Regulator extends deadline for immigration consultants facing new rule

2022/06/13 Leave a comment

Of note:

Immigration consultants have been granted a last-minute reprieve by their regulator from meeting a looming deadline in order to continue their practice before Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.

On Friday, the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants extended the July 1 deadline for a new licensing requirement by one year to allow current consultants time to enrol in the new specialization course and sit for the qualifying exam.

The move, in consultation with senior officials at the refugee board, avoids operational disruptions at the board and saves consultants’ clients from having to scramble to find new legal counsel to represent their cases.

“In supporting the motion, the Board (of directors) considered that the public interest is served with respect to the need for a vulnerable and at-risk client group to proceed with scheduled hearings before the IRB in a timely fashion,” the college said in a statement to the Star.

“This new date will ensure that all those currently enrolled in one of the program pathways and those who enrol promptly will have the opportunity to complete the program requirements … before the new deadline.”

The deferral of the enforcement of the new rules came after some refugee claimants raised concerns about going before the board without legal representation, or with new representation unfamiliar with their files, because their current consultants would not be able to meet the deadline.

Since the college started offering the 4 1/2-month-long specialization course last August, there have been only two qualifying exams held. Of the 38 specialization courses scheduled — each with 35 spots available — since August, 17 of the cohorts will have completed the classes on or before July 1.

Last week, the college added more exam dates in the coming months to accommodate the needs and said it was in consultation with the refugee board to explore moving the deadline.

IRB data showed 105 consultants who will not meet the new requirement until the fall had “active” cases — some with multiple files — to be heard in July and August.

Kerry Molitor, who has been among a group of consultants raising concerns, said she was grateful the regulator listened to their voices and recognizes the interests of their clients, who are the most vulnerable and desperately need proper legal help.

“Now we can keep our existing clients and help new clients who need representation before the refugee board without worrying about having to abandon them in the middle of their proceedings,” said Molitor.

“The uncertainty was causing everyone a significant amount of stress and now we can move forward together.”

Source: Regulator extends deadline for immigration consultants facing new rule

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

USA: Economists hope a rebound in immigration helps curb inflation

2022/06/13 Leave a comment

Of note, temporary workers as a way to both address labour shortages and reduce wage pressures:

When the crowds return to Funland this summer, they’ll find familiar rides like the Fire Engines and the Sea Dragon at this small beachside amusement park.

For the first time since the pandemic began, many of those rides and games will be staffed by student guest workers from around the world.

“They are truly important to the success of our business,” said Chris Darr, the personnel manager at Funland. “We saw last year, we couldn’t fill the positions that we had.”

The number of guest workers and immigrants coming to the United States is slowly climbing again after steep declines during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of international students are back at resort towns and amusement parks. The Biden administration has released more visas for seasonal guest workers, and it’s automatically extending work permits for others.

Economists say that should ease labor shortages — and some, though not all, think it could help calm inflation too.

“Hopefully if this trend continues, and maybe accelerates, we will see the easing of some of the shortages,” said Giovanni Peri, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis.

Businesses in Rehoboth Beach rely on seasonal guest workers

Employers in Rehoboth Beach are clearly glad to have these temporary student workers back. Without them, Darr says, he couldn’t hire enough people to keep Funland open every day.

“Especially at the end of the summer, early August, we lose college students, we lose high school students back to sports and theater programs,” said Darr, a fourth-generation member of the family that owns the park.

For decades, he says, Funland has relied on students coming to the U.S. on J-1 visas. But the program was all but shut down in 2020. The numbers were up last year, though still far short of pre-pandemic levels.

“Without the J-1 visa program, we wouldn’t be able to open half of the stuff that is in the park,” he said.

This summer, Darr is expecting about two dozen student guest workers — including 21-year-old Morgan Bennett, a student from Jamaica.

“There was a listing of all the different places that I could have worked,” Bennett said. “When the person had told me the type of job that I would have encountered, I just said yes!”

The State Department says the number of participants in its summer work travel program is rebounding toward pre-pandemic levels. Roughly 30,000 participants have started the program already this year, according to a State Department official, with about 50,000 more in the pipeline. That would put the program at roughly three-quarters of its enrollment in 2019, when more than 108,000 visas were issued.

More guest workers could help ease labor shortages

Overall, the U.S. economy is about two million working-age immigrants short of where it would have been if not for the pandemic and the Trump administration’s cuts, according to Peri. He says that’s contributed to a tighter labor market, putting pressure on employers to raise wages — and in turn, prices.

“If these shortages loosens up — so if there are more workers — this should also reduce the inflationary pressures,” Peri said. That’s especially true, he says, in industries that depend heavily on immigrant labor, like hospitality.

“We were 32 employees short last summer,” said Susan Wood, who owns the Cultured Pearl Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Rehoboth Beach. “It was torture. I mean all of our staff work six, seven days. They killed themselves.”

“I worked 183 days straight at the front desk, and my husband worked more than that in the kitchen,” she said.

