Few Quebec ‘guardian angels’ who worked in health care during COVID granted residency

2021/03/26 Leave a comment

Hard to understand the reasons for the delays:

Advocates for asylum seekers who worked in health care during the pandemic’s first wave are calling on Quebec to speed up the processing of immigration applications from workers dubbed “guardian angels” by the premier.

In December, the federal government launched two special programs allowing asylum seekers who worked in the health-care sector during the early part of the health crisis to apply for permanent residency.

One program, which applies outside Quebec and is run by the federal government, has received 932 applications for permanent residency, according to the most recent data available. Of those, 459 had been approved in principle as of Feb. 20, the federal Immigration Department said in an email.

The other program is run through an agreement between Ottawa and Quebec. The federal government said it has received 721 applications — the first step in the process. Of those, just three applications for permanent residency have been approved in principle by the federal government, the Immigration Department said.

Wilner Cayo, president of Debout pour la dignite, a group that advocates for asylum seekers to be given status, said the difference shows a lack of political commitment from Quebec. “Quebec has always been very reluctant to recognize the extraordinary contribution of the ‘guardian angel’ asylum seekers,” Cayo said in an interview Tuesday.

Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday he was unaware Quebec was lagging behind other provinces, adding that the criteria for the program was decided in conjunction with the federal government. “There is no instruction given not to accelerate the acceptance of these people,” Legault told reporters in Quebec City.

“On the contrary, we want to keep our word.”

Cayo said the delays have caused people to put their lives on hold. Some “guardian angels,” he said, are waiting for permanent residency so they can earn a degree or take a training program.

Many are parents, he said, adding that without permanent residency, they don’t have access to Quebec’s public daycare program. For people with low salaries, paying for private daycare has a big impact on their quality of life, Cayo said.

“It’s a big disadvantage.”

Marjorie Villefranche, director of La Maison d’Haiti, a community group that works with newly arrived immigrants, said applicants in Quebec have an additional step compared with asylum seekers in the rest of the country. After their initial applications are approved by the federal government, they have to apply to the province to receive a Quebec selection certificate. Once that is issued, they have to apply to Ottawa for permanent residency.

Villefranche said Quebec needs to put additional resources into application processing. “I don’t think there’s any political will,” she said in a recent interview.

Flore Bouchon, a spokeswoman for Quebec Immigration Minister Nadine Girault, said the government hasn’t received any formal complaints about the program from immigration support organizations or from the affected asylum seekers.

Files are processed “within a very reasonable time frame, 21 days on average,” she wrote in a recent email. The number of applicants who have received Quebec selection certificates is a sign of the program’s success, she wrote.

As of March 19, the Quebec government had received 389 requests for Quebec selection certificates and 114 of those requests had been finalized, she said. Counting applicants and dependants, 237 people have been given Quebec certificates, Bouchon wrote.

Quebec Immigration Department spokeswoman Arianne Methot said after certificates are issued, applications become the responsibility of the federal Immigration Department.

Alexander Cohen, press secretary for federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, said delays are to be expected with a new program. Ottawa’s priority, he said in a recent interview, is expanding the program to include more workers.

The two special programs are only open to people who worked at least 120 hours between March 13 and Aug. 14, 2020, and who provided direct care in a health-care establishment in Canada.

Villefanche said she would like to see the program expanded to more workers who may have been exposed to COVID-19 on the job but who didn’t provide direct care, such as cleaning staff. She said she would also like the August deadline extended because she said it’s not fair to people who provided vital care during the second wave of the pandemic.

“It’s like if there was a good wave and a bad wave,” she said. “This is ridiculous.”

Source: Few Quebec ‘guardian angels’ who worked in health care during COVID granted residency

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Boston Consulting Group: Decoding Global Talent, Onsite and Virtual

2021/03/25 Leave a comment

Interesting study and we will see over the next few years the extent to which intent matches action.

