Un nombre record de demandeurs d’asile passent désormais par les aéroports

2023/07/21 Leave a comment

Of note:

Les passages par voie terrestre irrégulière, dont le chemin Roxham, ont drastiquement chuté au Québec depuis le resserrement de la frontière. Mais le nombre de demandeurs d’asile qui arrivent par avion ne cesse d’augmenter, au point où 2023 pourrait atteindre un sommet similaire à 2022 si la tendance se maintient.

Le gouvernement fédéral a de nouveau loué des chambres pour les accueillir dans au moins un hôtel, confirment des acteurs de terrain. Pour eux, cette nouvelle hausse démontre que la « fermeture » du chemin Roxham « n’a rien réglé » : les deux ordres de gouvernement n’ont toujours pris aucune mesure pérenne, disent-ils, dans un contexte où l’augmentation des demandeurs d’asile est un phénomène mondial.

Au total, en juin dernier, 4620 demandes d’asile ont été comptabilisées par Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté (IRCC) ainsi que l’Agence des services frontaliers (ASFC), les deux instances fédérales responsables. C’est à peine 20 de moins que pour le mois de juin 2022, où 4640 demandes avaient été enregistrées.

De celles-là, une majorité est arrivée par avion : ils ont demandé l’asile sur-le-champ à l’aéroport ou encore dans un bureau d’IRCC après un certain temps, selon la ventilation des données disponible.

On compte ainsi environ 31 000 demandeurs d’asile pour les 5 premiers mois de 2023 au Québec. Si le rythme d’ajout de plus de 4000 par mois se poursuit, le niveau de 2022 sera atteint, soit un peu plus de 58 000 au total.

Ces arrivées se font par voies régulières, contrairement aux années précédentes, où jusqu’à deux demandeurs sur trois passait par des voies irrégulières, surtout par le chemin Roxham.

Arrivée par voie régulière ou irrégulière, une personne a le droit de demander l’asile au Canada si elle craint la persécution dans son pays d’origine.

Peu importe le point d’entrée, ces demandeurs d’asile ont aussi souvent des besoins d’hébergement, rappelle des organismes, qui déplorent le manque de « solutions pérennes », dit Eva Gracia-Turgeon, directrice générale du Foyer du monde.

Manque de communication

Un moins un hôtel à Brossard a recommencé à loger des demandeurs d’asile arrivés récemment. Au plus fort des arrivées par le chemin Roxham, Ottawa gérait des lits pour plus de 2500 personnes au Québec. IRCC, responsable de ces hébergements, n’a pas été en mesure de confirmer combien de places ont été remises en disponibilité à l’heure actuelle.

Les demandeurs d’asile cognent déjà par eux-mêmes à la porte des organismes, faute d’obtenir des services sur leur lieu de résidence temporaire.

« À notre grande surprise, l’hôtel a été rouvert par le fédéral, mais on n’a pas été avisés », raconte ainsi Mame Moussa Sy, directeur général à la Maison internationale de la Rive-Sud (MIRS). Cette organisation est située à « littéralement quatre minutes à pieds » de l’hôtel à Brossard.

« On n’a pas été mis au courant par le fédéral, mais on les voit, les gens. On a dû improviser pour commencer à les accompagner. On a parlé à d’autres organismes de la région, aussi », expose M. Sy. Il souhaiterait une meilleure coordination, surtout venant des autorités, déplore-t-il.

Les maisons du Foyer du monde sont, quant à elles, aussi pleines. « On a juste déplacé la problématique. C’est normal qu’il y ait plus de gens qui passent par l’avion, car malheureusement, il n’y a pas d’autres moyens de demander l’asile », note Mme Gracia-Turgeon.

Elle croit aussi que la hausse se fera encore plus sentir dans les prochaines semaines et à l’automne, car son organisme est en quelque sorte en deuxième ligne, après l’hébergement d’urgence. « Pour moi, c’est aussi la preuve que “fermer” Roxham n’était pas une solution », dit-elle.

Les conflits armés et les changements climatiques continuent de pousser des millions de personnes à quitter leur pays d’origine, rappelle la directrice communautaire : « Il faut prévoir pour l’avenir, ce n’est que le début. »

L’hiver dernier, le milieu communautaire lançait un cri du coeur pour un meilleur soutien et une meilleure coordination. Le gouvernement avait alors débloqué 3,5 millions de dollars en aide d’urgence. « Mais c’était un plaster et, depuis, aucune mesure n’a été mise en place par les gouvernements », regrette-t-elle.

« On est dans une mouvance mondiale », observe aussi Stephan Reichhold, directeur de la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI). Il n’est donc pas surpris de cette « reprise » des arrivées. La TCRI souhaite voir plus de services pour tous les demandeurs d’asile, y compris ceux hébergés par le fédéral.

« On a l’impression que c’est toujours à recommencer » en termes de besoins et de recherche de ressources, affirme M. Reichhold.

Ailleurs au pays

Le phénomène est aussi bien visible à Toronto, où des dizaines de personnes ont été contraintes de dormir dans la rue, faute de place dans les refuges de la ville.

