Immigration Minister Miller admits gang members exploit vulnerabilities to gain entry

2024/07/19 Leave a comment

Not overly sugar coating:

Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller admitted that gang members were exploiting vulnerabilities in Canada’s immigration system and slipping into the country undetected.

In a press conference with ethnic media outlets on Monday, Miller was asked how criminals from India can slip through the vetting process and come to Canada.

Miller admitted that gang members are coming into the country, implying that it was inevitable when dealing with sophisticated criminal organizations.

“Well-determined actors regardless of the country, and particularly sophisticated gangs, are often able to get around even the most stringent immigration requirements,” said Miller.

“Canada has some of the most robust requirements in the world when we are checking people, but it’s not perfect.”

While Miller did not specifically name India, he said that the Canadian government often admits immigrants from countries whose governments are unreliable, allowing gang members to slip in with phoney police background checks.

“We all know how unreliable at times depending on the country that police certificates can be and if we were to rely on a country that is sometimes not the most – well I would say a reluctant partner, those certificates often become quite questionable as to their reliability.”

Miller touted the federal government’s immigration vetting process, however, admitted that criminals are coming into the country to commit crimes.

“Regrettably at times people do get in and they do commit crimes. Well-determined actors do have an ability despite best efforts to get in.”

Source: Immigration Minister Miller admits gang members exploit vulnerabilities to gain entry

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McLaughlin: There’s a troubling amount of churn at the top of Canada’s public service

2024/07/19 Leave a comment

Valid commentary.

Perhaps the recent example of Christiane Fox, who spent less than two years at IRCC, implemented a major reorganization at IRCC, and then left for PCO without having to live through the implementation nor see whether it was successful, provides an illustration:

…Fresh perspective on a task or mission is always useful, and promoting people into senior ranks is necessary for talent-building. But rampant shuffling has consequences. It commodifies deputy ministers. It devalues subject matter expertise and institutional wisdom in favour of management and system conformity. It weakens the crucial minister-deputy relationship that comes from longer periods of working together, and it does the same for the extensive stakeholder and delivery apparatus that surrounds modern government. It undermines the institutional memory and corporate knowledge that underpins the whole ethos of an independent, permanent public service.

Most importantly, it divorces senior officials from results. Individual responsibility for seeing things through is diminished when you know it will be your successor who will be carrying the can. This accountability serves as a form of collective protectionism – a kind of omerta – for the public service system as a whole.

Post-pandemic, Canadians are expecting that the institutions of government perform better. Right now, that is wanting. From procurement to service delivery to appointments, there are obvious institutional failures.

As voters increasingly clamour for change and accountability at the highest political levels, now is the time for the highest public service levels to adopt this same attitude as their own. Arresting the churn at the top should be at the top of that list.

Source: There’s a troubling amount of churn at the top of Canada’s public service

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Many onboarding processes are poorly suited to a multicultural workforce: McKenzie

2024/07/19 Leave a comment

Practical insights:

When it comes to onboarding recent immigrants and refugees, there’s a good chance your process is moving too quickly, according to Claude McKenzie, founder of Axiome Génie Conseil International.

In a breakout session at the Health and Safety Professionals Canada Professional Development Conference in Edmonton, McKenzie noted that many organizations rely on these workers to fill a labour gap. “We need them now,” he stressed. “Not tomorrow, not next week, now. This is where we have a problem.”

The push to fill a labour gap can lead to an onboarding program that moves too quickly for an employee adjusting to a new language, culture, social structure, or some combination of the three.

In fact, McKenzie shared, the four main causes of injuries in migrant workers are language barriers, lack of training, a mismatch between their education and their job, and the length of their stay in Canada, with workers here for less than five years being more apt to be injured on the job.

“People will take positions that are totally new to them, or they take positions that are similar, but not in the same conditions,” McKenzie said. “So, you are in Africa and you work in construction. You come here, you work in construction. I tell you – those are two [different] worlds.”

He related an experience on one construction site in Africa, where a worker fell from the fifth floor of an apartment building and died. After the fall, his coworkers gathered around him. “What did they say?” McKenzie asked. “Not ‘too bad’, but ‘it was his destiny.’”

This tragic example highlights how people’s understanding of the importance of protecting themselves can be highly cultural.

It also highlights another important cultural factor that health and safety professionals should bear in mind when working with recent immigrant and refugee populations.

“The price of life is not the same everywhere in the world,” McKenzie said. “How much does it cost if we have a worker getting killed on the job here in Alberta? Compared to Pakistan [where it’s] maybe a thousand dollars, maybe not even? So, do they put a lot of effort in health and safety? Do they train people in health and safety? No.”

