Dual Citizens no less Canadian

by Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service

Slamming Canada's "phoney" debate over dual citizenship, one of the country's leading cultural researchers has released a study to CanWest News Service suggesting there's no evidence that membership with two nations diminishes a person's attachment to Canada. Jack Jedwab, director of the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, says data pulled from a landmark 2001 StatsCan survey refutes the notion that dual citizens are more prone to divided loyalties or a weakened commitment to Canada - key claims among critics who prompted a review of federal policies last year after Canada's $100-million rescue of 15,000 Lebanese-Canadians from Beirut during Israeli attacks on Hezbollah. The evacuation sparked charges that many of those brought to safety were "Canadians of convenience" who don't live here but were happy to accept help in an emergency before quickly returning to Lebanon once the danger had passed. "If we're in a situation where somebody's absent, isn't paying taxes but is going to be using our social programs down the road, I think Canadians would feel that that is unfair," former immigration minister Monte Solberg said last November in announcing a review of Canada's dual-citizenship system. "Canadians want to know that citizenship means something, that we are not just a port in the storm." The federal review - which has stirred heated debate encompassing Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean's renunciation of her French citizenship in 2005 and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's ongoing refusal to give up his - is continuing under current Immigration Minister Diane Finley.

But Jedwab says his analysis shows no significant difference between single- and dual-citizenship Canadians when it comes to their expressed "sense of belonging" to Canada. "That tells us there's a phoney quality about the debate," says Jedwab, dismissing arguments that holding two sets of citizenship papers contributes to "divided loyalties" or "dilutes" the meaning of citizenship. "This has gotten a lot of play as an issue of 'dual citizenship equals dual loyalty,' and I think that's been misdirected," says Jedwab. "This has become another argument to bash multiculturalism. Detractors of multiculturalism have been the biggest agitators and they've made a mistake connecting these issues." Jedwab drew his findings from the Ethnic Diversity Survey, a massive Statistics Canada database compiled during the 2001 census that captured the views of some 40,000 Canadians on questions of identity and social integration. According to Jedwab, about 80 per cent of dual citizens said they feel a "strong" or "very strong sense" of belonging to Canada, compared with about 84 per cent for those who hold only Canadian citizenship. Among respondents who speak primarily English, 82 per cent of dual citizens and 85 per cent of single citizens conveyed a strong bond with Canada. Francophone respondents with dual citizenship were, in fact, more likely - 68 per cent compared with 57 per cent for single-citizens - to describe their sense of belonging to Canada as strong or very strong.

Desperate for Skilled Workers

Canada is in dire need of skilled migrants, but its snarled up immigration application system is punishing the skilled workers it desperately needs, reports Maclean's magazine. It is estimated 500,000 skilled workers are held up in the visa application backlog. Many of these have work experience in occupations that the government says are needed, such as construction or nursing. Although Canada has the fastest growing population in the G8 group of countries, Statistics Canada estimates future population growth will depend solely on immigration by 2030. The Conservative government promised to fix the long waiting times during its election campaign. But "if there's one portfolio the government has consistently bungled, it is immigration", reports Maclean's.

Half of all Canadian visa applications for skilled migrants take 55 months to be processed. Some take as many as 74 months. That's over six years. These statistics emphasise the advisability of obtaining professional advice if you want to apply for a Canadian visa. The Canadian Visa Bureau can assist skilled workers interested in Canadian immigration. More information on Canadian visas is available on the Canadian Visa Bureau's skilled migration pages. Anyone applying for a Canadian visa should begin by completing the Canadian Visa Bureau's online Canadian visa application to see if they meet the legislative requirements.

