Does the Conservative government really welcome Chinese immigrants?

Introduction
 
This week, the Immigration Minister issued a special news release announcing

"Welcoming record numbers from China in 2013"  As an Chinese immigration lawyer who has seen the systematic closing of immigration programs for Chinese persons since this government took over, I am appalled.  

In the news release the government stated that they were proud to have admitted over 34,000 Chinese citizens as permanent residents in the 2013.  That is 15% less than the number of Chinese citizens who were admitted in 2005 (40,000) before the Conservatives came into power, over 8 years ago!  This is despite the fact that Chinese students have more than doubled in Canada since then and Chinese citizens have better English skills and high skilled work experience than ever before. 

Reasons for Decrease

What are the reasons for the dramatic decrease?  Consider the following:

1. Skilled worker application process has all but closed for persons from overseas.  

• The limited 24 eligible occupations which did not require a Labour Market Opinion approval allowed only 300 applications for each category, many of the popular categories were filled up within weeks of the program opening.  
• All applicants also need to obtain a very high result in the English/French language exams (6.0 in IELTS for each Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening categories).  These are university level language requirements and even if a person has enough points otherwise to pass based on their work experience, education, etc., if they don't pass their language test, he/she would not qualify.  
• Even those who had qualified under the old system for the Skilled Worker Class whose applications were still in queue had their applications returned last year 

2.  Investor class and Entrepreneur class applications have been suspended and applications that were still in queue had their application returned this year.

3. Parental sponsorships were closed in the past 2 years to be opened this year for only 5000 applications based on very restrictive criteria.  This quota was filled in less than one month after the category opened in January.

4. The Conservatives have been considering language requirements for spousal sponsorships.  They tried to couch it in terms of protection of women - that in order to protect women, they needed to pass language tests in order to be qualified to be sponsored.  After much protest from experts and the public who heard wind of this, they have temporarily backed off from this ridiculous stance.


Screening Criteria

The fact is, the main criteria for persons to qualify for permanent residence in Canada is high skilled Canadian work experience and English ability.  If you don't have either, your ability to immigrate is severely limited.

Canadian Work Experience

Without a work permit to work in Canada, it is almost impossible for a Chinese person to qualify for permanent residence under an economic category (but for a limited number of Provincial Nominee Programs and 500 spots for PhD students). 

Canada allows citizens aged 18-35 of a number of countries to obtain work permits to work in Canada under the International Experience Class.  For the most part, these work permits are open which allows the holders to work anywhere they want in Canada.  The only criteria to obtaining these open work permits is that you have to be under 35 and a citizen of one of the listed countries.  The total amount of work permits issued under this category this year was over 68,000.  Citizens of the following countries have had the highest number of work permits issued to them under this category: France (14,000), Australia (11,500), Ireland (10,700), Japan (6500), and United Kingdom (5350)).  Canada allowed more people from each of these countries to come and work than the total amount of persons under the eligible occupations for the Skilled Worker class (5000).  With these work permits, citizens of these countries can work and qualify for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class after working in Canada in high skilled position for one year.  Noticeably, the PRC is NOT one of these countries.

Language Requirement

It is now mandatory for an applicant to pass an English exam in almost every Federal Economic Immigration category.  It is also a requirement to pass it in order to qualify for citizenship.  The Conservatives are even talking about requiring it for spousal sponsorship.

These language requirements have severely impacted persons from China from being able to immigrate and settle permanently in Canada.  In a recent study about the English language exams that is published on CIC's own website here, it was found that "Members of both East Asian (with the exception of Tagalog speakers) and Southeast Asian language categories appear to have been disadvantaged relative to other language groups."  More people from Asia fail the language exams than from any other region in the world and making the language exams a mandatory requirement for citizenship and permanent residence makes it much more difficult for people from Asia to immigrate and become citizens.  

Conclusion
 


The fact that the Minister posted an article specifically talking about Chinese people means that what they are doing to our community is getting noticed.  Many people in the Chinese community can see that it is getting significantly harder for Chinese persons to immigrate to Canada and to obtain citizenship.  It is time we said enough is enough.  We need to speak against this now!

 

The Measure of Success

How should we measure the success of an immigration program?

The measuring stick the Conservative government uses is earning potential. Essentially their theory is, immigrants of Group A earn more than immigrants of Group B, then we should only allow immigrants from Group A in.

But is this why we want to attract more immigrants to our country? Do we only want new immigrants and citizens who can earn a lot of money? I don't think so.

