Appreciating the politics of the pandemic

2020/05/09 Leave a comment

Good discussion of the interface between public health science and politics:

The pandemic is political. While COVID-19 is essentially a public health crisis with massive economic effects, political decisions facilitated the spread of the virus, and politics guides how governments are working to keep it at bay. Appreciating the politics of the pandemic is vital to understanding how we got here, what we are doing about it and what the post-pandemic world may look like.

While there has been some analysis on the political aspects of the pandemic, it merits further attention. Contemporary political science is a strange creature in many ways. It is quite derivative, drawing on other fields such as psychology, economics and sociology. Although this borrowing can be viewed as a weakness, it also can be a seen as a significant strength because it gives the field the ability to analyse the individual, societal, governmental and international aspects of events.

In that spirit, we offer a political science perspective on events and debates surrounding the pandemic and potential considerations for moving forward as Canada ponders an end to confinement and scenarios for recovery.

The novel coronavirus originated in China, and that country’s handling of COVID-19 has been the subject of significant debate. The Chinese government began by silencing whistleblowers in the early days of the epidemic and then took drastic measures to control the spread of the virus. China has now reinvented itself as a global champion in the fight against the pandemic through generous public and private transfers of personal protection equipment abroad.

China deceived and used coercive measures initially to control information and distort COVID-19 statistics, on which we relied for modelling other countries’ pandemic trajectories. With questions raised about its handling of the virus, China also tried to demonstrate international leadership and benevolence to compensate.

This is the contradictory universe of authoritarianism, where the projection of power and influence at home and abroad is built on image. Authoritarian states have always relied on their image as an essential part of how they govern and legitimate themselves. At home, image management is not just about the dictator masquerading as the enlightened despot, it is also often a reminder of what the state stands for and expects from its citizens.

Image management in foreign affairs is just as important, particularly for a burgeoning regional hegemon such as China. Authoritarian states regularly mask the ugly to promote their shiny brand. In China’s case, early signals that hinted at failings, including the failure to anticipate the danger of COVID-19 and to react, were replaced by stories of its effective responses and its ability to prove itself as a global leader in the fight against the pandemic.

China’s handling of the crisis has also led to a series of questions about the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization’s approach to COVID-19 highlights the pressures and limits that international organizations face. While these organizations are essential for fostering global cooperation, providing guidance and leading international initiatives, they remain subordinate to states and the contentious nature of international politics.

Notably, international organizations are not only dependent on states for financial contributions, but for information, access and goodwill. In the absence of these, international organizations can achieve only so much, and their ability to perform their advising and coordinating functions is hampered.

In the context of the current pandemic, the twin pressures of information denial from China in the early months and the upcoming financial punishment from the United States will weaken the WHO. It will complicate efforts to build back a reputation that has arguably been tarnished, whether justified or not, by its handling of the pandemic. For all their internal flaws, international organizations like the WHO are only as effective as states and the international environment allow them to be.

On the other hand, Canada’s relationship with the WHO since the first months of 2020 reminds us that certain states are heavily invested in international organizations, not only for the coordination and guidance they offer, but also for what they represent and provide as hallmarks of the liberal international order. The Canadian government’s determination to follow WHOguidance was in part a reflection of the fact that no one state has the capacity to handle the pandemic alone.

Multilateralism involves the sharing of information and pooling efforts together to do more while enjoying economies of scale, giving groups of states far greater reach with more effectiveness than they could achieve alone. Other smaller countries chose to follow a more independent and prudent approach regarding WHO advice when the first signs of a possible pandemic emerged. In theory, Ottawa might have been able to do the same. But Canada’s determination to follow WHO guidance equally reflects a larger commitment to multilateralism and the global order that the country helped build after the Second World War.

An interesting aspect of the Canadian response has been the placing of public health expertise at the forefront of decision-making.

Working with the WHO, rather than going it alone, is a form of good international citizenship for Canada and an expression of the fact that global problems require global solutions. While this has led to questions about the efficacy of Canada’s initial response to the pandemic, appreciating the multilateral dimension of the Canadian approach sheds light on why Ottawa stuck by the WHO and why it likely will continue to do so.

Within Canada, the debate is turning toward decisions made by governments, federal and provincial, and the information and advice they have been providing citizens. An interesting aspect of the Canadian response has been the placing of public health expertise at the forefront of decision-making.

Public health officials have been providing daily briefings and ministers have been steadfast in assuring citizens that the measures and policies that have been put in place reflect expert advice and the best available evidence. This approach has been met by expressions of significant trust in government, as observed by various polls.

As Canada begins to contemplate a loosening of restrictions, experts in public finance will likely join their public health counterparts in providing critical advice to ministers. This expert advice has been vital to Canada’s response and will be as important for the country’s recovery.

Yet expertise will not be enough. Political decisions will still need to be made, as studies of evidence-based policy tell us. This will involve weighing the evidence provided to ministers from different competing sources, managing the uncertainty that necessarily accompanies advice about the future and balancing trade-offs between public health considerations, economic concerns and citizens’ tolerance for restrictions over the long-term.

No one field of expertise can provide complete advice on these trade-offs. But these decisions will require political judgment, an attribute that belongs with politicians and their political advisors.

Finally, when political judgement begins to take on greater importance, the risks associated with having experts as the public face of the government’s response will increase. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam has already become a political and media target, including in the form of inexcusable racist attacks on her loyalty to Canada. This is no fault of Tam’s. It is an unfortunate consequence of her public profile. If decision-making around the lifting of restrictions becomes more contentious, ministers will need to increasingly emphasize that they are responsible for the government’s actions.

Indeed, as the field of policy studies indicates, giving expert officials visibility increases trust, but it can also create confusion about who is accountable for decisions. Although they may have an interest in fostering this confusion, responsible ministers should leave no doubt that “the buck stops with them.” Politics must come back to the forefront, where it belongs.