Wood is also participating in the J-1 visa program this year. Without those international student workers, she says, her year-round staff worked a lot of overtime last summer, driving her labor costs way up.

“We had to raise prices,” Wood said. “We raised prices because of payroll, but not nearly as much as we had to raise prices because of food costs.”

Some economists doubt that more immigration will cure inflation

The costs of food and energy are still rising fast. Economists say that’s contributing to inflation across the economy — and some are skeptical that a partial rebound in the number of guest workers and immigrants will have a measurable impact.

“I don’t think it’s going to do much to fix our inflation problem,” said Ramesh Ponnuru, the editor of the National Review, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank in Washington.

Ponnuru argues that inflation right now is largely caused by problems in the supply chain, and that simply bringing immigration back to pre-COVID levels won’t solve those problems.

“We need an immigration policy designed with our economy’s interests in mind. We don’t have that,” Ponnuru said. “And just toggling that so that you have more of a dysfunctional immigration policy seems to me to be a mistake.”

Temporary guest workers are already making an impact on the bottom line at Thrasher’s French Fries in Rehoboth Beach. General manager Dean Shuttleworth is expecting about a dozen international student workers this summer, which means that he’ll have enough staff to reopen another location across the street that’s been shuttered since the pandemic began.

“[Memorial Day] weekend was the first time we opened our 26 Rehoboth Avenue store up in two years,” Shuttleworth said.

“Last year, we had the volume up. We were extremely busy,” he said. “So I’m in pretty good shape this year.”

Source: Economists hope a rebound in immigration helps curb inflation

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , , ,

‘Brought down to my knees:’ Restaurateur slams changes to New Brunswick immigration

2022/06/11 Leave a comment

To govern is to choose, and hard to argue that healthcare and more highly skilled international students were not a valid policy choice:

When Michael Petrovici posts a job opening for one of his northern New Brunswick restaurants, he’s lucky if he gets one application.

“It’s very, very challenging to recruit people locally,” said the entrepreneur who owns a fast-food restaurant, a coffee shop and a full-service eatery in Bathurst.

The small city on the Chaleur Bay is quickly becoming the epicentre of Canada’s restaurant industry labour shortage after the province paused a popular immigration stream used by businesses to attract workers to the area.

“We were already struggling before. Now it’s just impossible for us,” Petrovici said. “I’m not sure how we’ll get through the summer.”

At issue is a decision by the New Brunswick government to suspend the province’s express entry stream, part of the provincial nominee program.

Arlene Dunn, the province’s minister responsible for immigration, said the application process was temporarily paused to ensure the needs of all sectors are met after a significant increase in demand.

“If it was allowed to continue, under the current circumstances, the large demand on our existing programming would jeopardize access to immigration for certain sectors … such as internationally educated nurses or international students who are currently in New Brunswick,” she said in a letter to Petrovici in response to his concerns.

The Canadian Press reached out to New Brunswick government departments that oversee immigration, economic development and business for comment but did not receive a response.

Restaurants across the country are confronting a worker shortfall.

The sector was slammed by two years of pandemic shutdowns, repeated layoffs and strict capacity limits. About 13,000 eateries across the country closed permanently and many workers left the industry altogether.

“The food service industry has been the hardest hit in terms of job losses as a result of COVID,” Restaurants Canada’s Atlantic Canada vice-president Richard Alexander said.

“The impact is even more significant in Atlantic Canada because of our unique labour challenges.”

Bathurst, for example, has a median age of 53 — more than a decade older than Canada’s median age of 40.4, according to Statistics Canada.

“The aging demographic makes it tough to find workers,” Petrovici said. “Rural areas are at an ever bigger disadvantage.”

Still, New Brunswick recorded a mini population boom during the pandemic.

The province added 15,000 newcomers in just 12 months — the fastest rate of population growth since 1976 — reaching 800,000 people, the province said in March.

Yet Petrovici, who owns a Pita Pit franchise, the coffee shop Kaffeine and the full-service restaurant Au Bootlegger, said he still can’t find enough workers to staff his eateries.

“We’re in crisis mode and it’s going to get worse,” he said. “The labour shortage is a really dire situation.”

Given the recent changes to the province’s immigration program, he said four of his employees will be leaving New Brunswick.

“I am brought down to my knees,” he said in a letter to Dunn. “We already have a mountain ahead of us in small rural communities just to attract newcomers.”

The changes to the immigration program have paused applications for food service supervisors, food counter attendants and food and beverage services indefinitely, he said.

“It feels like we’re being treated like a second-class business,” said Petrovici.

In her letter to Petrovici, Dunn suggested he consider the federal temporary foreign worker program.

But Petrovici said he doesn’t have the resources required to pursue other immigration streams, which are more complicated to navigate and require labour market assessments.

“Maybe if you’re a big business owner with 20 franchise locations and can afford to pay consultants it could be worth it,” he said. “But we’re just a mom and pop shop.”

Petrovici said he was told one of the issues is a delay with the federal allocation of candidates _ the number of foreign workers the province is able to welcome each year.

