Douglas Todd: Taiwanese-Canadians navigate ‘tricky’ relations with people from China

2026/02/16 Leave a comment

Interesting snippet:

…“At a domestic level in Canada, Liu said people from Taiwan and China rarely interact.

Many Taiwanese people attend giant Ling Yen Mountain Temple in Richmond, visible from Highway 99. The Canadian census says about 18 per cent of Taiwanese Canadians are Buddhist, 22 per cent are Christian, and 64 per cent are non-religious.

Even though there is next to no mingling at social, cultural or religious events in Canada, said Liu, people from China and Taiwan often engage through business.

For instance, Liu said the founder of the largest Asian grocery store chain in Canada, T&T Supermarket, is Cindy Lee, a Canadian resident born in Taiwan. Liu said many people from China shop at T&T Supermarket’s more than 38 stores. …

Source: “Douglas Todd: Taiwanese-Canadians navigate ‘tricky’ relations with people from China”

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Lisée | L’absurde guerre contre le télétravail

2026/02/16 Leave a comment

While I can understand the political impulse in these return to office protocols, mirroring the private sector, the “rough justice” of universal application without considering job specific requirements reflects general policy and management weaknesses.

As an executive, I tried to reserve one day every two weeks to work from home. Allowed me the time and space for deeper thinking than the transactional:

….Pour environ la moitié de la population, le télétravail est maintenant possible. C’est une révolution. Au pire, neutre pour la productivité, mais certainement bonne pour la famille, les enfants, le sommeil, la santé, la réduction de la congestion. Les syndicats se battent pour inscrire le droit au télétravail (partiel) dans les conventions collectives. Ils ont raison. J’affirme que dans un avenir pas très lointain, on inscrira ce droit dans les normes minimales du travail. Honte au gouvernement Carney, à Amazon et aux autres qui freinent ce mouvement. Ils retardent le groupe.

Source: “Chronique | L’absurde guerre contre le télétravail”

…. For about half of the population, teleworking is now possible. It’s a revolution. At worst, neutral for productivity, but certainly good for family, children, sleep, health, reduction of congestion. The unions are fighting to include the right to (partial) teleworking in collective agreements. They are right. I affirm that in the not too distant future, this right will be included in the minimum labour standards. Shame on the Carney government, Amazon and the others who are slowing down this movement. They delay the group.

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Ontario lifts tuition freeze, unveils OSAP reforms as it boosts university and college funding. Here’s what it will mean for schools and students

2026/02/14 Leave a comment

Partially correcting a problem that they created and was forced by federal government correctly cutting back on the excessive growth in international students, particularly in colleges:

Colleges and universities are getting more funding — an additional $6.4 billion over the next four years — and will be able to charge students slightly higher tuition rates, as the province’s longstanding fee freeze comes to an end. 

The government’s Thursday announcement was based on months of consultations and warnings from the post-secondary sector that stagnant funding from the province — combined with the seven-year ban on tuition hikes and massive cuts to international students imposed by Ottawa — left them on the financial brink.

Schools will now be able to raise fees by two per cent each year for the next three years, with future increases tied to inflation or two per cent, whichever is less. That means university students will pay roughly $170 more a year and college students $66 — which, combined with a move away from non-repayable student aid grants, has critics raising concerns about affordability. …

Source: Ontario lifts tuition freeze, unveils OSAP reforms as it boosts university and college funding. Here’s what it will mean for schools and students

Good commentary by Regg Cohn:

…Belatedly — better late than never — Ford’s Progressive Conservative government is stepping up to shore up postsecondary education. On Thursday it announced a $6.4-billion cash infusion over the next four years to make up for the last seven years of cuts, freezes and shortfalls since Ford took power.

Back in 2019, the premier played Santa Claus by imposing a 10-per-cent tuition cut, but then played Scrooge by freezing those rates in place without making up for the lost cash flow. Instead, the government urged postsecondary institutions to recruit and rely on high-paying foreign students to shore up their balance sheets, which stoked immigration imbalances that ultimately forced Ottawa to scale back student visas.

