no adoption of democratic reform in the National Congress, Prof. Burton said, adding that the group hasn’t had “any positive impact” on fostering the development of parliamentary democracy in China.

Source: Parliamentary association chair defends Canada-China group as critics call for its suspension

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Heather Scoffield: Justin Trudeau says he wants to tackle racism. Ahmed Hussen has a plan

2020/06/05 Leave a comment

Of note, comments by Minister Hussen. As to all the calls for more, worth recalling that the government did increase programming and funding in its first mandate, not only restoring the previous Conservative government cuts but increasing funding significantly (Budget 2018 invests millions in multiculturalism).

And previous government’s have also invested in various plans to reduce racism with mixed results (the Canada Action Plan Against Racism, which I was familiar with, along with some parts of multiculturalism programming, had limited impact. The best part of CAPAR, fortunately preserved, was the collection of police-reported hate crimes).

Better data and more desegregated data in a whole wide areas of sectors would be beneficial as we are seeing with the absence of systemic health-related data for Coronavirus:

Ahmed Hussen, a Somali immigrant and the only Black member of Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, remains deeply disturbed by developments in the United States. He can’t bring himself to talk to his 10-year-old son about the George Floyd video quite yet, although he knows that day will come.

“The reason is simple — it’s because I’m still processing it,” Hussen said Wednesday in an interview with the Star. “It’s such a hard footage to watch — someone who is dying in slow motion right in front of our eyes at the hands of a police officer.

“I haven’t had the strength to have the conversation.”

He chafes at suggestions that systemic discrimination is an American phenomenon that doesn’t happen here in Canada — partly because he has lived it himself. “It’s as Canadian as anything else.”

In the wake of Trudeau’s strong condemnation of racism and discrimination, the question is, now what?

As the minister for families, children and social development, Hussen is in a unique position to do something, and he has a plan.

The first step, he says, is to declare and define the problem.

“Systemic racism is real in Canada, It’s real for millions of Canadian individuals. It’s real for Indigenous and Black Canadians,” he said. “And the sooner we acknowledge that, the sooner we amplify the voices of those who feel that sting of discrimination of racism as part of their lived reality, the sooner we’ll be able to tackle it and to eradicate it.

“Those in positions of leadership have a particular responsibility to call it out.”

The second step is to empower community groups and people working on the front lines of the problem, he says, and make sure they have the resources to deal with the day-to-day issues that differ from community to community.

At a federal level, he says, having data disaggregated by race is key. That way, for example, when he goes to implement housing policy or homelessness policy, he can know whether to pay special attention to a specific challenge. Statistics Canada is ramping up its ability to analyze data by race, he says, and he wants the provinces to join in the effort.

“It starts with recognition and then it goes into being open to the solutions. The best people to offer those solutions are those who live with this every single day,” he said.

Hussen’s plan could be a lifeline for a government that condemned racism and discrimination but this week offered no actions to combat it.

Public condemnations of racism and discrimination are a critical step but community advocates, academics and politicians say words alone won’t resolve these systemic issues.

“Our government officials continue to speak about the existence of racism and discrimination in our country but they do nothing to celebrate, highlight and champion Black communities. What we get is lip service,” said Cheryl Thompson, an assistant professor at Ryerson University’s School of Creative Industries.

“There are many Black people in our government today, and yet, I do not see any outreach, collaboration, or even asking them to lead on any kind of initiative that addresses anti-Black racism head on. Instead, there are ceremonial statements and websites but no action,” she said in an email.

Thompson said one of the best solutions to combating racism is education.

“It’s time to put one’s support where one’s rhetoric is to create a culture where Black people are seen and heard — not only in times of Black death and crisis, but all the time.,” Thompson said.

Grace-Edward Galabuzi, an associate professor in the department of politics and public administration at Ryerson University, said there needs to be a better focus on employment equity with improved job opportunities for racialized, Indigenous, immigrant, women, disabled and youth populations.