Source: Appreciating the politics of the pandemic

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Douglas Todd: Time to end ‘honour system’ in Quebec’s immigrant-investor scheme

2020/05/09 Leave a comment

Good reminder of the scam that is the Quebec immigrant investor program and good for Richard Kurland for obtaining and analyzing the data that highlights just how much it is a scam.

Just as Quebec unduly benefits from the 1991 immigration accord that provides Quebec with greater funding per immigrant than other provinces, one that remains a fixed percentage of total settlement funding, irrespective of Quebec immigration levels, meaning that as Quebec decreases its immigration intake under the Legault government, the imbalance increases.

And good for the Conservatives under Jason Kenney for cancelling the federal program. When I analyzed citizenship data by immigration category, the lowest incomes (LICO prevalence) were reported by business immigrants as shown in the chart below (grouped under “Entrepreneur etc):

It’s time for Ottawa to end the honour system that allows nine of 10 wealthy immigrants to renege on their promise to live in Quebec.

Federal immigration officials have released information showing 91 per cent of the tens of thousands of applicants approved by Quebec’s Immigrant Investor Program in recent years have been exploiting a loophole in the plan, which critics consider a “cash-for-passport” scheme.

The Quebec program’s glaring flaw also illustrates a wider problem for the country and its provinces, says Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.That is, Ottawa does not seem interested in trying to make all would-be immigrants to Canada follow through on residing in their declared “intended province of destination.” There are taxation measures that could be introduced, Kurland said, that could ensure more immigrants follow through on their stated commitments.

Even though Quebec’s immigrant-investor program is set to re-open this summer, after being temporarily suspended to deal with a backlog of more than 5,000 applications, critics don’t want to see it start up again under the same rules.

“There are two reasons Quebec’s program has been a failure, leading to abuse of the system,” says Burnaby immigration lawyer George Lee, whose clientele is predominantly from China.“It’s freezing cold in Quebec in the winter, so (many) people from Asia find the weather intolerable,” said Lee.

“Secondly, language-wise, there’s a problem. Most people in China learn English rather than French. As a result, many of Quebec’s investor immigrants don’t ever even fly into Montreal or Quebec City. They just use the Quebec program as a bridge to get to English-speaking cities in Canada.”

Kurland, who obtained six years of recent data on the more than 25,000 investor immigrants and family members who have never fulfilled their stated promise to reside in Quebec, said a simple new tax measure would likely stop the exploitation.

All Ottawa has to do is delay granting permanent resident status to newcomers to Quebec (or any other province) until they file an income tax return as a resident of their declared province of destination, said Kurland, who has frequently travelled to Ottawa to advise Parliament on immigration policy.For his part, Lee realizes that residents of Canada have mobility rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But, like Kurland, he believes Ottawa could find ways to go further to ensure compliance to regional residency commitments than a misused honour system.

Lee worries Quebec doesn’t want to reform its immigrant-investor program.

“Quebec’s happy with the scheme,” he says, because the province gets substantial amounts of money injected into its coffers without having to provide new arrivals and their families with taxpayer-funded medical care, social services and education.The data obtained by Kurland under an access to information request shows that in 2017 only 342 of the 5,015 people approved under Quebec’s investor category actually had a primary residence in the province.

In 2018, just 518 of the 6,064 people approved were found to be living in Quebec. And up until October of last year, only 528 of the 4,136 approved were residing in the that province.


This chart shows over six years how nine of 10 applicants and their dependents approved as permanent residents under Quebec’s immigrant-investor program did not reside in Quebec. (Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, via Richard Kurland)

The investor scheme has not been the only immigration program that provides unusually large financial benefits to Quebec. Because of a 1991 funding accord, Ottawa also provides Quebec with roughly four times as many taxpayer dollars to settle each of its immigrants as B.C., Ontario and several other provinces receive.

Meanwhile, an internal federal immigration document, also obtained by Kurland, acknowledges growing criticism of “golden-passport” schemes such as the one that remains in Quebec, the only Canadian province ever granted separate immigration powers.

The Immigrant, Refugees and Citizenship Canada report from 2019 reveals that four of five of the foreign investors who give or loan various amounts of money to a Pacific Rim country (or its regional jurisdictions) in return for a visa or passport are from China.

Most such investors simply want “peace of mind, a way out when the home country is experiencing turmoil,” says the IRCC report, which grew out of an international conference in Miami on “citizenship-by-investment programs.”

The immigration report refers to how the federal Conservatives cancelled Canada’s long-running national investor-immigrant program in 2014. The government of the day found few of the wealthy applicants ever invested in businesses in Canada or paid a significant amount of federal income tax.

Source: Douglas Todd: Time to end ‘honour system’ in Quebec’s immigrant-investor scheme

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Call to Prayer controversy – Hassan: Why the mosque loudspeaker request makes little sense vs Farooq: The call to prayer is a prayer for the future, a call to those in times of despair

2020/05/09 Leave a comment

Further to After Arab countries, now Canada punishes Indian origin man for Islamophobia; terminated from job and removed from school body as probe continues and related protests against the sunset Azaan during Ramadan being sung with a microphone, two contrary perspectives. IMO, similar to church bells being played during religious events.

That being said, there might be legitimate to it being amplified five times a day all year:

Farzana Hassan on why it is not needed, arguing that it feeds into the Islamist agenda:

When Bilal ibn Ribah, the very first muezzin, or Islamic prayer caller, recited the now familiar lines of the azaan, early Muslims rushed to the mosque to offer supplication to Allah. Their homes were near enough for them to hear the call and respond accordingly. Bilal had a powerful and melodious voice that inspired the fledgling Muslim community to convey their devotion to Allah.

Muslims across Canada have always responded to the azaan, but inside mosques. Also, many Muslims now play the azaan in their homes on their phones or azaan clocks to remind themselves that the time for prayer is approaching, or they simply refer to printed prayer schedules. Anyway, the azaan itself has never been a prerequisite to prayer. The protocol for congregational prayers includes the azaan followed by the iqamah, the sequel to the azaan, calling worshippers to line up for prayer.