Those political and fiscal miscalculations created a perfect storm in postsecondary education: Funding shortfalls; tuition cuts frozen in time despite an inflationary spiral; and the sudden loss of foreign windfalls that kept campuses afloat.

None of it added up, least of all the tuition freeze enacted by a populist premier who wouldn’t pony up his share of the funding pie.

Regg Cohn | Doug Ford has learned a hard lesson after starving Ontario’s colleges and universities


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StatsCan Study: Portrait of the Chinese populations in Canada

2026/02/14 Leave a comment

Another interesting report:

A new in-depth analytical portrait released today explores the diversity of individuals in Canada who reported being Chinese in the census, including information on where they were born and live, their age, language, immigration characteristics, religion, education, job, income and experiences of social inclusion. It breaks down many characteristics by place of birth to provide a deeper understanding of the diversity of experiences and outcomes within Chinese populations.

This is the fourth in a series of portraits on racialized groups in Canada, developed by Statistics Canada in support of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. The previous portraits are The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait, Portrait of the Arab Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes and Portrait of the South Asian Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes.

The analysis in this release is based on the 2021 Census of Population, unless otherwise specified.

Nearly 5% of the Canadian population reports being Chinese

Chinese populations in Canada numbered 1.7 million people in 2021 and made up 4.7% of the total population of Canada. They were the second-largest racialized group in Canada after the South Asian populations. The size of the Chinese populations more than doubled from 1996 to 2021.

About half of Chinese populations in Canada were born in China

In 2021, about half of Chinese populations in Canada were born in China and about half were born in other places. More than one-quarter of Chinese populations were born in Canada, while other common places of birth were Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. For Chinese individuals living in Canada who were born in Southeast Asia, Vietnam was the most common country of birth.

Among Chinese immigrants, places of birth differed by period of immigration. Among Chinese immigrants who immigrated to Canada during the period from 1970 to 1996, just over one-third (34.2%) were born in China, while the majority were born in Hong Kong (40.1%), Southeast Asia (13.0%) and Taiwan (7.1%). In contrast, 86.8% of Chinese immigrants who immigrated to Canada during the period from 1998 to 2021 were born in China.

Nearly two-thirds of the Chinese populations who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021 are economic immigrants

Chinese immigrants who had immigrated to Canada since 1980 and were living in the country in 2021 were mainly either economic immigrants (64.9%) or sponsored by family (28.7%). However, among Chinese immigrants during this period who were born in Southeast Asia, 42.0% were economic immigrants while one-quarter (25.1%) were refugees.

More than two-thirds of individuals who report being Chinese live in Toronto and Vancouver 

Over two-thirds of the Chinese populations in Canada lived in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto (39.6%) and Vancouver (29.9%) in 2021. There were some variations by place of birth; for example, the majority (58.1%) of the Chinese populations in Canada who were born in Taiwan lived in Vancouver (Chart 2).

Chinese populations in Canada made up nearly one-fifth of the population of the CMA of Vancouver (19.6%) and just over one-tenth of the population of the CMA of Toronto (11.1%). Within the Vancouver CMA, the majority (54.3%) of the population in the census subdivision (CSD) (municipality) of Richmond was Chinese, as was one-third (33.3%) of the population in the CSD of Burnaby. Within the Toronto CMA, Chinese populations made up nearly half (47.9%) of the population in the CSD of Markham and just under one-third (31.9%) of the population in the CSD of Richmond Hill.

Over 70% of individuals in Canada who reported being Chinese have no religion or have secular perspectives, but this differs by place of birth

In 2021, the share of the Chinese populations who had no religion or had secular perspectives (71.7%) was more than twice as high as in the overall population of Canada (34.6%).