Here are some reasons why I think we need immigration (and why basing our immigration policies on earning potential just does not make sense):

1. Meeting labour market needs and shortages

As Canada's working population shrinks, the labour market needs more people to work in it. Although there will always be a need for workers with specialized skills not found in Canada, we have seen in recent years a dire need for workers in lower paying jobs. As university/college education becomes the standard for the new generations entering the labour force, the shortage in the manual labour market is reaching crisis levels in many industries.

The Conservative government has classified these occupations as being low-skilled and has now implemented a policy aimed at returning foreign workers in these occupations after 4 years of work in Canada. They have also made it impossible for "low-skilled" workers to immigrate to Canada under the Federal economic categories and have implemented artificial language requirements even for the selection criteria set by provinces.

Why did they do this? According to the Conservative government "low-skilled" workers won't be able to "integrate" as well into Canada. How do they come to this conclusion? Earning potential of course! Since low-skilled workers don't earn as much as high-skilled workers, we don't need them as much in Canada even though employers can't find Canadians who are willing to do these jobs. Anyone else see the absurdity in this reasoning?


2. Making our population younger

Canada's population is aging and unless we can bring in a younger labour force, our economy will slow down as the burden of the retired population becomes increasingly heavier, as it is in Europe where the population is much older than ours. This has to do with the number of people coming in, not how much they earn. In fact, younger people are more likely to come in with less work experience and thus earn lower salaries than their more senior counterparts. However, they have longer working years and can increase the birthrate in Canada.


3. Attracting talent

With the exception of the Aboriginal peoples, everyone in Canada is an immigrant or a descendant of a immigrant. The success of our country has been largely due to our ability to attract talented entrepreneurs, scientists, and professionals from other countries. Most of them did not have job offers before they came to Canada. In the first few years most of them struggled but they and/or their children eventually became leaders in their industry and in Canada.

Under our current system, people like Albert Einstein, Antoni Gaudi, and Steve Jobs would not qualify for permanent residence. Why? Because they didn't have job offers in Canada. The Conservatives state that people with job offers earn more than those without during their first few years in the country. As a result they conclude only people with job offers should be allowed to immigrate to Canada. This shortsightedness confounds reason.


4. Allowing us to reunite with family members

To most of us family is what we care for the most in the world. We cannot bear to be without our spouses and children for a few days. We feel a deep responsibility to care for our parents as they did for us.

We have a responsibility to care for new members of our Canadian community to allow them to reunite with their families. Do unto others as you would unto yourself. If you cannot bear to be without your spouse and children, don't force others to do so for an extended period of time. If you feel the responsibility to take care of your parents, don't force others to leave their parents thousands of miles away.

Yes, family members may make less money than skilled workers. But allowing them to immigrate gives us much more than money - that of knowing we have done the right thing as a community.


5. Allowing people who face persecution in their own countries sanctuary in Canada

Listen carefully when you hear Minister Kenney or any Conservative government members speak about the refugee system these days and you will hear them mention how "generous" the Canadian refugee system is. Their generosity spiel is usually paired with the announcement of how they are going to take away basic human rights of refugees in Canada. These have included mandatory detention and the inability to become a permanent resident and be reunited with their spouse and children for upwards of 7 to 8 years if they arrived in Canada as part of a designated group, denying them rights of appeal if they come from designated countries and denying basic medical treatment for such health issues as heart attacks and diabetes.

Minister Kenney and the Conservative government have it wrong - Canada does not offer sanctuary to refugees because of generosity. We do it because it is morally repugnant to send someone to serious persecution, torture, or death. If Canada enacts laws that effectively punishes refugees who come to Canada or not give them a fair chance to prove their claim, we stain ourselves with blood and tears of those who fall through the faulty system.


6. Contributing to the cultural diversity of Canada

When I walk through the streets of my Toronto neighbourhood, I hear over a dozen languages spoken, I can taste food from most corners of the earth, I can see people of all colours and backgrounds. When I think of this I smile because this is what I proudly call home.

Canada is not a country of English and French. We are people who came from everywhere around the world or we are the children of these people. In doing so, we have made a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world, one of the best countries in the world in terms of economy, influence and living conditions. We did this because we attracted the hardworking and brave of heart. We did this because we cared for each other. That should always be our measure for success.

What's a Skilled Worker to Do?