But the azaan now being broadcast in some cities of Canada serves no such purpose. The demand has come under the false pretext that Muslims will hear the azaan and be comforted during this time when COVID-19 has denied them access to mosques.

Assembly of more than five people during the COVID-19 crisis is still not permitted, and the call is not even reaching Muslim homes spread across the expanses of Canada. Also, it is only during the maghrib, or fourth prayer, that the azaan is being broadcast. That is the time most devout Muslims stay home with their families to break the fast. When there are no congregational prayers being held, who is listening to the azaan? Are some Muslims driving to the mosques just to hear it? What is the purpose of this futile exercise other than to score points under the flag of Islam as a political movement, known as Islamism?

It is obvious that for proponents of Islamism a political victory, however symbolic and however pointless, is what matters. In this case, they have obtained exemptions to noise by-laws in some cities. It is only votaries of Islamism who make such demands. This year Easter and Passover were also spent in isolation. No church bells were heard in Mississauga or Halifax because church services were denied. Most citizens, including moderate Muslims, have no wish to impose their rituals on others. Munir Pervaiz, former president of the Muslim Canadian Congress, deems the broadcast of the azaan unconstitutional.

Compliant and gullible city officials have answered a demand from provocative Muslim groups and permitted this broadcast of the azaan. The allowance was made under special circumstances and for the duration of the month of Ramadan. The feeble rationalization of Muslims not having access to mosques ignores the logical, cultural and geographical absurdities of allowing azaan as compensation.

It would be gratifying if the Islamists who constantly spew hatred of the “infidel” West at least have the decency to acknowledge this act of goodwill and bridge-building. They won’t, of course. We can only hope that the demands stay confined to just this one Ramadan spent under unprecedented circumstances occasioned by the pandemic.

But, as my colleague Tarek Fatah warned last week, “A spokesperson of one of the mosques revealed that this was merely a first step” and that Islamists across the Western world are seeking to make this change permanent.

The Islamists may have foisted this controversy upon us for the long haul.

Source: HASSAN: Why the mosque loudspeaker request makes little sense

And Mustafa Farooq providing some context  and rationale:

“Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar.”

The delivery room at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton is dark, but on May 5, 2015, at 6 a.m., I was jumping up and down as my newborn son came into the world.

The Muslim tradition is to whisper the call to prayer — the adhaan — in the ear of the newborn child after birth; but I was so filled with adrenalin in the moment, that I began to loudly chant the call to prayer even as I held him in my arms for the first time.

Five years on, almost to the day, we in the Canadian context are having a public discussion about the place of the adhaan — the call to prayer — as numerous municipalities, including Brampton, Missisauga, and Edmonton have amended their noise bylaws to permit Canadian Muslims to make the public call to prayer during the COVID-19 crisis.

I am a lawyer by training — so by nature I am inclined to want to draw out arguments before you about treating citizens equally (church bells are allowed, so why shouldn’t the Muslim call to prayer?) or around the need of citizens to adequately study the changes to the bylaws (many of the changes roll up in the next two weeks as Ramadan comes to an end), but in this case, I wish to tell you what the adhaan means to me, and what it means to me today, in the context of COVID-19 and in the context of life, birth, and death.

I cannot help — even as Nazis make bomb threats to mosques because they had the audacity to recite a five minute prayer at dusk — but think of the worshippers at the Quebec City Mosque, who reportedly heard Alexandre Bissonette state the opening words of the adhaan, “Allahu akbar” before opening fire in the bloodiest attack on a religious institution in Canadian history.

I cannot help but think of the adhaan as many traditional Muslims understand it as a matter of praxis. We are taught through the tradition that the Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, fled from his home to new land — Madinah — from those whose in the tribe of the Quraysh who were trying to assassinate him. Upon building the first mosque, the Medinian Muslims began to think of how to call people to prayer.

At first, the idea of blowing a shofar, as per the Judaic tradition, was considered. There was then the decision to utilize a wooden clapper, the naqus, which some of the Arabian Christians used in lieu of the bell. However, revelation came of a call to prayer, delivered without material instruments, but rather with the call of the human voice — a profound reflection on the absence of the need of the material to connect with the Divine.

Yet, there is a way in which the adhaan can be understood historically in the context of the neighbours of the Medinian Muslims, of different faith communities who lived together. It can be understood in the way that the first man who called the adhaan was Sayyidna Bilal — a freed Abyssinian slave who was tormented by his Qurayshi captor, and insulted for the colour of his skin — and who would look to the first faint light in the east on the Arabian Desert and say in supplication, “Oh God, I praise Thee, and I ask Thy Help for the Quraysh.”

I think of when Bilal, may God be pleased with him, returned to Makkah, and his voice filled the whole valley, much to the chagrin of the old chiefs of the Quraysh, who were furious at the sight of the former black slave on the roof of the Kaaba making the call to prayer — the call that equalized all human beings as being servants of the Divine, of being devoted to a call to ethics and justice.

I think of learning the adhaan in mosques across Canada from so many different folks. From a Sudanese neurologist, whose strong, bold voice made my hair stand on end, to the meliflous, lilt of a Bosnian refugee who had lost his bakery during the war, the call to prayer is a call to God, a prayer, a prayer for the future, a call to those in times of despair.

And I suppose that’s the key.

Source: ContributorsOpinionThe call to prayer is a prayer for the future, a call to those in times of despair

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‘Textbook’ Discrimination: Human Rights Report Accuses China Of Mistreating Africans

2020/05/08 Leave a comment

Yet another need for an independent examination of Chinese government human rights abuses:

Human Rights Watch is accusing China of discrimination against African communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities in China’s Guangdong province, home to China’s largest African population, have singled out people of African descent for testing, the rights group alleges. It characterizes the tests as forcible, and says that as many Africans were forced to quarantine, landlords evicted them.