Remi Lariviere, a spokesperson for the federal Immigration Department, said allocations for 2022 were delayed due to the 2021 federal election, the conflict in Ukraine and ongoing challenges related to the pandemic.

Still, he said all provinces and territories participating in these immigration programs were told they could expect, at a minimum, the same number of allocations that they received in 2021.

“They’ve sort of passed the buck to the federal immigration (department),” Petrovici said. “I don’t know what the problem really is but we need a solution.”

He added: “All we need and want is to be able to keep our doors open.”

Source: ‘Brought down to my knees:’ Restaurateur slams changes to New Brunswick immigration

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

105 Iranians say their dreams of coming to Canada were dashed just to clear a processing backlog

2022/06/11 1 Comment

Of note, will be interesting to see how the court rules:

As a toddler, Rokhsar MousaviNezhad was mesmerized by the colourful motifs and designs of the handmade Persian carpets displayed in her grandfather’s studio in Shiraz, a city considered Iran’s cultural capital.

It’s where she fell in love with the craft of carpet-making and designs, and took her first dip into knotting and weaving with loom, combs and a traditional tool called gholab.

“I am proud of myself that I have continued my grandfather’s job,” says the now 41-year-old, who has built a career teaching the craft, displaying her work in shows and running her own carpet business.

It’s these skills and knowledge that she was banking on when she applied in 2016 for permanent residence in Canada under the self-employed immigration program, which aims at luring exemplary athletes, artists and farmers to this country.

Yet MousaviNezhad was rejected in 2018 for failing to demonstrate the ability and intent to become self-employed in Canada. Her refusal is among 105 cases entangled in an appeal to be heard collectively by the Federal Court next week.

At issue is whether the “mass” refusals made in “haste” — according to the applicants’ court submissions — of these Iranians by the Canadian visa post in Poland were the direct result of an effort to clear a backlog, allegedly “at the cost of violation of legal principles.”

The submissions say 479 files in the self-employed category were transferred to Warsaw from the backlogged Ankara post in Turkey on March 7, 2018.

“The Warsaw visa post defied all norms, procedural fairness requirements, and reasonable expectations of outcome in its assessment of the … (cases) transferred to it,” the applicants claimed. “Officers moved straight to refusals thereof.”

Almost all litigants were refused for failing to demonstrate their ability and intent to become self-employed in Canada, despite business plans that, in the past, would have met the expectations of the Ankara visa post, according to litigants’ counsel.

Pantea Jafari, lawyer for the 105 Iranians, said self-employed immigration applications are the most labour-intensive for both officials and applicants, since there are few guidelines to assist the assessment and applicants are left in the dark about what evidence would make their case.

“The document checklist does not provide any indication of what documents to provide for ‘relevant experience,’ it just says ‘relevant experience’ and ‘provide what you think is helpful,’” she told the Star.

“That’s it. There’s no reference whatsoever about the ability and intent to be self-employed in Canada.”

Jafari said officials in Ankara routinely requested further documentation and interviews with applicants in addition to a thorough review of the person’s business plan.

“So there was a stark change in the process once things were switched to Warsaw,” Jafari said in an interview. “Now, it’s saying ‘I’m going to refuse the application without any notice to the client.’ That is fundamentally procedurally unfair.”

In her business plan, MousaviNezhad — currently in Montreal — said she was going to run her own studio based in Newmarket, Ont., to teach design and weaving in handmade Persian carpets while marketing and selling her work domestically and internationally, especially to the huge U.S. market.

She also planned to offer classes at schools and community centres, and work with interior designers to create custom-made carpets.

MousaviNezhad said she applied to come to Canada after then-U.S. president Donald Trump banned Iranian-made rugs from entering from any country and restricted the sale of those already in the country.

“Iran is famed for two things: Persian cat and Persian carpet. My business as a part of the rug community has suffered,” said MousaviNezhad, who has a fine art degree in rug design from the Science and Culture University in Yazd and is a licensed carpet-maker in Iran.

“I want to know how I don’t have the ability to be self-employed while I have an academic education as a rug expert and designer, and worked as a freelance artist since 2007.”

In an affidavit, Thomas Richter, Canada’s migration program manager in Warsaw, said the self-employed class is part of economic immigration, where applicants are assessed “on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada.”

Qualified candidates, he stated, must have the relevant experience and be able to be self-employed, and must intend and be able to make a contribution to “specified economic activities” in the country.

“I can state with certainty that I am not aware of any policy that is in place at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw which would serve to discriminate or result in a bias against the clients,” Richter said in his affidavit.

“Each client is assessed on the basis of their individual attributes and in accordance with the criteria outlined.”

The self-employed immigration program was fine-tuned in 2004 to limit it to artists, athletes and farmers after a review found it had been “compromised” by business applicants unable to meet the skilled-worker criteria and unwilling to move to the more restrictive entrepreneur or immigrant investor programs, both of which require huge capital investments.

