There hasn’t been an in-person citizenship ceremony in Thunder Bay for years. A petition aims to change that

2025/01/20 Leave a comment

A reminder of the importance of in-person ceremonies vs virtual “marginalized to such a small and lackluster event”:

Greta Piazza says becoming a Canadian citizen in Thunder Bay, Ont., was a great feeling — but the moment would have felt more significant had the ceremony been held in person.

Piazza, who is from Arona, Italy, has been living in the northwestern Ontario city for about five years. She’s lived in a number of countries, including Spain, Portugal and Ireland, but was drawn to Canada by her husband, Tim Van Reenen.

She passed her Canadian citizenship test last year, but had to take her oath online.

“I would have been more happy to have it in person because it’s a different feeling,” Piazza said. “I could have been there with the other new citizen[s] and with the judge in person, the flags, the officials.”

“After the ceremony, you receive a citizen certificate. Receiving that in person probably would have … made the experience more real.”

The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association (TBMA), which offers classes to help people prepare for the citizenship test, helped organize the city’s ceremonies, which saw between 100 and 120 candidates each.

“They often had two ceremonies per year just because of the demand,” said the TBMA’s executive director, Cathy Woodbeck. “There were candidates from across northwestern Ontario.”

The ceremonies have been held virtually by video call since the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Thunder Bay resident Julie Hutka started a petition in the hopes of changing that.

“I think that it’s so important to have that opportunity to celebrate this major step in front of one’s family and friends and with other people who are stepping onto this journey, that it really should be in person,” Hutka said.

“Things can be streamlined for bureaucracy, but I don’t believe this is one of them that should be.”

Candidates may request format change: IRCC

Hutka has a family member going through the process of becoming a Canadian citizen. Her relative’s friend recently took the oath, and Hutka said she was shocked to learn it happened on a laptop at the kitchen table.

“I thought really, this is such a monumental moment in the long process to becoming a Canadian, that it is marginalized to such a small and lackluster event,” she said.

“My mother became a Canadian citizen many, many, many years ago and it was a real moment of pride just to watch my mother take this oath.”

CBC News reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and received an emailed statement on Tuesday.

“The Government of Canada is committed to continue delivering meaningful, celebratory and inclusive in-person and virtual ceremonies, in all regions of the country. Candidates are invited by the department to either an in-person or virtual ceremony based on operational considerations,” the statement says.

“Candidates may request a change of format (e.g. from virtual ceremony to in-person ceremony and vice-versa) and the department makes best efforts to accommodate their preference.”

However, the government’s webpage on citizenship ceremonies says “IRCC primarily holds citizenship ceremonies via video, and occasionally in-person.”

“In-person ceremonies are often organized when there is demand and/or multiple applicants from an area awaiting a ceremony,” the department said in its statement.

For Woodbeck, in-person citizenship ceremonies were always the highlight of her work.

“These are probably the best things we get to attend. We have such a good time. A lot of the staff here at the association have gone through this process, have come from other countries, have become Canadian citizens, so they remember that,” Woodbeck said.

The government’s response about in-person ceremonies is encouraging, she said, and she hopes to be able to plan an in-person event soon.

When she first arrived, Piazza received support from the TBMA in completing her temporary residency application and then permanent residency application. Now, she’s giving back by helping other newcomers in the city as a language interpreter services worker there.

She loves living in northwestern Ontario and spending time at Thunder Bay’s marina and nearby Kakabeka Falls, she added.

“Sometimes for a newcomer here, it’s really challenging to know how to go through processes, and [the TBMA] have always been a good support to me,” Piazza said. “It’s a very great support for all newcomers.”

Source: There hasn’t been an in-person citizenship ceremony in Thunder Bay for years. A petition aims to change that

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with ,

Trump’s A.G. Pick Adds Huge Asterisk to Birthright Citizenship

2025/01/17 Leave a comment

One really has to wonder whether these hearings are worthwhile given the high degree of politicization and polarization and the resulting evasiveness:

Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s nominee for the next U.S. attorney general, refused to give a basic yes or no answer, during her confirmation hearing Wednesday, regarding her views on birthright citizenship, which is etched into the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

“You’ve testified repeatedly to this committee that you will uphold the laws of this country and defend the Constitution of the United States,” said Democratic Senator Alex Padilla. “Do you believe birthright citizenship is the law of the land, and will you defend it regardless—a child born of the United States—regardless of their parents’ immigration status?”