Guangdong authorities said in April that all foreigners were required to submit to testing and quarantine. However, Human Rights Watch says that “in practice, the authorities just targeted Africans for forced testing and quarantine.”

Many of the incidents that Human Rights Watch discusses allegedly took place in Guangzhou, the capital and the largest city in Guangdong.

“Chinese authorities claim ‘zero tolerance’ for discrimination, but what they are doing to Africans in Guangzhou is a textbook case of just that,” Human Rights Watch researcher Yaqiu Wang says in the release. “Beijing should immediately investigate and hold accountable all officials and others responsible for discriminatory treatment.”

In an apparent response to the complaints, Chinese state media reported earlier this week that Guangdong has “unveiled measures requiring sectors … to extend the same treatment to all from home and abroad.”

Videos have surfaced of black people being denied entry into a McDonald’sand a shopping center, as well as forced tests and evictions. A black Canadian man told the rights group about his experience being denied entry to the subway.

“The metro station worker told us, ‘As of this morning, we’ve been told not to let any black people onto the subway,'” the unnamed man is quoted as saying by Human Rights Watch. “Then four or five security guards showed up and questioned me. The subway refused me just because of the color of my skin. They don’t care about any documents, or what my health app said.”

Human Rights Watch says the city of Guangzhou is home to more than 14,000 Africans. It has had a large African community for years.

Hundreds of African human rights groups submitted an open letter to the African Union Commission in late April denouncing the “xenophobic, racist and inhuman treatment” of African people in China. They called for an independent investigation into the situation in Guangdong province and throughout China. Kenya said last month that it will help its nationals stranded in China return home starting in May.

In recent years, China has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in development projects throughout the African continent. Human Rights Watch notes that the investments have “boosted Africa’s economy,” but that governments are often hesitant to criticize China as a result.

Source: ‘Textbook’ Discrimination: Human Rights Report Accuses China Of Mistreating Africans

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Welcome to the tent clinic where Toronto’s undocumented immigrants get medical care

2020/05/08 Leave a comment

Of note:

Alma Tacuboy and her ailing father were signalled to a grey vinyl tent on the lawn as soon as she pulled her car into the driveway of the Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care.

The Toronto clinic, at Sheppard and Midland Avenues, serves the city’s uninsured and undocumented migrants, but had been shut down since mid-March due to COVID-19. Patients could only call in over the phone or be seen virtually on a video app.

However, with a pent-up demand for basic health-care needs in the midst of the pandemic, volunteers and staff have erected the tent to make sure primary care remains accessible to the most vulnerable population.

“We had to stop seeing patients and started doing things virtually. There are clearly patients to be seen and their conditions are deteriorating in isolation,” said Dr. Paul Caulford, a co-founder of the clinic, which opened the 10-by-20-foot field tent to patients last week.

“With primary care backing up, things still need to be done for newborns who are not immunized and patients who have chronic health problems.”

From behind a glass panel, a masked Caulford conducted a thorough medical assessment of Hilario Tacuboy, who woke up feeling light-headed and with blurred vision in his right eye.

Wearing a face shield, an N95 mask and isolation suit coveralls, Caulford came out from behind the glass divider and gingerly examined the 60-year-old man’s eye. He was looking for symptoms of a stroke — something that couldn’t be done through the glass, let alone over the phone.

Alma Tacuboy said her father had come to visit from the Philippines, but couldn’t return home because the country is locked down and all flights have been cancelled. His travel health insurance expired and friends referred them to the clinic.

She said she decided against taking her father to the emergency room after her father-in-law died alone at North York General Hospital two weeks ago of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The family couldn’t visit.

“We’re afraid to go to a hospital with my dad because of COVID. We’re scared we couldn’t see him, hear him or just give him food if he’s hungry,” she said. “We feel safe in this tent. We have our masks and gloves. And there is fresh air.”

Even though the Ontario government has relaxed the access to health care and expanded medical coverage to the uninsured and undocumented patients in the wake of the pandemic, Caulford said many patients still fear seeking help and going to the hospital.

In mid-April, Caulford reached out to Global Medics, a Canadian humanitarian group, for a tent that is usually used for disaster relief. A contractor donated the labour to build the wooden deck and interior of the makeshift outdoor clinic.

The staff and volunteers were then faced with the challenge of finding personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves and patients. When their own clinic shuttered, they donated what they had to their front-line colleagues fighting the pandemic in hospitals.

An effort led by the local Chinese Canadian community came to the rescue with boxes and boxes of PPE, which made the opening of the field clinic possible.

“I was in tears watching the community effort,” said Caulford, adding that the clinic also got support from local MP Jean Yip (Scarborough-Agincourt), the Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Ontario Medical Association, as well as local health authorities.

The outdoor clinic is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Before they can be seen in person, patients must call for virtual care and triaging. The virtual appointments are mandatory and must be completed before a patient can see a doctor at the clinic.

Source: Welcome to the tent clinic where Toronto’s undocumented immigrants get medical care

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International students determined to study in Canada despite coronavirus

2020/05/08 Leave a comment

One survey. We shall see what the numbers show in the fall, both with respect to existing students as well as new ones.

But hard to see how the call for international students to access the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) would be supported by the government as called for by David Dingwal, president of Cape Breton University, given the likely outcry by many Canadians struggling through the pandemic and the other supports provided:

Most aspiring international students in a recent survey say the coronavirus pandemic is not stopping them from pursuing their post-secondary education abroad.

That being said, many would still prefer the face-to-face study experience over online learning, according to the survey conducted by international education specialists at IDP Connect, the B2B division of IDP Education.

Some 69 per cent of the 6,900 international student applicants surveyed intend to commence their studies as planned. Only five per cent said they would no longer continue studying. Most of the participants were from India, China, and Bangladesh, among other Asian countries, who were interested in pursuing study in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and New Zealand.