“Equitable access to employment should be standardized and become the norm in recruitment, hiring, retention and mobility within organizations and businesses,” Galabuzi said in an email.

And now, as the government looks to nurture job creation in the wake of the COVID-19 shock, Galabuzi said the focus should be on sectors where racialized populations and women are disproportionately represented, such as social services, retail and hospitality.

Ask Kathy Hogarth, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo, about the solution and she talks passionately not about targeted measures but rather a sweeping effort to change discriminatory attitudes that have taken root over centuries.

“All of our structures in society need to be addressed. This cannot be a singular focus on a singular system,” Hogarth said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

“Canada is based on this framework of racism. Once we’ve made that acknowledgment, then we must rightly ask the question about how we undo that,” said Hogarth, who has done research on issues of immigration, ethnicity and diversity.

That effort extends to elements like the education system and curriculum to teach students about racism, to the justice system and the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous men, and a health system that “treats racialized bodies so much differently.

Hogarth said the belief that Canada is somehow different than the U.S. only undermines the imperative for change.

“Our national identify is really based on Canada the good and that works against us in the fight for justice,” she said. “We have a huge task before us.”

Source: Heather Scoffield: Justin Trudeau says he wants to tackle racism. Ahmed Hussen has a plan

Filed under Multiculturalism

Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

2020/06/05 Leave a comment

Another good analysis by MPI. Similar picture in Canada with respect to immigrants and visible minorities:

Immigrants represent disproportionately high shares of U.S. workers in many essential occupations, including in health care—a fact underscored during the coronavirus pandemic as the foreign born have played a significant role in frontline pandemic-response sectors. In 2018, more than 2.6 million immigrants, including 314,000 refugees, were employed as health-care workers, with 1.5 million of them working as doctors, registered nurses, and pharmacists. Immigrants are overrepresented among certain health-care occupations. Even as immigrants represent 17 percent of the overall U.S. civilian workforce, they are 28 percent of physicians and 24 percent of dentists, for example, as well as 38 percent of home health aides.

Overall, immigrants ranging from naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, and temporary workers to recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program accounted for nearly 18 percent of the 14.7 million people in the United States working in a health-care occupation in 2018. As a group, immigrant health-care workers are more likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to have obtained a university-level education. Immigrant women in the industry were more likely than natives to work in direct health-care support, the occupations known for low wages. In contrast, immigrant men were more likely than the U.S. born to be physicians and surgeons, occupations that are well compensated. Compared to all foreign-born workers, those employed in the health-care field were more likely to speak English fluently and had higher rates of naturalization and health insurance coverage.

Definitions

The term “foreign born” refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the Census survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs, also known as green-card holders), refugees and asylees, legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or certain other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization. The terms “immigrant” and “foreign born” are used here interchangeably.

The terms “U.S. born” and “native born” are used interchangeably and refer to persons with U.S. citizenship at birth, including persons born in Puerto Rico or abroad born to a U.S.-citizen parent.

Most analyses in this article divide health-care occupations into the following occupational groups:

Health-Care Practitioners and Technical Occupations

  • Physicians and surgeons
  • Therapists (i.e., occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, and speech-language pathologists)
  • Registered nurses (RNs)
  • Health-care technologists and technicians (i.e., clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, dental hygienists, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, pharmacy technicians, and radiologic technologists and technicians)
  • Health practitioners and technical occupations, all others (i.e., dentists, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, optometrists, pharmacists, physician assistants, podiatrists, and veterinarians

Health-Care Support Occupations

  • Home health aides
  • Personal care aides
  • Nursing assistants
  • Health-care support, all others (i.e., dental assistants, massage therapists, medical assistants, phlebotomists, and physical therapist assistants and aides).

