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| Subject: G&M immigration article |
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This should be of interest to prospective immigrants.....
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/auditor-general-sounds-alarm-on-immigration-policy/article1349837/
Government can´t explain why it´s allowing more foreign workers in, nor is it keeping them safe once they arrive, report says
Bill Curry
Ottawa — The Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009 2:08PM EST Last updated on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009 2:48PM EST
They keep Alberta´s oil sands pumping, build up Vancouver for the Olympics and care for the children of working parents across the country, but the Auditor-General warns that Ottawa can´t explain why it is allowing more temporary, low-skilled, foreign workers into Canada – nor is it keeping these people safe.
In an extensive assessment of the state of Canada´s immigration system, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser reports major shifts are taking place in the type of immigrants coming to Canada.
She also said the temporary worker program is growing in spite of internal concerns of fraud and abuse. Some Canadian employers are using the program to bring in their relatives, she told reporters.
“It looks a little suspicious on the face of it,” citing a scenario in which a small business with revenues of $20,000 could sponsor an employee – who is also a relative – at a $40,000 salary.
The report notes that Canadian immigration is moving away from a federal system in which points are awarded to applicants with high-level skills. Instead, Ottawa is handing over more responsibility for immigration to the provinces with little knowledge of who the provinces are bringing in.
The Auditor-General also reviewed the impact of controversial new powers awarded to Canada´s immigration minister that were included and passed as part of the Conservative government´s 2008 budget bill.
“We found that the Department [of Citizenship and Immigration] has made a number of key decisions in recent years without properly assessing their costs and benefits, potential risks, and likely impact on programs,” Ms. Fraser told reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “Some of these decisions have caused a significant shift in the types of foreign workers being admitted permanently to Canada. There is little evidence that this shift is part of any well-defined strategy to best meet the needs of the Canadian labour market.”
From 2002 to 2008, the number of temporary work permit applications received abroad rose to 204,783, an increase of 124 per cent.
Chapter 2: Selecting Foreign Workers Under the Immigration Program
Ms. Fraser´s report warns that no reviews are taking place to ensure temporary work permits are issued for jobs that actually exist, leaving the foreign workers vulnerable to abuse and fraud.
The legislative change gave the minister of immigration broad powers to define the type of immigrants who would be approved and to allow those coveted applicants to jump to the front of the queue.
In her first use of these new powers, a November, 2008, order by then-Immigration Minister Diane Finley dropped the list of eligible occupations from 351 to 38. However many applicants weren´t aware of this change and the department must now issue about 45,000 refunds to people all around the world.
The auditor´s call for a more thorough and clear federal immigration policy comes as current Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is saying he is on the verge of releasing just that. Mr. Kenney has said his department is preparing major initiatives that will better define Canada´s plans and tackle fraud in the system.
The Auditor-General´s report warns the early evidence shows the Conservative government´s 2008 change is not having the desired effect of reducing applications to help Canada address its large backlog of requests.
Further, Ms. Fraser concludes that the minister´s changes appear to have been made without proper study or rationale.
“[The immigration department] could not show us how it settled on reducing the number of admissible occupations as a criterion for eligibility, or any analysis of the extent to which this criterion would help reduce the number of new applications,” states the audit report. “Nor did it provide us with any analysis of its associated risks and its potential impact on the delivery of the program.”
The changes were supposed to reduce the backlog. The Auditor-General warned in a 1999 report that the backlog of immigration applications by skilled workers and their families stood at 330,000 people. As of Dec. 31, 2008, there were more than 620,000 people in this category and the average processing time was 63 months.
This backlog is a key factor in explaining why employers are increasingly turning to the low-skilled temporary worker program and the provincial nominee program to fill positions more quickly.
While overall Canadian immigration levels have remained steady over the past decade, clear changes have developed in terms of how people are immigrating under the “economic class” criteria. Minimum target levels for the Federal Skilled Worker category – which is based on a points system – dropped 31 per cent between 2004 and 2009. The difference has been made up by an increase of almost 471 per cent in the target for the Provincial Nominee Program.
The report notes that the Provincial Nominee Program could soon become the largest source of economic immigrants in Canada, while the target level for the Federal Skilled Worker category could be as low as 18,000 in 2012, down from a minimum target level of 68,200 in 2009.
The report notes that Ottawa currently does not impose any minimum standards on workers selected by the provinces and calls for these programs to be reviewed.
Provincial auditors-general in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have all warned that the program is failing to track whether workers brought in by a province actually stay in that province.
[03-11-2009,17:23]
[**.252.115.196]
wannabecanadian |
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(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
interesting. Sheila Fraser is a very smart lady. 2002-2008 captures 2 governments (both liberal and conservative) so there is no one getting away with much here.
Some comments can be explained (45,000 folks who applied under old rules and did not read), others can´t.
I also read today that they are going to constrain the refugee program.
Interesting times ahead.
[03-11-2009,17:40]
[***.5.54.139]
Sharon |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
I also don´t understand why Canada does not restrict the immigration from certain countries, like what the United States is doing. For example, in the green card lottery program that brings around 60K immigrants to the US annually, some countries are banned to participate such as China and India. This makes sense. The US doesn´t want to flood the country (to reach the quota of immigrants) from one or few countries only. This is very imporatnt to maintain the diversity in the country.
