More than half of recent applications to join the military came from permanent residents: DND

2022/12/13 Leave a comment

Will be interesting to see the percentage who are accepted (the Canadian Forces have a weak record on diversity despite efforts):

More than half of the applications received this past week from people looking to join the Canadian military — nearly 700 — came from permanent residents, the Department of National Defence says.

Since the beginning of November, 2,670 newly arrived immigrants have volunteered to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. It may be a sign that a long-term trend of newcomers shying away from the military is finally coming to an end.

On Dec. 5, the federal government lifted the ban on permanent residents joining the military, following the example set by allies who have long held the door open for immigrants.

“That’s a great start,” the country’s top military commander, Gen. Wayne Eyre, told CBC News in a year-end interview.

In the weeks leading up to the change, inquiries from permanent residents about military service made up slightly less than a third of the total. Since the announcement on Monday, that share has increased to 50 per cent — or 680 applications between December 5 and 8.

The figures, although preliminary, likely come as a bit of a relief to Eyre, who has warned for several months that the military is facing a critical shortfall in personnel.

It’s estimated that the Armed Forces is down roughly 8,000 to 10,000 people from its assigned strength of 71,500 regular forces personnel and 30,000 reserves.

The military had a plan to boost recruitment of soldiers, sailors and aircrew before COVID-19 hit, but attrition, the fallout from the sexual misconduct scandal and the pandemic lockdowns drove that plan off the rails.

The Armed Forces has received more than 8,200 applications since early November. Until the individuals are enrolled, however, they’re not considered recruited — and that has Eyre concerned.

Source: More than half of recent applications to join the military came from permanent residents: DND

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Thousands of applicants have been assigned to inactive immigration officers and IDs. Are you one of them?

2022/12/13 Leave a comment

Another unfortunate example of processing failures. Departmental response weak to be charitable:

Canada’s Immigration Ministry has assigned tens of thousands of applicants to immigration officers or placeholder codes that are inactive and no longer working within their system — some who’ve last logged in and processed files up to 16 years ago, and from airports and visa offices around the world.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data on “inactive users” on their Global Case Management System (GCMS) — its worldwide internal system used to process citizenship and immigration applications — show 59,456 open, pending or re-opened applications that were assigned to 779 former employees or dormant computer placeholder codes used to hold applicants in queue as of this February.

The department told CBC once a user is set as inactive, “it means they are no longer using the system and their access is no longer available.”

Source: Thousands of applicants have been assigned to inactive immigration officers and IDs. Are you one of them?

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Delay, delay, delay: MPs seek fix to Canada’s broken Access-to-Information system

2022/12/13 Leave a comment

I have largely given up on filing ATIP given my experience with delays:

When the government of Pierre Trudeau passed Canada’s Access to Information Act in 1983, it did so with the express purpose of creating what it thought would be an important new tool for governing democratically.

Indeed, the Act’s objective is set out in the first few paragraphs of the legislation: “to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions in order to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions.”

But forty years later and despite promises made by Pierre’s son, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to make this crucial tool work even better, the federal access-to-information system is in its worse shape ever according to a host of witnesses, including Canada’s Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, that have spoken before a House of Commons committee studying the issue.

The biggest problem, according to those witnesses: Delays. Under the law, government departments are to provide requested records within 30 days of the request. They can take extra time when certain conditions exist.

According to Maynard, the government failed to meet its legislated timelines on more than 30 per cent of the 400,000 or so access-to-information (ATI) requests made in the last year. One Ottawa-based researcher, Michael Dagg, was told he would have to wait 80 years for records he asked for from Library and Archives Canada about some RCMP operations. That particular delay may be extreme, but delays stretching from months into years for relatively routine records requested are now increasingly common.

“Access delayed is access denied,” said Matthew Green, the NDP MP on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics, which is in the midst of a study intended to recommend some fixes to the system. “In order to have parliamentary oversight, in order to have public trust, there needs to be quick and efficient access to information.”

Under the current iteration of the ATI Act, departments that fail to respond within legislated timelines do not face sanction. There are no fines and no penalties. Requesters cannot sue the government. The information commissioner has no power to force departments to respond. Each delayed request simply ends up as a data point in year-end reports on departmental performance. And, as Maynard told the House ethics committee, complaints to her office are already up 70 per cent this year.

“It comes down to a culture of secrecy,” said Michael Barrett, a Conservative MP who is also on the Ethics committee.  “We’ve heard from witnesses, some of them with access-to-information requests spanning between five and nine years and some departments being worse than others. And then when they receive the access requests, they come back in some redacted form — blacked out with a lot of useful information missing. So it really creates a problem where people aren’t able to get the information they need in a timely way.”

One series of access-to-information requests filed by Global News illustrates the uneven and poor performance of government departments in responding to requests in a timely fashion.

On March 16, 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, the federal government shuttered most of its offices and told most of its hundreds of thousands employees to work from home. And while it designated some employees as ‘essential’ it did not designate those working in access-to-information offices as ‘essential.’ As a result, the work in each department’s ATI shop began to grind to a halt as they could not access the secure computer networks in their offices needed to retrieve and process requested records. But as Information Commissioner Maynard would inform all departments during that COVID spring, even a pandemic cannot be used as legal justification for delaying the production of requested records.

And yet, on government websites and in correspondence from ATI analysts, the pandemic was cited time and time again as the reason records could not be produced under legislated timelines.

