Canada’s overhaul of immigration must include a dedicated program for high-skilled workers 

2025/10/27 Leave a comment

Dose of reality:

…Some business leaders are dubious that the U.S. overhaul of the H-1B visa program is creating an opportunity for Canada.

“The United States uses immigration and visa policies to strengthen its economic and work-force advantage,” said Jim Balsillie, the former chair and co-chief executive of Research In Motion, which is now known as BlackBerry.

Mr. Balsillie, speaking at The Globe and Mail’s Building Canada’s Workforce event on Wednesday afternoon, noted that Mr. Trump’s “strategic use of visas” includes the TN category for trade professionals and the O-1 tier for individuals with extraordinary abilities and achievements.

“I can make a case that the recent H-1B changes actually hurt Canada because TN and O-1 visas are more attractive for many reasons,” he said.

He argued that America’s H-1B changes could exacerbate Canada’s brain drain if the U.S. looks north to fill the gap by seeking new talent in sectors such as artificial intelligence, life sciences and quantum computing.

Here’s another hard truth. If high-skilled immigrants treat our country as a way station to the U.S., it’s our own fault.

Ottawa has known for years that preferred candidates are getting lost in the immigration queue because they are competing with international students for a limited number of permanent-resident spots, said Stephen Green, managing partner at immigration law firm Green and Spiegel LLP.

As he points out, those foreign students have a Canadian education but minimal work experience. Trouble is, our immigration system skews heavily toward younger people….

Source: Canada’s overhaul of immigration must include a dedicated program for high-skilled workers

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To combat hate in Canada, South Asians will have to move past their own divisions

2025/10/27 Leave a comment

Good reminder that multiculturalism is not just about the white/non-white but within and among visible minority groups, and not just South Asians:

…It’s time that we as a diaspora have a hard conversation about how we can talk to people from different religions and backgrounds without seeing only our differences. By talking, we can break away from the ill-informed caricatures so many of us have created of one another in our heads. But for a community that prides itself on maintaining traditions, this conversation is the most difficult thing to start. Indeed, any mention of change in front of extended family instantly gets me dismissed as the “Westernized child” who’s strayed far from home.

South Asia is far from a monolith. We have dozens of different and beautiful subcultures ingrained into our land. But rather than share the best parts, we too often choose to focus on what we see as the worst. Coming to Canada gave us all a chance to start over; instead, too many of us are throwing that away to perpetuate generational wounds. That only benefits those who already hate us.

South Asian Canadians don’t have to forget our history. But we do have to work together to move past it so that it doesn’t define our life here – if not for us now, then for future generations.

Khushy Vashisht is a Toronto-based freelance journalist.

Source: To combat hate in Canada, South Asians will have to move past their own divisions

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Dupuy – La langue inclusive : lorsque des mythes font leur entrée dans les politiques publiques

2025/10/27 Leave a comment

The he/she/they debates in French:

En interdisant l’usage de certaines formes d’écriture inclusive en français, le gouvernement québécois s’inscrit dans une longue tradition d’aménagement linguistique, mais au risque de restreindre l’expression même des identités qu’il prétend protéger.

Au mois de septembre, le ministre de la Langue française, Jean-François Roberge, a annoncé le dépôt d’un décret visant à interdire l’utilisation de certaines formes de langue inclusive comme « iels », « toustes » et les doublets abrégés, comme « étudiant.e.s ». Cette mesure s’applique à l’Administration publique québécoise, aux municipalités, aux centres de services scolaires, au réseau de la santé et s’appliquera éventuellementaux cégeps et aux universités.

Une histoire qui se répète

De l’autre côté de l’Atlantique, cette décision donne un air de déjà vu. En 2017, le premier ministre français Édouard Philippe signait une circulaire invitant à ne pas utiliser la langue inclusive dans l’Administration publique française et en 2021, le ministre de l’Éducation nationale, Jean-Michel Blanquer, a publié un règlement interdisant l’utilisation de la langue inclusive dans le milieu de l’éducation. Parmi les motifs évoqués : les difficultés de lecture que les formes inclusives engendrent.