L’Ontario a également dépassé le nombre d’arrivées à pareille date l’an dernier, avec 21 480 demandes d’asile entre janvier et juin 2023, contre 11 350 en 2022.

Il faut dire que le système de refuges d’environ 9000 places de Toronto accueille à la fois les personnes itinérantes et celles qui cherchent à obtenir le statut de réfugié. La province voisine ne dispose pas d’un mécanisme comme le Québec avec son Programme régional d’accueil et d’intégration des demandeurs d’asile (PRAIDA), financé surtout avec de l’argent d’Ottawa.

Le nombre de nouvelles personnes hébergées au PRAIDA a légèrement fléchi depuis les modifications à l’Entente sur les tiers pays sûrs, qui ont davantage scellé la frontière. En juin, ce sont 1112 nouvelles personnes qui se sont présentées au PRAIDA, dont la capacité totale est de 1 150 places.

Causes possibles

Les arrivées par avion étaient déjà un phénomène présent depuis 2022, même si peu mis de l’avant dans le discours politique. Alors que le premier ministre François Legault demandait de « fermer » le chemin Roxham à plusieurs reprises l’hiver dernier, Le Devoir avait révélé en mars que la majorité des demandeurs d’asile dans des hébergements gérés par la province étaient arrivés par avion.

La majorité d’entre eux étaient alors des Mexicains, mais depuis, les origines se sont diversifiées. Depuis 2016, ces ressortissants n’ont plus besoin de détenir un visa pour visiter le Canada. Le Mexique continue à être le premier pays d’origine des personnes hébergées par le PRAIDA, mais on compte aussi le Sénégal, le Cameroun, la Colombie et Haïti dans cette liste.

Certains changements pour obtenir un visa de visiteur ont été mis en place récemment, mais IRCC n’a pas pu confirmer au Devoir s’ils étaient liés à cette hausse. Plusieurs voyageurs en provenance de 13 pays qui nécessitaient un visa auparavant peuvent maintenant demander une simple autorisation de voyage électronique, un processus rapide qui ne coûte que 7 $.

Une politique d’intérêt public a aussi été mise en place pour accélérer le traitement des visas de ce type. Elle permet aux agents de dispenser de certaines exigences pour des demandes de visite faites avant le 16 janvier 2022.

Source: Un nombre record de demandeurs d’asile passent désormais par les aéroports

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U.S. has welcomed more than 500000 migrants as part of historic expansion of legal immigration under Biden

2023/07/21 Leave a comment

Significant given the political gridlock on immigration:

The Biden administration has welcomed over half a million migrants under programs designed to reduce illegal border entries or offer a safe haven to refugees, using a 1950s law to launch the largest expansion of legal immigration in modern U.S. history, unpublished government data obtained by CBS News show.

In less than two years, the administration has allowed at least 541,000 migrants to enter the U.S. through the immigration parole authority, which gives federal officials the power to authorize the entry of foreigners who lack visas, according to internal government statistics, court records and public reports.

The unprecedented use of the parole authority has allowed officials to divert migration away from the southern border by offering would-be migrants a legal and safe alternative to journeying to the U.S. with the help of smugglers and entering the country unlawfully. It has also given the administration a faster way to resettle refugees as it attempts to rebuild a resettlement system gutted by drastic Trump-era cuts.

Officials have invoked the parole authority to welcome roughly 168,400 Latin American and Caribbean migrants with U.S. sponsors; 141,200 Ukrainian refugees sponsored by Americans; 133,000 asylum-seekers who waited for an appointment in Mexico; 77,000 Afghan evacuees; and 22,000 Ukrainians processed at the U.S. southern border, the data show.

Taken together, the immigration parole programs created by the Biden administration amount to the most significant expansion of legal immigration in three decades. And to the dismay of Republican critics, the administration has done so unilaterally, without explicit consent from Congress, which has not expanded legal immigration levels since 1990 amid decades of partisan gridlock.

“Unprecedented”

To come live and work in the U.S. legally, immigrants generally must have a visa or approved refugee status. But a lawdating back to 1952 allows officials to use the parole authority to admit those who don’t have visas if doing so furthers an “urgent humanitarian” cause or “significant public benefit.” While it does not make migrants eligible for permanent status or citizenship, parole gives them the ability to live and work in the U.S. legally, typically for one- or two-year increments that can be renewed.

Doris Meissner, a top U.S. immigration official during the Reagan and Clinton administrations, said there’s precedent for using parole to resettle refugees. During the Cold War, Republican and Democratic administrations paroled hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing communism in Cuba, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. But Meissner said the Biden administration’s use of parole is historic.

“At this scale, in this time period, it is unprecedented,” said Meissner, who led the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1993 to 2000.

León Rodríguez, who served as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during President Barack Obama’s second term, said the expansive use of parole has become a “necessity” because the Biden administration has recognized it cannot address migration flows through deterrence alone.

“It’s fair to say that the pressures are much greater now, which is why the numerical scope of these parole programs is probably the largest we’ve seen, certainly in a long time,” Rodríguez said.