The share of the Chinese populations who had no religion or had secular perspectives was highest among those born in China (80.2%) or Canada (72.9%) and lowest among those born in Southeast Asia (44.9%) (Chart 3).

The most common religions among Chinese populations were Christianity (20.2%) and Buddhism (7.2%)….

Source: Study: Portrait of the Chinese populations in Canada

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Thousands Of Americans Warned Of Passport Cancellations As State Department Reinforces 30-Year-Old Law

2026/02/14 2 Comments

Interesting use of citizenship to address “deadbeat” dads and moms:

U.S. officials have confirmed that the Department of State is starting active revocations of passports for parents who owe more than $2,500 in child support. Before this, the department was only able to deny or cancel the passports of these individuals when they initiated contact, such as for a renewal or other consular services.

In a statement released on Monday (Feb. 10), the State Department issued a strongly worded warning for “deadbeat parents,” as it begins proactive blocking of passports based on data shared by the Health and Human Services Department (HHS). This shift follows recent reports of U.S. travelers having their passports canceled without their knowledge, leading to detention and deportation abroad.

Established 30 years ago, the Passport Denial Program allows the federal government to freeze the travel rights of parents in arrears. Here’s a closer look at the changes to its enforcement, which are estimated to affect thousands of Americans.

U.S. State Department Begins Passport Cancellation For Parents With Unpaid Child Support

Three U.S. officials confirmed to the Associated Press that the State Department will soon revoke currently valid passports of parents who owe over $2500 in child support back payments, based on its “own initiative” and with the help of HHS data. While the changes have not yet been publicly announced, the source said that the changes to the Passport Denial Program will come in tiers, starting with passport holders with more than $100,000 in child support debt.

Less than 500 people are included in this group, but once the threshold is lowered, changes could affect thousands of U.S. citizens overall. In a statement sent via email, the State Department said it “is reviewing options” to enforce the 30-year-old Passport Denial Program, which was established under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Source: Thousands Of Americans Warned Of Passport Cancellations As State Department Reinforces 30-Year-Old Law

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PBO: Projecting the Cost of the Interim Federal Health Program 

2026/02/14 2 Comments

Informative PBO Report:

Highlights

  • The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides limited and temporary healthcare coverage to some groups of foreign nationals who are not eligible for health insurance from provinces or territories.
  • PBO estimates that total IFHP costs will reach almost $1.0 billion in 2025‑26 and rise to over $1.5 billion by 2029‑30. PBO projects that annual growth in IFHP costs will average well below the average growth observed over the past five years, reflecting both a moderated increase in the number of beneficiaries and a more gradual rise in average annual costs.
  • Budget 2025 indicated that a “modest co-payment model” will be introduced to the Interim Federal Health Program for supplemental health products or services. This change to the program is not reflected in our projection. Including this new measure would reduce our estimate of the total cost for the IFHP program.

Summary

The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides “limited and temporary healthcare coverage to some groups of foreign nationals who are vulnerable and disadvantaged, and who are not eligible for health insurance from provinces or territories.”

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the cost of the program grew from $211 million to $896 million as both the number of beneficiaries and the cost per beneficiary increased significantly. PBO estimates that total IFHP costs will reach almost $1.0 billion in 2025‑26 and rise to over $1.5 billion by 2029‑30 (Table S-1).Table S-1Projected IFHP cost, millions of dollars

2025­-262026­-272027­-282028­-292029­-30
Total cost9891,1041,2321,3761,522

We project that average annual growth for IFHP costs will be 11.2 per cent between 2025‑26 and 2029‑30, well below the 33.7 per cent average growth observed over the past five years. This slower growth reflects both a moderated increase in the number of beneficiaries and a more gradual rise in average annual costs.

Budget 2025 indicated that a “modest co-payment model” will be introduced to the Interim Federal Health Program for supplemental health products or services. This change to the program is not reflected in our projection. Including this new measure would reduce our estimate of the total cost for the IFHP program.