The majority of people said they would prefer to defer their study plans until face-to-face classes were available, mainly because the online option lacks the international exposure most were hoping to gain.

The CEO of IDP Connect, Simon Emmett, noted that just over half of participants, 54 per cent, would be willing to defer their studies up to 12 months or less before pursuing other options.

“Thirty-one per cent of respondents stated they would be willing to start their course online and move to face-to-face learning at a later date, but by far the greatest preference was to defer to January 2021 if this meant face-to-face learning would be possible,” Emmett said in a media release.

Based on the results, IDP recommended that post-secondary institutions provide clarity on how and when face-to-face teaching will resume, and to prepare for large cohorts of students commencing face-to-face studies from January to May, 2021.

Survey participants got to rank destination countries on a scale of 1-10 based on their pre-conceived perceptions.

Though Australia and Canada were the preferred destination countries of the overwhelming majority of participants, Canada was highly regarded for its welfare of international students, and the economic stability of the nation. Canada was also seen as having the least prohibitive travel restrictions.

University activity as provinces loosen coronavirus restrictions

As Canadian provinces start pulling back coronavirus measures, some universities are also opening their facilities.

McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, will commence the first stage of its phase-in to operation on May 11, allowing some on-campus researchers to go back to work. Researchers will be required to follow the university’s directives, which includes adhering to safety protocols, being prepared to shut down in case of changes at the institution or government level, among others.

The Université du Québec à Montréal is also welcoming back researchers.

The University of Prince Edward Island will also allow researchers, faculty, and graduate students to conduct research on campus as of May 25. They are also allowing some key staff and the management team to meet on campus, while encouraging social distancing and working from home when possible. The second phase is set to begin June 15, upon evaluation of the first phase, where they may expand the number of people allowed on campus. The third phase, another expansion, is scheduled to begin August 1, where they will prepare for the fall academic semester.

How Canadians are helping international students

Canada is helping international students a number of ways such as increasing the number of working hours allowed from 20 to 40 for certain occupations, and opening up the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to them, which provides recipients $2,000 per month. Quebec will automatically extend the Quebec Acceptance Certificates of international students if they are set to expire before December 31, 2020.

For those international students who still fall through the cracks, advocates are pressuring the federal government to do more. David Dingwall, president of Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, recently called on the federal government to open up the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to international students as well as Canadian students. Introduced in late April, the CESB will provide up to $1,750 in monthly income assistance to eligible students, but international students are excluded from the program.

“Eligibility for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit is aligned with the Canada Student Loans Program in that it is aimed at Canadian citizens and permanent residents,” a spokesperson with Employment and Social Development Canada wrote CIC News in an email.

Though Dingwall’s media release said the student benefit “acknowledges the contributions that [Canadian] post-secondary students make to our country,” he also said “it fails to recognize the contributions that international students make to Canada.”

Nova Scotia was home to 11,817 international students in October, 2019, according to the Association of Atlantic Universities.

“The impact on our small province is enormous,” Dingwall said in the release. “I am confident that Universities Canada and its members will continue to advocate for our international students.”

Source: International students determined to study in Canada despite coronavirus

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USA: Immigration Review Could Lead To New H-1B Visa Restrictions

2020/05/08 Leave a comment

Which would likely benefit Canada and possibly other countries:

The Trump administration may soon propose another set of immigration restrictions, this time on H-1B visas for foreign-born scientists and engineers. Some observers view these public displays of limiting immigration as an effort to deflect criticism of the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Before enacting new measures, analysts recommend the administration take into account the restrictions on H-1Bs already in current law, including the low annual limit for new H-1B petitions, and the high denial rates imposed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The latest data show H-1B denial rates are at record levels.

On April 22, 2020, the Trump administration issued a presidential proclamation that suspended the entry of most new immigrants for at least 60 days and ordered a 30-day review to recommend additional measures on temporary visas. Following the review, observers expect new restrictions on H-1B visa holders, F-1 students and others. A new restriction could take the form of suspending the entry of anyone on an H-1B visa coming from outside the country and/or imposing new conditions on their entry that would be difficult to satisfy.

Due to USCIS policies, the H-1B category remains highly restrictive, say attorneys, and the data support this contention. Denial rates rose from 6% in FY 2015 to 30% in the first quarter of FY 2020 for new H-1B petitions for initial employment, according to a new National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis. (H-1B petitions for “initial” employment are primarily for new employment, typically a case that would count against the H-1B annual limit.) In FY 2019, the denial rate for initial employment was 21%, while the rate was 24% in FY 2018, between 3 to 4 times higher than the FY 2015 denial rate (i.e., prior to the Trump administration.)

All 25 companies with the most approved new H-1B petitions saw their H-1B denial rates for initial employment increase from FY 2015 to the first quarter of FY 2020. (See Table 2.) Even large technology companies that had denial rates of only 1% in FY 2015 experienced much higher denial rates for H-1B petitions for initial employment in the first quarter of 2020: Amazon’s denial rate was 16%, Google’s was 14%, Facebook’s was 8% and Apple’s H-1B denial rate was 8%. Data for additional quarters will tell us how long this trend persists.

“As in earlier fiscal years, the highest denials rates are for companies that provide information technology or other business services to American companies,” according to the NFAP report. “The data indicate USCIS has established a different standard for deciding cases for companies that provide information technology (IT) services. This is the case even though, as attorneys point out, immigration law does not indicate a different standard for adjudications based on the type of firm or the location work will be performed.”

In the first quarter of FY 2020, the H-1B denial rate for initial employment increased by 20 percentage points or more compared to FY 2015 for 12 major companies that provide IT services or other business consulting services. Many of these and other companies hit by high denial rates are U.S. companies. (Data show the use of H-1B visas by Indian-based companies has declined significantly in recent years, see here.)