Reverse Brain-Drain

Americans are flocking to Canada in record numbers. The number of Americans immigrating to Canada hit a 30-year-high last year. According to an analysis of numbers by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian studies, 10,942 Americans settled in Canada in 2006. That’s up two per cent from 2005 (9,262) and nearly double the number that arrived in the year 2000 (5,828). Jack Jedwab, the executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies, conducted the analysis of the data. According to Jedwab, looking at the categories of immigration provided some insight into the motivation of Americans choosing Canada. In 2001, 37.9 per cent of Americans were in the economic category, 28.3 per cent in 2003, 39.7% in 2004 and about 41 per cent in 2005 and 2006. Those figures are well below the overall percentage of immigrants to Canada that are in the economic category. In 2004, about 56.7 per cent of Canadian immigration was in the economic category, compared with 59.6 per cent in 2005 and 54.9 per cent in 2006. “Still, economic immigration to Canada was closer to the average in that regard than it has been in the previous five years,” Jedwab said in the report. He also pointed out that there has been an increase in the number of refugees coming from the U.S. in the last couple of years. “It appears to be the result of refugees who are being admitted as Americans that are often the dependants (mostly children) of people who have spent a number of years in the U.S. and have had children who were born in the U.S.,” said Jedwab. “When the parent crosses the border and makes a claim that is accepted, the dependants are also admitted and listed as American since that is the country of their birth (this is done instead of separating families)”.

Brain drain ‘undoubtedly narrowing’ - While 41 per cent of Americans admitted to Canada last year were in the economic category, about 39 per cent of Canadians admitted to the U.S. in 2006 were in the comparable category. “When looking at the differences over the past few years in the real numbers between the two countries, Canada is undoubtedly narrowing the brain drain,” said Jedwab. He also said Canada is receiving an increasingly well educated segment of arrivals from the U.S., implying that people coming this way are looking for either better quality of life both economically and probably from a social and political standpoint. In 2006, nearly half of the immigrants (49.5 per cent) to Canada from the U.S. possessed a bachelor’s degree or more. That’s higher than any other region, and a switch from 2000 when immigrants from Asia and Pacific were the best educated. Ontario is the most popular destination, followed by British Columbia and Quebec. Here’s the provincial breakdown for 2006: Nova Scotia: 244; Other Atlantic: 224; Quebec: 1,006; Ontario: 5,705; Manitoba: 195; Saskatchewan: 142; Alberta: 980; British Columbia: 2,435; Territories: 11. Meanwhile, the number of Canadians heading south also saw a slight decline. In 2006, 23,913 Canadians immigrated to the United States, a drop from the 29,930 that did so in 2005. In 2006, Canadians accounted for 1.4 per cent of all immigrants to the U.S. compared with 1.9 per cent in 2005. Americans admitted to Canada accounted for 4.4 per cent of all immigrants in 2006 compared with 3.5 per cent in 2005.

Crackdown on US illegal immigration

Source: White House

The Bush administration announced a series of steps Friday to bolster security on the border, heighten work-site immigration enforcement, streamline guest worker programs and improve the immigration system.

Border Security * Increase the number of Border Patrol agents to 20,000 by the end of 2009.* Add enough detention space to hold 31,500 illegal immigrants.* Expand the immigration ban on known gang members from China, the former Soviet Union and El Salvador to gangs from other countries.* Step up efforts to identify people who overstay limited-duration visits, possibly by establishing biometric exit requirements.* Require all sea and land travelers to have passports or other secure identification documents to enter the country by Jan. 31, 2008.Interior Enforcement * Expand assistance to state and local law enforcement in identifying illegal immigrants.* Increase the number of seven-member federal teams devoted to apprehending fugitive foreigners from 68 to 75 by the end of September.* Issue new regulations to prevent illegal immigrants who agree to depart voluntarily from using procedural motions to stay longer. Set a $3,000 penalty for failing to leave.Work-Site Enforcement * Force employers to act within 90 days on "no-match" letters from the Social Security Administration indicating that employees have inaccurate or fraudulent identity information.* Accept only official documents from the 29 types of identification that employees can now use to establish they are eligible to work.* Raise fines by 25% for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.* Expand criminal probes of employers who knowingly hire large numbers of illegal immigrants.* Require the more than 200,000 companies working for the federal government to use E-Verify, an electronic employment verification system, to ensure employees are legal.* Encourage state governments to use E-Verify.* Add more data to E-Verify to catch identity thieves.* Ask states to share driver's license photos and records with E-Verify.Streamline Guest Worker Programs * Simplify the agricultural seasonal-worker program to provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers.* Eliminate processing delays in a program for nonagricultural seasonal workers.* Extend the term of visas from one year to three for the approximately 65,000 professionals who enter each year from Canada and Mexico.* Study ways to improve visa programs for highly skilled workers.Improve Existing Immigration System * Expedite background checks for legal immigrants.* Develop a plan to prevent illegal immigrants from earning Social Security credit.