So, in June 2020, Global News filed identical access-to-information requests to more than a dozen large government departments. The requests were simple: Produce any memos or instructions circulated to department staff telling them how they were to do what Maynard had instructed them to do, which was meet their access-to-information obligations in the legislated 30-day timeline.

Only one department — the Department of Finance — responded to that Global News request in the 30-day window. Health Canada missed by a bit, responding in 43 days.

But the Department of National Defence provided the records in 105 days. Industry Canada took 221 days to respond. Global Affairs Canada took 295 days. The RCMP took 753 days.

And, last week, the Privy Council Office — the department that supports the work of the prime minister — finally provided the request records, 907 days after Global News asked for them. The records provided consisted of two e-mail messages and a PowerPoint presentation deck. Eleven pages in total. Not a word was blacked out, but it still took 907 days to process the relatively simple request.

Three departments — the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Environment Canada — have yet to to respond to that June 2020 Global News ATI request.

“We’ve got a problem when we have journalists looking to report in real time on matters that are current in Canada. And it takes years or more to get information,” said Barrett. “It turns them into — as one witness said — into historians instead of journalists.”

Access-to-information requests from journalists make up a small minority of any year’s requests. More than 65 per cent of requests for information are made by  everyday Canadians. Many more come from academics, business owners and not-for-profit organizations.

Maynard has provided the government and the ethics committee with a list of 18 recommendations to fix the access-to-information. She believes the system needs more resources and staff to process ATI requests as well as some rule changes. But, as she told the ethics committee when she testified before it in October, the access-to-information system will only improve when there is political will to improve it. In other words, the prime minister and his cabinet must make improvements a priority.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Maynard said. “Leaders must ensure that their institutions live up to their legislative obligations.”

Source: Delay, delay, delay: MPs seek fix to Canada’s broken Access-to-Information system

Filed under Government

Australia: Why international graduates find it hard to stay and work

2022/12/13 Leave a comment

Of note. Some parallels with Canada:

International students are flooding back to Australian universities. Some predictions say 2023 could even see record numbers of overseas students in the country.

This is not only good news for universities, but potentially good news for Australian employers. Part of the Albanese government’s plan to boost skills in Australia is to try to ensure more students stay longer after they graduate and join the workforce. 

Education Minister Jason Clare recently announced that those with a bachelor degree could stay for four years, up from two, to “strengthen the pipeline of skilled labour”, particularly likely to include graduates in healthcare, teaching, hospitality and accounting. 

But the government’s simple policy change is not enough. It assumes graduates will be able to get jobs in the areas they studied. There are four key reasons why getting more skilled international graduates into jobs needs more than just a visa extension. 

Not all graduates secure a job

Up to one-third of international graduates who stay in Australia post-study are still unemployed six months after graduating. This is the case even with historically low unemployment rates.

Full-time employment rates for international graduates are also consistently lower than for domestic graduates. For example, in 2021, the full-time employment rate for international graduates with an undergraduate degree was 43.0% compared with 68.9% for domestic graduates. 

Many international students are self-funded and report feeling stressed and under pressure to financially support themselves and their families due to the increased cost of living. 

If they do find a job, it pays less

Finding well-paying employment in occupations related to a student’s field of study also takes time. 

Many students and graduates report they are taking jobs that are not related to what they have studied, often for low wages. 

Studies also show that even if international students with an undergraduate degree find full-time employment, they earn 20% less than domestic graduates.

Too few work experience opportunities

Another reason it is difficult for international students to get a job after graduating is the limited opportunity to work while they study. 

Due to COVID and the push towards more online learning, work placements or internships have become scarce. In 2022, many universities have begun to offer internships again, but some students completed their studies without practical workplace experience.

Very few international students have local networks to draw on for job opportunities. They also tend to be less familiar with Australian workplace contexts and cultures and rely on internships to get the experience they need to secure an ongoing job.

Employers are hesitant

A 2020 Deakin University report found employers were hesitant to hire international graduates on temporary visas. Other research also shows employers favour those with permanent residency because they see them as more likely to stay in Australia, and worth the investment in recruiting and training. 

Research has also found employers think international graduates will be more expensive to hire, and they would require more on-the-job training to be able to understand the Australian workplace. 

Some mistakenly think language will be an issue, not realising that all university graduates need to meet the minimum English language proficiency to gain entry into any university programme.

Sometimes employers think international graduates are not considered to be a good “cultural fit”. While cultural fit is a consideration when hiring, there is a real danger some employers are using this reason to discriminate against international graduates for no reason other than their ethnic background. 

International students are a trustworthy and valuable source of productivity and workplace diversity – both of which are necessary to compete in a global economy. They have different skill sets, ideas, attitudes and cultural understandings that can expand how a business operates in a culturally diverse country. 

What is the way forward?

So, giving international students more time in Australia is not the whole answer. They need better career support before and after graduation.

This includes work placements but also help preparing for job applications and interviews.

Employers also need to be better informed about graduates’ capabilities and the benefits of hiring international graduates.

Danielle H Heinrichs is a researcher at the Griffith Institute of Educational Research, Griffith University, and Sarojni Choy is a professor of professional vocational and continuing education at Griffith University, Australia.