Similarly, Chinese now are flooding Canada. If you walk in the streets of Vancouver, for instance, you would have the impression that you are in China or its neighbor Asian countries. This has lead to a large disturbance in the cultural diversity of Vancouver and BC in general. I think Canada has to also to take actions (similar to the US) to stop this Chinese/Asian flood. Not only Canada would maintain the diversity but also lower the number of immigrants to reach the target stated in the article above as Chinese occupy a signficant part of these "waves" of immigrants.
I am not racist but this is required to keep a "fair" immigration system. One of the solutions to make a yearly "quota" for each global region, similar to the quota system in the US . Because the Chinese, Paki and Indians are the majoirty of the foreigners in the US (and Canada as well), these countries are banned. At the same time, the quotas are distributed over the world based on the percentage of the people from these regions living in the US. Quotas for countries with minorities are given larger quotas and so on. This system can be applied, at least for the low- skilled categories, in Canada to maintain the fairness and culturl diversity.
The bottomline, there are many big "holes" in Canadian immigration system. What I mentioned above is just one of them. I am afraid that immigration to Canada is meant just for economical reasons..just to get money (by draining the immigrants). This explains why all these "holes" are overlooked over years.
[03-11-2009,22:38]
[**.80.235.13]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
interesting how Canada has a far larger immigration program (250,000 compared to 60K) with 1/10th the population.
People tend to move where they think they will feel comfortable. Chinese live in the lower mainland for a multitude of reasons... even though they do not make up the majority of the annual immigration quota. Proximity to the old country is part of it, ease of assimilation is another. Where else can you go live and not need to learn a new language! South Asians are not much different. Cross the river and you will find out.
Some would say the same about immigrants from Muslim countries. Is it a flood? hardly.
You know what, we can all complain about something.
[03-11-2009,23:46]
[***.5.54.139]
Sharon |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
You are right Sharon. I think the main factor in this "Asian flood" to BC is the geographical proximity of BC to China, Japan and south Asia.
It is not a complaint. It is just an observation. The thoughts about maintaining the cultural diversity crossed my mind when I moved to Vancouver to find myself struggling to find a non-Asian restuarant!!. I remembered what the Americans always say about trying not to dominate the country with people of one origin and therefore they devised the "qouta system" for global regions, banning some countries and opening wide doors for others.
[04-11-2009,02:17]
[**.80.235.13]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
Actually Europeans are the majority in BC. Chinese are the second dominant ehnic group.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_British_Columbia#Ethnicity
[04-11-2009,02:26]
[**.80.235.13]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
I have lived in Vancouver all my life. I have lots of places I can go that are not Asian but who cooks seafood better than an Asian cook?
You know, the British are lousy cooks - white sauce... brown sauce. Bring on the immigrants!
[04-11-2009,02:47]
[***.5.54.139]
Sharon |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
Wannabee
Yesterday Walrus Magazine contacted me and they are doing an opposite article to the slant that Bill Curry made on his article. They want to focus on the ridiculous NOC 38 list that there is really only 8 -10 occupations that potential immigrants even have a chance of being selected from. They think the NOC 38 list is a joke because most need to be certified to work in a particular province based on that occupation. A registered Nurse from Senegal will never be approved due to the regulators in each province and the Nurses educational background.
Walrus sees the fact that people on Foreign Worker Permits FWP in low skilled occupations like selecting the sex of baby chicks will never be selected under CEC class. Why not?
Plus why are they forcing a Portuguese Construction companies who have a FWP Bricklayer to go out and find a new Foreign Bricklayer after four years on a FWP just because there is no Canadian who wants to lay bricks in the humid summer or the freezing winter. How many times have we seen here the posting how long to obtain a LMO?
The government should try harder to be part of the solution instead of change for change sake. LICC have been victims for years and now too many are Prostitutes in the GTA to earn more income. Is it wrong? Is it right? I would make more money shining shoes.
The government came out with a press release stating under the NEW system most applicants are approved in 4-6 months. That is because there is so few applicants under NOC 38.
We can and should do better.
Roy
www.cvimmigration.com
[04-11-2009,06:32]
[**.55.218.11]
Roy |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
What strikes me most interesting is that immigration is yet another example of the federal government abdicating their responsibility to the provinces. Immigration of all things shouldn´t be a provincial concern. No immigrant moves to Canada to become an "Islander" or an "Albertan"; they come here to become a "Canadian". Does it surprise anyone that someone denied their opportunity to apply for federal immigration would take advantage of a provincial opportunity only to later ditch that province for the more desirable Ontario or BC?
[04-11-2009,07:57]
[**.252.115.196]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: G&M immigration article)
Quebec has run a separate immigration stream for years. Because each provinces economy is so different, I think there is room for the provinces to fast track the skills they specifically need. In BC, it makes no sense to live under an immigration policy designed for the needs of Ontario or Newfoundland and vise versa. Not only that, so many jobs are regulated provincially, that the province should take responsibility for only accepting people they intend to to employ.
I think there is room for both. In uncertain times, I honestly believe we should take more responsiblity to accept only those we are prepared to put to work. Province and job matching is the best way to do it - in my personal opinion.
[04-11-2009,15:26]
[***.20.74.169]
Sharon |
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