Alors que le gouvernement français se prononçait sur l’usage de l’écriture inclusive, aucune étude empirique n’avait encore mesuré l’effet des formes inclusives en français chez les personnes dyslexiques (plus particulièrement les formes abrégées comme « locuteur·ices »). Des personnes concernées y voyaient d’ailleurs une instrumentalisation des personnes en situation de handicap….

Source: La langue inclusive : lorsque des mythes font leur entrée dans les politiques publiques

By prohibiting the use of certain forms of inclusive writing in French, the Quebec government is part of a long tradition of linguistic development, but at the risk of restricting the very expression of the identities it claims to protect.

In September, the Minister of the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, announced the filing of a decree to prohibit the use of certain forms of inclusive language such as “iels”, “toustes” and abbreviated doublets, such as “students”. This measure applies to the Quebec Public Administration, municipalities, school service centers, the health network and will eventually apply to CEGEPs and universities.

A story that repeats itself

On the other side of the Atlantic, this decision gives an air of déjà vu. In 2017, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe signed a circular inviting the use of inclusive language in the French Public Administration and in 2021, the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, published a regulation prohibiting the use of inclusive language in the educational environment. Among the reasons mentioned: the reading difficulties that inclusive forms generate.

While the French government was ruling on the use of inclusive writing, no empirical study had yet measured the effect of inclusive forms in French on dyslexic people (more particularly forms abbreviated as “speakers”). Those concerned also saw it as an instrumentalization of people with disabilities….

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What happened to ‘click once for Canadian citizenship’? The government has (quietly) thought twice

2025/10/24 Leave a comment

Nice to see that all the efforts from many to stop this hair-brained initiative paved off (quoted):

The Immigration Department has quietly shelved a controversial plan that would have allowed new citizens to take their citizenship oath on their own with a click on the keyboard.

“There is no self-administration of the oath in Canada,” the department said in an email in response to a Star inquiry for an update about the plan. “Implementation of the self-administration of the oath is not actively being pursued at this time.” 

In February 2023, the federal government published the proposed change in the Canada Gazette as part of the modernization and digitalization of immigration and citizenship processing.

The self-attestation option was meant to reduce citizenship processing time and cost, and make it more accessible, because ceremonies are generally scheduled on weekdays during working hours. It was supposed to be launched in June that year. Unlike in a virtual citizenship ceremony, there would be no presiding official.

However, a chorus of prominent Canadian leaders, including former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, former Liberal immigration minister Sergio Marchi and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, came out to voice their opposition. Critics feared this would further dilute the meaning of Canadian citizenship.

“It’s a fundamental downgrading of understanding of what Canadian citizenship is about and how meaningful it can be,” said Andrew Griffith, a former director general for the federal Immigration Department, who had organized a petition to Parliament opposing what he calls “citizenship on a click.”

“It’s not a driver’s licence. It’s actually something that has some meaning. It gives very significant rights to people, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

While Griffith welcomed the news, he is troubled that the government did not officially note in the Gazette that it had dropped the plan or at least publicly stated a change in policy. The Gazette is the official government publication to inform the public about new and proposed regulations, statues, orders-in-council and appointments. 

“There’s always that risk particularly at a time when the government’s trying to find money, that somebody might revisit it, we’ve got the authority here, we can do that,” said Griffith.

“At least have a press release saying that, ‘After thinking about it carefully, given the importance of the incident, blah, blah blah, we’ve decided against this approach.’”

During the pandemic, citizenship processing time doubled from the prior 12-month service standard, prompting immigration officials to bring in virtual citizenship ceremonies in April 2020. Since then, more than 20,600 virtual ceremonies have been held before a citizenship judge or a presiding official online; processing time is down to 13 months. 

Last year, 2,045 virtual and 1,417 in-person citizenship ceremonies were held. From January to August this year, there were a total of 2,382 citizenship ceremonies, including 1,162 virtual and 1,220 in-person events.

In its email to the Star, the Immigration Department said officials conducted an analysis after public consultation on the self-administration of the oath. It took into consideration the “client experience journey,” measures related to the integrity of the process and “commitment that citizenship ceremonies remain an important part of Canadian tradition.”