English Training for Newcomers

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced $12.5 million in funding for the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, to be distributed among seven partner agencies in Hamilton, Ontario. The funds will allow the agencies to expand their English-language training services for new immigrants in Hamilton. The seven partner agencies are the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Circle of Friends for Newcomers, the Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, the St. Joseph's Immigrant Women's Centre, the Settlement and Integration Services Organization and the Hamilton Public Library. "Canada's new government is committed to helping newcomers succeed and build new lives for themselves and their families in Canada," said Minister Finley. "That's why we're so pleased to announce funding that will enable new immigrants in Hamilton to improve their language skills and find a job. Newcomers will have an opportunity to become more productive members of this growing community." The new funding will also expand the language training services in Hamilton to include higher-level LINC services so that graduates of these advanced classes will have attained the equivalent of high school graduation English. Through the various contribution agreements, it is expected that upwards of 2,000 newcomers will be assisted and a significant number of people, including teachers, administrators and childminders, will be employed.

"The landscape of the Hamilton-Wentworth region has shifted dramatically as more and more immigrants have settled in our area," said Bob Goodwin, principal of St. Charles Adult and Continuing Education Centres. "It is with great pleasure that we work in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which recognizes the urgency of meeting the demands of our newcomers. The monies that the federal government has allotted through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement will provide new opportunities for service providers to implement innovative LINC programs so as to build on the future success of our new Hamiltonians." Through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, the Government of Canada has increased funding to Ontario for settlement and language training by a total of $920 million over five years. Overall, the federal government is providing increased funding of $1.3 billion over five years to support newcomers as they seek to integrate into our society and economy. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, in partnership with provinces, territories and service providers, delivers a number of programs that help newcomers settle, adapt and integrate into Canadian society. These include the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program, which offers orientation and interpretation services as well as referrals to community resources, counselling, general information and employment-related services; the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada, which provides basic language training; and the Host Program, which assists immigrants by matching them with volunteers who help them access services, establish contacts in their field of work and participate in the community.

Interprovincial Immigration

by Jim Mattern

The latest Action Saskatchewan report card shows the provincial population is continuing to grow. The report card, generated by Saskatchewan Trends Monitor and the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce indicates more people moved into Saskatchewan during the last quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. Statistics Canada estimates 20-thousand people moved to Saskatchewan from other provinces in 2006. Chamber President Dave Dutchak says international immigration accounted for a small portion of the increase, but the main reason was interprovincial immigration. Dutchak says the Chamber would like to see 1.8 per cent growth per year. He says that would bring the population to 1.5 million by 2030 and restore the losses that have occurred since the mid-1970's.