As the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has documented, significant numbers of immigrant college graduates with health-related degrees are facing skill underutilization, in other words are working in low-skilled jobs (for example registered nurses working as health aides) or are out of work. This skill underutilization, often referred to as brain waste, affects 263,000 immigrants in the United States with college degrees—a workforce whose talents could be tapped amid the pandemic.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of health-care occupations were among the fastest-growing occupations, as projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the 2018-28 period. The more immediate trends now are less clear. Like other parts of the U.S. economy, the health-care sector has suffered job losses since February 2020, which may continue until the economy rebalances. Nonetheless, the main drivers for a greater demand for health-care services—population aging and longevity—remain valid. As in the past, immigrants can be expected to play a significant role in the future of U.S. health care.

This Spotlight provides a demographic and socioeconomic profile of foreign-born health-care workers residing in the United States. The data come primarily from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) and BLS. All data refer to civilian, employed workers ages 16 and older, unless otherwise noted.

Source: Immigrant Health-Care Workers in the United States

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UK to change immigration rules for Hong Kong citizens if China passes law

2020/06/04 Leave a comment

Looks like it may be more expansive than first indicated. And Canada will need to step up as well:

Britain will change its immigration rules and offer millions of people in Hong Kong “a route to citizenship” if China imposes new security laws, Boris Johnson has said.

Writing in the Times, Mr Johnson said the UK would “have no choice” but to uphold its ties with the territory.

China is facing mounting criticism over its planned law.

Many people in Hong Kong fear it could end their unique freedoms, which the rest of China does not have.

The UK is already in talks with allies including the US and Australia about what to do if China imposes the new law – which would make it a crime to undermine Beijing’s authority – and people start fleeing Hong Kong.

In the Times on Wednesday, the prime minister confirmed that if China passes the law, people in Hong Kong who hold British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports will be allowed to come to the UK for 12 months without a visa. Currently they are allowed to come for six months.

Around 350,000 people in Hong Kong currently already have a BNO passport, but 2.6 million others are also eligible.

Passport-holders would also be given further immigration rights, including the right to work.

This “could place them on a route to citizenship,” Mr Johnson said.

‘Britain will not walk away’

The prime minister added that the immigration changes “would amount to one of the biggest changes in our visa system in British history”.

“If it proves necessary, the British government will take this step and take it willingly.

“Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life, which China pledged to uphold, is under threat.

“If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away; instead we will honour our obligations and provide an alternative.”

Hong Kong is a former British colony. It was handed back to China in 1997.

As part of an agreement signed at the time, it enjoys some freedoms not seen in mainland China – and these are set out in a mini-constitution called the Basic Law.

BNO passports were granted to all Hong Kong citizens born before the Chinese handover in 1997 and while they allow the holder some protection from the UK foreign service they do not currently give the right to live or work in Britain.

There has been widespread international criticism of China’s proposed law and the UK government’s announcement marks a step up in Britain’s opposition to it.

On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK was in talks with countries in the Five Eyes alliance about how to handle a potential “exodus” of people from the area.

He urged China to reconsider its plans which, he said, would threaten Hong Kong’s autonomy and prosperity.

Senior MPs from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have urged the United Nations to appoint a special envoy to Hong Kong to monitor how the new law affects human rights.

Earlier this week, seven former UK foreign secretaries urged Mr Johnson to form a global alliance to co-ordinate a response.

Source: UK to change immigration rules for Hong Kong citizens if China passes law

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Nicholas A. R. Fraser: Reassessing Canada’s refugee policy in the COVID-19 era

2020/06/04 Leave a comment

I think the post-Covid-19 will need a broader rethink of immigration policy than only the question of refugees, as opening up any one category has potential implications on the other categories and levels.

While the government may well decide to maintain planned ongoing immigration growth, likely economic impacts make that assumption risky at best.

Similarly, depending on the results of the US presidential election, Canada as many have noted, will be facing a whole series of challenges and need for policy rethinking, of which immigration will be one aspect:

The decision by the Trump administration on April 22nd to effectively freeze immigration flows into the United States is the latest in a series of moves by that government to restrict immigration. In Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a partial border closure that has disproportionately impacted refugees and been criticized by several human rights watchdogs including Amnesty International. In recent months, Canada also temporarily halted the flow of refugees travelling here from the US, stranding many asylum seekers.