That’s why McKenzie says health and safety professionals here in Canada need to understand the diversity that currently exists in their organization and how workers approach on-the-job safety. With that understanding, they can develop a plan to overcome any barriers that exist, and tailor onboarding as needed to ensure every new hire gets the information they need to stay safe on the job.

Source: Many onboarding processes are poorly suited to a multicultural workforce: McKenzie

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Rudyard Griffiths: The curse of events and what a second Trump presidency means for Canada 

2024/07/18 Leave a comment

More speculation on what a Trump administration implementation of mass deportation could mean for Canada. The Northern border was already an issue and may have facilitated expanding the STCA to the entire border:

…The security argument could also help in the context of managing the chaos that is likely to occur at our shared border in the instance of mass U.S. deportations of migrants. As amply demonstrated in recent years, we lack the state capacity to effectively police our own border and will need American assistance in the face of a migration crisis. Having a secure northern as well as southern border is a core, high-conviction policy of Trump’s MAGA movement and one we can and should help with…

Source: Rudyard Griffiths: The curse of events and what a second Trump presidency means for Canada

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Lang: Why Ottawa won’t come to grips with Canada’s productivity problem

2024/07/18 Leave a comment

Dispiriting but likely correct even without the exacerbation by ill-designed immigration policies (knew Lang when he worked in Deputy PMs office in the late 90s):

…Three reasons spring to mind for why Canada has done so little on the productivity front.

First, federal policy change is often driven less by the importance of the issue and more by a sense of urgency – it’s the classic dilemma: urgent crowds out the important. Unfortunately, long-run economic decline is never seen as a matter of urgency in government. It is the quintessential boiling-frog problem.

Second, persistent productivity weakness suggests deep-seated structural problems in the Canadian economy. You can’t meaningfully get at that without paradigm-shifting policy change. That entails risk, and all governments are masters of risk aversion. The irony here is that over the years the federal government has routinely chided Canadian business for insufficient investment in R&D, inadequate pursuit of foreign markets and weak entrepreneurialism, all of which boils down to risk-taking.

Third, when governments do get down to discussing innovation, the regional political imperative rears its head. Meaning innovation policies, especially spending programs, are usually designed to confer benefits on all regions of the country, seriously diluting their impact.

All previous federal innovation reports have tripped over some or all of these three hurdles. And this will likely continue. When the next government comes along, expect either indifference to Canada’s productivity crisis, or yet another study and report into the problem, which will be largely ignored. Then turn the heat up one more notch on the frog in the pot.

Source: Why Ottawa won’t come to grips with Canada’s productivity problem

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New Report: 9 Million Immigrants Eligible to Become Citizens in 2024

2024/07/18 Leave a comment

Impossible, however, that such a large number can be processed within the next few months:

The Biden administration has made significant progress in streamlining the naturalization process. By the end of May 2024, the average processing time for citizenship applications had decreased to five months (or less depending on the city), a 15% reduction from the previous year and a more than 50% decline from 2022. This improvement means that eligible green card holders who apply for citizenship in July 2024 could conceivably be approved in time to participate in the presidential election, depending on where they live.

High Concentration in Key States

According to the report, California, New York, Texas, and Florida are the states with the largest population of lawful permanent residents eligible to become U.S. citizens. These states account for nearly 60% of all eligible residents, These states account for nearly 60% of all eligible residents, highlighting where voter registration efforts could be most impactful.

Backlog Reduction

USCIS, the federal agency responsible for processing citizenship applications, has made notable progress in reducing its backlog. In 2023, the backlog of citizenship applications fell to 416,034, a 44% decrease from the high of 942,669 in 2020. This is the lowest backlog since 2015, signaling a more efficient processing system.

Potential Policy Changes

The report also highlights the potential impact of the upcoming election on immigration policies. While the Biden administration has made naturalization more accessible, a shift in administration could reverse these gains. Former President Donald Trump has already stated his intention to end birthright citizenship and deport millions of undocumented immigrants if re-elected.

Source: New Report: 9 Million Immigrants Eligible to Become Citizens in 2024

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630,000 expats expected to reapply for Turkish citizenship

2024/07/18 Leave a comment

Of note, following changes to Germany’s citizenship law:

Some 630,000 expatriates who previously relinquished their Turkish citizenship to obtain German nationality are expected to reapply under Berlin’s new law, a senior Turkish official has said.

The naturalization law in Germany, which also facilitates dual citizenship, came into effect on June 27. This regulation now allows for the acquisition of additional nationalities alongside German citizenship, ending of the automatic revocation of another citizenship upon acquiring German nationality.

Particularly for individuals possessing multiple citizenships by birth, the obligation to choose between German citizenship and another nationality upon reaching adulthood has been eliminated. Following the implementation of this legal amendment, attention has turned to the status of approximately 1 million individuals of Turkish origin residing in Germany, who can now maintain their German citizenship while reacquiring Turkish citizenship.

