Huffington Post - Canada: A Nation of Foreign Terrorists According to Bill C-43

Irwin Cotler writes:

Simply put, bill C-43 is seriously flawed in several particulars. First, it grants the Minister of Immigration new and ambiguous powers to bar people from entry to Canada for a period of three years on the grounds of "public policy." This reform is likely to lead to further politicization of our immigration system. Second, the new measures for faster deportation of residents will invite Charter challenges, particularly as the bill lowers the sentence for which a person can be deported from a two year sentence to six months -- thus shifting the focus of deportation away from serious criminality towards petty crimes.

Read the article here

Far from the home I love

I was watching "Fiddler On The Roof" the other day - one of my favourite musicals. It's directed by Canadian Norman Jewison.

There is a scene in it when the daughter, Hodel (played by Michele Marsh), and Tevye (played by Topol) are sitting at a lonely train stop, and Hodel is explaining to her father why she is leaving home to follow here love to Siberia, where he is serving a sentence for sedition.

In the song she sings, "Far from the home I love", I heard many an immigrant's story, who, like myself, left my home to follow the one I love. Here are the lyrics for you. Like the rest of the story, it's as beautiful as it is sad.

How can I hope to make you understand
Why I do, what I do,
Why I must travel to a distant land
Far from the home I love?

Once I was happily content to be
As I was, where I was
Close to the people who are close to me
Here in the home I love...

Who could see that a man would come
Who would change the shapes of my dreams?
Helpless, now, I stand with him
Watching older dreams grow dim.

Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him,
Closing my heart to every hope but his, 
Leaving the home I love.

There were my heart has settled long ago
I must go, I must go.
Who could imagine I'd be wand'ring so
Far from the home I love?

Yet, there with my love, I'm home.

Back in the USSA

I'm back in the U.S. for a few weeks visiting family and keeping busy with the ongoing move to Toronto. Seems like I'm moving a suitcase at a time - or 50-pounds at a time. I pretty much know that there's not a lot left in Seattle that I need to have with me in Toronto. If you can live without something for a year, you pretty much don't "need" it. There are still a few things I want to have with me though. Some of those items will make it home when I fly back in a couple weeks.

One shift is very evident this time around. I feel like I've left "home" (Toronto), and that I'm visiting Seattle. Now you may think, how can I feel that way considering Toronto has only been my home for a year and Seattle was my home the whole rest of my life, but it is so true that "home is where the heart is". My heart is in Canada and Toronto.

The nonsense of the U.S. election season immediately got on my nerves. Being reminded of the excess of it just makes me mad on behalf of the people who live here. The press reported that the Obama campaign raised over $180 million in the month of July alone for his campaign.

As a point of reference, under Canadian law, political parties are only allowed to spend $21 million on advertising for their entire campaign.

And while issues of same sex marriage rights are debated, gas prices soar above $4.00/gallon. It's just business as usual: nothing getting done for the people. It's frustrating to be back in a country that so poorly serves the interests of its population.

I know - Canada is not perfect. Just look at Harper's omnibus approach to legislation and you can see that. But Canadian politicians recognize they can't ignore the needs of their people for long. If they do, they not only can lose their jobs - they can lose their entire party. Just ask the Liberals about that one.

So I have another couple of weeks here, then I'm back home. I miss Seattle when I'm away. I miss friends and family, of course. But miss the U.S.?

Not so much. 

Bill C-43: another tactic to keep permanent residents in their place

I believe in the best qualities of man. For instance - I don't believe that, in general someone would take the time and effort and expense to immigrate to Canada because they wanted to come to break the law here.

But the Tory's see things a little differently. Under proposed legislation (Bill C-43), if you are a permanent resident who gets in trouble with the law, you could lose your status and be kicked out of the country with no ability to appeal if the sentance for your crime is over 6-months in length. For a little context here, the crime of shoplifting a candy bar can carry a six-month sentance.

But that's not all Bill C-43 would do, according to The Star: "Not only would the new regulation punish those who ran afoul of the law, it would go after permanent residents found to have misrepresented themselves when they applied for immigration, Jackman said.

"An honest omission on a person’s employment history or incorrect dates of certain events written down on an immigration application could come back to haunt the immigrant years later.

Current law allows convicted immigrants to lose their immigrant status and be banned from re-entering Canada for two years. The new law would prohibit readmission for five years."

Read the article here

      

The Star - Ontario immigration strategy calls for more power to pick newcomers

Ontario needs to attract at least 135,000 newcomers a year, raise the ratio of skilled workers and take charge of immigrant selection to keep its economic engine running beyond 2014, says a government-appointed panel.