While Canadians may take some comfort in knowing that Canada’s federal government has attempted to limit the impact of the current border closure, we should nevertheless learn from these experiences and pause to consider how the current pandemic and future ones might impact refugee policy. How can policy-makers balance very real health concerns with their obligations to protect refugees, whose need has not dissipated and whose circumstances may well be increasingly precarious due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their countries of origin?

Intermittent border closures may be a necessary component of the government’s response to pandemics, but we have little experience with such measures in a globalized world. Just as open borders must be carefully managed to balance health and security issues against economic and human rights concerns, so must closed borders. Canada needs a comprehensive border closure strategy for our new and still-changing times.

When it comes to refugee policy, liberal democratic receiving states often face duelling pressures: upholding the rights of refugees while at the same time controlling their borders and processing applications competently and efficiently. The COVID-19 pandemic poses new challenges on both counts that policy-makers must respond to in the coming weeks and months. Yet these new challenges also foreshadow long-term trends that will persist for decades due to future pandemics and climate change: new types of refugees, and peaks and valleys of migration flows in response to intermittent border closures.

More reasons to flee

For years, wealthy democracies have responded to humanitarian crises by hosting refugees from conflict zones as well as sending development aid and peacekeepers to these areas. Devised in the wake of the genocides committed in Europe and Asia during the Second World War, the Refugee Convention was meant to provide protection for people fleeing persecution. However, the spectre of a global pandemic that threatens prosperity or even basic economic stability and requires the suspension of international travel is a serious game-changer for refugee protection.

Like climate change, pandemics pose a global risk that could disproportionately impact developing countries. Since February, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in many countries with world-class health care systems and high-functioning state infrastructures. One can only imagine how COVID-19 may critically weaken or even devastate public services in countries with high levels of conflict, socio-economic inequality or corruption. The World Health Organization is already projecting that African countries could be severely hit by COVID-19.

To meet this new challenge, the cabinet can do a lot with targeted development aid. However, given the long-term trajectory of forced migration, Canada’s policy-makers must anticipate receiving people who are fleeing displacement not because of persecution but because of pandemics, climate change and natural disasters that will make it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for people to return to their countries of origin.

The federal government should direct Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to identify a new category of potential refugee-sending countries: those in high-impact zones that have seen their public infrastructure collapse because of a pandemic or other crisis. As with previous refugee-producing crises, IRCC and GAC should consider collaborating with civil society groups to sponsor individuals from such high-risk zones as refugees to Canada or easing requirements for family reunification for Canadians with relatives from such places.

While the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act establishes a legal framework for accepting people escaping persecution, Canada has also extended protection to those fleeing other desperate situations, such as the refugees from a major earthquake that devastated Haiti 10 years ago. Furthermore, the government has already done research on the likelihood of people fleeing the effects of climate change and signed the United Nations Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which requires signatory countries to “identify, develop and strengthen solutions for migrants compelled to leave their countries of origin due to slow-onset natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation.” At present, this agreement has not been codified into Canadian law. The federal government led by IRCC should work with advocacy groups such as the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Association for Refugee Lawyers to update the existing legal framework to accept climate change refugees as well as those fleeing natural disasters and pandemics.

Managing waves of migration

Periodic border closures complicate flows of forced migration by incentivizing migrants to arrive in larger numbers while host countries’ borders are open. The implications for government agencies that handle immigration are significant. Managing administrative capacity — keeping visas and refugee claims running smoothly through the departmental machinery — is critical not only for carrying out policy goals but also to ward off negative political impacts that could undermine public support for hosting refugees. When governments are perceived to be losing control over immigration because of backlogs or bungling, it is not hard for critics of the government (including but not limited to far-right parties) to trigger public anger and anti-refugee sentiment. Despite Canada’s tradition as an immigrant nation, it is not immune from such public backlashes. The significant number of Canadians expressing frustration with the Trudeau government’s willingness to admit tens of thousands of asylum seekers from the US since 2017 is a case in point.