İbrahim Taşyapan, the head of the Turkish population and citizenship body, provided information about the status of Turkish citizens in Germany during a parliamentary committee session.

He recalled that Germany abolished dual citizenship in 2000. In the same year, Ankara increased the permissions for expatriates wishing to obtain German citizenship to renounce their Turkish citizenship.

“They [Turkish citizens] obtained permission and exited citizenship, and we issued them a ‘blue card.’ The blue card can perform nearly all the functions of an identity card except for voting, military service, etc. It functions almost identically to a national ID card.”

“We facilitated their situation, but our citizens faced challenges with some German state practices. Now, our citizens can easily hold dual citizenship and return to Turkish citizenship,” Taşyapan said.

Based on the number of blue cards issued, Taşyapan estimated that approximately 630,000 German citizens of Turkish origin might reapply.

However, he noted that these applications are expected to be submitted gradually rather than immediately, with the obligatory military service for young men reclaiming Turkish citizenship being a potential deterrent.

Almost 3 million of Germany’s 83.2 million residents are Turkish. Turkish immigrants started arriving in Germany in significant numbers more than 60 years ago, when Germany recruited “guest workers” from Türkiye as part of an agreement.

During a visit to Türkiye in April, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the contributions of the Turkish community in his country, recognizing their role in the country’s economic reconstruction since the 1960s.

Source: 630,000 expats expected to reapply for Turkish citizenship

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Fewer immigrants are deciding to become Canadian citizens: Institute for Canadian Citizenship

2024/07/17 Leave a comment

More coverage:

Abisoye Akinpelu and her children were among the 25 immigrants at a Calgary citizenship ceremony on Saturday, ready to become Canadian citizens.

“I feel so accomplished. It’s a long journey for us and it’s been filled with ups and downs, but it’s worth it,” Akinpelu, who came to Canada from Nigeria, said.

Akinpelu says she enjoys Canada’s multicultural community, and how Canadians from different backgrounds can live peacefully together. Immigration Minister Marc Miller was also at the citizenship ceremony where he said citizenship is not a choice to be made lightly.

“This is the best country in the world to be in. I think you know that … Otherwise, perhaps you wouldn’t have made that choice.”

However, the 2021 and 2016 Census reported fewer immigrants are choosing to become Canadian citizens. According to new data released by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), the proportion of people becoming citizens within 10 years of their arrival in Canada has dropped by 40 per cent.

“People are less interested in becoming Canadian. Let that sink in,” Daniel Bernhard, the ICC’s CEO, said. “It’s not because they are not interested or not grateful. It’s in many cases because they are trying to contribute and we’re not allowing them to.”

The numbers indicate citizenship uptake is the lowest among highly educated economic immigrants, and Bernhard said it’s because they are weighing their options before taking the oath.

“Not feeling welcome is not just whether your neighbours are nice to you, or whether your kids have a good place in school, but whether your employer thinks that you have something important to contribute,” Bernhard said.

“The cost-of-living crisis in Canada continues to bite, and (their) skills and experience are not recognized in the labour force here,” Bernhard said, adding that many immigrants may feel frustrated and potentially decide to move on from the idea of becoming Canadian citizens.

As well, a recent poll by Angus Reid found the housing affordability crisis is forcing more newcomers to rethink their place in Canada and consider moving to a different province, or a different country altogether.

Bernhard said the lack of affordability is already having an impact on citizenship uptake, but confirmed the ICC is calling on Ottawa to provide more opportunities for people to celebrate and appreciate the value of citizenship, and to put a cap on virtual citizenship ceremonies.

Source: Fewer immigrants are deciding to become Canadian citizens: Institute for Canadian Citizenship

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Australia has the world’s easiest citizenship test – but would you pass?

2024/07/17 Leave a comment

Questionable methodology but nevertheless of interest, focussing on the knowledge of those who are already citizens. Canadian number of 7 percent may reflect methodology issues as too much of an outlier:
In terms of Canadian immigrants applying for citizenship, approval rate is currently around 98 percent:
Documents. Interviews. Quizzes? Embarking on the journey to gain citizenship in a foreign country is a huge endeavour and can be extremely time-consuming and challenging.Each country’s citizenship process is slightly different. However, most nations will have some form of citizenship test: an assessment that is designed to assess applicants’ knowledge, values and commitment to their adopted nation. Some tests focus primarily on language proficiency, asking for fluency in the country’s native tongue as a prerequisite for naturalisation, while others delve into the depths of history, quizzing applicants on key historical events and laws in the nation. The pass rate of citizenship tests around the world also varies because of this, with the difficulty of the test itself, and the education of each country’s history and culture, being just a couple of factors affecting how easy it might be to achieve a high score on a country’s citizenship test.