How the Biden administration has used parole

The Biden administration’s first large-scale use of parole occurred in the summer of 2021, when it invoked the law to resettle tens of thousands of Afghans after a massive airlift from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Then, in early 2022, the administration used the parole authority to process thousands of Ukrainians who had flown to the U.S.-Mexico border in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To discourage future Ukrainian arrivals along the southern border, officials created a program, known as Uniting for Ukraine, to allow Ukrainians to fly directly to the U.S. to receive parole if they have American sponsors.

In October 2022, the administration created another sponsorship-based parole program, based on the Ukrainian model, for Venezuelan migrants, who were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers. That program was expanded in January to include migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua and deter illegal border crossings by citizens of those crisis-stricken countries.

That same month, the U.S. started allowing migrants in Mexico to use a mobile app, known as CBP One, to request an opportunity to enter the country at a legal port of entry. Those allowed into the U.S. under the process are generally paroled for one or two years and given a hearing in immigration court, where they can request asylum, government officials and lawyers confirmed.

The Biden administration has also used parole on a smaller scale to welcome deported U.S. military veterans, migrant families separated under the Trump administration, at-risk Central American minors with family members in the U.S. and Cubans and Haitians with American relatives.

The number of migrants paroled into the U.S. is expected to increase even further. The program powered by the CBP One app currently allows up to 529,250 migrants to be processed each year, while the sponsorship program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans has an annual ceiling of 360,000 arrivals. The Uniting for Ukraine policy has no numerical cap.

Moreover, the Biden administration is also operationalizing another program that will allow migrants from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to enter the U.S. under the parole authority if the government has approved visa petitions filed by their U.S. citizen or resident relatives.

A legal dispute

The Biden administration has said the use of parole has allowed the U.S. to resettle at-risk refugees, reunite families and relieve pressure at the U.S.-Mexico border. Officials, for example, have credited the CBP One app and program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans — as well as stricter asylum rules — for a dramatic drop in illegal crossings along the southern border in recent weeks.

But the widespread use of parole has garnered strong criticism from Republican lawmakers and state officials, who have accused the Biden administration of abusing the authority and circumventing the limits Congress placed on work and immigrant visas.

In an ongoing lawsuit challenging the policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with U.S. sponsors, Republican-led states called the initiative an “illegal program” that imposes a financial burden on American communities due to social and medical services costs.

“The Department of Homeland Security, under the false pretense of preventing aliens from unlawfully crossing the border between the ports of entry, has effectively created a new visa program — without the formalities of legislation from Congress,” the states argued.

Senior DHS officials said the administration’s use of parole is lawful because, despite the large-scale nature of the programs, immigration officials still make individual determinations as to whether migrants should receive parole, and some applicants are denied entry. All parolees under security vetting, officials said.

“There are case-by-case adjudications happening. And that is why we very strongly believe that this is well within our statutory authorities and is a use of parole that’s been consistent with how parole has been used in the past,” an official said under condition of anonymity to discuss these matters.

For the past decades, Democratic and Republican administrations have created parole programs; though they were much smaller in scope, like processes for military families and Cuban doctors set up under President George W. Bush. The Trump administration tried to severely curtail the use of parole, but still kept some programs in place.

The DHS officials stressed that the administration believes its parole processes should not be grouped together, since they arose from distinct circumstances. The officials also noted that over the same period when more than half a million people were paroled, the U.S. deported or expelled migrants over 3 million times, mostly under the now-expired pandemic border measure known as Title 42.

“More individuals have been removed or expelled than paroled in the last two years, and the conflation of very different parole processes that serve very different purposes is misleading and wrong,” DHS spokesperson Naree Ketudat said in a statement.

The programs for Afghans and Ukrainians were created in response to emergency situations overseas, the DHS officials said. The parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, they added, was set up to discourage unlawful migration and as part of a deal in which Mexico agreed to accept migrants from these countries who enter the U.S. illegally. Unlike those programs, migrants processed under the CBP One process are placed in deportation proceedings in addition to being paroled, the officials noted.

While the DHS officials said they view the programs as “very different” forms of parole, one official acknowledged that “technically it’s the same underlying authority that’s allowing these folks to come.”

“An indeterminate situation”

While advocates for migrants have generally applauded the administration’s use of parole, they have expressed concern about hundreds of thousands of migrants becoming stuck in legal limbo, without a path to permanent legal status. A Republican administration could also terminate their parole grants.

“It is an indeterminate situation for hundreds of thousands of people. But at the same time, it is safety and protection for the moment,” said Meissner, the former top immigration official and now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

During the Cold War, Congress passed several laws to give those paroled into the country permanent residency. But the odds of the current deeply divided Congress doing so again are slim, even for populations like Afghan evacuees, who have enjoyed bipartisan support.

The senior DHS officials said they expect migrants to leave the U.S. once their parole expires if they have not gained permanent status by applying for programs like asylum or visas for relatives of Americans.

“If they, at the end of the two years, have not found a lawful pathway in the U.S., our expectation is that we will be seeking to remove those individuals,” one official said.