Source: Why international graduates find it hard to stay and work

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , , ,

Buruma: Does soccer really unite the world? Of course not

2022/12/12 Leave a comment

As we enter the semi-finals, a good column (I’m rooting for Morocco):

Count on the International Federation of Association Football, better known as FIFA, to come up with a fatuous slogan for the World Cup in Qatar: “Football Unites the World.” An official promotional video has Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar mouthing the words in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively.

Is it true? Does football really unite the world?

Of course not. It does not even unite countries. In Brazil, the team’s yellow-and-green colours have been co-opted by supporters of the recently ousted president Jair Bolsonaro (backed by Neymar), which has annoyed supporters of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (backed by Brazilian striker Richarlison).

The idea that sporting events unite the world is an old obsession, going back to Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s invention of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. Sports, in the Baron’s mind, ought to transcend politics, international tensions, and any other discord. FIFA, too, subscribes to the fantasy of a world without politics, where conflict is confined to the playing fields.

In fact, the choice to hold this year’s tournament in Qatar, a tiny oil-rich sheikdom with no footballing history or evidence of robust local interest in the game, is itself political. The country’s ruling emir craved the prestige of a global event, and Qatar had the money to buy it. Thick envelopes are said to have been slipped into the pockets of voting FIFA officials. And FIFA was richly rewarded for giving broadcasting rights to Al Jazeera, Qatar’s state-funded TV channel.

FIFA, evidently, was unbothered by Qatar’s poor human-rights record, abuse of immigrant workers, and laws that punish homosexuality – certainly no more than even dodgier venues of the past. After all, the last World Cup tournament was held in Russia, which was already under international sanctions.

But the fact that tiny Qatar, the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup tournament, wields such clout, shows how much power has shifted in recent times. FIFA, like the International Olympic Committee, always bends to the power of money, making it clear that neither the players nor visiting European dignitaries should wear armbands with the phrase “OneLove.” That expression of support for people’s right to love who and how they want was seen as a political statement, and FIFA cannot allow sports and politics to mix.

Except that they can and they do. It has been perfectly acceptable for Moroccan, Saudi or Qatari fans to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause by waving Palestine’s flag in the World Cup stadiums. Meanwhile, the Dutch Minister for Sport, Conny Helder, could do no more than wear a tiny “OneLove” pin to a match as the Qatari official sitting next to her calmly tied on a Palestinian armband.

Any criticism of human-rights violations in Qatar has been swiftly met with accusations of racism, backed by FIFA’s Swiss president, Gianni Infantino, who reminded fellow Europeans of “3,000 years” of Western imperialism. T-shirts bearing the words “woman” and “freedom” were prohibited as well, lest they irritate the Iranian theocracy, which is being challenged with those slogans at home.

Just as notable is the lack of national unity. Demonstrators in Tehran and other Iranian cities, protesting the regime’s efforts to bask in the glow of its football victories, cheered when their team lost to the United States, of all countries. Most remarkable of all was the refusal of the Iranian players themselves to sing the national anthem before their opening match. They were reportedly warned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps not to repeat this brave act of defiance.

Then there was the extraordinary defeat of the young German team. Like most national teams, the German side is multiethnic, and when they failed to proceed to the knock-out stage (only because Spain lost to Japan) conservative pundits in Germany blamed it on a lack of the traditional German fighting spirit. Even before this World Cup, the team was attackedin certain right-wing circles and accused of not being truly German.

One of the ironies of modern football is that national teams whip up passions in a kind of carnivalesque performance of patriotic partisanship. But the players themselves are mostly colleagues in club teams all over Europe who usually speak several languages and are often close friends off the field, making them unsuitable avatars for this type of chauvinism. They are members of an extremely wealthy, truly cosmopolitan elite. So, the football stars are, in a sense, united, even if the World Cup unites no one else.

Still, one can understand why FIFA chose its 2022 World Cup slogan. “Money makes the world go ‘round” would have been a little too honest.

Ian Buruma is the author, most recently, of The Churchill Complex: The Curse of Being Special, from Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit.

Source: Does soccer really unite the world? Of course not

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Shree Paradkar: A four-year study has mapped out ‘The Canadian Islamophobia Industry’

2022/12/12 Leave a comment

Of note. Zine’s creation of a voting guide for Muslim voters in 2019 generated considerable controversy:

What connects a book titled “How Baby Boomers, Immigrants and Islam Screwed My Generation”, a tweet with two women wearing sweatshirts labelled “Deus Vult”, a meme of a Trojan horse labelled “Infiltrating From Within” and public warnings about the “Great Replacement”?

It’s not merely that a thread of Islamophobia weaves through them all. It’s that the thread is supported by a well-funded and orchestrated matrix, as uncovered by a new report titled “The Canadian Islamophobia Industry: Mapping Islamophobia’s ecosystem in the Great White North.”

Wilfrid Laurier professor Jasmin Zine likens the four years she and a group of graduates spent investigating the networks of hate and bigotry that purvey Islamophobia to playing whack-a-mole.

“We went down hundreds of rabbit holes investigating so many different Islamophobic groups and organizations and individuals, and one led to another,” she said this week at a discussion of her report at the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism.

Islamophobia has had an insidious and deadly impact in Canada, leading, in just one example, to the murder of Muslims in Quebec City in 2017 and in London, Ont., in 2021.