“A person may be talented and may even have in-depth knowledge, but that does not necessarily mean that the person has the ability to be self-employed; this must be linked to the intention and ability to create his or her own employment,” the government argued in its submissions in the Iranian case.

“Visa officers do not have a duty to seek to clarify a deficient application, to reach out and make an applicant’s case, to apprise an applicant about concerns arising directly from the legislation or regulations, to provide the applicant with a running score at every step of the application process.”

The government has asked the court to dismiss the applicants’ request, which is to have their cases set aside and sent to the Ankara post for redetermination.

Among the 105 who were refused is Milad Bagheri, a classical tenor and traditional Iranian musician, who has performed extensively in Canada, having toured in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver before applying to the self-employed program in 2018.

In August 2019, the 35-year-old arrived in Toronto with his musician wife, Homa Samiei, on a work permit as a self-employed foreign worker. The duo have been giving vocal and piano lessons, performing online concerts and producing music while collaborating with Canadian composers and musicians.

“Even with COVID’s situation, which you know was tough for artists, we worked and had outstanding achievements. I just had a sold-out show at Toronto’s Meridian Arts Centre and will have another one at Vancouver in September,” said Bagheri after a recent studio recording of a new single.

“They assumed we couldn’t live in Canada as self-employed. As you can see, we are living in Canada as self-employed right now.”

Source: 105 Iranians say their dreams of coming to Canada were dashed just to clear a processing backlog

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Suleman: Canada’s immigration processes need open and independent oversight

2022/06/10 Leave a comment

Not sure that adding another layer will make a significant improvement, rather then improving the annual report to parliament. But understand the frustration over some of the opacity of the government and IRCC:

I am joining the calls for an arms-length watchdog position to be created that monitors IRCC and reports annually to Parliament. The purpose of such oversight is to further scrutinize how IRCC is functioning and meeting its stated program delivery and budget goals. Canadians and those who apply to immigrate to Canada deserve more transparency than the minister and IRCC are offering.

Proposed Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) amendments will permit the minister to further specify and target immigration applicants under various economic classes. The applicants, mainly skilled and economic immigrants, currently apply through an online portal to enter an express entry selection pool. Ministerial instructions from the minister then instruct who gets selected.

This “pool” approach replaced the “stand in line and wait” approach, since IRPA was enacted in June 2002.

Pre-2002, the minister had to process them, no matter how long it took. The post-2002 pool approach lets the minister control inventories by choosing from those who express interest. It is only after they are chosen that they become applicants.

For the pool approach to work, the minister was granted special “ministerial instructions” powers, which permitted the minister to avoid Parliamentary approval and set selection criteria. The oversight mechanism envisioned was that the minister would report to Parliament annually, after the fact.

The ministerial instruction process was touted as being timely, nimble, targeted and transparent. If the 2022 proposed changes are passed, the minister could further micro-target immigrant selection by occupation, skill level, experience, source country and proposed Canadian city of settlement.

Alarm bells began to ring loudly as the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology began hearings on the proposed changes to the minister’s powers in early May 2022. Did the minister have too much power to issue selection instructions? What were the oversight mechanisms and were more required?

My view is that the minister needs more oversight, but I am not alone in this view. In August 2012, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) passed Resolution 12-06-A, which notes that, while ministerial instructions can increase the speed with which changes to Canada’s immigration system can be implemented, they “also decrease the system’s predictability and transparency.”

The resolution stressed that the former approach of regulatory amendment by Parliament struck the “appropriate balance between flexibility and predictability.” In February 2013, the CBA passed Resolution 13-04-M urging the federal government to not use omnibus legislation to “enact substantive legislation.”

In November 2013, the CBA wrote to the Senate and again noted that the ministerial instruction process thwarted the “certainty of selection” on which “people plan their lives.” Before the minister was to be granted any more powers, the CBA sought public, meaningful and substantive consultations.

IRCC views reporting to Parliament, after ministerial instructions have already been implemented, as a check and balance on ministerial power. Clearly this is not the case. After-the-fact reporting cannot replace going to Parliament and seeking permission before substantial new selection criteria are implemented.

Most Canadians now accept that bringing more immigrants to Canada is a fundamental part of Canada’s economic and social policy. We need to make sure that the selection processes are not left to ministerial fiat, but rather, are subject to sufficient oversight not only by Parliament but also by an independent scrutineer who reports to Parliament annually. •

Source: Canada’s immigration processes need open and independent oversight

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

Nicolas: La bonne cible [francophone immigration to the rest of Canada]

2022/06/10 Leave a comment

Valid debate but not sure how realistic vastly increased targets are given the ongoing failure to meet existing ones. But certainly ambitious, from about 2 percent currently to 12 percent in 2024 and to 20 percent by 2036:

Le débat public ravive, depuis quelques semaines, une peur ancestrale pour bien des francophones : celle de voir le poids proportionnel du français diminuer peu à peu au Canada, au point où la vitalité même de la francophonie serait remise en question.

Cette peur est parfois utilisée pour justifier des mesures populistes qui, tout en étant dommageables pour le vivre-ensemble, n’arrivent pas, en bout de piste, à améliorer grand-chose à la vitalité du français.

