Aftab Ahmed: What the World Cup reminds Canada about itself

2026/06/29 Leave a comment

Nice reminder (and yes, we are watching as so many are):

….On the pitch, a public debate too often compressed into talking points becomes human, visible, and harder to caricature. These players are people before they are symbols, and heritage should never be reduced to a box-ticking exercise to make a policy argument.

Still, it is reasonable to notice what is in front of us. This group puts flesh and bone on the promise Canada has long projected to the world: families arriving, settling, working, struggling, raising children, and building excellence in communities across the country. But more to the point: On the soccer pitch itself, Canada is finally living up to expectations.

…Hockey will always be the headline sport here, but Canada’s win over Qatar was, arguably, one of this country’s finest international sporting achievements, on par with the men’s hockey gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The win over Qatar was Canada announcing itself in the world’s only true universal sport and the biggest by global viewership, in a World Cup on home soil, through a team that looks like the country Canada has become.

The beautiful game is holding up a mirror to Canada: a country whose immigration, refugee protection, and asylum architecture rests on a principle of openness that has delivered a net benefit to Canada.

At a time when so much beyond sports feels grim, that is something worth holding onto.

Aftab Ahmed completed his Master of Public Policy degree at McGill University’s Max Bell School and is a policy development officer with the City of Toronto. He serves as a regular columnist for Canadian and Bangladeshi media outlets

Source: Aftab Ahmed: What the World Cup reminds Canada about itself

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Aftab Ahmed: I speak English. Stop asking.

2024/08/24 Leave a comment

…There is also an obvious inconsistency in how language proficiency is treated for permanent residency versus citizenship. Those seeking citizenship are not required to retake the language test if they have passed it once, even if their test results have expired. Permanent residency applicants, however, must retake the test if their results are no longer valid, despite having lived and worked in Canada. This variation further weakens the logic of the current system.

There are simple solutions to this issue: First, remove the two-year validity rule. Second, remove the language proficiency requirement for those who have studied or worked in Canada for a reasonable period. Define that period. Third, for those arriving on a work permit without a certified letter from a recognized international post-secondary institution that provides education in English or French, language testing would be necessary.

Some argue that a steady flow of international students is vital for economic growth, given the billions they contribute to the higher education sector and the labour force. Others claim the influx worsens the housing crisis. Whatever the federal government’s target for permanent residents from this pool may be in the coming years, it is absurd to think someone could study in Canada without knowing one of the official languages. The same principle should apply if they have studied and then worked here. The current system is poor policy….

Source: Aftab Ahmed: I speak English. Stop asking.

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