Source: Projecting the Cost of the Interim Federal Health Program

Toronto Sun commentary: LILLEY: False asylum claims drive refugee health-care program toward $1B price tag

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USA: Black Immigrant Population Diversifies Beyond its Historically Caribbean and Latin American Origins, New Fact Sheet Shows

2026/02/14 Leave a comment

As is the case in Canada with respect to Caribbean origins:

Long dominated by arrivals from the Caribbean, the Black immigrant population in the United States is now nearly evenly split between immigrants from Africa and those from Latin America and the Caribbean. This demographic shift has implications for communities, labor markets and immigration policy nationwide, a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) fact sheet notes. 

Drawing on analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the fact sheet finds that the Black immigrant population, which stood at nearly 4.7 million people as of 2024, has strong workforce participation and English language proficiency, as well as similar educational attainment as the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations. Eighty-one percent of all Black immigrants have become U.S. citizens or are lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), with another 3 percent holding a long-term temporary visa. 

The fact sheet, A Profile of the Growing Black Immigrant Population in the United States, provides findings on population trends, top U.S. destinations, workforce participation, education, language skills, immigration status and household characteristics. 

Black immigrants account for 9 percent of all immigrants in the United States and 11 percent of the overall U.S. Black population (with the population covering anyone self-identifying as Black or African American, alone or in combination with any other race/ethnicity option in the Census survey). 

These immigrants are concentrated in a number of major metropolitan areas, including New York, Miami, Washington, DC and Atlanta. Caribbean immigrants are especially concentrated in New York and Florida, while African immigrants are more widely dispersed across states such as Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Washington and Colorado. 

Nearly one in five Black children in the United States has at least one immigrant parent, and the vast majority of these children are U.S. citizens. Of Black immigrant children under 18 years old, about 6 out of 10 were born in Africa, reflecting the growing number arriving from Africa relative to those of Caribbean and Latin American origin. 

Among the fact sheet’s key findings: 

  • The 4,685,000 million Black immigrants in the country as of 2024 are almost evenly divided between origins in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. The top five origin countries are Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana. 
  • While Black immigrants represent just 9 percent of all immigrants nationwide, they have higher concentrations in a number of states, representing 29 percent of all immigrants in North Dakota, 28 percent in Minnesota, 25 percent in Maryland, 24 percent in the District of Columbia and 23 percent in Delaware.   
  • In certain metro areas—Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle and Hartford—Black immigrants represent at least one-quarter of all Black residents. 
  • Employment rates for Black immigrant men (72 percent) and women (65 percent) exceed those of U.S.-born workers (62 percent for men and 56 percent for women), with many employed in sectors central to the U.S. economy, including health care, transportation and professional services. Black immigrant women are especially concentrated in health-care occupations, with 36 percent working in that sector, while transportation is the leading sector for men (employing 17 percent). 
  • Indicators point to strong integration and societal outcomes. About one-third of Black immigrants hold a university degree (36 percent of men and 33 percent of women, similar to the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations), and most speak English proficiently, with a much higher share speaking English at home than among immigrants overall. Black immigrants are also more likely to be married than the U.S. born. 
  • Despite this, Black immigrants also face economic challenges and barriers, including having lower median earnings and household income than non-Black immigrants and the U.S. born, and a relatively low rate of home ownership (49 percent, as compared to 73 percent for the non-Black U.S. born and 59 percent for non-Black immigrants). 

The findings come amid a shifting immigration policy environment. Recent federal changes significantly narrowing refugee resettlement and other humanitarian pathways, ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations and increasing immigration enforcement have increased uncertainty for some Black immigrant communities, with a particular focus of late on Haitian and Somali ones. 

“Understanding Black immigrants’ assets and unique challenges, and the considerable diversity within this population, has never been more important,” writes MPI Senior Policy Analyst Valerie Lacarte. “At a time when policies restricting immigration of all kinds are being implemented and misinformation about immigrant communities abounds, the fact remains—and the data in this fact sheet demonstrate—that Black immigrants are generally highly educated, English speaking and significant contributors to the U.S. economy.” 