With so many of our customers at Remitly undergoing the citizenship process in a country different to the one they were born in every single year, we wanted to delve into some of the most formidable citizenship tests around the world and see how many people would actually pass their own country’s citizenship assessment.

To put this to the test, we conducted a study analysing 2,100 global participants from some of the most popular nations people want to move to: the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, and Spain, to see how many citizens in each country would pass their own country’s citizenship test.

Whether you’re contemplating a new beginning in a distant land, or are simply curious about the trials and triumphs of citizenship acquisition, read on to find out more about which citizenship tests are most difficult to pass.

Key findings

  • Australian citizens are most likely to pass their own nation’s citizenship test with 96% of participants passing our practice test (by achieving a score of 75% or more).

  • German residents placed in second position, with a 95% pass rate.
  • The UK’s citizenship test ranks as one of the more difficult citizenship tests, with only 42% of UK citizens passing their test.
  • A mere 7% of Canadians passed their own citizenship test, according to our study.
…The most pass-able citizenship tests around the world
To find out where it’s easiest (and most difficult) to obtain citizenship around the world, we conducted a study of 2,100 global participants, in some of the world’s most popular relocation capitals. We tested participants on a simplified version of their nation’s citizenship test, using a selection of 15 questions from their country’s official practice assessments.Our research found that it was Australia where it was easiest for citizens to pass their nation’s citizenship test, with 96% of Australians polled passing their own citizenship test, with an average score of 13.3 out of 15 practice questions. Following closely behind were German citizens, with a pass rate of an impressive 95%.

The US citizenship test ranked in third spot, with an average pass rate of 93%, while France and Spain tied in the fourth spot, both with an average pass rate of 61%.

Meanwhile, ranking at the bottom of our study was the UK, where 42% of participants passed the test, while Canada ranked in seventh spot, with only 7% of participants meeting the 75% correct-answer pass rate.

How many people could pass their own country’s citizenship test?

Based on a 75% pass rate

Rank Country Percentage of citizens passing citizenship test Cost of citizenship tests
1 Australia 96% $330 – $550 (AUD)
2 Germany 95% €225 (adult) €51 (child)
3 US 93% $725 (USD)
=4 France 61% €55
=4 Spain 61% €85
6 UK 42% £69.20 – £219.20 (+ £1,330 for citizenship application)
7 Canada 7% $630 (CAD)

Canada’s citizenship test – average pass rate of 7%

Our study revealed that only 7% of Canadians were able to pass the Canadian citizenship test. A prerequisite to becoming a citizen of Canada is to be a permanent resident of Canada at the time of your application, however permanent residency is not the same as citizenship, so any prospective citizens will need to acquire proof of residency first.The Canadian citizenship test costs $630 CAD to undertake [11] and consists of 20 questions on the history, economy, and geography of Canada – and unlike some other countries’ citizenship tests, does not test your language proficiency in English or French. The test takes 30 minutes and participants need 15 correct answers (out of 20) to pass. Despite the low pass rates in our study, over 354,000 people were granted Canadian citizenship in 2023 [12]. In the real assessment, the 20 questions asked are randomly generated – so while many of the questions are multiple choice, there are no hacks or ways to cheat on the test – those looking to gain Canadian citizenship will just have to study hard!

Source: Australia has the world’s easiest citizenship test – but would you pass?

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Chris Selley: Putting activists on the federal government payroll won’t fix intolerance

2024/07/16 Leave a comment

Tend to agree. More virtue signalling to individual communities rather than fostering integration and reducing intolerance:

…All of this is pretty much beside the point, however, as far as Housefather’s new position is concerned. You can’t fight antisemitism in Canada without engaging the most passionate Palestinian supporters, a good few of whom clearly do mean “Jew” when they say “Zionist,” at least to my and many other Canadians’ eyes and ears. If Palestinian supporters can’t stand the sight of Housefather, surely he’s just wasting his time, preaching to a choir that’s already perfectly cognizant of the problem.

It’s precisely the situation that Amira Elghawaby has faced since her appointment in 2022 as our first “special representative on combatting Islamophobia.”

You can’t fight Islamophobia in Canada without engaging Quebec nationalists, many of whom make no bones about being fearful of Islam and what pious Muslims might do to Quebec society. You can’t fight Islamophobia without talking to the only province that bans teachers and Crown attorneys and police officers from wearing a hijab.

But Elghawaby can’t talk to Quebec, and never will be able to talk to Quebec, because in the past she had disrespected Quebec’s all-consuming victimhood complex. “I want to puke,” she wrote on Twitter in response to a historian’s proposition that French Canadians were “the largest group of people in this country … victimized by British colonialism.”…

Source: Chris Selley: Putting activists on the federal government payroll won’t fix intolerance

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