For once, Jason Kenney and the Tories side with labour – Globe Editorial

2014/10/08 Leave a comment

Globe editorial endorsing Kenney’s firm line on Temporary Foreign Workers (and are diplomatically silent on how some of his earlier policy changes encouraged growth of the program):

And Mr. Kenney rightly points to the evidence that wages for fast-food workers have been rising more slowly than the rate of inflation, whereas the labour force in Alberta as a whole is seeing solid wage growth. For once, organized labour is in agreement with the Conservative government in Ottawa.

If any provincial government seriously believes that there is not enough immigration into Canada, it can make use of section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867, as Quebec does in a very substantial way; to a lesser extent, so do Manitoba and British Columbia. Even without new federal-provincial immigration agreements, a province like Alberta can and should encourage recruitment from provinces with higher levels of joblessness, and from aboriginal communities in which unemployment is rife.

Mr. Kenney and the federal government are right to reassert the fundamentals of Canadian immigration policy. Some parts of Canada may need more immigrants – that’s a discussion worth having. But more non-citizens with limited legal rights? No thanks.

For once, Jason Kenney and the Tories side with labour – The Globe and Mail.

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Jason Kenney heads to enemy territory and touts plans to wed job creation programs to the private sector

2014/10/04 Leave a comment

Minister Kenney doing what he does best, articulating the rationale for his policy choices, and not just preaching to the converted:

“I stand up in front of business audiences and say: you guys have been, to some extent, freeloading on the public training system,” Mr. Kenney told reporters after his talk.

But given that the crowd actually appeared to join in Mr. Kenney’s enthusiasm, it’s not clear that they’ve come to that realization yet.

It’s all part of the broader Conservative plan to downsize the federal government by eliminating its ability to run a surplus, and thus start up big flashy new programs, and to outsource its programs at every possible turn.

In that vein, Mr. Kenney once again reiterated that his government would be sticking to the low-tax commitments made in its platform. Chiefly, the commitment to, when the budget is balanced — as it very nearly is — to implement income splitting for families.

Asked whether these types of commitments — between lessening government revenue and devolving job training authority away from the federal government — would hobble future government’s ability to launch their own initiatives, the minister laughed, then coyly agreed.

“I would ask the question a different way, which is: If you massively increase spending, how can you give Canadians a tax break?” Mr. Kenney said.“The answer is, you can’t. That’s going to be the choice in the next election.”

Jason Kenney heads to enemy territory and touts plans to wed job creation programs to the private sector | National Post.

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Temporary foreign worker data don’t correspond with reality

2014/09/29 Leave a comment

More on Temporary Foreign Workers and poor data/mistakes that undermine the Government message:

Restaurants Canada president Garth Whyte said he had concerns about the data when the government released its figures in June but the names of the employers weren’t known until now. He said the government should have checked the information before using it. “The math doesn’t add up,” he said.

Mr. Kenney’s office said he was not available for an interview Friday. A department spokeswoman responded to The Globe’s questions about the data in an e-mail by saying that the government’s changes are intended to restore the TFW program to its original purpose, as a short-term last resort for employers. She did not say whether they intend to review the data.

There have been other data problems in the federal government. Statistics Canada issued a major correction to its July jobs numbers after human error led the agency to vastly under-report growth in hiring. And in March, The Globe revealed that Finance Canada was using job postings from Kijiji, a popular online classified site, in its job-vacancy calculations. As a result, Finance Canada’s numbers differed from Statistics Canada’s.

Restaurants Canada and the CFIB are concerned that TFW program changes will harm businesses in regions with labour shortages.

Not sure how and why these mistakes happened (reduced capacity, time pressures, political direction to move too quickly) but another illustration why solid data and evidence necessary (but I still find no justification for fast food Temporary Foreign Workers and equivalent).

Temporary foreign worker data dont correspond with reality – The Globe and Mail.

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Employers say temporary foreign worker figures are not accurate

2014/09/27 Leave a comment

Never good when the numbers are wrong:

But six employers contacted by The Globe on Thursday contended the information is inaccurate, raising questions about the accuracy of some of the data the government used to support its case for sweeping reforms to the temporary foreign worker TFW program.

The federal list is set to become political fodder in Alberta on Friday, when the Alberta Federation of Labour plans to release a copy that it obtained through a separate information request.

“There are lots of employers using the program very aggressively,” said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan. “A lot of these [TFW] jobs are some of the best in our economy and we shouldn’t be cavalier about allowing them to slip through our fingers.”

Three of the largest employers included on the list said the figures were not accurate.Shaw Cablesystems, which was listed as employing 4,354 temporary foreign workers more than 30 per cent of its work force, said it had provided incorrect figures to Employment and Social Development Canada. The correct figure is 169 TFWs, or one per cent of its work force, the company said in a statement.

…. Alberta Labour Minister Ric McIver noted Alberta has a severe labour crunch. He said business owners are inundating him with concerns about restrictions to the foreign worker program.