Bondi refused to answer the question. “Senator, I will study birthright citizenship, I would love to meet with you regarding birthright citizenship—”

“Ma’am, you’re asking to be considered to serve as the attorney general of the United States, and you still need to study the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution?” Padilla retorted. “That is not helping me have more confidence in your ability to do this job.”

Bondi’s nonanswer is deference to President-elect Trump, who said he’d end birthright citizenship via executive order on Meet the Press in December.

The Fourteenth Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Source: Trump’s A.G. Pick Adds Huge Asterisk to Birthright Citizenship

Filed under Birthright Citizenship Tagged with , , ,

The U.S. and Canada quietly agreed to share personal data on permanent residents crossing the border

2025/01/17 Leave a comment

Understandable given some recent examples of security risks. Dated pre pre-Trump. But government should have been more transparent:

Top immigration lawyers say it’s “shocking” that the federal government quietly signed a new deal with the U.S. government that automatically trades troves of personal data of millions of permanent residents in either country when they try to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

In July, the U.S. and Canadian government quietly made a major change to a 2012 agreement that authorized the automatic sharing of personal information between both countries of non-residents who applied for visas.

The original deal deliberately excluded permanent residents and citizens of both countries from the information sharing regime. But an updated agreement quietly tabled in Parliament in October added permanent residents to the list of individuals whose personal information would automatically be sent to either government if they tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

The updated agreement, which was signed in July but came into force this month, impacts potentially millions of permanent residents in Canada and even more in the U.S. if they decide to apply for a visa to visit either country.

In a statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald said that information sharing between the U.S. and Canada “strengthens visitor screening and supports managed migration.”

“The Government of Canada will be authorized to use biographic or biometric information of U.S. permanent residents (PR) making an immigration application to Canada to query and obtain information concerning their immigration history with the U.S,” MacDonald wrote.

“Likewise, the U.S. will be authorized to use biographic or biometric information of Canadian PRs making an immigration application to the U.S. to query and obtain information concerning their immigration history with Canada,” he added.

According to a government website, the information being shared ranges from a visa applicant’s personal information, picture, fingerprint and immigration history.

In an interview, immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo said that automatically sending the U.S. government data about Canadian permanent residents wanting to cross the southern border is akin to a “devaluation” of permanent resident status.

“On what basis did the government determine that permanent residence needed to be surveilled in this way?,” wondered the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’ national immigration law section.

But the changes were kept quiet by the Canadian government until a brief mention by Immigration Minister Marc Miller during a press conference Wednesday, raising significant concerns among immigration lawyers as to why the major change was kept quiet for so long.

Source: The U.S. and Canada quietly agreed to share personal data on permanent residents crossing the border

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Lipstadt hopes next Jew-hatred monitor is ‘barn builder, not barn burner’

2025/01/17 Leave a comment

Good reflections:

….Lipstadt told reporters she is proud that when she and Keyak, who are both political appointees, depart on Monday, the rest of the roughly 20 staffers—a mix of civil servants, foreign service staffers and contractors—will remain. That office structure will ensure continuity that the government previously lacked, she said.

One place that does need more change is the United Nations, according to Lipstadt.

“There are officials inside the U.N. who have engaged in overt antisemitism, but I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” she said. “If we can start to get it to take this issue seriously, then that would be worthwhile. Its record has not been great.”

She told reporters that a long-stalled plan to fight Jew-hatred at the United Nations, which the global body worked on with Jewish groups, remains “in the works.”

“Is it serious? A plan could be serious, but it’s only a plan,” she said. “It’s what’s done to implement it.”

Lipstadt told reporters about a previously unreported exchange that she had with António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, at a Munich synagogue.

After thanking Guterres for meeting often with the families of hostages being held in Gaza, Lipstadt mentioned the frequent antisemitic remarks of Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, who has drawn criticism from the U.S., German and French governments. Critics have said often that Guterres and the United Nations haven’t sufficiently denounced Albanese, who is considered an adviser to the global body and not an employee.

Lipstadt told reporters that Guterres said, within earshot of the press gaggle at the synagogue, of Albanese that “she’s a horrible person.” (JNS sought comment from Guterres.)