Dénoncer ces mesures ne veut pas dire que la crainte qui se trouve derrière est illégitime. Au contraire, il y a mille et une façons de transformer cette préoccupation tout à fait louable pour la pérennité du français en demandes concrètes, constructives et porteuses.

J’en ai parlé avec Alain Dupuis, directeur général de la Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) — soit la voix nationale des 2,7 millions de francophones vivant en situation minoritaire dans les neuf autres provinces et les trois territoires. Depuis maintenant des décennies, la FCFA se bat pour que le gouvernement du Canada augmente la proportion d’immigrants francophones reçus à l’extérieur du Québec.

Au recensement de 2001, la proportion de francophones en milieu minoritaire était de 4,4 %. En 2003, Ottawa s’est donc engagé à ce que 4,4 % des immigrants reçus au Canada soient des francophones, afin que les communautés franco-canadiennes et acadiennes puissent au moins se maintenir au fil des années.

Notons que les définitions de « francophones » utilisées ici sont plus inclusives que celles en usage au Québec. La FCFA définit un francophone comme toute personne parlant français — point. Immigration Canada, de son côté, inclut dans sa définition d’immigrant francophone toute personne qui a le français comme première langue officielle. Il n’est donc pas ici question de langue maternelle, nécessairement.

Cette cible de 4,4 % a-t-elle déjà été atteinte ? Non, jamais. Même qu’en 20 ans, Ottawa n’a recruté plus de 2 % de nouveaux résidents permanents francophones qu’à deux reprises : en 2019 et en 2020.

« C’est important, ces retards-là, explique Alain Dupuis. Ça représente une perte de vitalité, ça représente une fragilisation des institutions, et bien sûr une pénurie de main-d’œuvre importante. » Les communautés francophones sont par conséquent moins diversifiées que la population canadienne générale « parce que le fédéral ne permet pas aux communautés de bénéficier de l’immigration et de tous ses bienfaits ».

Le résultat, c’est que la proportion des francophones en milieu minoritaire diminue d’année en année. De 4,4 % de la population en 2001, ces communautés ne représentaient plus que 3,8 % de la population en 2016. La FCFA attend impatiemment les données du recensement de 2020, et projette que si la situation n’est pas redressée, elle ne représentera plus que 3,1 % du Canada « hors Québec » d’ici 2036.

Il est donc vrai que, pour l’instant, les politiques migratoires d’Ottawa jouent un rôle dans le recul démographique de la francophonie — dans les neuf autres provinces et les trois territoires. C’est pourquoi la FCFA dénonce la situation, et demande au fédéral de rectifie les choses.

Cet hiver, l’organisme a commandé une étude démographique afin de déterminer quelle cible devrait être mise en avant. Pour maintenir la proportion actuelle de francophones dits « hors Québec », il calcule qu’il faudrait qu’Immigration Canada admette 8 % d’immigrants francophones. Si on veut réparer les dommages causés par les promesses brisées d’Ottawa, il faut une cible encore plus ambitieuse.

La FCFA souhaite que le gouvernement fédéral s’engage à admettre 12 % de francophones dès 2024, et fasse progresser cette cible jusqu’à 20 % en 2036. Un immigrant sur cinq d’ici 14 ans : voilà ce qui est visé pour non seulement maintenir les communautés francophones, mais les remettre sur le chemin de la croissance. En nombre absolu, cela veut dire admettre 40 000 immigrants francophones à l’extérieur du Québec dès 2024.

Pour ce faire, la FCFA souhaite que la politique migratoire d’Ottawa établisse des objectifs détaillés dans chaque catégorie d’immigration, pour chaque région, en fonction des besoins spécifiques des communautés. « La pénurie d’enseignants, par exemple, est très importante pour les écoles de langue française, déplore M. Dupuis. Il y a aussi une pénurie de main-d’œuvre en petite enfance, en santé, dans la fonction publique, et plusieurs entreprises peinent à recruter du personnel francophone. »

Un certain travail se fait actuellement du côté du fédéral sur cette question. Le ministre de l’Immigration, Sean Fraser, dit vouloir atteindre la cible historique du 4,4 % d’ici l’an prochain. Et le projet de réforme de la Loi sur les langues officielles prévoit qu’Ottawa soit désormais obligé d’adopter une politique plus complète en matière d’immigration francophone. Cela dit, personne, au fédéral, ne s’est encore prononcé sur les cibles exigées par la FCFA.

Il me semble qu’il y a là une occasion, pour les Québécois, de se montrer solidaires des communautés francophones de partout au pays. Il n’est nullement question, ici, de malmener les chartes des droits et libertés ou de se méfier de la diversité pour protéger le français. Au contraire. Il s’agit d’accueillir plus d’immigrants économiques et de membres de leur famille, plus d’étudiants étrangers, plus demandeurs d’asile et de réfugiés en provenance, principalement, de l’Afrique subsaharienne, du Maghreb et de la France. Et ce, au bénéfice de toute la société, de l’économie comme de l’équilibre linguistique.