Zine is an expert on the topic; the author of a recent book titled “Under Siege: Islamophobia and the 9/11 Generation” and a consultant on the subject for international human rights agencies such as The Council of Europe and the UNESCO.

Her recently released 240-page report based on a four-year study unveils an ecosystem that comprises media outlets and Islamophobia influencers, white nationalist groups, fringe-right pro-Israel groups, self-professed “Muslim dissidents,” think-tanks and their designated security experts, and the donors who fund their campaigns.

While studies such as “Hijacked by Hate” or “Fear Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America” and the book “The Islamophobia Industry” have shown the co-ordinated and monetized nature of Islamophobia in the United States, Zine’s report is the first to show the links between various actors in Canada that target and vilify Islam and Muslims here. It adds urgency to act on the recommendations of the Summit on Islamophobia last July.

“The report highlights, first of all, the breadth and depth of the problem,” Barbara Perry, a leading Canadian expert on white extremism, told the Star. “Beyond that, however, it uncovers the ways in which the white supremacist/Islamophobic networks draw from both the fringe and the mainstream.”

Perry, who was not involved in the development of the report, called it “an incredibly important piece of work,” coming at a time when the public’s attention is diverted from Islamophobia due to the surge in anti-authority activism, such as that seen in the so-called Freedom Convoy.

Discussions about Islam often surface in the aftermath of violence — whether by those in the name of Islam or by those in the name of Christianity and whiteness.

But hate simmers in the background the rest of the time, gaining steam among the 300 or so hate groups that have blossomed across the country like poisonous mushrooms. Propagations of an us-versus-them rhetoric show up in memes, in anti-Trudeau conspiracy theories and in connection to Muslim women wearing hijabs, niqabs and burqas.

Crusader imagery is a popular symbol for these groups. A photo of Canadian Islamophobia influencers Faith Goldy and Lauren Southern wearing hoodies with the term “Deus vult,” Latin for “God willing” is one example. Deus vult was a rallying cry against Muslims during the First Crusade. “Reviving the tropes of this centuries-old battle, they invoke moral panic about Muslims and ignite Islamophobic fears and fantasies,” Zine writes.

Repeatedly circulating the idea of Islam as an existential threat primes people to accept blatantly anti-Muslim policies, including heightened surveillance of Muslims in the name of “counter terrorism.” And a law to ban head coverings by Muslim women, as Quebec did, under the guise of banning all items of overt religiosity.

In 2017, Southern went to the Mediterranean Sea to support the racist, xenophobic Defend Europe campaign and procured a 250-foot boat to stop NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders from conducting search-and-rescue missions to aid migrants in distress. While she and the motley crew ultimately failed to stop migrant ships, they earned credibility in racist movements that included a thumbs up from a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke.

This is but one example of the transnational reach of an ideology where tropes about deceptive and dangerous “Muslim invaders” and an oncoming “jihad” against the Western world intersect with xenophobia about migrants and fears of “white replacement”. The replacement theory views policies that welcome immigrants of non-European backgrounds as being part of a plot to push out the political power and culture of white people.

Three years prior, anti-Muslim blogger Kevin Johnston called Mississauga “ground zero for the entire Islamic invasion of the country” as he ran a failed campaign for mayor of the city. It was on a YouTube video since taken down for violating hate-speech guidelines.

To this matrix of bad faith players, Zine adds the category of “Muslim dissidents” and “ex-Muslims” — who she can occupy a central role in the Islamophobia industry and sometimes publish pieces in mainstream Canadian media.

While debates within communities are normal and common, some of these individuals are not mere enablers. “Bolstered by their ‘insider’ status, they act as instigators and propagators of anti-Islamic narratives as well as validating and authorizing the circulation of these tropes,” Zine writes.

As the Iranian-American author Hamid Dabashi once wrote, “There is no longer any need for ‘expert knowledge’ when you can hear the facts from the horse’s mouth.”

Zine points out the writer Raheel Raza. Days after a Canadian-born Muslim man shot dead Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the Ottawa war memorial in 2014, Raza wrote a blog saying “Canada is under attack” in which she recommended Canada “close all mosques for three months to have intense scrutiny on the Imams and their sermons in the past 3 months” and put “a moratorium on immigration from Muslim countries for a set period till matters here settle down.”

The writer Salim Mansur is another example Zine points to among the seven profiles of dissidents and ex-Muslims in the report. Mansur, a columnist at Rebel Media and the Toronto Sun, once wrote “Muslims, in general, are a ‘third-world’ people whose understanding and practice of Islam remain fixed in their pre-modern cultures.”

These “voices of dissent” claim Islam needs reforming.

But Islamophobia keeps Muslims on the defensive, steals their ability to challenge hierarchies or to have frank internal critiques that the dissidents say are needed.

Zine draws connections between dissidents and their roles at anti-Muslim think-tanks.

For instance, American reports such as Hijacked by Hate or Countering the Islamophobia Industry by The Carter Centre found the Gatestone Institute is one of the biggest funders of the Islamophobia industry in the U.S. It was founded by Nina Rosenwald, who is heiress to the Sears Roebuck fortune and has been dubbed the “sugar mama” of Anti-Muslim hate there.

“We can’t actually track the money trail in Canada in the way that they can in the United States by using tax records,” Zine says.

Certain connections still become visible. Raza and Mansur were distinguished fellows with the Gatestone Institute, the report says.