Fritz Berggren, a U.S. foreign service officer revealed to be the creator of a white nationalist website, is no longer a State Department employee, Lipstadt told reporters. More than 70 department employees had written to Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, in August 2021 calling for Berggren’s removal, but employment policies and laws appeared to protect Berggren.

“The legal details are not fully open, but it was an ending,” Lipstadt said. She didn’t specify if Berggren opted to leave or was fired.

Lipstadt and Keyak told reporters the person who carved a swastika into a State Department elevator in July 2021 has yet to be identified. The department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom is closely guarded by officers, but there was no camera in the area of the elevator, they said.

The envoy was asked if Jew-hatred is more prevalent at the State Department after Oct. 7. Lipstadt said that mid-level staffers, who came out publicly against the department’s positions and policies on the Israel-Hamas war, shouldn’t be seen as antisemitic.

Her office faced “some internal resistance” from “some misinformed people,” who thought that it was essentially running cover for Israel, she added. She told reporters that no one ever approached her with such concerns.

She wouldn’t comment on or endorse a successor, but said only that she hopes the next envoy “will be a barn builder, not a barn burner.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Blinken at the helm of the State Department, takes Jew-hatred seriously, according to Lipstadt. “That gives me hope on this issue,” she said.

“Some of the things I’ve done have been done quietly. Sometimes, they’ve succeeded. Sometimes, they haven’t. Speeches that were given, lines that were delivered, weren’t delivered,” Lipstadt told reporters. “I don’t want to speak out too much on everything. At some point, you’ll be dismissed as a partisan hack.”

Source: Lipstadt hopes next Jew-hatred monitor is ‘barn builder, not barn burner’

Filed under Antisemitism Tagged with

Banergee: International university grads speak about aspirations and barriers

2025/01/17 Leave a comment

Good qualitative research, setting the stage for access to settlement services and other supports (but relatively silent on priorities, trade-offs and numbers:

…Privileges and precarity

Some interviewees arrived in Canada with financial resources and family support, allowing them to manage the high costs of education and living expenses. Others, however, took on substantial debt to finance their studies, reflecting their willingness to invest in future opportunities despite economic risk. While privilege granted access to education, and the potential for permanent residency status, their success was often constrained by precarity, including financial instability, cultural adjustment challenges, legal uncertainties and discrimination.

While students’ advantages can foster success, barriers — including unpredictable immigration systems, lack of professional networks, limited opportunities to gain relevant Canadian work experience and discriminatory treatment — often undermine them. Recognizing this tension is essential to understanding the varied experiences of international students in Canada.

Collaboration needed

Solving these challenges requires collaboration across education, immigration and employment systems. Universities must provide better support, such as work-integrated learning opportunities that connect education to careers. Immigration policies must become more transparent and predictable. Employers need to recognize their role in addressing hiring barriers and creating pathways for international graduates to gain meaningful work experience. 

Finally, appropriate settlement services are key to helping international students build long-term futures in Canada. Many of our interviewees started their journeys excited to study, settle and eventually become part of Canadian society. 

But along the way, barriers like precarious work, limited career options and immigration challenges often left them disillusioned, even after getting permanent residency. With the right supports, these graduates could navigate those hurdles more easily and stay engaged in their goals — finding meaningful work, putting down roots and contributing to their communities for the long term.

This is a pivotal moment to rethink how Canada views and supports international students. Without adequate policies and services to support their long-term success, many are at risk of leaving Canada, taking their skills, education and potential economic contributions elsewhere. 

Ensuring that these graduates feel valued and supported is essential for retaining talent and strengthening Canada’s competitive position in the global race for skilled workers.

Source: International university grads speak about aspirations and barriers

Filed under Immigration, Integration Tagged with ,

Les Québécois se sentent nord-américains et loin de la France, révèle un sondage

2025/01/17 Leave a comment

Of note:

Le Québec n’est pas (encore) un nouvel État des États-Unis, mais c’est à coup sûr une zone culturelle nord-américaine.

Un sondage tout récent montre qu’une très large majorité des Québécois se sentent beaucoup plus près culturellement du reste de l’Amérique que de la France.