Also interesting is the impact of how countries handle COVID as a factor, although study, carried out between Oct-Dec 2020, is based on infection and death rates, rather than vaccination (where USA and UK have done well, and Canada less so, and thus the report’s high ranking of Canada may be over-stated):

“The number of people willing to move abroad for work has declined. The US has lost its status as the world’s most popular work destination. And just about everybody’s view of work has been reshaped, in one way or another, by the pandemic.

These are among the findings of a new survey of almost 209,000 people in 190 countries. The survey, by Boston Consulting Group and The Network, shows a very different set of attitudes toward mobility than the one that prevailed a few years ago.

Top Work Destinations

The changes to the list of top-ten destinations largely reflect different countries’ success in managing COVID-19 outbreaks. Almost all of the countries that have fallen lower on the list or disappeared from it—including the US, France, Italy, and Spain—have struggled, at some point in the last year, to “flatten the curve.” Europe’s public health struggles may have also affected Germany, a better pandemic manager whose ranking nevertheless declined.

By contrast, for countries that have managed the coronavirus effectively, there has been a popularity boost. That is true of several Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, which jumped four places, and Singapore and New Zealand, which weren’t on the list in 2018 but are now. Strong coronavirus management has also helped Canada, which has moved ahead of the US to become the number-one work destination globally.

Besides being number one overall, Canada is also the first choice for those with master’s degrees or doctorates, for those with digital training or expertise, and for those younger than 30. These are characteristics that companies and countries prize.

Lower Overall Willingness to Relocate

When we conducted our first survey about people’s willingness to move to another country for work, in 2014, almost two-thirds of global respondents said the idea appealed to them. The proportion has declined by 13 percentage points since then and is now about 50%.

Clearly, it isn’t only the pandemic that has weakened the mobility trend. More restrictive immigration policies and social unrest are also factors. (This year’s study is being presented as a three-part series. This first report on mobility will be followed by publications on changing work models and shifting career expectations in the era of COVID-19.)

“Virtual Mobility” Is on the Rise

Even as the willingness to move abroad for a job has declined, a new model has emerged, relating to remote international work and growing out of the trend of distance work during COVID. Fifty-seven percent of respondents say they are willing to work remotely for an employer that doesn’t have a physical presence in their home country, a level that is well above the proportion who are open to physical relocation.

Indeed, when the question is about working for a foreign employer remotely versus having to move to a country where the employer has physical offices, the preferred destinations shift in some interesting ways. The US is the most desirable destination under this scenario, suggesting that American employment retains a lot of appeal if you take away the political and social risks that come with living in the country.

The overall openness to virtual work may be of particular interest to employers, especially the many employers that struggle to fill jobs in the IT and digital fields. Remote international employment does present challenges to companies, such as cultural integration and administering salaries in regions with different costs of living. But these obstacles can be overcome, as some companies are already demonstrating.

Download the full 2021 report to understand the state of virtual mobility and explore the trends that are shaping the workforce of tomorrow.”

Download or read the full report | Télécharger ou consulter le rapport (en anglais) :

·       Overview: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/virtual-mobility-in-the-global-workforce

·       Full report: https://web-assets.bcg.com/cf/76/00bdede345b09397d1269119e6f1/bcg-decoding-global-talent-onsite-and-virtual-mar-2021-rr.pdf

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Many immigration detainees fight for their freedom with no lawyer. A new Ontario program aims to change that

2021/03/25 Leave a comment

Of note:

People detained for immigration violations will now have better access to free legal representation to fight for their release.

Legal Aid Ontario has launched a one-year pilot program to make sure anyone in immigration detention in the province can be represented by a lawyer at their detention reviews.

No advance application is necessary as lawyers with the Immigration Detention Representation Program will be present at the beginning of each detention hearing to offer assistance.

Numerous studies have underscored the importance of legal representation in improving a detainee’s chances of getting released. However, securing a lawyer has often been a problem for those held behind bars and unfamiliar with the system.