Source: U.S. has welcomed more than 500000 migrants as part of historic expansion of legal immigration under Biden

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Despite end to visa program Ukrainians will still seek refuge in Canada, group says

2023/07/20 Leave a comment

Of note:

As the war in Ukraine continues, some Ukrainians will still want to seek safe haven in Canada despite the end of a special visa program, according to the head of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

The group’s CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn said he knows many Ukrainians who returned to their country after coming to Canada in the early days of the war, but that could change depending on what happens in Ukraine.

“It’s a good opportunity to remind people that the war is still on. People are still moving around, there is a lot of uncertainty. I don’t think anybody knows where they will end up or what they’re going back to.”

Over the weekend, the government allowed a special visa program, the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel, to expire. The program allowed Ukrainians to apply to come to Canada with limited barriers and allowed them to stay for up to three years, work legally and receive settlement supports.

The government rejected calls to extend that program and will not accept new applications, though anyone who has already applied and been approved will still be able to come to Canada until March 2024.

The government first unveiled the new program in March 2022, just weeks after the invasion. In total, the government received 1.1 million applications, roughly 800,000 of them have been processed and approximately 166,000 people have come to Canada.

The program was initially set to expire in March, but was extended until July 15. During that extension period 140,000 people applied.

Michalchyshyn said there has been a slowdown in the number of new arrivals from Ukraine, but with the war still threatening civilians, many Ukrainians who hold one of the special visas may decide to come.

“There isn’t a city or a region that hasn’t been touched. Every Ukrainian knows somebody who’s fighting or who’s been killed,” he said. “Ultimately, we need Ukraine to win the war and establish a peace for people to have that context and make decisions.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of just over 40 million, but estimates suggest as many as 10 million people have fled the country since the invasion began on top of others who have been internally displaced. The country’s population has been in decline for decades and could continue to shrink in the years ahead.

Michalchyshyn said when the war is over he believes many Ukrainians will return, but some may decide to start new lives here. Canada is currently home to the largest Ukrainian disapora in the world outside of Russia.

“The government of Ukraine is going to do everything it can to encourage people to come back when they feel safe, and there are lots of people going back now,” he said. “It’s a family decision. It’s an individual decision based on circumstances, based on what they see in their future.”

Mary Rose Sabater, a spokesperson for the immigration department, said after the previous extension, they decided now was the time to wind down the program. She said that doesn’t mean Ukrainians can no longer immigrate.

“Ukrainians are still able to come to Canada by applying through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s existing temporary resident programs. In recognition of the continued danger while Russia’s invasion continues, we’re implementing these new measures to ensure continued support to Ukrainians in Canada,” she said.

While it ended the special visa program, the government did announce a new process for Ukrainians with family in Canada to become permanent residents.

Sabater said Canada still wants to help for as long as the war continues.

“The Government of Canada continues to do everything possible to help those fleeing Russia’s invasion, which includes providing a safe haven and peace of mind.”

Andrew Griffith, a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and former director general with Citizenship and Immigration, said the Ukrainians who have travelled to Canada are largely younger people with post-secondary educations — the kind of people Canada is usually looking for.

He said balancing the collective good of Ukraine and the individual good for people fleeing the war is part of the balance of any immigration policy, but he said Canada tends not to be overly concerned about what happens to source countries.

“I have never seen any evidence that we consider the interest of the source country in any meaningful way.”

He said the government’s choice to end new applications for the special visa program is a reasonable measure and a sign to those people who have been approved that they need to make a decision.

“It sends a signal to people that if they want to use this pathway, they’ve got a certain limited amount of time to do it.”

Source: Despite end to visa program Ukrainians will still seek refuge in Canada, group says

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Globe editorial: Justin Trudeau should listen to Justin Trudeau on temporary foreign workers

2023/07/20 Leave a comment

Of course, always easier while in opposition but 2014 should be a cautionary tale about Temporary Foreign Workers as well as an example of a government pivot when the Conservatives and Jason Kenney had to reverse course:

Justin Trudeau has some advice for Justin Trudeau.

Mr. Trudeau, in 2023, leads a federal government that has overseen a surge in the country’s reliance on low-wage temporary foreign workers. The federal Liberals stoked this increase: they loosened the rules early last year. According to the latest data, reported by The Globe last week, Ottawa has approved the hiring of almost 80,000 low-wage foreign workers in the year after the rules were eased. That’s triple the level of the 12 months before the change.

…

Source: Justin Trudeau should listen to Justin Trudeau on temporary foreign workers

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Language tests used to determine admissibility into Canada are a ‘money-making machine,’ critic says

2023/07/19 Leave a comment

Language is central to integration and more positive socio-economic outcomes:

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who enter Canada annually are required to take a language test. But their scores expire within the next two years — one of many problems critics have with the test.

The Canadian government invited 431,645 permanent residents into the country last year — a record high. Most are required to be proficient in either English or French.

Applicants can attempt either of the two tests recognized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Both cost more than $250 and the results are only valid for two years. There are also French tests that have the same validity period and cost about the same.