“The Government of Canada is committed to continue delivering meaningful, celebratory and inclusive in-person and virtual ceremonies while offering clients a choice” between taking their oath in person or virtually, it said.

The department said it has been moving toward a more “integrated and modernized” working environment to help speed up application processing. Expanding citizenship ceremonies, tests and interviews to an online format was part of its goal of bringing efficiencies and simplifying the citizenship program and process, it added.

The department also said it is “actively” working on updating its citizenship guide, a project that started shortly after the Liberals returned to power in late 2015 when Justin Trudeau became the prime minister. Liberal Mark Carney has been prime minister since March.

The current citizenship guide, last revised in 2012, still uses some outdated information about the country and is short on the Indigenous history and the information about residential schools that were promised. The guide is studied by citizenship applicants, who must pass a knowledge exam as part of the requirement to become naturalized citizens.

Officials said they have engaged a wide range of partners to ensure the revised study guide represents all Canadians and people living in Canada as best as possible, including Indigenous Peoples, minority populations, women, francophone and Canadians with disabilities.

“These extensive consultations will ensure that the guide is historically accurate, more balanced and inclusive of the people that make up this country and its history,” the department said, adding that it has not set a launch date for the new guide.

Currently, the Canadian citizenship application fee is $649.75 for adults over 18 years old and $100 for minors.

Source: What happened to ‘click once for Canadian citizenship’? The government has (quietly) thought twice

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Century Initiative: Canada’s Growth Engine is Stalling

2025/10/23 Leave a comment

Continuing to pivot to a more realistic and comprehensive approach, rather than simplistically arguing for more immigration.

Of the 40 scorecard measures, 11 are leading or are on track, while 29 need attention or falling behind, notably among economic indicators:

Key Takeaways

Build for today—plan for 2050: With growth stalling and the median age rising, Canada needs a smart population plan that balances housing and services now while sustaining a skilled workforce, a resilient tax base, and competitiveness anchored in cross-government collaboration and real-time data.
 
Turning strengths into results: Canada’s talent and startup energy aren’t translating into growth. We lag peers on R&D, productivity, and scaling firms, eroding GDP per capita. The next five years must focus on incentives for R&D and competition, support for scale-ups, and tighter links between education/training and high-value jobs.
 
Compete to win talent: Canada can seize a global opening if immigration policy is stable, predictable, and competitive. A rules-based system that fuels workforce growth and innovation is essential to long-term fiscal resilience.
 
Affordability, competitiveness, and resilience—one agenda: Affordability isn’t just a pocketbook issue; it underpins productivity, social cohesion, and trust. A comprehensive plan on housing supply, household debt, wages, and inequality is critical to economic durability.
 
National security starts with the economy: Economic, demographic, and military security are inseparable. Meeting global commitments requires defence investment alongside modern data systems, deeper cybersecurity talent, and more diversified trade.

Source: Canada’s Growth Engine is Stalling, National Scorecard on Canada’s Growth and Prosperity

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Le Conseil national des musulmans se dit en faveur de la laïcité de l’État, mais pas des versions de la CAQ et du PQ

2025/10/23 Leave a comment

Interest interview, worth reading in its entirety:

…« Réussir l’interculturalisme »

« On est comme toutes les autres personnes de la société, on veut l’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes. Je suis un papa d’une jeune fille, je veux qu’elle ait exactement les mêmes opportunités et les droits que mes garçons. Ça doit être dit ! »

Aux yeux de Stephen Brown, la laïcité, « c’est l’idée que le gouvernement va sortir de la religion, qu’il va préconiser l’inclusion et la tolérance pour délimiter ou gérer les tensions interreligieuses à l’intérieur d’une société », fait-il valoir, se disant disposé à travailler avec les élus québécois dans le but de « réussir l’interculturalisme ».