People who follow technology trends like Everest Group CEO Peter Bendor-Samuel say by providing technical talent many high-skilled foreign nationals and companies that offer services increase the competitiveness of American companies. “Digital transformations and digital platforms are just starting to take off and, as we look into the near future, the current skill shortages are going to grow as the demand for digital and IT skills explodes,” said Bendor-Samuel. “If this administration wanted to harm U.S. competitiveness, then restricting access to this vital labor would be an excellent approach.”

Advanced analytics and cloud computing are two elements of digital transformation. “Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers,” explains the Enterpriser’s Project. “A business may take on digital transformation for several reasons. But by far, the most likely reason is that they have to: It’s a survival issue for many.”

Replacing outdated legacy information technology systems is a key element of digital transformation, notes the Enterpriser’s Project, which points out, “Often, it’s more about shedding outdated processes and legacy technology than it is about adopting new tech.” This sometimes leads to poorly managed transitions. “In a handful or so of cases in past years, H-1B visa holders were blamed for layoffs after some foreign nationals came on-site to manage the transition to new contracts – contracts that went out for bid and, industry professionals note, would have resulted in layoffs or at least a transfer of personnel whether or not the entity awarded the contract employed some H-1B visa holders,” notes the NFAP analysis. “In retrospect, these cases should have been recognized as attempts by companies to undertake digital transformations, transformations that unfortunately can leave longtime employees trained primarily on legacy systems in untenable career situations. Ongoing training efforts for such employees before being placed in these situations would offer the best career protection.”

Judges have ruled against several USCIS policies that have contributed to high denial rates, targeting restrictive agency interpretations of what qualifies as an H-1B specialty occupation, an employer-employee relationship and whether an H-1B employee must list all future work or contracts.

The March 10, 2020, decision in ITServe Alliance v. L. Francis Cissnawould allow any company that believes an H-1B petition was denied in a way ruled unlawful by Judge Collyer’s opinion to file a case in the District of Columbia, notes Jonathan Wasden of Wasden Banias, LLC. (See here.)

Following the 30-day review, the administration could recommend moving forward with an H-1B regulation already on the agenda (but not issued) that would: “[R]evise the definition of specialty occupation . . . revise the definition of employment and employer-employee relationship . . . [and] propose additional requirements designed to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa holders.”

Policymakers often ignore that due to a low annual limit, current immigration law already significantly restricts companies and their ability to employ high-skilled foreign nationals in technology fields. For the past 18 fiscal years, employers have exhausted the annual supply of H-1B visas due to those limits.

Under U.S. law, companies collectively can only use, in effect, 85,000 new H-1B petitions a year – an annual limit of 65,000 and an exemption of 20,000 from that limit for foreign nationals with a U.S. advanced degree. To put that number in perspective, 85,000 new H-1B petitions equals 0.05% of the U.S. labor force of 165 million.

In March 2020, employers sent in registrations for approximately 275,000 foreign-born professionals for the H-1B lottery – more than three times the annual limit of 85,000. That indicates the demand was at least 190,000 scientists, engineers and other professionals beyond current law, and likely would be higher if one included demand that might arise in later months.

It’s worth noting the sectors hardest hit by the economic downturn – airlines, hotels and restaurants – employ few H-1B visa holders. H-1Bs are typically the only practical way to hire a foreign national to work in the United States long-term. (H-1B professionals selected in the March lottery cannot start work until October 1, 2020, or later.)

A study by economists Giovanni Peri, Kevin Shih, Chad Sparber and Angie Marek Zeitlin looked at the last recession and discovered that denying the entry of H-1B visa holders due to the annual limits harmed job growth for U.S.-born professionals. “The number of jobs for U.S.-born workers in computer-related industries would have grown at least 55% faster between 2005-2006 and 2009-2010, if not for the denial of so many applications in the recent H-1B visa lotteries,” concluded the economists.

The Trump administration appears poised to enact new restrictions on foreign-born engineers and the ability of international students to work in the United States after graduation, even though the president has stated he favors “merit-based” immigration and these are the most highly skilled people admitted to America. Economists note the way to recover from an economic downturn is to attract more investors, entrepreneurs and highly productive individuals – not to drive them away to other countries.

Source: Immigration Review Could Lead To New H-1B Visa Restrictions

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Interior ministry: Aliens Act amend aimed at protecting Estonian residents

2020/05/08 Leave a comment

As @JeffHemlin noted, Estonia’s population has been shrinking for the past 20 years making it harder to understand the economic rationale for the move:

Wednesday saw the so-called cluster law passed recently by the Riigikogu come into effect. One of the key bills in the package was amendments to the Aliens Act which requires third-country citizens without work to leave the country, Ruth Annus, head of the interior ministry’s citizenship and migration policy department, says that the main purpose of the amendment is to protect Estonian citizens and residents in the labor market, particularly the agricultural sector.

The changes just come into force only affect migrant workers, meaning those who are neither citizens nor residents, and are third-country nationals, i.e. non-EU, EEA or Swiss Confederation citizens, and who work in Estonia on a temporary basis.

Such individuals who have a long-term visa or visa-free stay for the purpose of employment who lose their jobs must find new employment “within a reasonable time,” or leave the country, Annus said in a press release issued Thursday morning.

A list of changes can be found at the bottom of this article.

Not directly related to emergency situation

The amend, while it formed part of the raft of laws issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic, is permanent and will not change when the emergency situation ends, Annus said. Nonetheless, unemployment rose from 14,000 to 50,000 since the emergency situation was declared, Annus said.

Restrictions on cross-border movement in the wake of the pandemic have also hampered employers from taking on additional foreign labor as springtime approached.

The amend will mitigate the risk of foreigners who lose their jobs in Estonia remaining in the country, or the Schengen Zone as a whole, “without purpose”, she said. Her reasoning for this was that foreigners staying in Estonia or elsewhere in the EU may also commit other offenses.

The move will also protect Estonians and residents of Estonia in the labor market, she said.

In practice the change mostly affects the agricultural sector, and comes with a transitional period intended to help employers to adapt to the new situation and find suitable employees among the Estonian population, Annus said.

