Obama's border tax plan

What is he thinking? Today President Obama of the U.S. floated a plan to impose a $5.50 fee for Canadians entering the U.S. by commercial carrier.

Come on, Mr. President: thanks to the wonders of Homeland Security, tourism is just starting to rebound - and you can thank the weak U.S. dollar for that too. But now you want to tax most of the 18-million visitors from the north because they want to come here and spend their money?

Taxing visitors from foreign countries for the privilege of entering your country is a lousy way to raise revenue. And besides, why not do what most clever politicians would do and simply increase the fee to foreign carriers landing at U.S. destinations? Or increase federal port taxes? Then you'd get your money but it would be transparent to the consumer - they'd just pay a higher airfare, or bus ticket.

Remember, every border tax dollar is one less dollar spent in the U.S. on good and services that drive the economy. The tax you impose on two Canadians, if spent at a local shop, equal an hour's wage for an employee. We could use JOBS in the U.S., right?

Obama should think about PAYING Canadians to come shop in the U.S. instead of taxing them.

The tough issues of family reunification

Ottawa has a balancing act. While immigration policy has to address a range of classes in need - refugee, family class, so-called "economic" immigrants: it certainly can't be all things to all people at all times.

The immigration ministry has reported that 2010 saw the immigration of 10% more individuals than was projected (280,000 in total), which is the highest total in 57 years. But in the year to come, there is a plan to reduce by 6% the number of family reunification immigrants (parents and grandparents of immigrants) entering Canada. That will mean current wait times, which can commonly reach five years, will certainly increase even more.

According to a report in The Star:

"Liberal MP Joe Volpe, a former immigration minister, questioned the Conservatives’ much trumpeted family-values platform.

“The Conservatives tell families to be responsible for their own child care when parents go to work, but the fact is new Canadians entering the workforce often rely on parents and grandparents for child care and help around the home. They are taking away a necessary support system,” Volpe said in a statement."


Read the entire article here

Making plans, making lists

With the change in our status, and the light at the end of the tunnel making itself finally seen, comes a change in activities. I have to start thinking about physically immigrating to Canada. The first steps in this process actually started over a year ago. I made an inventory of all my possessions. This took about four days. Mind you, I didn't note every single thing (like the title of every book, CD or DVD), but I did summarize all the things I have, since all of them might follow me to Canada.

There are two Customs documents that you need to have ready when you land. One is called a Form B4 (Personal Effects Accounting Document), and the other is a Form B4a (commonly known as the "Goods to Follow" document). These forms are used to tell Customs Canada what you are and will be bringing into the country as you settle. The B4 is for what you bring with you when you land as an immigrant, while the B4a is for items that come later (for instance, if you have them shipped).

Not everything on my list is coming with me. In fact, I actually think very little of my US life will follow me to Canada. We won't have a lot of room, and my Love has the core household things pretty well covered. Clothes, some art, books, music, movies, personal archives, tools of my trades...those are the things I will settle with. The rest of what I have will either be given away or sold. It's odd to think of having an estate sale for a life that isn't half over yet - but that's in essence what will probably happen.

For now though, the material of this life is summarized on a list.

Learning about Toronto from Christopher Hume

If you are interested in the built environment and in history too, then there's a journalist working for the Toronto Star that you should really check out. His name is Christopher Hume and he is the architecture critic. Lately, The Star has featured Hume in a series of short videos where he comments on developments in the city's landscape: new buildings, transportation, parks, etc. His reporting is both entertaining and insightful. Unlike video journalists in the U.S. he actually knows his subject and shares his insights. Here's a link to a number of his video reports. If you want to learn more about the city that I love, there's no better guide.

Christopher Hume at The Toronto Star online

Canada gets bullied on border policy

Is Stephen Harper a bully? He sure acts like one. I don't mean about how he keeps all his ministers from speaking to the press, or even having a thought of their own. I don't even mean in the brinkmanship he utilizes to expose the weakness of the opposition parties. What I mean is that, just like a classic bully, when a bigger bully shows up - he puts his tail between his legs.

The bigger bully is of course the United States. And the U.S. is telling Harper that they need to align their border protection policies with Big Brother. That means sharing information about Canadian citizens and permanent residents with the U.S. Homeland Security. It means Canadian citizens in U.S. databases. And while Harper and Obama want to ease the path for trade and business, for you and I it means you can expect increased scrutiny and aggression when it comes to the no-man's land that is the border.

Harper said it's in his country's interest to work with the U.S. on securing their shared border and ensuring that people and goods can move across it as safely and openly as possible. "That is what we're trying to achieve here," he said. But Harper has shown little compassion for the plight of ordinary Canadians in his five years as minority Prime Minister.

And you can bet if a bully can get someone else to take the punch, he's going to let them. That means you and I. Let your MP know that you expect them to protect your privacy and Canadian sovereignty when it comes to dealing with the U.S. Believe me - the U.S. isn't going to do it for you - and neither is Harper.

The beginning of the end?

My Love and I heard from the CIC today. What we heard moved us to tears.

The days in your life when things change are rarely dramatic within themselves. They are just another day: work, chores, errands, meals. I was tending to my day when the phone call came and everything changed. Wonderfully changed.

We were informed that CIC has approved our (my) Permanent Residence application. After a couple routine (hopefully) final steps, we can expect that I will be a landed immigrant, reunited with my Love in Toronto! Those of you following this blog know how long we have waited for this day.

So starts what we hope will be the beginning of the end of a long immigration process. So starts what we hope will be the adventure of leaving the U.S. and relocating in Canada. We are excited and overjoyed with the possibilities.

I'm also excited to migrate this blog away from issues of the immigration process and onto the logistics of moving to and getting settled in Canada.

I hope you will remain with me as we start this new adventure. God willing, this is the beginning of the end. We won't be ending our prayers until I am standing on Canadian ground; until I am on the other side of that silver door at Pearson. But we have great faith, and God has been faithful to our prayers.

I'll continue to pray for all of you who are involved in this process, and wondering if you will be able to make it through. Have faith, have patience, believe.

Please pray for my love and I that the final steps go smoothly and quickly.

Thank you all for your support.

Settlement groups mount campaign to restore funding - thestar.com

33 Ontario organizations delivering language, employment and integration programs to immigrants will lose all of their funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada by April 1. These organizations currently serve over 10,000 new Canadians. A total of $22 million in cuts is being made to settlement programs within Toronto this year.

“The Conservative funding cuts are an attack on the economic and social success of the Toronto area that depends on our ability to integrate new Canadians,” said Liberal MP Gerard Kennedy.

Read the entire article:
Settlement groups mount campaign to restore funding - thestar.com

Sign the online petition

Learning to skate

If you're a new Canadian and you want to understand a little more about your new country, one thing you can learn is to remain upright on two narrow blades of steel while on ice - that is, you can learn to skate.

Toronto has 50(!) outdoor skating rinks that are open from early December until March (weather permitting, of course). The city coordinates instructional and drop-in programs for Learning to Skate, Hockey Skills, Figure Skating, Leisure Skating, Hockey & Shinny (informal hockey games).

Some of Toronto's skating venues are well known - like Nathan Phillips Square. Others, like the brand new Sam Smith Ice Trail are the sort of inspired public works that other cities only wish they had.

Find all the skating resources the City has to offer and the Parks, Forestry and Recreation web site.

Baby, it's cold outside - so get out and skate!

A New Year's reso-matum

I don't make a lot of New Year's resolutions. Maybe it's because I know myself well enough to know in general, I'm not going to keep them. Something has been on my mind however, about this blog and the now 5-years that I've been writing it. And that is - something has to change. So my resolution for this year is actually more of an ultimatum to myself...let's call it a "reso-matum":

If our application is not resolved by the end of 2011, I will end this blog. If our application is successful, then I will migrate this blog's subject matter to cover issues associated with living and working in Canada, and the quest for citizenship.

Fair enough? Consider it reso-mated.

One more case of an inconsistent CIC

There are seasons here where I feel like a watchdog; barking for attention to the news that doesn't make the headlines, because it only appears to impact one or two people directly. But my readers know that who I'm watching are those who's policies, decisions and behaviours directly impact you and I - because the ones I watch for a responsible for all aspects of immigration and citizenship in Canada.

So here's another minor situation: A woman in Halifax, in Canada on a visitor's permit, has applied to become a Permanent Resident in order to live in Canada with her husband. Normally, the CIC should simply extend her permit each six months until a decision is made on her application. But the woman has now been told by the CIC that "...she may not have time to file another visitor extension prior to Feb. 1." Meaning she'll have to leave the country. And we know from past stories that once you are outside, but with an application in process, the CIC can be reluctant to let you in, their logic being that if you don't get approved, you'll stay illegally.

Let's hope the CIC does the right thing and extends this woman's visitor's permit. Haven't we all had enough of this Ministry's tactics?

Read the story here from the Truro Daily News in Nova Scotia.