“Canada is a big country and sometimes one size does not fit all,” Mr. McIver said. “Our goal is to work with our partners in the federal government and look for a program that actually meets the needs of Alberta business, puts Canadians first to get jobs, but doesn’t put businesses out of business by denying them absolutely essential labour.”

Mr. Kenney doesn’t appear to be wavering. In an e-mail Thursday, he noted 110,000 Albertans are looking for work and the changes will affect about 8,000 low-paying jobs currently filled by foreign workers. “There are also still too many people capable of working who are not in the labour force,” Mr. Kenney wrote.

Employers say temporary foreign worker figures are not accurate – The Globe and Mail.

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Jason Kenney faces foreign-worker fallout in own backyard – Politics – CBC News

2014/09/26 Leave a comment

More on the changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers program, the political repercussions:

Like most government decisions, the clampdown on temporary foreign workers has come with a political price.

Last spring, as media reports swirled about questionable use of the scheme by companies small and large, Employment Minister Jason Kenney met for days on end with his staff, hearing hours of briefs and brainstorming a solution, according to a senior government source.

Kenney knew he was walking a political tightrope, trying to maintain the program in industries and regions where employers face legitimate labour shortages, while clamping down — and crucially, being seen to clamp down — on companies that are allegedly displacing Canadians to get cheaper labour.

The minister had long been troubled by reports that included such examples as a coal mine in northern B.C. which listed fluency in Mandarin as a job requirement when requesting foreign temporary workers. The case was the subject of a union-led federal court challenge, but was dismissed.

But the final straw, according to an official who helped craft the government response, was a report that two waitresses were laid off in Estevan, Saskatchewan, only to be replaced by foreign workers.

“That was the kryptonite moment for us,” the source recalls. “This is one of the hardest places to find Canadians to work and yet, they were laying off Canadians.”

Kenney’s decision: phase in a 10 per cent cap on the number of low-wage workers coming in, ban their use in areas where unemployment is six per cent or higher, and increase processing fees and fines for those who abuse the program.

The result: applications to the program were down by 75 per cent this summer over last, Kenney told the Commons last week.

But the result is also growing anger among employers in sectors as far-flung as the fashion and film industries, to fish packing plants, to the hospitality sector and restaurant industry, to mines in remote northern regions.

…Kenney, for his part, is standing firm on the new policy.

His office has argued that businesses, small and large, need to do a labour market assessment as part of their business plan. If they have to offer higher wages to attract people, so be it.

Still, concern about the repercussions could explain the government’s haste to offer a break to small business on EI premiums announced earlier this month by Finance Minister Joe Oliver.

Some Conservatives seem to feel the pot needs sweetening, as they march into election season running on their banner theme: economic prosperity for all.

Jason Kenney faces foreign-worker fallout in own backyard – Politics – CBC News.

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In New York, the Prime Minister talks about winning immigrant votes

2014/09/26 Leave a comment

The “fourth sister” of Canadian politics to use Tom Flanagan’s phrase.

Most of the analysis I have seen (2011 Canada Election Study and related articles) have a similar nuanced understanding of the Conservative Party’s success, but all acknowledge the “showing up” aspect of the outreach by Jason Kenney as having an impact on some communities.

Healthy for Canadian democracy that all parties actively engage new Canadians:

Harper emphasizes his ability to position his party as closer to new Canadians in terms of policy ideas on the economy and crime, and in terms of underlying social attitudes. But how to disentangle those factors from his undeniable success in the past two elections in simply presenting himself as a more resolute, confidence-inspiring leader?

And then there’s this further point the Prime Minister also made today, after he proposed the inherent attraction of Conservative thinking to immigrants: “But we began our appeal first and foremost by showing up, by making sure we’re present at their events, by making sure they have a home in our political party.”

There can be little doubt he’s right that making personal connections, on some level emotional ones, matters greatly. Again, Kenney is widely credited with getting out among various immigrant groups. But isn’t Justin Trudeau proving a huge draw among similar communities? In Trudeau’s case, though, it’s less often a matter of making sure to be present at somebody else’s event, than drawing throngs to his own.

Listening to Harper today, there could be no doubt he’s betting heavily on the immigrant vote when it comes to his re-election chances next fall. No wonder. It’s a major part of what brought him to office. The question is whether his assertion of a deep bond between Conservatives and immigrants, based on enduring ideas and attitudes, is accurate—or if, like so much of our electoral politics, it turns out that this strategic swath of votes responds more to a given leader’s persona than anything else.

In New York, the Prime Minister talks about winning immigrant votes.

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Emergency debate on ISIL draws only handful of MPs | “Root Causes” and Government Stupidity

2014/09/18 Leave a comment

Interesting to see Conservatives invoking the Liberals R2P (Responsibility to Protect) initiative, which many conservative commentators have panned if memory serves me correctly:

Employment Minister Jason Kenney invoked the “responsibility to protect” doctrine to fight “genocide” against religious minorities in a sparsely attended yet spirited late-night debate Tuesday over Canada’s response to the Islamic State threat.

… In an extensive speech about the violence minorities face, Kenney took aim at “moral relativism” and cynicism, saying that supporting an existing military presence was the only effective response to the urgent situation.