“For decades, immigration detainees have fallen through the cracks. For decades, people have languished in immigration detention for longer than they should have because of the lack of legal representation,” said Queen’s University immigration law professor Sharry Aiken.

“You’re locked up and have limited access to the outside world. You may not even have a functional cellphone if you have been detained directly off an airplane. You may not have a local number (of a lawyer).”

According to an audit commissioned by the Immigration and Refugee Board, counsel represented a detained person at only 38 per cent of hearings held in Ontario in 2017. That compares to the 70 and 76 per cent in the regions west and east of the province, respectively.

Canadian border officials can detain inadmissible foreign nationals such as undocumented residents and failed refugee claimants awaiting removal, or permanent residents convicted of serious crime if they believe the individuals are a flight risk or a danger to the public.

According to the latest government statistics for 2019-20, a total of 8,825 people — 5,265 in Ontario alone — were held for immigration violations; 68 per cent in immigration holding centres; 19 per cent in provincial jails; and 13 per cent in other facilities.

The detainees were held for a combined 115,559 days or 13.9 days on average. About three per cent, or 241 of them, were kept for more than 99 days.

COVID-19 outbreaks in jails have put institutional detention under the spotlight, prompting authorities to urge correctional services and the parole board to release some low-risk offenders in order to slow the spread of the virus. Earlier this month, some immigration detainees in Montreal staged a third hunger strike, seeking their release because of fears around the coronavirus.

“Legal Aid Ontario is committed to serving people in detention who need our help, and to ensuring that immigration detainees have access to fair and meaningful detention reviews,” said Aviva Basman, a manager at the Refugee Law Office, which administers the project.

“This pilot program is partly a response to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and its impact on incarcerated people, who are subject to harsh and restrictive detention conditions. … It is also a response to historically low levels of representation in Ontario and the need to increase access to counsel for this population.”

In December, Legal Aid Ontario announced an increase to the number of hours available on legal aid certificates for lawyers to prepare for detention review hearings.

Counsel may now bill as much as three hours of preparation time for each detention-review hearing, in addition to the time spent in the hearing. Previously, only one hour of preparation time was available for the second and further hearings.

While news of the immigration-detention pilot program is welcomed, Aiken of Queen’s University said it is only “a half measure” given the one-year duration of the initiative.

“I’m pleased to see the project. There’s a need for this. But I am concerned it may not be sufficient,” said Aiken. “It doesn’t appear to have any sustainable source of funding within the legal aid program.”

Source: Many immigration detainees fight for their freedom with no lawyer. A new Ontario program aims to change that

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#COVID-19: Comparing provinces with other countries 17 March Update

2021/03/25 Leave a comment

The latest charts, compiled 24 March.

Vaccinations: The gap between all G7 countries save Japan continues to grow, all European countries ahead of Canada with no significant narrowing yet of the gap.

Trendline charts

Infections per million: The overall trend of a flattened curve is seen in G7 countries and most provinces.

Deaths per million: Most Canadian provinces continue to flatten the curve, Quebec most dramatically. Overall G7 death rate continue to surpass Quebec’s.

Vaccinations per million: While the gap between G7 and Canada remains despite the arrival of more vaccines, one can see that Canadian provinces have been ramping up.

Weekly

Infections per million: Some minor shifts: New York ahead of USA, France ahead of UK,Prairies ahead of Canada.

Deaths per million: Canadian North ahead of Australia (reflecting increase in deaths from 1 to 4 in Nunavut.

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Douglas Todd: Slow vaccine rollout threatens Trudeau’s lofty immigration target

2021/03/23 Leave a comment

Of note:

Canada’s vaccine rollout, which is slower than 41 other countries, threatens Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chances of reaching his record target for immigration this year. But that could benefit young Canadians and recent migrants struggling to find work during the pandemic.

University of B.C. geographer Daniel Hiebert has found COVID-19 has elevated the number of “underutilized” workers in Canada to almost four million — many of whom will compete with the 401,000 immigrants Ottawa is welcoming in 2021, in addition to temporary workers.