L’immense majorité des Québécois pourrait facilement se rallier derrière les cibles proposées par la FCFA et appuyer l’organisme dans ses démarches. Rien ne dit que l’immigration ne peut pas être un outil pour faire grandir la francophonie canadienne. Si l’on est d’humeur à se chicaner avec Ottawa, je nous propose cette bataille.

Source: La bonne cible

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

The UK has a new open-door immigration policy – as long as you went to Harvard

2022/06/09 Leave a comment

Sharp and witty critique (and it is a lazy policy approach by the UK government):

Ever hoped that one day a government body would develop a way for you to measure your self-worth and quantify your potential once and for all? Well, you’re in luck!

The UK recently launched a “High Potential Individual” (HPI) visa aimed at attracting the “brightest and best” from around the world to its soggy shores. If you qualify under the scheme you are welcomed into the country for at least two years, even if you don’t have a job offer.

So who counts as the brightest and best? According to the British government, an HPI is someone who has graduated from a top-50 ranked university outside of the UK in the past five years. You can see the list of the 37 eligible universities here. Twenty-four of the universities listed are in North America, and include institutions like Yale, Harvard, and MIT. None of the eligible universities are in Africa, India, or Latin America. It seems there are officially no bright people in any of those places, then!

Source: The UK has a new open-door immigration policy – as long as you went to Harvard

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Quebec closes immigration pathway offered by unsubsidized private colleges

2022/06/09 Leave a comment

Overdue. Federal government should consider same given similar abuse occurring elsewhere in Canada:

Quebec is planning to close a pathway to immigration available to international students who attend unsubsidized private colleges.

The new rules, announced Tuesday by the provincial government in collaboration with Ottawa, will go into effect for those enrolling after September 2023. 

Only those who have completed a study program in a public or subsidized private college will be able to get a work permit. 

The possibility of a work permit was a major selling point for unsubsidized colleges, which charge as much as $25,000 annually in tuition. 

In Quebec, the number of students from India in particular has skyrocketed, from 2,686 in 2017-2018 to 14,712 two years later. Most of them attend private, non-subsidized colleges.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Xii2p/1/

Reporting by CBC News has shed light on poor management at some of the colleges. In the case of three colleges that suddenly shut down last year, many students have still not had their tuition reimbursed and others were left in legal limbo.

A 2021 report by Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education revealed shortcomings around recruitment, commercial practices, governance and teaching conditions at 10 private colleges.

Changes meant to address ‘integrity issues’

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet and Ottawa Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a joint statement the change aimed to “address gaps brought to light” by the investigation regarding “certain unsubsidized private colleges.”

According to the statement, it will “ensure that Quebec is not used as a gateway for settling permanently in Canada. In the other provinces, international students who have followed an unsubsidized program of study generally do not have access to this work permit.”

In an interview, Boulet said there were issues with the “integrity” of the system.

“We will harmonize with what is done everywhere else in Canada,” he said. 

“Unsubsidized private schools used this post-graduation work permit to recruit [and] attract people who benefited from our school system, then went elsewhere in Canada,” he said.

He added that “international students are a tremendous assets socially, culturally and economically for Quebec society as a whole.”

‘We did nothing wrong,’ college head says

Private colleges were quick to denounce the decision. The National Association of Career Colleges issued a statement saying it was disappointed by the decision, arguing such colleges play an important role in the province and the country as a whole.

“Our industry has, for many months, tried to engage the Quebec government to understand their questions or concerns pertaining to the post-graduate work permit and find workable solutions together,” said Michael Sangster, the CEO of the association.

Michael McAllister, director general of Herzing College in Montreal, said his institution, which was founded in 1968, is among those being punished for the problems at a select number of colleges. 

“We did nothing wrong and we’re getting penalized,” he said. McAllister would have liked to work with the provincial government to come up with a plan that helps meet the province’s labour shortage and recruit more international students who speak French.

Harleen Kaur, who is originally from India, has been advocating on behalf of students and said she feels international students are also being blamed for the poorly run colleges. 

She said the province could have instead made sure colleges are better regulated instead.

“I think the government needs to communicate with the colleges and look deeper into this,” she said.

The change comes more than a year after the release of the province’s report on the private colleges and only days before the National Assembly session wraps up for the summer ahead of the Oct. 3 election.  

Martin Maltais, an expert in higher education policy and a professor at Université du Québec à Rimouski, said the move was a simpler, quicker way to address the problems with unsubsidized private colleges, in lieu of more complicated legislative reforms.

“That’s probably the fastest way to act and and have results,” he said. 

Source: Quebec closes immigration pathway offered by unsubsidized private colleges

And in Le Devoir, with more emphasis on the hardship of students:

Plus de 500 étudiants originaires de l’Inde, qui ont payé jusqu’à 15 000 $ pour faire des études au Québec, affirment avoir été floués à cause de la « négligence » des gouvernements du Québec et du Canada. Ayant épuisé leurs recours juridiques et politiques, leurs avocats tentent désormais d’alerter l’opinion publique sur cette situation qu’ils estiment révoltante.