« On parle souvent des musulmans au Québec, on parle plus rarement avec des musulmans au Québec. »

Source: Le Conseil national des musulmans se dit en faveur de la laïcité de l’État, mais pas des versions de la CAQ et du PQ

…” Succeed in interculturalism”

“We are like all other people in society, we want equality between men and women. I am a father of a young girl, I want her to have exactly the same opportunities and rights as my boys. It must be said! ”

In the eyes of Stephen Brown, secularism, “it is the idea that the government will leave religion, that it will advocate inclusion and tolerance to delimit or manage interreligious tensions within a society,” he argues, saying he is willing to work with Quebec elected officials in order to “successful interculturalism”.

“We often talk about Muslims in Quebec, we talk more rarely with Muslims in Quebec. ”

Filed under Interculturalisme, Laïcité, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

As the U.S. Unauthorized Population Expands, It Is Also Diversifying, New Fact Sheet Shows

2025/10/23 Leave a comment

Another informative MPI fact sheet. Would be nice to have an equally informative fact sheet or analysis for Canada rather than just a general number:

The unauthorized immigrant population has grown sharply, from 10.7 million in 2019 to 13.7 million as of mid-2023, MPI analysts find. Still, even as the unauthorized immigrant population has experienced the sharpest growth since the early 2000s, a full 80 percent have at least five years of U.S. residence—with 45 percent living 20 or more years in the United States. 

Unauthorized immigrants made up 26 percent of the overall immigrant population in the United States in mid-2023. 

The fact sheet, Changing Origins, Rising Numbers: Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, draws from a unique methodology that MPI created with leading demographers at The Pennsylvania State University and Temple University that allows the assignment of legal status in data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Given that the Census Bureau does not ask survey respondents if they are in the country without authorization, the resulting dataset offers a rare ability to study characteristics of the unauthorized population. 

The fact sheet is accompanied by detailed data profiles of the unauthorized immigrant population at U.S., state and top county levels. The profiles include countries/regions of birth, ages, years of U.S. residence, top job sectors, workforce participation, educational enrollment and attainment, English proficiency, income, homeownership and access to health insurance, among other characteristics. 

Among the key findings, all as of mid-2023: 

  • A growing share of the unauthorized immigrant population—as many as 4 million people, or 29 percent of the total—held a liminal (also known as “twilight”) status granting temporary relief from deportation and work authorization, through Temporary Protected Status (TPS), humanitarian parole, a pending asylum application or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). 
  • Nearly 4.2 million unauthorized immigrants were married to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (aka green-card holder). While marriage typically conveys the right to apply for legal permanent residence, most unauthorized immigrant spouses are unable to apply due to a 1996 immigration law. 
  • 6.3 million children under age 18 live with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent. All but 1 million of those children are U.S. citizens. 
  • 14 million U.S. citizens, green‑card holders or temporary visa holders share a household with an unauthorized immigrant.  
  • Mexicans accounted for 40 percent of all unauthorized immigrants—down significantly from their 62 percent share in 2010. 
  • 21 percent of all unauthorized immigrants lived in California; overall, half lived in California, Texas, Florida or New York. 

Source: As the U.S. Unauthorized Population Expands, It Is Also Diversifying, New Fact Sheet Shows

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Black staff at Global Affairs allege systemic racism

2025/10/23 Leave a comment

More raising the profile of the case arguing systemic racism and discrimination through specific examples and complaints:

Current and former Global Affairs Canada employees who are Black say the department doesn’t take their complaints about racism seriously.

“I was representing Canada but Canada did not represent me,” said Madina Iltireh, who spent more than 20 years working on the administration of foreign aid programs.

She spoke Wednesday on Parliament Hill at a news conference held by the Coalition Against Workplace Discrimination. The coalition includes the Black Class Action Secretariat, which is mounting legal challenges claiming systemic racism and discrimination in the public service.

The group is appealing a broader case involving the entire public service. It estimates the Federal Court of Appeal will take a year to rule on the case.

On Wednesday, the coalition cited three Global Affairs Canada staff who say their complaints were rejected by internal panels before being upheld by the courts or outside commissions, without compensation….