The findings of the expert panel will be presented to provincial Immigration Minister Charles Sousa on Wednesday, seven months after it was appointed to tackle declining immigration to the province, skill shortages and the falling economic performance of newcomers.

Read the article here

Kenney has his say - Canada has not become ugly and intolerant

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney wrote a response to an article in the UK's Guardian newspaper yesterday that is well worth reading; if only to understand the Tory take on basic immigration mathematics. While I rarely agree with Kenney on many fronts, I appreciate his stepping up to defend Canada from an overly, and somewhat inaccurate critique.

Read the article, "Maple leaf ragged: what ails Canada?"

Read Minister Kenney's response here 

"Pinkwashing"?

CTV reports:
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is being accused of 'pinkwashing' after thousands of Canadians received an unsolicited email lauding the government's policy on gay and lesbian refugees.

Read more 

News Release — Revised Federal Skilled Worker Program Unveiled

Ottawa, August 17, 2012 — Proposed regulatory changes announced today to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will allow Canada to better select skilled workers who can “hit the ground running” upon arrival.

“The Federal Skilled Worker Program is Canada’s largest economic immigration program,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “The changes we are making to update the selection criteria are based on a large body of data and evidence we've accumulated over the years showing what skills and qualifications are most likely to lead to success for skilled immigrants.”

Following an extensive program evaluation, stakeholder and public consultations, as well as other research, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is proposing the following changes to the FSWP:

• Making language the most important selection factor by establishing new minimum official language thresholds and increasing points for language; 
• Increasing the emphasis on younger immigrants, who are more likely to acquire valuable Canadian experience and remain in the workforce longer; 
• Increasing points for Canadian work experience and reducing points for foreign work experience; 
• Simplifying the arranged employment process to prevent fraud and abuse yet enable employers to staff positions quickly; 
• Awarding points for spousal language ability and Canadian experience.

Another proposed change is the introduction of the Educational Credential Assessment – a mandatory requirement that FSWP applicants have their education abroad assessed against Canadian education standards by designated organizations. CIC will then award points according to how an applicant’s foreign educational credential compares to a completed educational credential in Canada. It does not necessarily guarantee that they would become licensed to practice in a regulated occupation.

“This is an important step we are taking to address the problem of immigrants arriving and not being able to work in their field,” stated Minister Kenney. “This new requirement will help potential newcomers make informed choices about immigration and Canadian career paths.”

CIC will be issuing a Call for Service Proposals on August 20, 2012, inviting submissions from organizations with expertise in foreign credential assessment to conduct the reviews. The deadline for submissions is September 21, 2012. For more information, please visit CIC’s International Qualifications Network website.

The full text of the proposed FSWP regulatory changes is now available online in the Canada Gazette. They also include improvements to the Canadian Experience Class and the creation of a new Federal Skilled Trades Program. The Department welcomes input from stakeholders and interested parties.

Final publication is scheduled for late 2012 and the new FSWP points grid will likely take effect in January 2013. While there is currently a pause on new applications (except for FSWP candidates with a qualifying offer of arranged employment or those applying under the PhD stream), CIC expects to begin accepting applications again early next year.

These changes have been announced by Minister Kenney in the past year.

Kenney can't stop tinkering with economic immigration

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney can't stop tinkering with economic immigration programs. On September 11, he announced yet another class of immigration he wants to add to his complicated bag of tricks. This time, the proposal is called the "Startup Visa" and it is aimed at luring venture capitalists in Canada to recruit talent from countries like the U.S. to start their firms in Canada. Venture investment funds would choose entrepreneurs in whom they would invest, and the government would try to clear them for entry into Canada within weeks.

Proof again that under the Harper Government and Minister's Kenney's leadership, immigration to Canada is going up for sale. His limited view of immigration as a purely internal economic facilitator is out of touch with the broad range of motivations immigrants choose Canada for in the first place, and of the overall impact immigrants have to the cultural, political and social fabric of our nation.

Like all Harper programs, they've announced it before they've figured it all out, and the devil is in details they have so far shown themselves unable to manage.

Read the National Post article here.

Citizenship fraud

It's not often that I agree with the Harper Government, but I have to applaud them for going after those who would try to gain status in Canada through fraudulent means. My love and I struggled for years, obeying the rules and procedures for us to gain my permanent residence status. If you want to cheat and not work within the system (even if it's working to change the system), I don't have a lot of compassion for you. I'll assume all 3,100 people who are currently under scrutiny for fraud in the citizenship process to be innocent until otherwise shown, but hats off to the government for sending a message that if you try and cheat your way into this wonderful country, you do so at your own risk.