Anecdotal evidence from agricultural sector

According to Annus, farmers have said several times in the media that they have had large numbers of candidates for vacancies over quite some time, many of them without direct experience.

A beauty worker reportedly started working milking cows at the start of the emergency situation (declared on March 12-ed.), fulfilling a long-held desire in so doing, and two music students came back to Estonia during the pandemic, and applied for a job on a local farm.

While further details of these cases were not provided, Annus said they were certainly not the only examples.

At the same time, such posts were best suited to Estonians, she said.

“The Estonian person is smart and adaptable. I am sure that in the current situation, employers and job seekers will find each other better, and the Estonian people will appreciate working in agriculture more.”

As reported on ERR News, rural affairs minister Arvo Aller (EKRE) was of the same mind as Annus on the issue, seeing as many Estonians entering the agricultural sector as possible, including students and school children.

Farmers who have recently spoken to the media about the situation have said agricultural work cannot be done by just anybody but needs to be done by people with experience. They have also said many Estonians do not want to relocate away from cities and their families to work in the countryside.

President criticized changes

On Monday, President Kersti Kaljulaid criticized amendments to the Aliens Act saying it is not reasonable to change visa terms mid-way through.

“The amended terms and conditions affect already issued visas too. The legislature must develop rules for workers entering Estonia from non-member states, but lawmaking should rely on the principle of legal clarity. So, if the country has issued visas pursuant to particular terms and conditions, it is not reasonable to retroactively amend them. A confident country does not operate like this,” she said.

The president emphasized these conditions would remain in force even after the crisis period which would later hinder businesses and economic recovery.

“This will make the difficult situation that so many companies already find themselves in even more complicated. The issue has been raised both by separate businesses and business umbrella organisations. Several industry sectors now have the crucial need to engage foreign staff, especially qualified workers and seasonal labourers from abroad, and this need must be addressed if we want to keep the economy and family income growing. Thus, applying additional foreign labour force restrictions will only increase the economic decline in Estonia and prevent the recovery of our economy and expansion of employment options,” Kaljualid said.

Statistics: Who will be most affected?

Last month ERR News asked the Ministry of the Interior which sectors and how many people would be most affected by the changes.

A spokesperson for the ministry said: “It is not possible to say how many people in Estonia will lose their jobs in the nearest future because of the crisis in economy caused by COVID-19 disease.

“There are 18,540 valid short-term employment registered as the state of 6th of April. This is not the number of foreigners actually temporarily staying in Estonia right now, but the number of foreigners who have right to work here on short-term basis.”

The spokesperson also gave ERR News a breakdown of the top 5 sectors which visas have been issued to, which is displayed below. Of the top five, most short-term registrations have been issued in the construction sector and the least in agriculture.

Aliens Act amendment facts

  • Short-term migrant workers in Estonia can work under general conditions for a maximum of 12 months out of 15 months, or in seasonal work for 9 months out of 12 months.
  • Employers must register short-term employment of a migrant worker with the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).
  • Agricultural employers can retain workers hired and in Estonia by March 17, until July 31.
  • After July 31, temporary migrant workers have one month to arrange their departure from Estonia, though the PPA will assess each case on its individual merits.
  • Migrant workers whose maximum permitted period of short-term employment has already been reached and who are not continuing to work in agriculture must leave Estonia as soon as possible.
  • Visas will not be revoked overnight, though an alien currently jobless will be given a “reasonable” amount of time (generally taken to be one month-see above) to either find a new employer or arrange to leave the country.
  • If departure is not possible at present while the emergency situation continues and borders are closed, the alien has 10 days to leave the country once the situation is declared closed. The current expiry date for the emergency situation is May 17.
  • Those affected should approach their home country’s foreign mission in Estonia for assistance, Annus said.
  • Current employers can also provide assistance to help third country nationals return home once their contract is up.

Source: Interior ministry: Aliens Act amend aimed at protecting Estonian residents

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France should send home more illegal immigrants, says report

2020/05/07 Leave a comment

Interesting reference to Canada and recommendation to adopt a more selective immigration approach as per Canada:

A new report by the national auditor has recommended that France “modernise” its immigration policy and increase the number of deportations of illegal immigrants, saying it could learn from Canada’s immigration system.

The Cour des Comptes (in its role as an auditor of government action) says France’s immigration system needs an update.

The report examines the government’s efforts to ensure controlled immigration, respect the right of asylum and foster the integration of immigrants already living in France.

It concludes there is a need for “more realistic and tangible objectives”.

Asylum applications

The time frame for registering asylum applications set by the government has, for some years, been tighter than the legally binding time frame, according to the authors of the report.

The auditors said the government had deliberately shortened the registration time limit in the belief that a speedier processing of asylum applications would deter unfounded claims for asylum.

But the report singles out the so-called “accelerated applications” which are supposed to be processed within 15 days but in reality can take 121 days.

Expulsion of illegal immigrants

The audit judged the government’s attempts to send illegal immigrants home as “not very effective” and suggests “the necessary money and resources” must be made available “to increase the number of assisted departures of illegal immigrants”.

France receives fewer legal immigrants than other major western countries, says the report, which is critical of what it judges to be unnecessary bureaucracy for immigrants.

The auditor notes that in 2018, of immigrants granted residency in France, 75 percent were given the right to remain for one year but nearly all of those who then applied for an extension were successful.

To improve the system, the Cour des Comptes recommended more frequently granting residency rights for longer periods and allowing automatic extensions when reasonable.

Quotas

The report advocates a more selective immigration system, intended to fill gaps in the job market, and looks to the Canadian system as a model.

It proposes experimenting with a quota system to allow greater numbers of people to fill jobs in sectors in need.

Interior Miniser Christophe Castaner gave a lukewarm response to the idea, suggesting its recommendations were more suited to a country with serious shortages of labour.