Writes Zine: “The Muslim community and its allies must work to engender social movements and to enact dedicated advocacy and powerful lobbies to combat the formidable and lucrative business of Islamophobia.”

Source: Shree Paradkar: A four-year study has mapped out ‘The Canadian Islamophobia Industry’

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Adams and Parkin: Surveys show Canadian are less polarized and angry than Americans

2022/12/12 Leave a comment

Of note:

We are living in an era of populism and polarization. Our politics is divided and angry. And if anything is changing, it is changing for the worse. Or so we are often told.

As usual, the U.S. sets the tone. Our recent surveys — run on both sides of the border — bring this into focus. Compared to 1986, in the midst of Reagan era, Americans today are much less likely to be satisfied both with opportunities to get ahead in their country, and with their system of government. Republicans, in particular, are losing faith in the American dream and in their democracy.

Perhaps surprisingly, over the same period of time, there has been no noticeable change of opinion in Canada. Not everyone here is satisfied with opportunities to advance, or with our system of government. But, on average, Canadians are no more dissatisfied than they were in the mid-1980s. Certainly Conservative party supporters are more dissatisfied now that the Liberals are in power. But this is offset by growing satisfaction among Liberals.

A big shift has occurred in Canada, however, when it comes to social programs. In the mid-1980s, Canadians were almost twice as likely as Americans to be satisfied with social services for the poor and the elderly in their country. Today, there is no difference — while satisfaction in the U.S. has remained low, satisfaction in Canada has fallen sharply. And it has fallen among partisans on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

This hardly fits the narrative of the rise of populism. Yes, there is evidence of growing dissatisfaction in Canada, but the focus of this dissatisfaction is our failure to better protect the most vulnerable in our society. 

If this seems too rosy, consider opinions on two other questions. In 1986, about 3-in-4 people in both Canada and the United States agreed that government should reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor, and that government should do much more to make sure racial minorities are treated fairly. Since then, agreement on both questions has declined in the U.S. In Canada, there has been no change.

True, there are signs of polarization in both countries, as the gap in agreement between the those on the left and right has widened. But the gap today between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. is about twice as wide as that in Canada between Conservatives and Liberals. On these questions, the opinions of Canadian Conservatives resemble those of American independents much more that those of their Republican “cousins.”

Then there is the notable absence of division in Canada between the views of racialized and non-racialized citizens. Predictably, in the U.S., African-Americans are much more likely than whites to call on government to act to promote both economic and racial equality; the gap emerges because white Americans are much less likely to favour these actions. 

Not so here, where equally large majorities of white and racialized Canadians call for government to act to reduce inequalities. 

Canadians must avoid looking upon these findings with smugness. Public opinion aside, we struggle to confront racism in our society. If Canadians have grown less satisfied with social services, it is a sign not only of social solidary, but also of the failure of our governments to deliver.

Pointing out that we are less polarized or angry than our American neighbours may be reassuring, but it does little to solve the problems we face. However, we at least can tackle these problems with an awareness that our history, society, culture and institutions are our own, with plenty of weaknesses, but also with undeniable strengths.

Source: Surveys show Canadian are less polarized and angry than Americans

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , , , , ,

Is birth tourism about to return now that travel restrictions have been lifted?

2022/12/12 Leave a comment

My annual update:

COVID-19 continues to provide the perfect natural experiment to assess the extent of “birth tourism” – when women visit Canada for the purpose of giving birth here and thus obtaining Canadian citizenship for their child. Two years in, the data shows a decrease of almost eight per cent, compared to 2020-21 and almost 52 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic 2016-20 average, in the number of “non-resident self-pay” births in Canada.

As Figure 1 indicates, there was a steady increase of non-resident births prior to the pandemic. But after COVID-related travel restrictions were implemented in 2020, there was a sharp drop, with no recovery in 2021. This provides a very good indication of the extent of birth tourism in Canada. Now that the restrictions are loosening and travel is once again opening up, it’s time for the federal government to revisit its policy on non-resident births and Canadian citizenship.

https://e.infogram.com/1bffaa89-7b27-4768-acdd-860d46ab420b?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpolicyoptions.irpp.org%2Fmagazines%2Fdecember-2022%2Fbirth-tourism-may-rise-again%2F%3Futm_source%3DPolicy%2BOptions%2BNewsletter%26utm_campaign%3D87f90b7127-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_02_14_05_26_COPY_01%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_term%3D0_26f66e24ce-87f90b7127-104024581%26mc_cid%3D87f90b7127%26mc_eid%3D86cabdc518&src=embed#async_embed

The decline to 2,245 in 2021 from 2,433 in 2020 occurred in all provinces save Quebec, which remained relatively stable (Table 1). The decline was particularly notable in British Columbia, where most birth tourists pre-pandemic were from China – a country most affected by travel restrictions. The drop is in stark contrast to steady increases over the previous five-year period.

https://e.infogram.com/c85b1f61-f842-4a62-adbb-c69b1c8964af?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpolicyoptions.irpp.org%2Fmagazines%2Fdecember-2022%2Fbirth-tourism-may-rise-again%2F%3Futm_source%3DPolicy%2BOptions%2BNewsletter%26utm_campaign%3D87f90b7127-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_02_14_05_26_COPY_01%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_term%3D0_26f66e24ce-87f90b7127-104024581%26mc_cid%3D87f90b7127%26mc_eid%3D86cabdc518&src=embed#async_embed

A similar decline in visitor visas and birth tourists has been noted in the United States.