Source: Language tests used to determine admissibility into Canada are a ‘money-making machine,’ critic says

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How immigration could be impacting the Bank of Canada’s efforts to bring down inflation

2023/07/19 Leave a comment

Of note:

Demand created from a record influx of immigrants could be one factor keeping inflation higher for longer than anticipated, some economists say, though Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem doesn’t appear overly worried about it.

Sticky inflation prompted the Bank of Canada on July 12 to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to five per cent — the highest level since 2001. Though the inflation rate has fallen off its peak of 8.1 per cent last summer to 3.4 per cent in May, prices of more than half the goods in the consumer price index, such as meat, bread, coffee and rent, continue to rise, Macklem said in a press conference following the decision.

The central bank now expects inflation to reach its two per cent target by the middle of 2025, instead of the end of next year as predicted in April.

But even as prices for key goods go up, the economy is proving more resilient than expected and demand momentum and consumption growth has been “surprisingly strong,” the bank said in a statement, pushing it to once again hike rates last week.

An increase in immigration could be one complicating factor keeping inflation higher for longer and stoking demand, Bank of Nova Scotia economist Rebekah Young said.

“There is more risk that inflation may be sticky in months and quarters ahead, versus it coming down faster than we thought and newcomers are a part of that story,” she said. “They are certainly adding to what could be keeping (Macklem) up at night.”

Canada welcomed more than one million immigrants in the past year as the federal government sought to address high job vacancies and labour shortages. Young said the country has traditionally used population growth through immigration as a means to increase workers and enhance supply, especially as “massive surges” of inflation haven’t been something policymakers have worried about for decades. But things have gotten more complicated.

“A lot of things are different now,” she said. “The current juncture that we are in, getting inflation back to two per cent is still fraught with uncertainty.”

Macklem last week said he expects the net-impact of immigration growth on inflation to be “roughly neutral,” though he added it is impacting some parts of the economy more than others.

He said that while newcomers filling job vacancies has been good for company margins, easing inflationary pressures, new entrants are also increasing demand for housing, helping boost rent and home prices. It’s “hard to know exactly” the net effect on the economy, he added, but the main message is that immigration is adding to both demand and supply.

“If you start an economy with excess demand (and) you add both demand and supply, you are still in excess demand,” Macklem said. “What we’re seeing is that the excess demand in the economy is more persistent than we thought and so we’ve raised rates in June and July.”

Douglas Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, said he agrees with Macklem’s assertion that high immigration adds to both demand and supply. But there’s another element the governor “didn’t talk about much,” he said, and that’s a matter of timing.

“(Strong population growth) does tend to affect things like spending and the housing demand almost instantaneously, whereas the supply side might take a little bit longer to kick in,” he said. “A new worker might enter the labour force relatively quickly, but reaching their full potential might take a little bit of time.”

In the short run, strong population growth tends to “push up the price pressures” a little bit, Porter said, but the impact in the longer run is “broadly neutral.”

Porter assessed economies of 20 nations to better understand the link between population growth and inflation and said he found a “very weak positive relationship.” Most of the impact is on the housing market, since there is a “very clear relationship between strong population growth and home prices,” he said.

Still, Porter also said Canada has fared better than most nations in terms of tackling inflation, meaning there are “larger forces at play here, beyond just population growth.”

Source: How immigration could be impacting the Bank of Canada’s efforts to bring down inflation

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On Peter Street, a community steps up for asylum seekers abandoned to sleep on the sidewalk

2023/07/19 Leave a comment

Ongoing crisis and scandal:

As asylum seekers continued to sleep on a downtown Toronto sidewalk waiting on government to sort out a funding dispute, community leaders and business owners stepped in to help.

Some asylum seekers were relocated Monday night, an advocate said.

Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker who has spoken out about the situation at 129 Peter St., said a “coalition of groups” worked to arrange a bus and space for individuals at temporary church shelters. 

Some people went to the church while others chose to stay behind, Lam said.

The growing camp of refugee claimants and asylum seekers downtown is the result of a tug-of-war between all levels of government over who should foot the bill when it comes to housing refugees in Canada. A new city policy, which Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie framed as a hard decision, means asylum seekers looking for emergency beds in the city’s non-refugee-specific shelters would be redirected to the federal government.

Mayor Olivia Chow said all hands on deck are required to solve the crisis.

“When senior staff meet on Tuesday, my expectation is tangible solutions from all three levels of government that we can implement right away,” Chow said on Monday.

On Monday morning, Paramount Fine Foods CEO Mohamad Fakih pledged to donate $20,000 and raise more money to pay for temporary housing. 

There are “good people in the government. They want to do the right thing, but it’s taking long and they have to move,” Fakih said. “This is wrong on all of us and we have to change it.” 

He’s asking other business leaders to open their hearts and their pockets if they are able to help. 

One man who the Star agreed not to name has been at 129 Peter St. for 10 days. He said that while they are grateful to get food, what they really need is shelter. 

“We have food in our own countries. But we came here because of security. And now security means that we have to have a place that is enclosed, where we put our heads (to rest),” the man said.

Meanwhile, 32 housing advocates and outreach workers sent an open letter to the head of Toronto’s shelter and housing system, Gord Tanner, calling for his resignation or for Chow to fire him over what they call “repeated mismanagement of the shelter system.”