It used to be that if you had a post-secondary degree, skilled work experience, and a reasonable knowledge of English or French, that you could qualify to immigrate to Canada. In the past few years, however, the Federal government has dramatically shrunk the skilled-worker category. Einstein himself wouldn't qualify for permanent residence today.

So what's a skilled-worker to do? Well, here are some avenues to consider:

1. If you have the necessary work experience to fit into the 29 occupations that are still accepted for the skilled worker class, you could qualify if you apply fast. There's a quota of only 500 applications for each occupation this year and many of these are filling up rapidly.

2. Try to obtain a permanent high-skilled job offer in Canada. Even if you can't get a work permit for this job right away, if the business would offer you the job once you become a permanent resident, you may still qualify for arranged employment which would allow you to qualify.

3. If you have owned your own business and have over $300k in net worth, you may be able to qualify for one of the entrepreneur programs in some of the provinces in Canada under the PNP programs. If you have a net worth of $1.6 Million or more, you could qualify under the Investor program.

4. If you don't have that amount of net worth but you work in the arts or are a champion athlete, you could qualify under the self-employed category for artists and athletes.

5. If you are willing to work in a low-skilled job and have a job offer, you may qualify for permanent residence in certain provinces in certain sectors.

6. If none of the above applies to you or if you would like to come to Canada immediately, you should consider going back to school in Canada. Students who complete 1-2 year programs in Canada will in most cases have a clear path to obtaining permanent residence under a number of economic categories.

Canada no longer welcomes skilled workers with open doors but there are still windows of opportunity open to those who know where to find them. Just make sure you have a good blueprint before you begin.

The Cost-Benefit Analysis

On August 18, the federal government issued a new law banning foreign workers who have worked in Canada for 4 years from receiving another work permit for 4 years. This law was issued without a vote in Parliament because it was a change to the regulations.

The government has justified this law on the basis of a simplistic "Cost-benefit analysis". See http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2010/2010-08-18/pdf/g2-14417.pdf. In essence, here's what the government is saying: Temporary Foreign Workers bring in money because of their labour and the taxes that they pay. However, we don't want them to feel like they should be able to stay because we call them "temporary workers". So now, they really are going to be "temporary workers" because we're going to make sure they can't stay (especially the "low-skilled workers") by banning them from working in Canada after they've worked for 4 years.

This reflects an underlying ideological elitism that is disturbing to the core.

Whether or not we want workers to stay here permanently or temporarily should depend on:
1. Whether or not the workers want to remain in Canada on a permanent basis and become a member of our communities and our country;
2. Whether or not their current or potential employers need them to work for the long term; and
3. Whether or not their presence will add to the socio-economic fabric of Canada.

None of these factors justify limiting the time that workers can remain in Canada to work. It is not beneficial to the workers, the employers, or Canada to ban them from Canada after 4 years. The only reason for the government to do so would be to try to stop "low-skilled" workers from making Canada their home. Some cost-benefit analysis!

Wake Up Ontario!

If all goes according to the Conservative government's plan, the decision of who to immigrate to Canada in the economic categories will be shifted in large to the provinces. The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), in which the provinces selects the candidates who they would like to immigrate to Canada, will take over as the largest category of economic immigrants to Canada in the next ten years, overtaking the Federal skilled worker program which is being shrunk to a mere fraction of what it once was under the Liberal government.

In 2009, the total number of immigrants who came under the PNP category was around 30,000 (see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2009/permanent/01.asp). Ontario selected less than 3% of these individuals. While other provinces annual quotas for persons who are nominated under their PNP number several thousand to unlimited in Alberta's case, Ontario's PNP has remained a mere 1000. And get this, Ontario has never even come close to meeting its quota!

Why is Ontario getting such a low percentage of persons who are coming under the PNP? Because Ontario's criteria is for the most part only available to graduate students and very large to huge businesses and corporations. Compare the following:

- In the Employer sponsored class, most provinces only require that the business be real and offer real jobs to workers to qualify for their PNP. Ontario requires that the business generate a profit of a million dollars and have a miniumum of 5 employees in the GTA or half a million and have 3 employees outside of the GTA.

- Many other provinces allow employers to nominate lower-skilled workers who are particularly needed in the province such as farm workers, food-processing workers, tourism and hospitality workers, and long-haul truckers. They also allow residents of the province to nominate extended family members. Ontario makes no such allowances.