Saying Canada is only about “halfway” through resolving the pandemic through vaccinations, Hiebert told the influential Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C. (AMSSA) it will be a “really significant challenge” to “economically integrate 400,000 newcomers into a labour market with nearly four million looking for work — or more work. It’s completely unprecedented.”

Source: Douglas Todd: Slow vaccine rollout threatens Trudeau’s lofty immigration target

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Longitudinal Immigration Database: Immigrant children and census metropolitan area tables, 2018

2021/03/23 Leave a comment

Encouraging analysis showing good economic outcomes for children of immigrants (those who arrived under 15 years of age). Would be interesting to have a breakdown by visible minority group as well:

The most recent 2018 data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) indicate that immigrant children make a significant contribution to Canadian society and the Canadian economy over time. Although immigrant children (32.2%) are more than twice as likely as non-immigrant children (15.4%) to live in low-income households, factors such as the opportunity to be educated in the Canadian system and an increased proficiency in the official languages help immigrant children attain wages in adulthood similar to those of their Canadian-born peers.

This analysis connects the characteristics of immigrants who came to Canada as children with their adulthood socioeconomic outcomes in 2018, such as participation in postsecondary education and median wages. The IMDB provides a long-term perspective on immigrants and their socioeconomic outcomes in Canada, offering details on how immigration is shaping Canada’s future. In addition, these data from 2018 contribute to baseline estimates in preparation for future research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant children, including immigrant children admitted during the pandemic, their adjustment period and their long-term socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood.

Immigrants who came to Canada as children are more likely to participate in postsecondary education than the overall population

In 2018, 70% of 20-year-old immigrants who were admitted to Canada before the age of 15 participated in postsecondary education, according to tax data. This compares with 56% of the overall population of 20-year-olds in the same year.

Similar to the overall Canadian population, the median wage of immigrants who were admitted as children increased with age. In 2018, 25-year-olds in the overall population had a median wage of $29,710, compared with $30,300 for 25-year-old immigrants admitted as children. For 30-year-olds, the median wage was $41,810, compared with $47,400 for 30-year-old immigrants admitted as children. This represents a 13.4% difference in the median wage between the 30-year-olds in the total population and 30-year-old immigrants admitted as children. 

Children admitted to Canada with economic immigrant families report higher postsecondary education participation than Canadians overall or immigrants admitted under other categories

Many factors influence the socioeconomic outcomes of immigrant children in adulthood, including the conditions under which they were admitted to Canada. Economic immigrants, selected for their potential to contribute to Canada’s economy, tend to have a higher median wage than refugees, who are fleeing persecution or conflict, or immigrants sponsored by family already living in Canada.

Immigrant children who were admitted as dependants of economic immigrants are likely to benefit from the higher median wage of the principal applicant in the economic immigrant category. Among children admitted in economic immigrant families, 75% of those who were 20 years old in 2018 reported postsecondary education participation. This compares with 60% for children admitted in sponsored families, 51% for refugees and 56% for the overall population of the same age, in the same year.

Chart 1  
Postsecondary participation of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and admission category, 2018

Chart 1: Postsecondary participation of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and admission category, 2018

At age 30, immigrants who were admitted to Canada before the age of 15 with economic immigrant families report the highest wages compared with those admitted under other categories

Lower participation in postsecondary education can lead to earlier labour market entry. Until the age of 23, people admitted as children in sponsored families, refugees and the overall population had higher wages than their economic immigrant counterparts. At this age, immigrants admitted as children in sponsored families had median wages of $19,200, compared with $19,000 for immigrants admitted as children in refugee families, $21,300 for the overall population, and $18,900 for people admitted as children in economic immigrant families.

However, beginning at the age of 24, a time when many have completed their postsecondary studies, the wages of people admitted as children in economic immigrant families began to surpass those of their counterparts in other admission categories and the overall population, and they continued to increase at a steeper rate over time compared with the other categories.