The percentage of non-resident births in Canada fell from slightly less than two per cent of total births in 2019 to 0.7 per cent in 2020 and has remained at that level. Given increased immigration, the percentage of non-resident births also fell during the same period.

As noted in previous articles, the non-resident self-pay code that is the basis for the analysis is broader than that of women who arrive on visitor visas. It includes international students, about half of whom are covered by provincial health plans, and other temporary residents. Visitor visas recovered to only 57 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2021-22 while visas for temporary workers have more than recovered from pre-pandemic levels. Visitor visas for Chinese nationals, one of the major groups, have recovered to only 21 per cent of former levels compared to 57 per cent of previous levels for all visitor visas. Chinese government travel-related restrictions are likely a significant factor in the reduced number.

Table 2 provides a hospital-level view of the impact of COVID, contrasting pre- and post-pandemic years in terms of non-resident and total births for the 10 hospitals with the largest percentage of non-resident births. Non-resident births continued to decline in most hospitals. British Columbia’s Richmond Hospital – the epicentre of birth tourism with its supportive “cottage industry” of “birth hotels” – has been the hardest hit. There was a decrease of 95.6 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

https://e.infogram.com/d4121dd0-70ad-48bc-ba08-1b02f02ecbe6?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpolicyoptions.irpp.org%2Fmagazines%2Fdecember-2022%2Fbirth-tourism-may-rise-again%2F%3Futm_source%3DPolicy%2BOptions%2BNewsletter%26utm_campaign%3D87f90b7127-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_02_14_05_26_COPY_01%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_term%3D0_26f66e24ce-87f90b7127-104024581%26mc_cid%3D87f90b7127%26mc_eid%3D86cabdc518&src=embed#async_embed

This suggests that my initial estimate from 2018 that about 50 per cent of non-resident births were due to birth tourism was conservative, and that the percentage of “tourism births” is about one per cent of all births (or about 0.4 per cent of current immigration levels).

Three federal immigration ministers later, the government has not have followed up on its 2018 commitment to “better understand the extent of this practice as well as its impacts” following the first release of the Canadian Institute for Health Information numbers and related media attention. The 2021-22 decline understandably reduces political interest and pressure in addressing the issue, particularly at a time of government and stakeholder support of increased immigration, as the proportion on “non-resident” self-pay is only about 0.5 per cent of permanent resident admissions, having fallen from 1.7 per cent pre-pandemic.

Given the current focus on increased immigration, it is highly unlikely that the government will take action. The numbers are very small compared to the planned level of 500,000 immigrants to Canada in 2025 and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s current policy and operational challenges. However, given that visitor visas have largely reverted to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, growth in birth tourism can be expected in future years.

The government should address the policy deficit in this area. There appears to be public support for some action. A 2019 Angus Reid survey indicated that the vast majority of Canadians would support removing birthright citizenship for children born to women on visitor visas.

The use of CIHI data to quantify the extent of birth tourism, albeit approximately, highlights the potential in greater linkages between immigration and health data. With respect to birth tourism, the ability to distinguish between non-resident births for visitors, international students and temporary workers would provide greater precision on the extent of the practice.

It would also allow for more informed analysis and understanding of the health outcomes of immigrants and would identify opportunities for improvement.

The policy and operational questions remain as to whether the extent of birth tourism warrants an amendment to the Citizenship Act, visa restrictions on women intending to give birth in Canada, or other administrative and regulatory measures to curtail the practice. Because visa restrictions would be difficult to administer, and because regional administrative and regulatory measures may well encourage hospital and jurisdiction “shopping,” the “cleanest” approach would be an amendment to the Citizenship Act that would make Canadian citizenship dependent on one parent being a citizen or permanent resident, comparable to the situation in Australia.

A note on methodology 

The data is from the CIHI’s Discharge Abstract Database, more specifically the responsible for funding program (RRFP) “non-resident self-pay” category, as well as totals for hospital deliveries. The RRFP data include temporary residents on visitor visas, international students, foreign workers and visiting Canadian citizens, and permanent residents. While Quebec has a slightly different coding system, CIHI ensures its data is comparable. 

Health coverage for international students varies by provinces, but most are covered by provincial health plans. This is not the case in Manitoba and Ontario, and for some students in Quebec whose country of origin does not have a social security agreement with Quebec. The pre-pandemic baseline is the five-year average 2016-20.

Mackenzie Health’s Woman and Child program moved from Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital to Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital when it opened to the community in June 2021.

Source: Is birth tourism about to return now that travel restrictions have been lifted?

Filed under Birthright Citizenship, Citizenship Tagged with , ,

ChatGPT: Remarkably good on immigration and citizenship

2022/12/12 1 Comment

With all the coverage on ChatGPT and its ability to answer normal language questions, I tried out some questions.

Remarkable comprehensive and balanced responses, suggesting that the programmers and others behind it have minimized biases and distortions in the software.

While currently cannot search the internet (may be a blessing!), I am thinking it may supplant Wikipedia for many requests:

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What is multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism is the idea that different cultures and ethnic groups can coexist within a single society. It is based on the belief that diversity is a positive aspect of society and that different cultures can enrich one another. In a multicultural society, different cultural groups are allowed to maintain their own customs and traditions, and there is a general tolerance and acceptance of cultural differences. Multiculturalism is often seen as a way to promote harmony and understanding between different groups within a society.