To sidestep pitfalls, visit ciip.accc.ca

by Nicholas Keung

Months before landing in Toronto in April, Teresita Mariano already had a plan to prepare for Canada's labour market. By June, she had landed a job similar to one she'd had in the Philippines. That was no fluke. The 39-year-old engineer is among the first skilled immigrants to benefit from the Canadian Immigrant Integration Project in Asia, a $4.5 million, three-year pilot program that's Canada's response to all those surgeon-driving-a-taxi tales that have sullied this country's reputation as a good place to resettle. Like couples taking prenatal classes before the baby arrives, would-be newcomers to Canada in the skilled-worker class can now take "pre-arrival orientation" in Manila, Delhi and Hong Kong – and, starting this month, in Beijing, Gujarat and Punjab. "Our goal is to help (foreign-trained professionals) have a faster acquisition of appropriate employment by connecting with them and preparing them ahead of time, so they can hit the ground running once they arrive," explains project director Katrina Murray. Immigrants meet with counsellors at the overseas offices to devise a settlement plan while they're still waiting for medical and security clearance to immigrate, instead of wasting time and money catching up after they get to Canada. It seems to have worked for Mariano. By the time she moved to Canada, she had obtained her university transcripts, had her foreign credentials assessed, contacted settlement agencies online, researched prospective employers, posted her resumé on Workopolis and even checked out the TTC map. She won a job as a desktop publisher for a multinational consulting firm. Silvano Tocchi, a director of the foreign credential recognition division at Human Resources and Social Development Canada, says with an evolving labour market it's in the country's best interests to give newcomers like Mariano a helping hand. "It's better for them to be forewarned and forearmed than come and be disappointed," he notes. "It's a mitigating strategy."

Good preparation helps newcomers time their arrival so that they can immediately begin language training, or identify shortcomings in their qualifications and take correspondence courses before they leave, says Tom Owen of Toronto's World Education Services. Many newcomers face big delays when they get here, notes Owen, who points out that only 10 per cent of immigrants who ask his agency for a credential assessment do so while they're still overseas. "You can save anywhere between three weeks and two months on that if you actually have it done ahead of time," he says. The program, dubbed CIIP (ciip.accc.ca), is funded by Ottawa and delivered by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. It includes a day-long group workshop in the home country, divided by profession or province of destination, followed by 90 minutes of one-on-one counselling. Since its January inception, 1,000 skilled immigrants have voluntarily participated to learn about Canadian labour market trends, skills in demand in various regions, licensing procedures, and how to hook up with career bridging programs. Mariano's husband, Nathaniel, 40, says the couple was initially overwhelmed by all the information on the Internet. "People can give you an encyclopedia but you won't know what to do with it. You don't know what you don't know," says Nathaniel, an engineer who also attended the Manila workshop. "The people at the office explained to us the reality in Canada. It might make you think twice before coming, but they helped us come up with a plan," adds the father of two, whose immigration took five years to process. "Before that, we had not had a plan." Although an evaluation downgraded his degree from the Technological Institute of the Philippines to the level of a college diploma, Nathaniel, who is still job-hunting, says the workshop has opened up new options and given him hope. Josie Di Zio of COSTI, the lead Ontario settlement agency involved in the project, says the workshops may be brief but they're a good start. "We can now do the referrals as early as possible, so people can have a good, realistic understanding of their decision, and there won't be any surprises when they get here," explains Di Zio, whose organization has received 150 inquiries to date. When Wu Shao-bing, a teacher, and her husband, Jiang Zhao-hui, an IT specialist, took a trip from Shenzhen to the program's Hong Kong office in January, the quality of their spoken English was raised. That brought a referral to a Mississauga settlement agency for an English course, which they began soon after they arrived in May. "There is so much information out there and you don't know what is legitimate, what's not," the 30-year-old woman said in Cantonese. "But these people represent Canada. The counselling is free and you don't have to worry about being misinformed or scammed." CIIP is also trying to bring national employers on board to connect newcomers with fellow professionals, do online mentoring and, ideally, hook them up with job opportunities. "This fits well with our corporate values: diversity for growth and innovation," says Jenny Poulos, recruitment director at the Royal Bank of Canada, one of a handful of employers participating. "Through the project, we can help newcomers build their awareness of job opportunities, as well as the banking services and products out there, prior to their landing." Last month, Poulos boasts, one of the bank's Vancouver branches hired a newcomer from China, thanks to the CIIP network.