Source: Black staff at Global Affairs allege systemic racism

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Le microcrédit, un outil pour favoriser l’intégration des nouveaux arrivants

2025/10/23 Leave a comment

Of note:

Microcrédit Montréal, qui fête cette année ses 35 ans d’existence, accorde chaque année ce genre de prêts à une quarantaine de professionnels récemment arrivés au Québec qui désirent travailler dans leur domaine : ingénieurs, architectes, médecins, infirmières, pharmaciens, dentistes…

La somme octroyée, qui peut aller de 500 $ à 10 000 $, peut servir à payer des cours de mises à niveau, l’adhésion à un ordre professionnel, des cours de français ou tout simplement à assurer sa subsistance.

Faire reconnaître ses compétences, « c’est un parcours qui prend de l’investissement en temps et en argent, choses que ces gens-là, souvent, n’ont pas », fait observer Larissa Matveeva, directrice générale de Microcrédit Montréal.

« La plupart des gens vont remettre ça à plus tard parce que leur priorité est de nourrir la famille ou de survivre eux-mêmes s’ils arrivent ici seuls. Et puis, plus tard, souvent, ça ne se fait pas parce que la routine prend le dessus, tout simplement. »

L’organisme sans but lucratif vient faciliter ce parcours en prêtant à faible taux (4 %) à des gens à qui les banques institutionnelles ne prêteraient pas normalement, faute d’historique de crédit au pays.

« Nous, on prend le risque là où les banques ne peuvent pas en prendre », résume Mme Matveeva.

« On permet à ces personnes d’investir dans leur avenir ici, dès le départ, au bénéfice de tous : la personne gagne parce qu’elle a accès à des revenus confortables, puis la société québécoise gagne aussi, parce que cette personne va payer les impôts et va contribuer pleinement à l’économie. »…

Source: Le microcrédit, un outil pour favoriser l’intégration des nouveaux arrivants

Microcredit Montréal, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, grants this type of loans every year to about forty professionals recently arrived in Quebec who wish to work in their field: engineers, architects, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists…

The amount granted, which can range from $500 to $10,000, can be used to pay for refresher courses, membership in a professional order, French courses or simply to support your livelihood.

To have your skills recognized, “it is a path that takes investment in time and money, things that these people often do not have,” observes Larissa Matveeva, CEO of Microcredit Montreal.

“Most people will put it off because their priority is to feed the family or survive themselves if they get here alone. And then, later, often, it is not done because the routine takes over, quite simply. ”

The non-profit organization facilitates this journey by lending at low rates (4%) to people to whom institutional banks would not normally lend, for lack of credit history in the country.

“We take the risk where banks cannot take it,” summarizes Ms. Matveeva.

“We allow these people to invest in their future here, from the start, for the benefit of all: the person earns because he has access to comfortable income, then Quebec society also wins, because this person will pay taxes and will fully contribute to the economy. “…

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

Fewer Canadian companies disclosing DEI records, study finds

2025/10/22 2 Comments

Of interest:

Fewer Canadian public companies are trumpeting their records on diversity, equity and inclusion, though many are quietly pressing ahead with the initiatives despite the DEI backlash in the United States, a study by a national law firm has found.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders aimed at stamping out the practice of promoting diversity in workplaces, saying hiring and promotion should be done solely on merit. These actions could be influencing Canadian companies to pull back on reporting data, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP said in its annual diversity disclosure report.

The shift halts a years-long trend of increasing reporting for metrics such as the percentages of women on boards of directors and executive teams, the report said. 

The report found the percentage of female directors among Toronto Stock Exchange-listed companies increased, rising above 30 per cent of board seats for the first time to 30.5 per cent. But the rate of increase fell to 0.7 percentage points from midyear 2024, the slowest in the 11 years Osler has conducted the study.

Despite reduced public disclosure, institutional investors still demand this information from companies in their portfolios, and many corporations see maintaining DEI programs as key to attracting top talent they will require as demographics change, said John Valley, chair of Osler’s corporate governance practice and co-author of the report.

Source: Fewer Canadian companies disclosing DEI records, study finds

Filed under DEI, Hate crimes, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

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