What are the problems with multiculturalism?

There are several potential problems with multiculturalism. One is that it can lead to the segregation of different cultural groups within a society, with each group living in its own separate community. This can make it difficult for people from different backgrounds to interact and understand one another, and it can create social tensions.

Another problem is that some people argue that multiculturalism can undermine national unity and a sense of shared identity. Critics argue that when different cultural groups are allowed to maintain their own customs and traditions, it can create a fragmented society where people are more loyal to their own cultural group than to the nation as a whole.

Additionally, some people argue that the emphasis on cultural diversity can lead to a lack of recognition of the values and traditions that are common to all members of a society. This can make it difficult to build a sense of shared identity and unity among people from different cultural backgrounds.

Which countries have been most successful in implementing multiculturalism? Which countries have been the least successful?

I’m sorry, but I do not have the information needed to answer that question. As a large language model trained by OpenAI, my knowledge is limited to the text that I have been trained on, which includes a wide range of general knowledge but does not include specific, up-to-date information on current events or recent changes in the policies of different countries. Additionally, I am not able to browse the internet, so I do not have access to the most recent data and statistics on the success of different countries’ multiculturalism policies.

What are the benefits of immigration?

There are many potential benefits of immigration. One is that it can help to fill labor shortages and support economic growth. Immigrants often have different skills and experiences than the native population, and they can bring new ideas and perspectives to a country. This can help to drive innovation and support the growth of new industries.

Immigration can also help to promote cultural diversity and understanding. When people from different backgrounds and cultures come together in a new country, they can learn from one another and gain a deeper understanding of different perspectives and ways of life. This can help to create a more vibrant and dynamic society.

Additionally, immigration can help to address demographic challenges, such as an aging population. In countries with low birth rates and an aging population, immigration can help to maintain a healthy balance between the number of workers and the number of people who are retired or unable to work. This can help to ensure that there are enough workers to support social programs and maintain a strong economy.

What are the disadvantages of immigration?

There are also potential disadvantages of immigration. One is that it can put pressure on a country’s public services and infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, and public transportation. When a large number of people move to a new country, it can be challenging for the government to provide the necessary resources to support them. This can lead to overcrowding and reduced access to public services for everyone.

Another potential disadvantage is that immigration can lead to job competition and wage stagnation for the native population. When there is a large influx of immigrants into a labor market, it can create competition for jobs, which can lead to lower wages for some workers. This can be particularly challenging for workers with lower levels of education and skills, who may have difficulty competing with immigrants for jobs.

Additionally, immigration can create social tensions and conflict, particularly if there is a perception that immigrants are taking jobs away from the native population or are not assimilating into the country’s culture. This can lead to resentment and hostility between different cultural groups within a society, which can be difficult to address.

What are the advantages of immigrants becoming citizens?

There are several advantages to immigrants becoming citizens. One is that it gives them the right to vote and participate in the political process, which allows them to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives and their communities. Citizenship also gives immigrants the right to hold public office, which can help to ensure that their voices and perspectives are represented in government.

Another advantage of citizenship is that it provides immigrants with greater security and stability. As citizens, they are less likely to be deported or separated from their families, and they have the right to live and work in the country without the threat of losing their legal status. This can give them the freedom to pursue their goals and build their lives without the constant fear of being forced to leave.

Additionally, citizenship can give immigrants access to certain benefits and protections that are not available to non-citizens. For example, in many countries, citizens have the right to access public education and healthcare, and they may be eligible for certain government programs and services. Citizenship can also make it easier for immigrants to travel internationally and to sponsor their family members to join them in the country. Overall, becoming a citizen can provide immigrants with greater opportunities and a sense of belonging in their new country.

Write an article on becoming a Canadian citizen

Becoming a Canadian citizen is a rewarding and exciting experience, but it can also be a complex and challenging process. In this article, we will provide an overview of the steps involved in becoming a Canadian citizen, as well as some tips and advice to help you navigate the process successfully.

The first step in becoming a Canadian citizen is to determine if you are eligible. To be eligible, you must be a permanent resident of Canada, have lived in Canada for at least three out of the last five years, and have a good knowledge of English or French. You must also have good moral character and be willing to swear allegiance to the Queen and to the values of Canada.

If you meet these requirements, the next step is to gather the necessary documentation. This includes proof of your permanent resident status, evidence of your time spent in Canada, and proof of your language skills. You will also need to fill out an application form and pay the required fees.

Once you have submitted your application, it will be reviewed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). If your application is approved, you will be invited to attend a citizenship ceremony, where you will take the Oath of Citizenship and become a Canadian citizen.

Becoming a Canadian citizen can bring many benefits, such as the right to vote, the ability to hold public office, and access to certain government programs and services. It can also provide you with a sense of belonging and connection to your new country.

If you are interested in becoming a Canadian citizen, it is important to carefully research the process and to ensure that you have all the necessary information and documentation. You can find more information on the IRCC website, or you can contact the IRCC for assistance. With the right preparation and guidance, you can successfully navigate the process and become a proud Canadian citizen.

What is birth tourism?

Birth tourism is the practice of traveling to another country for the purpose of giving birth in order to obtain citizenship for the child. This is typically done in countries that have generous citizenship laws, such as the United States, Canada, and some countries in Europe, where children born on their soil are automatically granted citizenship.