Ces 502 jeunes Indiens regrettent amèrement d’avoir fait confiance aux publicités décrivant le Canada comme un paradis pour les étudiants étrangers. Ils ont payé à l’avance leur première année de scolarisation au Québec, comme l’exige Ottawa — même si cela contrevient à la Loi québécoise sur l’enseignement privé —, mais le gouvernement fédéral a refusé de leur accorder un permis d’études.

Pour comble d’insulte, il leur est impossible d’obtenir un remboursement : trois collèges privés où ils s’étaient inscrits n’ont plus aucune liquidité et se sont placés sous la protection de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies.

« Immigration Canada a détruit mon avenir. Je me demande pourquoi j’ai choisi le Canada pour faire mes études », dit en soupirant Nisha Jindal, une étudiante de 28 ans qui s’était inscrite en éducation à la petite enfance au Collège M, ayant pignon sur rue à Montréal.

Elle a accordé une entrevue au Devoir depuis la ville de Badhni Kalan, au Pendjab, dans le nord de l’Inde. Cette dynamique jeune femme affirme que son rêve d’étudier et de s’établir au Québec a viré au cauchemar dans des circonstances obscures.

En novembre 2020, Nisha Jindal a commencé ses études en ligne après avoir payé à l’avance la somme de 14 852 $. Il s’agit d’une facture considérable pour une famille indienne : son frère a réhypothéqué l’appartement familial pour permettre à la jeune femme de venir étudier à Montréal.

Dix mois plus tard, en août 2021, un gros nuage a assombri l’avenir de Mme Jindal : Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada a refusé de lui accorder le visa qui devait lui permettre de venir faire à Montréal son stage d’éducatrice à la petite enfance.

Raison invoquée : son parcours scolaire en Inde ne lui permettrait pas de mener des études collégiales au Québec. En vertu d’un système mis en place par le Canada en raison de la pandémie, la jeune femme avait pourtant eu l’autorisation de commencer ses études à distance — ce qu’elle a fait avec assiduité, tous les jours de 15 h à 2 h, à cause du décalage horaire entre l’Inde et Montréal. Elle avait aussi obtenu son certificat d’acceptation du Québec.

« J’ai accepté de payer à l’avance ma scolarité parce que je faisais confiance aux gouvernements du Québec et du Canada. Je le regrette tellement ! Tout le monde nous a abandonnés », laisse tomber Nisha Jindal. Elle reproche à Québec de l’avoir mise en lien avec un établissement qui n’a pas livré les services pour lesquels elle avait payé.

Elle et 501 autres étudiants ne peuvent ni terminer leurs études ni se faire rembourser les milliers de dollars payés à l’avance. L’entreprise Rising Phoenix International, qui possède le Collège M, le Collège de l’Estrie et le Collège de comptabilité et de secrétariat du Québec, à Longueuil et à Sherbrooke, s’est placée sous la protection de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies.

Les dirigeants de Rising Phoenix font face à des accusations de fraude et d’abus de confiance en lien avec le recrutement d’étudiants étrangers.

Une entreprise de Toronto, Cestar, a offert de racheter les collèges de Rising Phoenix, non sans controverse. Selon nos sources, une décision du ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec est attendue d’ici la fin du mois de juin.

Alain N. Tardif, avocat chez McCarthy Tétrault, estime que cette histoire entache la réputation du Canada dans le monde. « Le gouvernement oblige les étudiants étrangers à payer une année de scolarité à l’avance et, quand tout s’écroule, il ne répond pas », dit-il.

La firme d’avocats a eu le mandat de représenter les étudiants indiens touchés par la restructuration de Rising Phoenix International en vertu de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers. Les avocats ont tenté en vain de forcer Ottawa et Québec à prolonger les visas ou les certificats d’acceptation pour des centaines d’étudiants indiens inscrits dans les collèges de Rising Phoenix. La Cour supérieure du Québec a refusé cette demande.

À défaut d’accorder ou de prolonger les permis d’études, les gouvernements devraient rembourser les étudiants indiens pour des cours qu’ils n’ont pas obtenus, fait valoir Alain N. Tardif. « Pour les étudiants indiens et leurs familles, c’est une tragédie de perdre 15 000 $. Ils vivent beaucoup de détresse », dit-il.

La facture totale réclamée par les 502 étudiants s’élève à 7,5 millions de dollars. Une somme considérable pour les étudiants de l’Inde — où le salaire annuel moyen est estimé à 2434 $ —, mais plutôt anecdotique pour le gouvernement d’un pays riche comme le Canada, fait valoir l’avocat.

Plus de permis de travail postdiplôme

Interrogé sur le sort de ces 500 étudiants laissés à eux-mêmes, Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada n’a pas répondu aux questions du Devoir. Sans commenter l’octroi des permis d’études, qui est une compétence fédérale, le ministre de l’Immigration, Jean Boulet, a toutefois donné plus de détails sur une nouvelle mesure négociée avec son homologue fédéral, Sean Fraser, qui coupera l’herbe sous le pied aux 49 collèges privés non subventionnés du Québec.