At the age of 30, in 2018, people admitted as children in economic immigrant families had median wages of $52,400. This compares with $41,600 for immigrants admitted as children in refugee families, $40,100 for immigrants admitted as children in sponsored families, and $41,810 for the overall population.

Chart 2  
Median wages of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and admission category, 2018

Chart 2: Median wages of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and admission category, 2018

Immigrant women admitted to Canada as children have higher postsecondary education participation than men

In 2018, 74% of 20-year-old immigrant women admitted as children reported participating in postsecondary education. In comparison, participation rates were lower among immigrant men (65%) who also came to Canada as children. At 74%, the participation rate of immigrant women who came as children was also higher than the rate of the overall female population (62%) and the overall male population (50%) of the same age. 

With regard to wages, 30-year-old immigrant women admitted to Canada as children had median wages of $43,300, 48% more than those of 25-year-old immigrant women admitted as children ($29,200). However, their median wages were lower than those of immigrant men who also came as children ($51,900) and of the overall male population ($48,850) of the same age. These gender income differences are in line with those in previous studies that found that women with a similar level of education as men report lower income.

Nonetheless, the median wages of 30-year-old immigrant women admitted as children were higher than those of the overall female population ($35,280), who earned the lowest median wages.

Chart 3  
Median wages of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and sex, 2018

Chart 3: Median wages of immigrants admitted to Canada as children and of the overall population, by age and sex, 2018

These new data will facilitate further analysis of other factors that can affect the future adulthood socioeconomic outcomes of immigrants admitted as children, such as their age at immigration, year of immigration and their incidence of living in a low-income household during childhood.

In addition to the table about the economic outcomes of immigrants admitted to Canada as children used in the analysis above, tables on the income and mobility of immigrants by census metropolitan area are now available. These tables use data from the IMDB.

Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210322/dq210322c-eng.htm?CMP=mstatcan

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COVID-19 Immigration Effects January 2021 Update

2021/03/22 Leave a comment

Regular monthly update showing the impact of government using temporary residents as a major “inventory” for permanent residents. Highlights:

  • January immigration increased, reflecting government decision to use inventory of temporary residents to transition to permanent residency. The reduction of Canadian Experience Class Express Entry minimal score further demonstration of government intent. 
  • PRs: Admissions increased from 10,070 in December to 24,650 in January. January Year-over-year decline: Economic 5.5%, Family 24.8%. Refugees increase of 68.1% 
  • Permanent Residents Applications: Decrease from 17,376 in December to 15,613 in January. January year-over-year decrease 41.3% 
  • Web “Immigrate to Canada”: Largely flat, from 62,161 in January to 64,507 in February. February year-over-year increase of 9.3% 
  • Provincial Nominee Program: Increase from 1,475 in December to 6,355 in January. January year-over-year increase: 26.72% 
  • TR to PRs transition (i.e., those already in Canada): Dramatic increase from 2,725 in December (some double counting) to 12,990 in January. January Year-over-year increase of 41.8% 
  • Temporary Residents IMP: Increase from 29,885 in December (post-grad employment slightly less than half) to 31,605 in January. January Year-over-year change: Agreements increase of 26.9%, Canadian Interests increase of 44.9% 
  • Temporary Residents TFWP: Increase from 6,490 in December to 10,695 in January. January year-over-year increase: Caregivers 74.4%, Agriculture 42.8% and Other LMIA 34.6%. 
  • Web “Get a work permit”: From 73,343 in January (outside Canada) to 58,958 in February. February Year-over-year decline: 24.9% 
  • Students: Increase from 24,775 in December to 27,690 in January. January year-over-year increase of 9.1% 
  • Study Permit Applications: Decline from 36,946 in December to 27,735 in January. January Year-over-year decrease: 9.2% 
  • Web “Get a study permit”: From 62,161 in January (outside Canada) to 64,507 in February. Year-over-year increase: 9.3% 
  • Asylum Claimants: Small decline from 1,240 in December (about 75% inland) to 1,070 in January. January year-over-year decrease: 77.1% 
  • Settlement Services (NEW 2020 data December): Decline from 48,700 in November to 42,890 in December. December Year-over-year decrease 21.6 percent 
  • Web “Find immigrant services hear you”: From 11,076 in January to 8,201 in February (outside Canada). February Year-over-year decrease: 32.5% 
  • Citizenship: Small increase from 2,476 in December to 2,689 in January. January Year-over-year decrease: 89.2%. 2020 Application data pending 
  • Web “Apply for citizenship”: From 28,179 in January (outside Canada) to 20,965 in February. February Year-over-year decrease: 31.3% 
  • Visitor Visas: Decrease from 5,237 in December to 3,507 in January. January Year-over-year decrease: 94.4%