“That is not the situation here. In France, we need to ensure there is work for those already living here, whether they are French or foreign”, he asserted.

Source: France should send home more illegal immigrants, says report

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COVID-19 Strikes South Asia’s Minorities Whose Rights Are Already Threatened

2020/05/07 Leave a comment

Good overview of the effects on minorities:

A new report warns that the minorities and other marginalised communities are even more exposed to the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is hitting South Asia. It has come at a time when governments are inflicting sustained assaults on their rights. Minorities face severe obstacles in accessing their right to nationality amidst rising majoritarian nationalism across many parts of the South Asia, says the South Asia Collective (SAC) in its annual flagship report, South Asia State of Minorities Report.

The report, which focuses on migrants, refugees and the stateless, is the outcome of a collaborative initiative of researchers and activists from across South Asia, highlights how numerous communities, including religious minorities, are denied official refugee or minority status by politicised and discriminatory citizenship laws, leaving them deprived of essential rights and services. This means that they are even more exposed to the worst impacts of the pandemic.

“While the virus has the potency to kill, poor governance choices can weaponize this potency,” says Joshua Castellino, Executive Director of Minority Rights Group International (MRG). “Stirring hate and attributing blame underscores two things: an inability of effective governance in solving a grave problem without playing blame games; and the real possibility that the life of the virus will be prolonged if left lurking amidst the most vulnerable communities.”

With more than 75 per cent of the world’s known stateless populations belonging to minority groups, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), this disproportionate impact on minority communities is also an issue of concern in South Asia.

“Minorities in the region face a range of discriminatory exclusions and restrictions in relationship to citizenship, in breach of their international human rights, which also leaves them vulnerable to denial of other rights and access to basic services, including unfortunately access to health care and information in their own languages during the pandemic crisis,” says Dr Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.

Longstanding challenges facing minorities such as the Rohingya of Myanmar, the Urdu-speaking minority of Bangladesh, as well as the emerging situation in Assam in north-eastern Indian where almost 2 million people are at risk of losing their citizenship, highlight that statelessness is a minority issue and a human rights issue in South Asia, as it is globally’.

The report also provides an overview of the overall state of minorities in countries across South Asia, covering events of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Across many parts of the region, majoritarian nationalism and divisive rhetoric are on the march, animating hate speech and targeted violence against minorities, as well as ongoing socio-economic exclusion, likely to be further exacerbated amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As some governments in the region draw on divisive rhetoric and escalate measures curtailing civil liberties, there are concerns that the already challenging conditions for minorities in South Asia outlined in this report may further deteriorate in light of COVID-19,” says Deepak Thapa of Social Science Baha in Nepal, a member of the South Asia Collective (SAC) which produced the report.

The report presents chapters on six countries:

In India, 1.9 million were rendered de facto stateless in Assam by the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) concurrently weaponised the discourse of minority rights against Muslims, protecting every other relevant religious group. Meanwhile, the Rohingya report food scarcity and child labour, while Kashmiris suffered a lockdown, communications blackout, and detention, including torture. Deprived of refugee status, numerous vulnerable refugee communities cannot access essential protections.

In Bangladesh, the report finds so called ‘untouchability’ to be a major barrier to accessing their fundamental rights as citizens for Dalits, causing regular displacement and eviction. Violence has been perpetrated against indigenous communities, including communal attacks, land-grabbing, rape, killing, and abduction. Developments in the citizenship law have left Bangladesh’s Urdu-speaking minority, often referred to as “Biharis” precarious, and could have far-reaching consequences. On top of restricted movement and poor living conditions, the Rohingya report extrajudicial killings.

In Afghanistan, peace talks with the Taliban and a dispute over September’s presidential election represent severe concern for women and minorities. 72,000 refugees from North Waziristan live in limbo without refugee status or access to vital services. Meanwhile, the Hindu, Sikh and Shi’a Hazara populations face ongoing discrimination. The minority Ismaili community suffers double discrimination, facing severely limited access to essential services and marginalisation by Sunnis and Shi’as alike.

In Pakistan, Afghan refugees and Bangladeshi migrants seeking citizenship face legal dead-ends that deprive them of vital rights, limit economic opportunities, and leave them facing disciplinary interventions and police hostility. The Rohingya, who cannot even theoretically qualify for citizenship, are at risk of arbitrary detention and harassment and are often denied access to healthcare and education.

Aid is drying up for Nepal’s Bhutanese refugees; essentials are being withdrawn and UNHCR schools and clinics are to be shut down by the end of 2020. Dalits report physical and structural violence. The report highlights how Nepal’s increasingly close ties with China endanger its Tibetan refugee community, already at constant risk of deportation and exploitation; Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kathmandu in 2019 was met with strict surveillance and the reported detention of activists.

In Sri Lanka, Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism and the spectres of extremism and forced conversion are major drivers of religious discrimination. Christians have suffered intimidation and the attack or closure of places of worship. The 2019 Easter Sunday attacks precipitated a violent backlash against local Muslim and Muslim refugee communities alike. Long classed as foreigners, and despite the recent grant of citizenship, hill country Tamils are left ‘neither here nor there’ and face barriers to essential rights.

The SAC report, published on April 29, advises all South Asian nations to accede to UN conventions on refugees and statelessness, to protect and support refugee populations. It asks them to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, repealing those laws which discriminate, and introducing legislation that protects refugee populations. It urges civil society to advance dialogue and initiatives across the region, to understand and address the issues facing all minorities.

“This report emphasizes the importance of good governance in showing how we can collectively pass this test of humanity,” says MRG Executive Director Castellino. “Written by researchers steeped in the long term future and stability of their countries, they emphasize how putting vulnerable groups at the forefront of all prevention, mitigation and eradication efforts, irrespective of their identity, is key to realising the incredible human vibrancy that exists in every country in the region.” [IDN-InDepthNews – 30 April 2020]

Source: COVID-19 Strikes South Asia’s Minorities Whose Rights Are Already Threatened

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