For this reason, ensuring that Canada’s immigration bureaucracy can keep up with surges in applications is essential — especially during pandemics, when the movement of people can easily provoke public fear and anxiety. Policy-makers could effectively manage increased administrative pressures by developing a strategy for closing and opening the border that involves civil society organizations who have been essential partners in helping develop and implement Canada’s immigration and refugee policies. Specifically, lawyers, NGOs and community organizations have provided channels for gathering information about refugee flows and developments in source countries that is critical for ensuring that policy is applied equitably.

In the past, the cabinet has commissioned independent reviews to assess the impact of procedural changes to immigration and refugee policy. The federal government should appoint a similar commission of policy experts from IRCC and civil society to study two core aspects of refugee policy: first, how immigration procedures can be improved to operate effectively during periods of open and closed borders; and, second, to what extent Canada’s existing settlement services and infrastructure need to be altered in order to comply with social distancing measures and adapt to the changed economy. Finally, IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency should establish facilities and recruit medical staff at all ports of entry before the border is reopened so that they can screen all international travellers, including refugees.

Many of the administrative capacity and rights issues associated with refugee policy stem from governments and migrants of all sorts reacting to uncertainty. In developing a comprehensive border closure strategy, the government can work with civil society to reduce uncertainty and set clear expectations. An expansion of Canada’s categories of refugees is also needed, to acknowledge new global realities. No government may be able to predict what events will unfold, but Canada can utilize the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to update its immigration and refugee policies in order to meet similar challenges we are likely to face in the coming years.

Source: Reassessing Canada’s refugee policy in the COVID-19 era

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with

Sheema Khan: What Muslim Canadians can teach Asian communities about the discrimination that sadly lies ahead

2020/06/04 1 Comment

I suspect the teaching can go both ways, given the historical experience of Asian Canadians with racism (e.g., Chinese head tax and immigration restrictions, Komagatu Maru being sent back to India etc):

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I remember making a frantic call to Dudley Herschbach, a former chemistry professor at Harvard, to make sure no one was on the Boston-based flight that crashed into the World Trade Center. The next day, he called me back to reassure me that everyone was safe. The relief of his words, however, was punctuated by his worry: that hate was about to be unleashed against Muslims, Arabs and people who looked Middle Eastern. I didn’t quite appreciate the gravity of his words – that is, until they were borne out.

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic is unfortunately reminiscent of 9/11 – except that it is now Asian-Canadians (and in particular, Chinese-Canadians) who have become prime targets of xenophobia. There has already been an uptick in the number of hate crimes. Many in the Asian-Canadian community feel the spectre of racism while out in public.

I have spent almost two decades fighting xenophobia directed against Muslim communities in Canada, from hate crimes to discriminatory employment practices to state-sanctioned rendition policies. I was the chair of a grassroots advocacy group that worked with civil institutions – such as the media, human-rights commissions, school boards and the courts – to advocate that Canadian Muslims be treated fairly in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What I’ve learned might be useful for Asian-Canadian advocacy organizations needing to push back on current and future discrimination.

Such organizations should document incidents, no matter how small, because such data is vital for public policy initiatives. As such, there should be ample publicity in community publications about what constitutes an incident, and where individuals can report this information. Currently, the Chinese Canadian National Council has an online reporting form, and there should be open lines of communication with police forces to ensure that any incidents are promptly investigated.

These advocacy organizations should also educate community members about their basic rights as provided by the Charter. For example, no one should face discrimination in housing, education or employment simply due to their cultural heritage or ethnicity. Individuals have the right to be treated fairly at border crossings. Our organization developed a popular pocket “Know Your Rights” guide that is still highly useful today.