En date du 1er septembre 2023, le permis de travail postdiplôme ne sera désormais octroyé qu’aux étudiants issus des collèges subventionnés. Jusqu’ici, les étudiants de collèges privés non subventionnés avaient droit à ce permis de travail après avoir effectué de très courtes formations d’environ 900 heures, comme des attestations d’études collégiales (AEC) ou des diplômes d’études professionnelles (DEP), pouvant coûter jusqu’à 25 000 $.

Des médias, dont Le Devoir, avaient d’ailleurs révélé les nombreux problèmes liés à la piètre qualité des formations dans ces collèges de même que leurs stratagèmes douteux concernant le recrutement, ce qu’avait confirmé le ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur au terme d’une enquête qui avait mis au ban dix collèges, en majorité anglophones.

En entrevue, le ministre Boulet n’a pas nié l’impact de sa décision sur ces collèges. Mais il estime que « ça s’imposait ». « On ne pouvait pas tolérer ce type de stratagème permettant à une personne d’arriver au Québec et, après une formation de courte durée, d’avoir un accès automatique à un permis de travail », a soutenu le ministre, en soulignant que bon nombre de ces étudiants s’en allaient en Ontario ou ailleurs au Canada. Selon lui, il ne s’agit pas de punir les collèges anglophones. « C’est le stratagème qui est visé. » Il a par ailleurs rappelé que le Québec est la seule province canadienne qui permet l’accès au permis de travail postdiplôme au terme d’un programme non subventionné.

Source: «Tout le monde nous a abandonnés»

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , , , ,

Immigration: parents and grandparents can now stay in Canada for 7 years

2022/06/09 Leave a comment

Can understand the frustration of the Conservatives with the Liberals largely pre-empting their private member bill C-242. Would be interesting to see if the existing super visa and these enhancements results in a significant increase in healthcare utilization using CIHI non-resident self-pay data (I’ve used up my free allotment of time!):

Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents can now stay in the country for up to seven consecutive years.

On Tuesday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced the change to the “super visa” program, which previously only permitted stays of up to two years.

Source: Immigration: parents and grandparents can now stay in Canada for 7 years

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , , , , ,

Corak: What will COVID Mean for the Future of Fiscal and Social Policy? Temporary Foreign Workers aspects

2022/06/08 Leave a comment

From a recent presentation by Corak:

The federal government was very attentive to a whole host of concerns that can only be charitably described as poor public policy. These include repeated extensions of the CEWS, intergenerational transfers of capital gains, and most recently campaigns for extensions and forgiveness of loans taken through the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).

There is an important discussion to be had about the moral hazards associated with these changes, and their consequences for a dynamic and efficient small business sector. Indeed, all of this is piled onto a corporate tax structure that is increasingly making small businesses a tax haven and putting a break on productivity growth.

But the coup de grace in this unfortunate policy evolution is the government’s acquiesce to the demand for an expanded Temporary Foreign Worker program. Employers now have the opportunity to hire up to one-fifth, and in some cases 30 percent, of their low-wage workforce through the Temporary Foreign Worker program.

This represents a major wage subsidy, even if it is not recorded as an expenditure in the government’s books. It is just the opposite of what policy directed to an inclusive labour market should be doing. Low wage workers, those who have a tenuous foothold in the labour market either because they themselves are recent immigrants, have a disability, or are young, will likely see more limited wage growth and job opportunities as a result of this policy change.

This change may also potentially shut off the possibility of upgrading employment and human resource practices in the care economy, particularly in Long-Term Care facilities and in early childhood care. The pandemic illustrated that the use of contingent and itinerant work arrangements in long-term care homes had devastating and shameful consequences. The challenge for a policy maker wishing to promote an inclusive labour market is to transform this sector into a “craft” based economy, with upskilling of workers who offer community and family based care and support.

An unfortunate legacy of COVID on public policy directed to employers is the threat of growing inefficiencies and inequities as a result of subsidies that cannot be rationalized by any sort of market failure.

Post COVID policy incoherence threatens an inclusive labour market

Public policy may continue to make determined and important changes in a progressive and inclusive direction, and even take steps toward a tighter social safety net that some will appreciate as a basic income.

But other choices bring the very goal of a “strong and inclusive labour market” into question and in the long term threaten the sustainability of more generous transfers to individuals. The labour market will be more inefficient and inequitable because of sustained subsidies to small business and increased reliance on temporary foreign workers. 

And more polarization and inequality of jobs, wages, and market incomes will in turn make the maco-economy more unstable and more challenging to manage.

What will COVID mean for the future of fiscal and social policy? The future is unclear not because of inherent uncertainty, but rather because of explicit choice and the incoherence that it has engendered.


Source: What will COVID Mean for the Future of Fiscal and Social Policy?

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →