Let non-citizen immigrants vote?

TheStar.com - Let immigrants vote: Miller

This is the face of the man who wants 200,000 landed immigrants to have the right to vote even if they are not citizens.

This is interesting to me based on what I was just writing the other day. Remember the 2% of immigrants that become citizens? Miller doesn't want to do anything to help or encourage that - he just wants their votes.

"We allow people who don't live in Toronto to vote, simply because they own property here," Miller told the Toronto Star's editorial board yesterday. "And if we ask ourselves, `How have we let neighbourhoods where there are often high proportions of landed immigrants deteriorate?' one of the reasons is they haven't had a vote."

Isn't it one of the responsibilities of "good government" to watch out for those who are most vulnerable and for the disenfranchised? Perhaps letting that responsinility lag is another reason? Miller goes on to state that these residents haven't had a say in decisions that affect them. Well...who's fault is that? And if you believe what you say, then regardless of whether you can turn them into voters, what are you going to do about it?

I'm not sure if I'm so hot on this idea. I think voting is and should be a right of citizenship. I think more needs to be done to encourage full and active citizenship, rather than seek to bypass it.

When I come to Canada, it's to become a citizen and a proud Canadian. Lord, hear my prayer.

Population hike and citizenship - disconnected numbers

CTV.ca Immigrants boost Canada's population hike: report

Did you know that 2/3 of Canada's population growth is fueled by immigration? That's the latest news from Stats Canada. Comparatively, less than 1/3 of growth in the US is accountable to immigration.

I find it interesting that in the same year that Canada welcomed an additional 254,400 new immgrants, that only 4,635 of the 200,000+ that were welcomed into the country three years ago (the basic residency requirement to become a citizen) became citizens (see the Government of Canada's press release).

That's a 2% conversion rate of immigrants to citizens. Ever wonder why so few immigrants are becomming citizens? What is the disincentive? It seems to me that a logical goal for the government would be to convert these immigrants into citizens and taxpayers. This conversion rate is a poor reflection on the CIC's ability to fully integrate immigrants into Canada.

I realize that many new immigrants are temporary residents, but the majority are family class, permanent resident immigrants coming to make a life in this beautiful country. Why is it they are not taking the ultimate step in itegration and becoming citizens?

What do you think is going on?

The YouTube phenom and Toronto

Since the demise of the Panorama webcam at toronto.com, I've been searching for other cams in the Toronto area to make up for the lack of visual connection with the city I am separated from. Then it came to me: YouTube! I did a quick search for the keywords, "Downtown Toronto," and here are the results I got - 346 videos posted by people like you and I to explore.

Most of the videos I've sampled so far are short, shot by tourists, and rough. But a few videos are really nice - ones where the videographer simply stood on a street corner and looked around; no commentary and simply the sounds of the city.

If you're homesick for T-dot, follow the link above and maybe it'll help you feel a little better.

PS. For those of you who are curious, I am eeking still glacially forward in my move towards applying in the Skilled Worker class. It's a matter of savings right now and work is slow...I'm remaining faithful though, and hope still springs to life where doubt tries to plant a seed.

How I spent my Summer vacation

Ok - I think I'm back. Fall is officially here and that means that (once the weather really turns) there'll be plenty of excuse to be inside on this machine, seeking out and commenting on immigration issues and keeping you up to date with my glacial struggle (emotional and financial) to make a new life in Canada.

So how did I spend the Summer? Well, I travelled a bit, went camping, rode motorcycles, performed in a band at a handful of shows, did lots of physical labor and generally enjoyed a dry and warm season. I leave the summer feeling much more fit than I did entering it, and now I'm looking forward to Fall.

The emerging Canadian in me is looking forward to hockey season, and new episodes of The Mercer Report, 22 Minutes and Air Farce. Makes the typical bleak Fall and Winter evenings a little easier to bear.

Plus I picked up a gig that may help me significantly toward my financial goals required to get back in line.

So thank you, Summer of 2006 - you were a hoot.

New BnL release - get it today!

Ok - I haven't just had fun here for a bit, so let's lighten the mood! Barenaked Ladies have a new release and it's great. Follow the link below to check it out!

BnL were introduced to me by my ex and while I had been aware of them before, I didn't really get into them until the stories they sang connected with experiences in my own life. Now I can't hear them and not see some of the landscapes and heartscapes of Toronto that have become my own. This latest release is well worth some of your money!

9/11 - the immigration legacy

It's been five years since that sad day that America was attacked. Five years since the towers fell in New York and the Pentagon was punctured; since flight 93 went down. Five years since this nation and many other Western nations began to live in fear.

While many in the press are summarizing 9/11 from the point of view of loss of freedom vs. security issues; or they are looking at the impact on health to the emergency responders at ground zero in NY; there is one impact I don't want to go unmentioned, and so tonight I decided it was a good time to mention it.

9/11 has made immigration more difficult than ever to both the US and Canada. It has taken away manpower and budgets that used to go to process cases. It has bred an atmosphere of mistrust in new immigrants. It has led to calls to close borders. It has empowered racist tendencies. There are calls everywhere for reductions in immigrants allowed in and a tightening of requirements that would even allow for application in the first place.

The dream of a free and open North America has been replaced with the dream of a big wall on our northern and southern borders.

9/11 has impacted all of us, but living in fear of the world through a bias against immigration can only harm us in the long run. Answering the call to secure our borders and biometricize the world in order to allow it access to us will lead to our econmoic and political undoing. Business is conducted where it is free to be so and business WILL migrate to those markets. In the arena of World Politics, our cries of freedom and liberty for all will be reduced to hollow rhetoric when viewed against our actions.

The greatest damage done on 9/11 was the freeing of the forces of fear. It has already done far worse to this nation than anything that happened five years ago.

Losing touch Part II

When I was in the thick of the immigration process with my ex, I wrote about losing touch with my US identity. I was so preparing for my life in Canada, that my life and what was going on here in my home in the US had fallen off the table. I wanted to be ready, to be culturally prepared as I could for the day I began to make my life with her in Toronto.

I wanted to be able to slip in without the media break-in period. So I used the web to keep up on the news on Pulse and CTV; I watched the CBC at 10pm (luckily, being close to Vancouver, it comes on cable); Rick Mercer on Tuesdays, Air Farce and 22 Minutes on Fridays...and of course...Hockey Night on Saturdays (which I know will remain a ritual, no matter what).

I kept up on my pop music at MUCH...I listened for Canadian artists and didn't hesitate to buy a disk I thought I might like. With the help of my ex, I learned that Jarvis Church (2002's "Shake it off" is a MUST) was really Gerald Eaton and discovered the Philospher Kings, Nelly Furtado, Sum 41, Remey Shand, and even Stompin' Tom.

I read books of humour, culture and history...The Star was (is) my homepage here on the web...

Now I find as my near term hopes of immigrating are fading, that I am losing touch with Canada too...I'm not as active in keeping current...maybe it's the Summer and how busy I have been...maybe it's a reflection of some current feeling of defeat and a little loss of hope?

Time will tell...

The doldrums

I am inert. My progress, glacial. My dreams, adrift. I am in fact, no closer now than I was months ago at making new application to immigrate to Canada. I've all but given up on reconciliation with my love, my ex...When we spoke recently about even trying again, her response was, "what? Another year...two? Do you expect I'm just going to wait and see how it turns out?" That pretty much counts "us" out of the process and counts me, and only me, in.

So, I slowly have to save to meet the requirements, and only when that is done, can I prepare to submit again. My Canadian future is mine alone again. I don't know if I'll mention my ex again in this blog.

I know my entries of late have been sporadic - mainly because I am simply trying to survive and keeping current with news and issues on the immigration front has fallen off a bit in urgency since I feel the real action is still a ways off.

As I get back on top of things and the Summer finally ends, I'm sure to get back to my commentary. As I slowly leave this love truely behind, I'm sure I'll also find my courage and optimism again as well.

Thanks for hanging in there with me! Watch for the Fall schedule to be chock-full of notes and news!

Checking in - process issues

Hi to everyone. Yes - I've been away, doing some travelling with my love and even back to discussing the possibilites of restarting our immigration process - as frustrating as it might be. In our case, the prospect of getting back in line for a PRP is one filled with doubt and dread. She's still not sure she can do it. Add to that the fact that neither one of us is in a place financially to afford it right now, and it seems like I'll be blogging about this, still, for a time to come...Hope your summer os going well. When the weather changes, I'll get back to more regular postings again. What are you doing in front of your computer now anyhow?!

Live Toronto web cam is history

Once upon a time, there was a webcam atop the building that houses the Panorama restaurant on Bay Street, north of College. I loved and used the camera very often to get a feel for what was happening, at the very least weather-wise, in T-dot.

A few months ago, I noticed the cam, which was accessible through the toronto.com website, was mis-aligned - no longer pointing where it should. Then I noticed the camera had gone offline completely. No explaination at either the toronto.com or Panorama websites as to what has happened to it.

I miss it. if you do too, write the good folks at toronto.com and let them know.