L’enquête de la firme Léger réalisée entre le 29 novembre et le 2 décembre 2024 auprès d’un échantillon de 1002 résidents du Québec a posé la question suivante : « Vous, personnellement, vous considérez-vous comme plus proche de la culture de la France ou plus proche de la culture nord-américaine ? »

La conclusion devient imparable. Les trois quarts (73 %) des Québécois choisissent leur coin du monde, et à peine un sur six (16 %) opte pour l’Europe. Un sur dix (12 %) refuse de répondre ou ne se décide pas, peut-être faute de pouvoir répondre « les deux ».

Les résultats ne varient d’ailleurs pas beaucoup en fonction de l’âge, du genre et même de la langue ! Les non-francophones se disent plus nord-américains à 77 % et les francophones, à 71 %. Le pourcentage de Québécois parlant le plus souvent français à la maison est de 77,5 %, selon les données de Statistique Canada de 2021.

Le sondage, obtenu en exclusivité par Le Devoir, a aussi mesuré notre sentiment à l’égard de la France. Dans ce cas, une majorité de francophones (52 %) s’en disent éloignés et seulement 5 %, « très proches ». Le groupe s’identifiant à la France est plus nombreux à Montréal (19 %) et chez les diplômés universitaires (25 %).

« Nous ne sommes pas des Français d’Amérique, comme le disait le général de Gaulle : nous sommes des Nord-Américains francophones », résume le professeur Guy Lachapelle, de l’Université Concordia.

Le sondage a été commandé par le Centre d’études sur les valeurs, attitudes et sociétés (CEVAS), qu’il dirige. Un premier sondage, réalisé en 2022, arrivait en gros aux mêmes constats. Ces enquêtes s’inspiraient d’une autre menée auprès des jeunes d’ici en septembre 2002 et commanditée par le consulat général de France au Québec. Ce portrait avait déjà établi essentiellement que les jeunes Québécois s’identifiaient comme nord-américains.

Source: Les Québécois se sentent nord-américains et loin de la France, révèle un sondage

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , , ,

Nearly 50,000 ‘no-show’ international students didn’t comply with their Canadian study permits last year, data show

2025/01/16 Leave a comment

Countries with highest no show rates (over 10 percent, ranked highest no show rates to lowest: Rwanda, DRC, Ghana, Jordan, Algeria, Cameroon, Iran, Turkey and Nigeria. Suggests that some of accusations of racism regarding African applicants were unfounded given higher no shows and thus entering Canada on false pretences:

Close to 50,000 international students who received study permits to come to Canada were reported as “no-shows” at the colleges and universities where they were supposed to be taking their courses, according to government figures for two months last spring.

Numbers obtained by The Globe and Mail show that the non-compliant students made up 6.9 per cent of the total number of international students recorded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Universities and colleges are required by the immigration department to report twice a year on whether international students are enrolled and going to class in compliance with their study permits.

The International Student Compliance Regime, implemented in 2014, was designed to help spot bogus students and assist provinces in identifying questionable schools….

In March and April of 2024, colleges and universities reported to IRCC on students from 144 countries. The top 10 countries of student origin with the greatest number of “no-shows” that spring had widely ranging non-compliance rates.

They included 2.2 per cent for Philippines (representing 688 no-show students); 6.4 per cent for China (4,279 no-shows); 11.6 per cent for Iran (1,848 no-shows); and 48.1 per cent for Rwanda (802 no-shows).

Henry Lotin, a former federal economist and expert on immigration, said one way to dampen abuse of the system would be to require international students to pay fees upfront before coming to Canada….

Source: Nearly 50,000 ‘no-show’ international students didn’t comply with their Canadian study permits last year, data show

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Su | From sunny ways to stormy days: navigating Canada’s immigration debate

2025/01/16 Leave a comment

Interesting convergence in position between Su, from York University, and Poilievre, the former stating “…policies should be developed in accordance with Canada’s housing, health care and education capacities and potential,” the latter stating he would “tie the country’s population growth rate to a level that’s below the number of new homes built, and would also consider such factors as access to health-care and jobs:”

….As Canada prepares for new leadership, there is an opportunity to foster a more nuanced and productive dialogue on immigration. We can have hard and honest conversations about immigration without the racism, the hate and the punching down.

Political candidates should develop clear and consistent long-term immigration policies that balance economic needs with social cohesion. These policies should be developed in accordance with Canada’s housing, health care and education capacities and potential. Candidates should also commit to promoting the positive impacts of diversity and multiculturalism on Canadian society and economy to improve social cohesion.

