expatriates | Multicultural Meanderings

Expatriates: The Unofficial Ambassadors

2014/07/19 Leave a comment

More good thought-provoking commentary from Victoria Ferauge on expats. While written from an American perspective, relevance to Canada given the large number (close to 3 million) Canadians abroad:

The Face of Americans Abroad: 7 million people with very different reasons for being abroad and of every color, creed, class. Some are indeed missionaries. Many are teachers or professors. There are retirees, economic and marriage migrants, true expatriates sent by their companies, and so much more. The Peace Corps, for example, is still around. There is also the military and former military.

There is an almost infinite number of combinations here that begin with who these people were before they left the US, why they went abroad, what they do and where they went or were sent and with whom.

[David] Kuenzi [author of Wall Street Journal Op-Ed] qualifies his statement by referring to three categories: “businesspersons, scholars or trailing spouses” but these are only a small fraction of the Americans living abroad.

I think that the largest group of Americans abroad looks like this: they don’t want any or minimal contact with the US government and other Americans while they are living abroad, they do not want to join any American organization be it Democrats Abroad, Republicans Overseas, AARO or ACA: they are keenly interested in being good denizens of their countries of residence, and these days more and more of them aspire to become citizens of those states. They make no demands on the United States while they are abroad. In many cases the very minimal protection of the US government is neither attractive nor relevant to them since they know the limits of the local consulates assistance a list of local lawyers who speak English and they understand that the US government will not expend political capital on their behalf to get them out of trouble. And if it weren’t for the fact that they have to have a passport to enter the US to see family, they would probably forgo that as well. What they want is to be left alone to go about their business and their lives.

Are these people good “unofficial ambassadors”? I have no idea and neither does anyone else.

For those Canadian expatriates, or former expatriates among you, Victoria would appreciate your help in the following:

And for those of you who are members of other diasporas, I’d be very interested in knowing if a similar situation exists between you and your home country.

The Franco-American Flophouse: The Unofficial Ambassador.

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with David Kuenzi, expatriate, expatriates, Victoria Ferauge

Victoria Ferauge: Expatriate Voting: Engagement or Illusion?

2014/07/09 Leave a comment

Further to Canadian expatriates should never lose the right to vote, an effective rebuttal by Victoria Ferauge (an American expat):

Americans abroad are a fraction of the population of the homeland: 7 million versus 300 million. Canadians abroad are 2.9 million versus 35 million – a higher percentage which might or might not make a difference. How many of those 2.9 million expats who were within the 5 year limit now defunct bothered to register? No idea, I could not find any statistics. The argument in the Global and Mail editorial would have been so much more compelling if there was hard evidence that Canadians abroad were clamouring for the vote.

Sevi argues that “Canada needs to take a proactive approach to engage Canadians living abroad.” I would say from my own experience that if expatriate voting rights equal responsibility without power or effective representation, then it is clearly NOT the best way to engage that country’s expatriate community. If the franchise is simply a symbolic gesture to show how very hip and global a country is or an excuse to extract money/support from them, then it isn’t for the expats at all – it’s all about the homelands self-image and self-interest – and that is a terrible place to begin a dialogue with ones diaspora.

The Franco-American Flophouse: Expatriate Voting: Engagement or Illusion?.

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with expatriates, voting

Canadian expatriates should never lose the right to vote

2014/07/02 6 Comments

The problem with Semra Sevi’s argumentation like that of others is that it relies on anecdotes and generalizations:

Canadians abroad are connected to global networks that Canada can benefit from. Instead of using derogative labels like “Canadians of convenience” or “Foreigners holding Canadian passports,” Canada needs to take a proactive approach to engage Canadians living abroad. People have many different reasons for moving away, and to label them as less Canadian for doing so is troublesome. There are many cases of Canadians studying in the United States who find work in the United Kingdom before coming back to Canada a decade later yet under the current system they would be disenfranchised after five years. Many of these Canadians working abroad do so for Canadian companies, yet these businesses are not facing the same dilemma as Canadians abroad.

Immigrants who decide to leave Canada for whatever reason and return to their native countries are not less Canadian as their compatriots who live in Canada. They may not be residing in the country but they are nevertheless subject to Canadian law and foreign policy decisions. Many of them actively retain connections to Canada. Questions like are expatriates “real” Canadians, is unconstitutional and un-Canadian in themselves. Canadians living abroad are significant global assets who deserve the same rights as those living in Canada. The world is as interconnected as ever, and is only becoming more so. Isolating citizens based on their current geographic placement, which is based on many factors, runs counter to the way the world operates in the twenty-first century.