Pdf: https://multiculturalmeanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/covid-19-immigration-effects-key-slides-january-2021-draft.pdf

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#COVID-19: Comparing provinces with other countries 17 March Update

2021/03/18 Leave a comment

The latest charts, compiled 17 March.

Vaccinations: The gap between all G7 countries save Japan continues to grow, all European countries ahead of Canada with no narrowing yet of the gap.

Trendline charts

Infections per million: The overall trend of a flattened curve is seen in G7 countries and most provinces.

Deaths per million: Most Canadian provinces continue to flatten the curve, Quebec most dramatically. Overall G7 death rate have surpassed Quebec’s.

Vaccinations per million: Gap between G7 and Canada remains despite the arrival of more vaccines.

Weekly

Infections per million: No relative change.

Deaths per million: No relative change 

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Ottawa is right to attract more immigrants

2021/03/17 Leave a comment

The Conference Board pro-immigration level opinion. Money quote: “It’s prioritizing its immigration targets and devaluing the very high social-capital standards that underpin Canada’s system of economic immigration.”

As I have indicated a few times, I disagree with this approach as I think it understates, if not ignores, some of the inequality aspects of this policy:

In the short term, spending by immigrants can help fuel economic recovery, while the availability of immigrant labour will be essential in restoring the restaurant and hospitality sectors.

The federal government’s latest efforts to make it easier for immigrants with Canadian work experience to become permanent residents is another sign it’s committed to attracting more immigrants. 

Clearly, federal officials are convinced of the social, economic, and labour-market benefits of high immigration levels.

But what does their approach mean for the immigrants who will arrive at this challenging time? And what might this period teach us about our immigration system?

Earlier this month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invited 27,322 people to apply for permanent residency as part of the Express Entry program’s “Canadian experience” class. This draw from the pool of registered candidates was five to 10 times greater than the usual number of invitations made in a single draw.

The increase was made possible by significantly lowering the points threshold to qualify for an invitation to become a permanent resident. These points are awarded for a variety of social and human-capital reasons that align with long-term integration and economic resiliency, such as: education, age, knowledge of an official language, and experience living in Canada as a temporary resident.

This is the second major step by the federal government to ensure we continue to attract immigrants in large numbers, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Last October, Ottawa updated its three-year immigration planwith record targets culminating in 421,000 arrivals in 2023.

The new targets were warmly received by immigration advocates who hoped the federal government wouldn’t follow the lead of many other countries by restricting immigration because of the pandemic and the recessions caused by its associated public-health measures.

However, even advocates are skeptical that Ottawa can attract 401,000 immigrants in 2021 — not because of a lack of demand, as Canada’s appeal as a destination for emigrants has only increased during the pandemic. Rather, they fear that continued travel restrictions, and the news that mass vaccinations won’t arrive in Canada until this fall at the earliest, will have a dampening effect on immigration.

Even in 2020, the government relied heavily on those already in Canada to boost invitations for permanent residency. Research by the Conference Board of Canada shows that 60 per cent more permanent-resident “arrivals” were already in Canada than in the previous two years.