With the possibility of a “Cold War” with China, Canadian security agencies might begin interviewing Chinese-Canadians. These interviews can be traumatic, inducing fear. Community members should be educated about their rights prior to such interviews, along with their duty to speak truthfully. Recourse to legal assistance will be necessary. In addition, there should be lines of communication open between advocacy organizations and CSIS.

An important component is the education system. Efforts should be under way to contact school boards to ensure that once students return to the classroom, there will be heightened vigilance of anti-Asian discrimination. In the long-term, Asian Heritage Month in May can be used to educate students about the rich contribution of Asian-Canadians to Canadian society.

All of the above requires human resources and money. As such, members of the business and legal communities need to step up and offer funds and their time. Members of the law profession can provide assistance pro bono, to help community members navigate through the legal system. Many disputes involving discrimination are resolved through human-rights commissions, rather than through the courts. Community members will require assistance to proceed with their complaints.

Chinese-Canadian advocacy organizations should network with anti-discrimination organizations that have a wealth of expertise. Examples of national organizations include the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. A common goal should be the declaration of Jan. 29, the day of the Quebec City mosque massacre, as a National Day of Action against Hate.

However, not all of the burden should be placed on the Asian-Canadian community. Every one of us has a role to play to ensure that ours is a safe, inclusive society. Civic leaders have an added responsibility to speak forcefully in favour of inclusion, and any politicians who scapegoat Asian-Canadians for political gain must be denounced unequivocally.

Finally, the coming period will be another crucible for the continuing project of forging our Canadian identity. Post-9/11, Canadian Muslims asked themselves what it meant to be Muslim and Canadian. Without hesitation, we denounced terrorism repeatedly, along with the ghastly practice of “honour killing.” We became more involved in the fabric of Canadian society. We shared our personal stories with the wider public. We developed resilience along the way and gained strength from the loving support of wider society. Our journey is not over, but we extend a hand to our fellow Canadians who are of Asian heritage: we are with you, on yours.

Source: What Muslim Canadians can teach Asian communities about the discrimination that sadly lies ahead: Sheema Khan

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

The Somali atheist activists who get death threats

2020/06/04 Leave a comment

Of interest:

Somali atheists in the diaspora are running a Facebook group to challenge their community’s Islamic beliefs, but they often receive death threats, writes journalist Layla Mahmood.

“I am going to kill you. I am going to find you. I am going to cut your head off,” was one of the threats that Ayaanle, a Canada-based Somali atheist, received.

“[But] that’s kind of normal,” the founder of the True Somali Freedom Page (TSFP) says sardonically as he talks about the death threats that clog his inbox.

The popular Facebook group, which has more than 80,000 members, is predominantly led by atheists, or “ex-Muslims”, as they refer to themselves.

It was initially inspired to create a safe space for religious discussion and now promotes all forms of freedom for Somalis who feel marginalised by mainstream Somali culture.

Ayaanle did not want to give his full name. He told me how the movement began.

Ejected from group

Around 2016, he stumbled across a Somali Facebook group that purported to be a space for free speech and debate.

“I got into a discussion about religion and everybody just erupted. They went ballistic. They made me feel like I killed someone.”

He was swiftly removed from the group, a common experience for those who express contrary views in this kind of Somali forum.

‘A space to be free’

Ayaanle then felt the only way forward was to create a new platform, with new rules.

“I wanted [the TSFP] to be a place where… people could be free to say whatever they liked.”

A driving force for Ayaanle stemmed from his belief that contemporary Somali discussions about religion had become increasingly restrictive in the aftermath of Somalia’s decades-long civil war.

“Islam is untouchable. You cannot criticise or say anything about Islam.

“Right now the young people are changing, they are a little more tolerant to debates and criticism.

“[But] many of those who grew up in Somalia and came to the West during and after the civil war accept the idea that if someone criticises Islam they should be killed. They really think it’s something valid.”

Hence the death threats that he has received.