Read the fact sheet here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/black-immigrants. 

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John Ivison: America appears to be slamming its doors on Canadian professionals with work visas

2026/02/13 Leave a comment

Money quote:

…“But why would anyone who doesn’t have to, run the risk of humiliation in their own country by U.S. Department of Homeland Security staff who seem only slightly more house-trained than their colleagues in Immigration and Customs Enforcement?”

Source: John Ivison: America appears to be slamming its doors on Canadian professionals with work visas

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Trump administration working to expand effort to strip citizenship from foreign-born Americans

2026/02/13 Leave a comment

No issue with revocation for fraud and misrepresentation but with the Trump administration unlikely to stop there:

“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud in the naturalization process and will pursue denaturalization proceedings for any individual who lied or misrepresented themselves,” he said. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue those undermining the integrity of America’s immigration system and work alongside the Department of Justice to ensure that only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of U.S. citizenship.”


Trump administration officials are looking for shortcuts to speed up the process, the two people familiar with the plans said. USCIS officials have concluded that dedicating staff members, either by sending experts or by training them across the agency’s 80-plus field offices nationwide, would be more effective in rooting out more cases than the previous Trump effort, headquartered in a warehouse in Pasadena, California, they said.


The Justice Department has already told attorneys to focus on denaturalization cases, and it has offered possible case examples, from “individuals who pose a risk to national security” or who have engaged in war crimes or torture to people who have committed Medicaid or Medicare fraud or have otherwise defrauded the government.


There is also a broad catch-all provision that refers to “any other cases … that the division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue.”


Often the cases go on beyond a presidential administration. According to Justice Department figures, the Trump administration won 86 cases during Trump’s first term. During the Biden administration, 54 cases were won….

Source: Trump administration working to expand effort to strip citizenship from foreign-born Americans

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Ontario Liberals opt to allow temporary residents to vote in leadership race even though federal counterpart barred them

2026/02/13 2 Comments

Sigh… Canada has relatively accessible citizenship. Voting rights are an essential aspect and this measure, as in the case when the federal liberals allowed this, further diminish citizenship:

Over the weekend, the Ontario Liberals released the long-awaited rules for the party’s leadership race such as fundraising targets and the deadline to register as a member to vote.

But unlike the federal Liberals’ leadership election, no changes were made to who could cast a ballot, meaning non-citizens and people in Canada on student or work visas are all eligible, per the party’s constitution.

The 2024 public inquiry into foreign election interference said China, one of three countries flagged for attempting to interfere in Canada elections, uses international students, as well as diplomatic missions, community organizations and private individuals, to “carry out its transnational repression activities.”

The inquiry said China targets members of Chinese Canadian diaspora communities for the “purposes of repression, influence and forced return of targeted individuals” to its territory.

Michelle Tessier, who served as Deputy Director of Operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) from 2018 to 2023, said candidate selection and leadership contests were identified during the inquiry as particularly vulnerable points in the political system.

“I do think it’s concerning,” Tessier said of parties continuing to allow non-citizens to vote in internal leadership races.

She pointed to the inquiry’s findings around the difficulty of verifying residency and the increased risks associated with transnational repression, where foreign nationals may face coercion or threats from hostile state actors.

“In terms of the vulnerability around being able to confirm somebody’s residence, the risk of foreign nationals being subject to transnational repression, which is, you know, the coercion or threats, to have them to vote a certain way. Now, granted that can happen to Canadians citizens as well who may have family overseas. (…) but it does increase the vulnerability,” she said.

“Given that it was indicated in the recommendations of the commission, it would certainly be encouraging to see steps being taken to follow those recommendations,” she added….

Source: Ontario Liberals opt to allow temporary residents to vote in leadership race even though federal counterpart barred them

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