While the collapse of the shelter system “is not solely the General Manager (of Toronto’s Shelter Support and Housing Administration) responsibility — it lies with City Council — your key decisions have resulted in immeasurable harm and have further exacerbated the crisis,” the letter states. 

The letter cites several “key decisions” advocates say have resulted in “immeasurable harm,” including the city denying shelter to refugees and changing shelter death reporting from monthly to biannually. 

In a statement shared with the Star, city manager Paul Johnson acknowledged the letter, adding the voices of homeless, shelter and refugee advocates matter and they play a critical role in providing supports and advocacy work, as well as City staff.

“I have every confidence in the individual mentioned in the letter and in my team who has been working diligently and on an ongoing basis, in partnership with many other experts and community leaders, some of whom are signatories of the letter,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson said urgent funding is needed from other levels of government to support the surge of people arriving in Canada as the city grapples with a shelter system that does not have extra space or means to expand the shelter system to keep up with demand.

“A lot of political figures respond to public pressure and it’s not looking very good on them right now. So I would say that maybe that little bit of pressure might jog some more quick rapid-response movement,” Lam said.

Lam took to Twitter this weekend to encourage community members who want to help to be mindful of what they are donating.

“What we started to see over the weekend, for instance, was there was so much food because everybody wanted to bring food on the weekend and on Friday night, because that’s when people are free,” Lam said. The result was extra food being thrown away or sitting next to people as they tried to sleep.

Lam and fellow outreach worker Diana McNally have started a GoFundMe to go toward water, meals, and store gift cards as well as requested items like camping chairs and sleeping bags. The campaign has raised $59,985 as of Monday afternoon. 

Brampton non-profit groups Help A Girl Out and Rescue the Youth were also in front of 129 Peter St. on Monday with pink drawstring bags full of soap, sanitizer, toothbrushes, wash clothes and sanitary pads. 

“I can’t imagine having your period on the streets,” said Andria Barrett, chair of Help a Girl Out. 

“Every non-profit, church, charity, mosque, religious institution needs to come together and donate — donate money, donate time, donate food, donate products. This is not how we need to be treating each other,” Barrett said, gesturing to the dozens of people sitting outside 129 Peter St. under tents with suitcases and garbage bags filled with belongings around them. 

Don Mills resident Vickie Williams was rolling a suitcase around the site on Monday and told the Star she dropped off used jackets, a sleeping bag, new socks and other clothing she stayed up gathering until 3 a.m.

“What is going on is not right. Our government’s got to be the example. And as far as I can see, they are not the example. They need to smarten up. They need to treat everybody equally and fairly,” Williams said.

Source: On Peter Street, a community steps up for asylum seekers abandoned to sleep on the sidewalk

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with , , , ,

As immigration debate rages on, new report makes the case for more newcomers

2023/07/18 Leave a comment

Odd report, at odds with most labour economists in terms of impact on per capita GDP:

At a time when skeptics are questioning Canada’s plan to ramp up immigration, a new report argues the country needs to welcome a lot more newcomers to counter-balance its aging demographic.

A Desjardins report released Monday analyzes how much population growth among working-age Canadians is necessary to maintain the old-age dependency ratio, which refers to the ratio between 15 to 64-year-olds and those aged 65 and older.

It finds that the working-age population would have to grow by 2.2 per cent per year through 2040 to maintain the same ratio that existed in 2022.

And if the country wanted to go back to the average old-age dependency ratio it had between 1990 and 2015, that group of Canadians would have to grow by 4.5 per cent annually.

“I feel like the discussion around immigration levels in Canada, by and large, focuses on the immediate impact on the Canadian housing market,” said Randall Bartlett, Desjardins’ senior director of Canadian economics.

“And so what I wanted to do was sort of zoom out and provide some broader economic context around immigration and why immigration to Canada is important.”

The prospective ramp-up of immigration levels has sparked debate on whether the country can handle higher flows of newcomers amid a housing crisis, and what the total economic impact of having more people in the country would be.

Canada’s population grew by more than one million people last year, a record for the country. Its total population grew by 2.7 per cent, the fastest rate since 1957.

The strong population growth comes as the Liberal government eyes higher annual immigration targets, which would see the country welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025.

Proponents of higher immigration argue that the labour market is able to absorb more workers, and the country needs more working-age Canadians to support the tax base as more people retire.

“We need immigration at a relatively high rate, actually, in order to offset the economic impacts of aging — to be able to pay for the health care that Canadian seniors are going to need,” Bartlett said.

A recent Desjardins analysis finds Canada’s plan to increase immigration could boost gross domestic product per capita if newcomers continue to have the same success getting work that they’ve enjoyed recently.

GDP per capita is the size of a country’s economy divided by its population. Many consider it to be a better measure of a country’s living standards than the overall GDP figure.

The employment outcomes of recent immigrants, particularly those brought in through the economic stream, have improved compared to those of previous cohorts. That’s in part because of changes to federal immigration policy.

In 2018, the median wage of economic immigrant principal applicants surpassed that of the Canadian population by the time they had been in the country for one year, according to Statistics Canada.