“That’s one of the things I want to put out there and what I have the page for – to show that Islam is not untouchable. It can be criticised, it can be debated and it can be talked about openly.”

In Somalia and the breakaway state of Somaliland, blasphemy is a jailable offence, and the TSFP has set out to challenge this.

It campaigned and raised money for the academic Mahmoud Jama Ahmed-Hamdi. He was a university lecturer who was arrested for writing a Facebook post that questioned the validity of praying to God as a means of relieving the drought in 2019.

He served 10 months in prison before receiving a presidential pardon, but is still at risk from vigilante attacks. One prominent imam called for his execution.

The case demonstrates the complexity of how power operates in Somalia and Somaliland, with the line between religious leaders and government being significantly blurred.

Fear of exposure

Somalis have not only been using the group as a platform to debate, but, in some cases, as a means of survival.

Some of the most at-risk groups in Somalia who have put messages on the TSFP are Christians, atheists and LGBT individuals.

These are people who grapple with the constant fear of being exposed and are subjected to attacks and imprisonment.

One way that the TSFP helps is through raising money and the cash has bought plane tickets and helped with living expenses.

This was the case when a Somali Christian woman in Kenya used her publicly accessible identity to leave a comment on the TSFP.

Her identity was quickly discovered and a video of her being dragged out of a taxi in Kenya was widely shared on Somali internet channels. The attackers threatened to expose her because of her criticisms of the Prophet Muhammad on the page.

The TSFP arranged for her to be moved to a different country, where she has now found safety in a Christian community.

Careful investigation

But it is not just non-Muslims, ex-Muslims or LGBT individuals who reach out to the group.

A Somali man living in Sudan contacted the TSFP after being physically attacked on the street by a group of men who he believed ascribed to Wahhabism – a form of Islam that is often associated with a more rigorous and extreme interpretation of the Koran and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

He was discovered, following criticisms on Facebook that he made about some Hadith, statements attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The TSFP arranged for him to be relocated from Sudan to a safer place.

The volume of requests that the group’s administrators get means that those who want help have to be carefully vetted.

“We research and investigate,” Kahaa Dhinn, a Norway-based women’s advocate who has become a leading figure on the page, says.

“We ask their tribe name and their family names. We then look at their Facebook profile and talk to people in the group to see if anyone knows them. If they don’t tell us who their tribe is, we know they’re lying.”

Kahaa collaborates with the TSFP but has a separate Facebook and YouTube account, which she uses as a platform to talk about issues affecting the Somali community.

‘I know where you live’

Her main focus is to empower Somali women, but like Ayaanle, she is also an outspoken atheist, which has made her a target.

“They threatened to kill me with knives and said ‘the Muslims will kill you and you will die in their hands’.

But the threats appear not to dampen her conviction: “I’m not afraid of them. They want to silence me through fear.”

Norwegian arrest

Her fearlessness is emboldened by the knowledge that she lives in a country where threats have consequences.

In Somalia, killings and attacks rarely get investigated but in Norway she has got the police involved.

“Two of the guys who threatened me were using their real profiles and the police were able to arrest them,” she says.

Ayaanle echoes this sentiment but knows that there are some who are not so lucky.

“A lot of Somalis who are on the page don’t show their faces – the ones who say they are non-believers – because they’re scared for their lives,” he says.

‘I feel relieved’

The fact that Ayaanle and Kahaa have distanced themselves from Islam has not meant that they have distanced themselves from being Somali, despite the two being intertwined.

“I actually feel more Somali, like I have my real identity back,” says Kahaa.

But Ayaanle stresses that the group’s intended aim is not to convert Somali Muslims into atheists, or into any other non-conformist identity, but to create an environment that promotes freedom of expression and speech. Something he believes Somalis need now more than ever.

“So, it’s small steps. But we are winning some hearts. We really believe that people should believe what they want to believe and be who they want to be.”

Source: The Somali atheist activists who get death threats

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , ,

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