The reality if varies by community, it varies by individual, and it varies by country of residence. My anecdotal experience with Canadian expatriates when I worked in the foreign service was mixed; some maintained a strong ongoing connection, others did not.

We do not have enough survey and other information to know, beyond the usual anecdotes, how many expatriates have a meaningful ongoing connection to Canada.

Generally speaking, the longer the time outside of Canada, the looser the bond as family, work and local connections become more meaningful.

I suspect if we applied the US approach of taxation based on citizenship, some of the enthusiasm for unlimited voting rights (no representation without taxation) would decrease.

Canadian expatriates should never lose the right to vote – The Globe and Mail.

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with expatriates, Peter Russell, Semra Sevi, voting

Should non-resident Canadians get the vote? – Globe Editorial

2014/06/26 Leave a comment

Globe has it basically right:

In a procedural decision in this case this week, Justice Robert Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Appeal, put the issue clearly: Is the five-year limit “necessary to sustain our geographically determined, constituency-based system of representation?” The highest court will eventually have to answer that question. We think it can reasonably answer “yes.”

Parliament, especially the Commons, since its beginnings in medieval England, has been a body that consents to – or rejects – taxes. But Canadian expatriates pay their taxes in the country where they live, and receive the benefits of government there, too. They do not pay taxes here, or receive most public services. It is reasonable for the law to say that, if you live outside Canada for a sufficiently long time, after some number of years you can no longer exercise the right to vote for members of the House of Commons. You do not lose Canadian citizenship – that can never be taken away. And no matter how long someone lives abroad, they have the absolute right to return to Canada whenever they wish.

The five-year limit is not strictly necessary. But there’s a compelling logic to placing some limit on how long one can live abroad and still vote in Canada. It makes it more likely that Canadian voters will have a strong, living connection to Canada.

Should non-resident Canadians get the vote? – The Globe and Mail.

Tim Harper in the Star takes the contrary view:

The numbers may not be huge, but the symbolism from this government is massive.

The Canadian diaspora numbers about 2.8 million and has been called the “missing province.”

About a million of them have been out of the country for more than five years; most of them live in the U.S.

About seven in 10 expats, according to a 2009 study by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said they intended to return home. Two out of three left the country for work reasons and one in three worked for a Canadian company, the government or a Canadian non-governmental agency.

Non-resident Canadians paid about $6 billion in taxes to the Canadian treasury in 2008-09, according to the APF study.

The five-year cutoff is a product of the 1993 Progressive Conservative majority government which for the first time provided a mechanism for Canadians living outside the country to vote.

In 2005, following a recommendation by then-Elections Canada chief John-Pierre Kingsley, a parliamentary committee recommended the five-year limit be removed. All four party leaders endorsed the committee decision. Nothing ever happened….

Suppressing vote of expats latest Conservative court battle: Tim Harper

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with expatriates, voting

Ottawa to fight court ruling giving ex-pats a vote

2014/06/21 2 Comments

“Is there a substantial change in the ex-pat Canadian citizen that takes place after five years and one day?” O’Brien asked in court.

Well, not for one day after, but the longer one lives outside Canada, the less the direct connection to Canadian issues and debates, not to mention expatriates do not pay Canadian taxes. Government is right on this one.

Ottawa to fight court ruling giving ex-pats a vote – Politics – CBC News.

Filed under Citizenship Tagged with expatriates

Law that strips certain Canadian expats of voting rights to be debated in court

2014/02/04 Leave a comment

One point the plaintiffs are silent on is that they do not pay taxes. Would they prefer the US system, with expatriates required to file tax returns (and get tied up with the IRS under the US FATCA revenue “grab” from expatriates)?

Yes, one can follow Canadian politics and life from afar, one can maintain family and friends, but I fail to see how voting is an absolute right applying to long-term expatriates. But we will see how the courts decide. The below seems to be wanting to have your cake and eating it too:

“With globalization what we have is this increased movement. And a lot of the reason that Canadians move outside the country is for employment,” she said. “It’s not appropriate to say that in order to exercise your full fundamental democratic rights you have to curtail your employment.”

The case had led to a number of expatriate Canadians coming forward with concerns similar to Frank and Duong’s, said O’Brien.

“If people feel that strongly about Canada and wanting to vote…why would we not want to have their participation in the country,” she said. “Why would we want to limit such a fundamental democratic right that people hold so deeply.”

Law that strips certain Canadian expats of voting rights to be debated in court.

Filed under Citizenship, Public Policy Tagged with expatriates, voting