“We’re bringing in very, very talented people,” Bartlett said. They are able to find jobs and “generate earnings very quickly that are outpacing the Canadian average,” he added.

But critics argue that relying on immigration to supply workers for the economy can also serve as a disincentive for businesses to invest in technology that would boost labour productivity and reduce dependency on workers.

Bartlett said the federal government could modulate the flow of temporary foreign workers so as to encourage such investments.

But he conceded that housing serves as a major hurdle.

Desjardins estimates the country would need to build 100,000 more units every year to offset upward price pressures caused by having a higher number of permanent residents in the country.

A recent analysis by BMO found that for every one per cent of population growth, housing prices typically increase by three per cent.

The influx of newcomers into the country is already having an effect on the housing market, which rebounded this year despite interest rates being at their highest level in decades.

At its last interest rate decision, the Bank of Canada flagged population growth’s effect on housing prices as one of the factors feeding into inflation.

“Strong population growth from immigration is adding both demand and supply to the economy: newcomers are helping to ease the shortage of workers while also boosting consumer spending and adding to demand for housing,” the central bank said in a press release on its latest rate hike.

Bartlett warned the erosion of housing affordability amid record population growth could damage public support for immigration and warrants swift action from government.

“There’s a risk Canadians could become less open and less positive… toward immigration,” Bartlett said.

“If that leads to scaling back immigration in a meaningful way, then that means Canadians are gonna be facing a significant bill going forward to meet the the aging costs of older Canadians.”

Source: As immigration debate rages on, new report makes the case for more newcomers

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Opinion For proof of the U.S. immigration system’s dysfunction, look to Canada

2023/07/17 Leave a comment

Interesting take and further illustration of dysfunction (which largely works to Canada’s advantage):

To attract talented tech workers, Canada will soon offer 10,000 work permits to foreigners who are now in the United States on H-1B visas. This might be the first time any country has created an immigration program that hinges entirely on another country’s system.

This suggests that the Canadian government holds two opinions of U.S. H-1B visas: That they are good at attracting the world’s most talented immigrants. And that the ultimate value proposition to prospective immigrants is so weak long-term, that, given the option, many H-1B visa holders will head north to Canada.

The H-1B visa’s weakness lies in the way it is tied to employment. When jobs disappear, the workers have no path toward permanent residency. If they cannot find another H-1B job within 60 days, they have to leave the country.

Finding a job that can sponsor an H-1B visa within 60 days is not easy, even under normal circumstances. When U.S. companies laid off more than 310,000 workers in 2022 and 2023, it became harder still, especially for tech workers. Last November, Meta alone laid off 11,000 workers. More than 15 percent of Meta’s workers have H-1B visas.

About 50,000 people had their H-1B visas revoked due to loss of employmentbetween October 2022 and April 2023, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and, among them, about 12,500 did not transfer their visas to some other legal status. In other words, they either left the United States or remained without documents.

This is a population of immigrants that the United States should want to keep. Most work in computer-related jobs. Others work in jobs that require specialized skills, such as doctors, professors, accountants and managers.

A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is required to get an H-1B visa, making visa workers more educated than the U.S. population in general.

The exodus of H-1B workers did not start with the recent layoffs. Living as an H-1B worker has long been unstable and risky, especially for those born in India, who make up more than 70 percent of H-1B visa recipients every year. Because of America’s country-based green card quota system, Indians on H-1B visas have almost no path to permanent residency even after years of studying and workingin the United States. A change of president, an economic slowdown, or sudden layoffs can push them to abandon lives they have been building for years.

Both U.S. political parties have tried and failed to remove the country-based green card quota. As a short-term fix, many lawmakers and industry advocateshave urged the USCIS to extend the 60-day grace period after loss of employment to 120 days. But the agency says it would take more than a year to go through the required rulemaking process — too long to benefit immigrants who are already at risk of losing their legal status.

The Canadian government has been able to act faster. Indeed, it is already benefiting from U.S. visa restrictions. Since 2020, Vancouver and Toronto have seen the largest high-tech job growth in North America, outpacing Austin, Seattle and every other U.S. city. H-1B holders who move to Canada will receive open work permits for three years, allowing adequate time to find jobs without deportation worries. And rather than wait decades for a U.S. green card, skilled workers can get permanent residency in Canada in less than a year. Canada will also issue open work permits to spouses of H-1B workers; in the United States, only spouses of those who have an approved green card application are allowed to work.

The Biden administration launched a directive last year aimed at attracting immigrants trained in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But the H-1B system is holding the United States back. The loss of H-1B workers to Canada this year might not hurt the U.S. economy too much on its own, but if the immigration system for skilled workers is not fixed, the damage will accumulate and set back U.S. innovation for years to come.