The latest move is a doubling-down on this strategy, and leans heavily on temporary workers and students who are already in the country.

In this way, Ottawa is making a clear trade-off. It’s prioritizing its immigration targets and devaluing the very high social-capital standards that underpin Canada’s system of economic immigration.
So how do we assess this trade-off?

The long- and short-term benefits of maintaining high immigration levels are clear. In the long term, immigration fuels economic growth, improves our ratio of working-age Canadians to retirees, creates more tax revenue, and supplies skilled labour to key sectors. Economic and population modelling by the Conference Board of Canada demonstrates that more immigration benefits the economy.

In the short term, spending by immigrants can help fuel economic recovery, while the availability of immigrant labour will be essential in restoring the restaurant and hospitality sectors, for instance.

Therefore, the government has good reasons to want to get as close to its immigration targets as possible, despite the challenges of COVID. The pattern of relying on immigrants who have Canadian experience, but lower social capital, might continue as long as significant travel restrictions remain.

But this doesn’t mean immigrants who arrive during this period won’t be successful or contribute as much to the Canadian economy. Our economic modelling indicates that even immigrants with comparatively lower social-capital attributes — for instance, refugee and family-class immigrants — still make significant contributions to the economy, especially over time.

Also, most newcomers with experience living in Canada will already have Canadian work experience. This helps with future job searches, as employers tend to assess Canadian experience more favourably than foreign work experience. They will also arrive at jobs with a better understanding of Canadian culture and workplace norms, and greater facility with our official languages, neither of which may be their first.

There is great short- and long-term economic value in trying to reach Canada’s immigration targets. In closely observing the progress of immigrants who arrive during and just after the pandemic, we can learn a lot about the value of Canadian experience, compared to other social-capital factors.

The key is not to let individual immigrants suffer for the sake of Canada’s economy and our understanding of the integration process. They should be monitored closely, and both government and the immigration sector should be prepared to offer additional support if they struggle.

Source: https://go.conferenceboard.ca/MDk0LUVHRi02MzkAAAF71qV7cSskUNcrhiS4-30l_NQZjeNl-F2yhUwu_YEwPrJPoUe8DYze02tYZtddvE27AJPjm1k=

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Study: Estimating immigrants’ presence in Canada [and emigration using tax filing data]

2021/03/17 Leave a comment

Useful analysis, with best estimates I have seen to date pending full implementation of the exit-entry program:

By the tenth year after landing, about 15% to 20% of adult immigrants who landed between 2000 and 2004 were estimated to have emigrated from Canada, depending on the definition and data sources used to estimate emigration. Emigration refers to leaving Canada to settle in another country.

A Statistics Canada technical report “Estimating immigrants’ presence in Canada within the context of increasingly fluid international migration patterns” seeks to refine the estimation of emigration among immigrants by assessing methodological choices concerning the scope of the data and definitions of emigration using tax-based administrative data. This study was conducted in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The analysis showed that if emigration is defined proximately as absence from the T1 Personal Master File for two consecutive years, the estimated emigration rate by the tenth year after landing would reach 20% among immigrants who landed between 2000 and 2004 and were aged 25 to 64 on arrival.

The estimated emigration rate was reduced to 15% when emigration was defined as absence for four consecutive years from 14 available tax- or benefits-based data sources.

Even with the 14 available data sources, it is still possible for immigrants who are present in tax files in a given year to not actually reside in Canada, or for those who are absent from tax files to still reside in Canada. The federal government has established an entry–exit program to collect exit and entry data at the land border with the United States and exit data from airlines on all travellers leaving Canada by air. Once available for research purposes, these exit data will further improve the estimation of individuals’ Canadian residence status.

Products

The study “Estimating Immigrants’ Presence in Canada within the Context of Increasingly Fluid International Migration Patterns,” part of the Analytical Studies: Methods and Reference Series (Catalogue number11-633-X), is now available

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