Birth tourism is a controversial practice, as it can allow people to bypass the usual immigration processes and obtain citizenship for their child without having to meet the normal requirements. Critics argue that it undermines the integrity of a country’s citizenship laws and can create a backdoor route to citizenship for people who may not otherwise be eligible. Some countries have introduced measures to crack down on birth tourism, such as requiring parents to provide proof of their ties to the country or imposing additional fees on foreign-born children.

What is employment equity?

Employment equity is a policy or set of policies aimed at promoting equal opportunities and reducing discrimination in the workplace. The goal of employment equity is to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, age, or other personal characteristics, have an equal chance to access employment opportunities and to advance in their careers.

In many countries, employment equity programs are designed to address systemic discrimination and to ensure that historically disadvantaged groups, such as women and minorities, have the same opportunities as other groups in the labor market. This can include measures such as setting targets for hiring and promoting members of these groups, providing training and support to help them succeed in the workplace, and addressing workplace policies and practices that may be biased against them.

Overall, the goal of employment equity is to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace, where all individuals have the opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute to the success of the organization.

Filed under Citizenship, Immigration Tagged with

Wright: About that worker ‘shortage’: Why are governments helping drive down wages?

2022/12/10 Leave a comment

Feeling a bit less of a lone voice in the wilderness as we see more critical voices of current immigration policies:

For almost 50 years Canada has done a thoroughly crappy job – to use the technical term in economics – of fostering a labour market that would provide for steady, year-over-year increases in real pay for working Canadians. I calculate that in 1976 it would have taken a worker earning the median employment income six years to save enough for a down payment on a typical single-family home. In 2020 it would have taken 17 years. If that worker lived in Greater Toronto or Vancouver, it would have taken 28 and 30 years, respectively.

Given this history, one might think that governments would welcome the prospect of a change in labour market dynamics that would turn this around. Instead, we are seeing concerted government actions that undercut the prospect of Canadian workers getting decent pay raises.

The federal government, supported by most provinces, has decided to oblige the business lobby with significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, increasing the number of hours per week that international students can work, as well as pushing immigration levels higher. In other words, they are engineering an increase in the supply of labour to hold down wages.

That has come after a virtually non-stop narrative over the last few years about a “worker shortage” in Canada. Businesses are regularly quoted complaining that they cannot find enough workers, and business associations constantly lobby governments to do something about it – usually by bringing in more workers from other countries, either on a temporary or permanent basis.

But in economics, the notion of a shortage of supply in any market is, at best, half-baked. A market balances supply and demand. If there is a “shortage” of supply, then the price in that market rises until the amount supplied is equal to the amount demanded.

In the labour market, if the supply is workers, then the price amounts to what employers pay for them: the package of pay, benefits, and working conditions provided by the employer. For simplicity, let’s call it the wage. So, if an employer is facing a “shortage” of workers, there is a simple solution: offer higher wages.

To be sure, before raising wages, the employer can search harder for employees willing to work at the prevailing wage. In particular, the employer can look to groups that have historically had more difficulty finding employment – for example, people with disabilities or people experiencing discrimination. That would seem to be a good thing. But with unemployment as low as it is, firms have arguably exhausted this option. The only real solution is, again, to raise wages.

Of course, if the employer does have to raise wages, its costs will go up. If the employer is a for-profit firm, this will lower profits. But the firm has options: it could invest in new equipment, or new products or a new business model that would increase workers’ productivity or the value of what its workers produce. Then it could afford to pay those higher wages. Given Canada’s desultory record in productivity improvement, one might think that nudging businesses to be more innovative – through raising wages – would be a good thing.

Alternatively, the firm could raise its prices. If the firm is selling into the international market, there may be some constraint on this. But if the firm is selling into a domestic market that doesn’t face international competition (e.g., restaurants), and the firm’s domestic competitors have raised their wages, too – likely, because of the same worker “shortage” – then it will still be as competitive as it was before.

This would increase the cost to Canadian consumers of that industry’s product, but consider the implications of that. Most of the industries that fit into this category – restaurants, accommodation and janitorial services, for example – already pay below-average wages. On balance, this would mean people would pay marginally more for goods and services so that those with lower incomes could earn more. Would that be such a bad thing?

The final concern about higher wages is that some companies would go out of business. This would certainly lead to some temporary dislocation. But amid that, other, more competitive firms will expand, and new ones will start up. If it happens at a time when labour markets are tight, the adjustment will be relatively painless. It shouldn’t take long for resources to be reallocated to industries that can afford to pay the higher market wage.

This is the very creative destruction business lauds, and the primary driver of a rising standard of living. We used to think this was a good thing.

If businesses must compete for workers, the market will respond with greater innovation and productivity, leading to higher wages. So, shouldn’t we just let the dynamics of a worker “shortage” sort themselves out?

I can understand why businesses want to avoid raising wages. What mystifies me is why Canadian governments are so willing to protect those businesses from the market pressure to raise their productivity game and, finally, reverse decades of depressingly slow wage growth.

Don Wright is a fellow with the Public Policy Forum and a former deputy minister to the premier and head of the public service in British Columbia. He has held senior executive positions in business, government and academia.

Source: About that worker ‘shortage’: Why are governments helping drive down wages?

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