Source: Opinion For proof of the U.S. immigration system’s dysfunction, look to Canada

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Vastel: Quelqu’un devra bien prendre soin des migrants de la vague qui s’en vient

2023/07/17 Leave a comment

Longer-term perspective given effects of climate change and increased migration pressures, with need for more analysis and preparation:

IIs étaient cinq cents, désespérés de rejoindre un monde meilleur par quelque moyen que ce soit. Mais le bateau qui devait les y transporter a sombré le mois dernier dans la mer Méditerranée, comme de trop nombreux autres avant lui, les laissant tous présumés disparus, possiblement par la faute de la garde côtière grecque, qui ne voulait pas d’eux, est venu révéler le Guardian. De telles tragédies se multiplient. Le taux de migration mondiale est voué à s’accroître lui aussi. Au même moment, de plus en plus de pays, voyant arriver ce flux migratoire, resserrent leurs frontières. L’incohérence est intenable et elle le demeurera.

Les dernières années ont été celles de tous les records. Plus de 108 millions de déplacés dans le monde, ce qui correspond à la plus forte hausse annuelle jamais enregistrée, nous dit le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés. La guerre en Ukraine y a contribué (de l’ordre du tiers des 19 millions de déplacés de plus qu’en 2021), mais pas que. Les catastrophes naturelles — celles-là mêmes qui ne feront que s’amplifier — ont été responsables de plus de la moitié des déplacements internes au sein des pays frappés.

Le monde a également été le théâtre d’un nombre exceptionnel de conflits (56 en 2020), du jamais vu depuis le début des années 1990. Il ne faut pas se leurrer, ces multiples causes de migration ne feront que se perpétuer.

À ces migrants qui fuient la guerre, la persécution ou les bouleversements de la crise climatique s’ajoutent ceux qui partent en quête de perspectives économiques. Tant que des pays en manque de main-d’oeuvre leur offriront des emplois dont leurs natifs ne veulent pas (en agriculture, en restauration, en soins de santé — on peut penser aux « anges gardiens » de la pandémie), ces migrants continueront de prendre la route. Qu’on tente de la leur barrer ou non.

En Europe comme en Amérique du Nord, la tendance est à la sécurisation de la migration, et ce, par la voie d’une militarisation des interventions, du recours à la détention, de la construction de clôtures sur terre ou en mer. Les budgets de sécurité ont explosé, sans que cela freine les arrivées. Au contraire, les migrants prennent simplement des routes plus dangereuses, comme en témoignent les tragiques naufrages à répétition en Méditerranée ou la mort effroyable de migrants en pleine forêt le long de la frontière canado-américaine. Ce qui « subventionne » au passage une industrie criminelle de trafic de personnes chiffrée à 13 milliards de dollars américains l’an dernier, selon la professeure et chercheuse de l’Université de Montréal Luna Vives Gonzales.

Les déplacements ne sont bien sûr pas tous internationaux. Bien des gens tentent de trouver une vie meilleure dans une ville de proximité. Ainsi, 76 % des déplacés se sont réinstallés dans des pays à faibles ou moyens revenus l’an dernier. Des États qui n’ont souvent pas les infrastructures ni les services nécessaires pour gérer cette explosion imprévue de leur population, ce qui vient exacerber les tensions. L’iniquité avec les pays riches, qui, eux, en auraient davantage les moyens, est frappante.

L’immigration toujours croissante puise toutefois elle aussi dans ces pays des ressources, des logements ou des services, éléments qui pourraient ainsi ne pas suffire à la demande, préviennent des projections démographiques.

Ce qui inquiète les gouvernements. Et la réticence de la population locale à l’accueil d’un nombre plus généreux de migrants vient conforter ces dirigeants. Ce repli sur soi se voit surtout à droite, voire à l’extrême droite, mais la gauche est elle aussi divisée, comme en témoignent les débats internes au sein du Parti démocrate américain. Le climat actuel n’est donc pas passager. La vague migratoire ne l’est cependant pas elle non plus.

L’année 2022 devrait servir autant d’avertissement que d’exemple aux pays de la planète. Aux records migratoires s’adjoint celui des enveloppes internationales d’aide au développement, qui ont également atteint des sommets (204 milliards de dollars américains à l’échelle mondiale, une hausse de 14 %, et la quatrième d’affilée). Là encore, le soutien de nombreux pays à l’Ukraine est venu gonfler les chiffres.

La guerre dans ce pays aura montré que les pays riches sont en mesure d’adapter en temps de crise leurs seuils d’accueil et leurs budgets d’aide aux États moins nantis. Qu’est-ce qui les empêche de récidiver ? Car la solution, pour la suite, devra passer par l’un ou par l’autre.

Les migrants de demain ne se résigneront pas à rester, faute d’invitation à trouver refuge ailleurs, dans une zone de conflit ou sur une terre asséchée. Les pays de la planète (les plus riches, avant tout) devront les accueillir ou alors investir dans l’adaptation climatique, la gouvernance et la stabilité économique afin de les aider à demeurer chez eux ou non loin de leur région.

Le statu quo est impossible et nous mène droit vers un mur. Seule une migration ordonnée permettra à ces déplacés de trouver une vie meilleure en toute sécurité, mais aussi, et surtout, aux gouvernements qui les accueillent de mieux gérer leur intégration et leur arrivée.

Source: Vastel: Quelqu’un devra bien prendre soin des migrants de la vague qui s’en vient

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

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