By confronting our immigration identity crisis head-on, political leaders can help shape a more inclusive and prosperous future for all Canadians that stay true to our core values. Immigration has built Canada, so let’s move beyond divisive politics and work toward a unified vision that embraces Canada’s multicultural heritage while addressing the legitimate concerns of voters.

Source: Opinion | From sunny ways to stormy days: navigating Canada’s immigration debate


Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Family work permits no longer available for some foreign students and workers starting next week

2025/01/16 Leave a comment

Further curbs:

Starting next week, the federal government will impose further restrictions on access to open work permits for families of international students and temporary foreign workers.

Following an announcement last fall of reductions in the number of temporary residents in Canada, Ottawa released further details Tuesday on changing the eligibility for family members of study and work permit holders to get authorization to work legally in Canada.

Effective Jan. 21, only spouses of the following international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for the family open work permits:

•Students enrolled in master’s programs that are 16 months or longer and in doctoral programs or undergraduate programs in select professions such as medicine, laws and nursing;

•Foreign workers classified as in high-skill, high-wage managerial positions or occupations generally requiring a university degree;

•Foreign workers in the lower-wage, lower-skilled spectrum in so-called TEER 2 or 3 occupations with labour shortages or in natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and military sectors.

In addition, the foreign worker must also have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit at the time when their spouse applies for the family work permits. Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible for this work permit.

Source: Family work permits no longer available for some foreign students and workers starting next week

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

Sweden Planning to Tighten Citizenship Requirements Starting June 2026

2025/01/16 Leave a comment

More details on Swedish government plans:

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A report proposing the tightening of the Swedish citizenship criteria has been shared.
  • The report proposes that the residence period to be eligible to apply for Swedish citizenship be increased from the current five to eight years.
  • The report has also proposed that a stricter requirement for an honest lifestyle be introduced and self-sufficiency conditions be reinstated.

Sweden may soon tighten a number of citizenship requirements for foreign nationals who want to obtain the country’s passport, following proposals made in a new report.

The government-appointed investigator, Kirsi Laakso Utvik, presented the report with proposals to tighten the criteria for citizenship acquisition earlier this week.

After a thorough investigation on the matter,  the report proposes that several rules, including the residence period, be tightened for all future citizenship applicants, Schengen.News reports.

As the Swedish Ministry of Justice has revealed, the report requires that the country increase the residence period requirement by three years from the current five to eight years.

By increasing the residence period requirement, the report notes that the authorities would be able to better obtain information about the citizenship applicants and assess their lifestyle over time.

A requirement for a longer period of residence in Sweden is considered to improve, among other things, the authorities’ ability to obtain information about the applicant and assess his or her lifestyle over time.

Ministry of Justice of Sweden

Report Proposes Tightening of Several Other Rules

The report has also proposed that Sweden introduces a stricter requirement for “an honest lifestyle” to be eligible for Swedish citizenship.

As explained by the Ministry, the stricter requirement for an honest lifestyle means, among other things, that those who have committed a crime will have to wait for a longer period of time before they can be admitted as Swedish citizens.

In addition to the above-mentioned,  the report also proposes that citizenship applicants show self-sufficiency and that they have additional knowledge of Swedish society and culture.

Moreover, according to the proposal, applicants should also be required to prove that they have not received financial assistance for more than six months in the last three years prior to filing their citizenship application.

The concept of “livelihood” implies that one has such a level of income that there is no need to utilise the social welfare system. This income comes from wages and/or business activities.

Kirsi Laakso Utvik

Other proposals have also been made, but these are some of the most important.

As the Ministry noted, the report proposes that these changes to the citizenship rules enter into force on June 1, 2026. However, a final decision on the matter still needs to be made by the government before the citizenship criteria be tightened.

The Time of No Requirements Is Over, Migration Minister Says

Commenting on the proposals made in the report, the Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell said that the time of no requirements to become a citizen of the country is over.

According to him, in order to obtain Sweden’s passport, foreign nationals must make an effort to become part of the society.

Being granted Swedish citizenship is something you should feel proud of and should be given to people who have made an effort to become part of our society and who have done the right thing during the time they have been here.

Sweden’s Minister of Migration Johan Forssell

The Minister further noted that with the tightening of the requirements, those who want to become Swedish citizens will have to do more.

Source: Sweden Planning to Tighten Citizenship Requirements Starting June 2026

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with

← Older posts

Newer posts →