“There are hundreds of thousands of girls who are facing serial gang rape in this circumstance in Iraq. There are children who have been beheaded,” he said, adding that persecuted families “don’t have time for ‘root causes” — a dig at a previous comment by Trudeau.

Kenney added that stopping ISIL from harming more people takes “hard power,” and couldn’t be done “with pleasant speeches, tents or humanitarian supplies.”

While I share his abhorrence of ISIS and similar groups, blindness or ignoring root causes leads to history repeating itself, and not calibrating the degree of intervention appropriately (admittedly hard to do, both substantively and politically).

Emergency debate on ISIL draws only handful of MPs | Ottawa Citizen.

Ottawa Citizen editorial demolishes the PM and Government’s logic in this regard (“We know (terrorists’) ideology is not the result of ‘social exclusion’ or other so-called ‘root causes.’ It is evil, vile and must be unambiguously opposed.”).

Have highlighted the money quote:

Are the Conservatives really arguing that terrorism, as an expression of pure evil, just springs up without explanation, like demonic possession? That any one of us might wake up tomorrow possessed of an urge to become a terrorist for no reason whatsoever? Surely there are reasons why one person takes up arms in an evil cause and another does not. To try to understand those reasons, and reduce their effect, is not to shrug at violence. It is in fact a moral duty.

Setting up these two perspectives in opposition – that terrorism has causes, and that terrorism is evil and must be opposed – might be time-honoured political strategy. But it’s wrong and dangerous rhetoric. One way to oppose terrorism is to understand it. The Conservative talking point implies that anyone who tries to figure out how to stop a kid from suburban Ontario from becoming a jihadi is, somehow, a terrorist sympathizer. It implies that any analyst who tries to understand the ebb and flow of propaganda within a territory is excusing violence. To sneer at any attempt to understand terrorism is a stupid approach to one of the world’s most insidious problems, and the Conservatives ought to know better. They do know better, but they’re trying to score points.

Canada can and must unambiguously oppose terrorism while trying to improve its understanding of how it operates and how its adherents recruit.

Editorial: Yes, terrorism has causes

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TFWP reforms a success as applications plummet, says Kenney

2014/09/18 Leave a comment

A remarkable change from making it too easy to engage Temporary Foreign Workers to the current restrictions, with a 75 percent drop in applications. Lesson learned by the Government on how to use incentives and disincentives:

A year ago, the Conservatives implemented a $275 fee. In June, that fee was hiked to $1,000 for each worker, an expense that essentially placed the temporary foreign worker program out of reach for many small businesses.

Some employers have complained that the new rules are too onerous and make it difficult for them to operate in areas of the country with low unemployment.

Western premiers have also raised concerns about the overhaul, saying their provinces have a pressing need for skilled labour.

Jinny Sims, the NDP’s employment and immigration critic, mocked Kenney’s defence of the overhaul, pointing to the case of 58 electricians in Saskatchewan who said they were laid off from Alliance Energy in May while the company’s temporary foreign workers were kept on.

“The rule of asking employers if they think a Canadian will lose his or her job ‘now or in the foreseeable future’ gives huge wiggle room to employers,” Sims said. “When will the government make real changes and have real penalties?”

Kenney told Sims to bring those allegations to Service Canada “or to the Canada Border Services Agency so that a formal inquiry can be launched.”

TFWP reforms a success as applications plummet, says Kenney (pay wall)

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What happened to Kenney’s cracking down on birth tourism? Feds couldn’t do it alone | hilltimes.com

2014/09/09 3 Comments

From my piece in the Hill Times (pay wall) on birth tourism or “anchor babies:”

But it is clear, that allegations of abuse play to the value Canadians attach to fairness, and fits into the overall government message and politics of cracking down on fraud.

But the evidence we have is clear: there is no business case to inconvenience millions of Canadians, for whom a birth certificate may no longer be sufficient identification, and cost taxpayers significant amounts to address a tiny problem.

Alexander’s spokesperson recently stated, refreshingly, that decisions will be “informed by facts,” rather than anecdotes.

What general lessons can we draw from this?

First, anecdotes drive identification of policy issues.

Second, rhetoric runs ahead of evidence.

Third, the provinces provided the most effective brake on anecdote-driven policy given that any workable response required their cooperation. Contrast this to the Citizenship Act changes, where the government had no need to be flexible.

Fourth, funding implications and provincial constraints ensured evidence trumped anecdote.

What happened to Kenney’s cracking down on birth tourism? Feds couldn’t do it alone | hilltimes.com.

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Minister Kenney concludes successful trip to Lebanon – Canada News Centre

2014/08/01 Leave a comment

Interesting quote by Kenney on Lebanon’s “balanced partnership.” Not sure that I would characterize that way, given Lebanon’s past civil wars and that it is largely a country with parallel structures, rather than the more integrative model of multiculturalism in Canada:

Canada’s model of pluralism is profoundly relevant to Lebanon, the only Middle Eastern country built on a balanced partnership between religious and ethnic communities.

Minister Kenney concludes successful trip to Lebanon – Canada News Centre.

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