- In the Entrepreneur programs, other provinces attract businessmen and women by allowing them and their families to immigrate if they invest anywhere from around $150,000 to $400,000 in a business in the province. Ontario used to require businesspersons to invest 10 million dollars. Now they've reduced this number to a still whopping number of 3 million. Needless to say, finding an astute business person who wants to apply under this category is like finding a cop who doesn't like doughnuts.

The policy makers who decide on the Ontario PNP always say that Ontario attracts 40% of the immigrant population and therefore we can afford to be selective. This is faulty reasoning. 40% of immigrants do not come to Ontario, they come to Toronto. In an age where manufacturing industry in Ontario is dying and small town Ontario's population is withering away, we desperately need injections of business development and population growth into Ontario. We need businessment to invest in businesses and create jobs in Ontario. We need workers to work in jobs which can't be filled by Ontarians to sustain businesses of all sizes and pay taxes.

As the PNP rises in the next few years as the main category for economic immigration, that number will likely decrease. Ontario will be in competition with other provinces who have far more attractive programs for business persons. They will be in competition with other provinces that recognize that small businesses need workers too and allow them to nominate key employees in their business to immigrate. They will be in competition with other provinces that recognize that just because a job is not deemed to be "high-skilled" that there might still be a demand for labour in the province. They will be in competition with other provinces that recognize that persons who have families be much more likely to be economically prosperous and settle into the community where their families are.

Wake up Ontario! Stop being so arrogant to think that we're not in competition for labour. Our province is only as good as our people make it. Let us make sure that we get our share of the best, the brightest, and the hardworking for our future.

The New Spousal Sponsorship Regulations: What changing “and” to “or” can do to your relationship.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has announced that new regulations will come into place which will change the definition of what the government defines as a “bad faith” marriage or adoption. Currently the law states:

“… A foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner, conjugal partner or an adopted child of a person if the marriage, common-law partnership, conjugal partnership or adoption is not genuine and was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act.” (s.4 of Immigration Refugee Protection Regulations).

The Minister wants to change the “and” where bolded above to “or”. This will mean that even if the relationship between a couple or between a parent and an adopted child is genuine, the officer could refuse a sponsorship application if he/she feels that the sponsor married or adopted the child in order to obtain immigration status.

Take for example Jack and Jill Nimble. Jack and Jill are in love with each other and have a genuine relationship with each other. Jill does not have status in Canada so they decide to get married this year instead of a couple of years down the road so that Jack can sponsor her and they can be together sooner. According to the new law, their sponsorship could be refused because they got married to obtain immigration status even though the couple have a genuine marriage and relationship.

Take for example Mrs. Hubbard and her nephew Peter. Peter’s parents have died in an earthquake and Mrs. Hubbard adopted her nephew so that he can live together with her in Canada and be in her family. The adoption can now be refused because it was entered to obtain immigration status even though Mrs. Hubbard loves Peter and has a genuine parent-child relationship with him.

These new changes create disturbing restrictions on family reunification. People get married for all sorts of reasons – pregnancy, family pressure, to start a family. Why shouldn’t we allow people who get married so that they can stay together a chance to be together?

In addition, the officers who already have tremendous power to refuse applications, now will have even more power to refuse applications due to what they think was the purpose of your marriage or adoption. It’s hard enough to show that you have a genuine relationship. It would be almost impossible in many cases to obtain proof of one’s motivations.

One of our greatest Prime Ministers, Pierre Trudeau, once said “The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation”. This new legislation attempts to do just that – regulate why people choose to get married or adopt. No state should be allowed to do this to its citizens.

How the Balanced Refugee Reform Act is not so balanced: Chapter 1 – Elimination of the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment

On March 30, the Minister of Immigration announced plans to enact the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, Bill C-11. This bill has passed second reading and is currently being examined by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. In my opinion, this Bill would prioritise removal of failed refugee claimants over ensuring a free and fair legal process. Given the massive impact that this bill is likely to have on our system I will be focusing a series of blog entries on different aspects of the legislation and how they will change our current system.

The issue that I will be examining in this entry is Section 15 of the bill which prohibits any individual from making a Pre-Removal Risk assessment Application (PRRA) if less than 12 months have passed since their refugee claim was rejected. The purpose of the PRRA application is to ensure that the Government does not remove an individual to a country where they will face torture or a risk to their life. The bill in its current form would remove this safeguard and facilitate faster removal of individuals whose refugee claims have been deemed unsuccessful.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigrations maintains that a one year ban on the PRRA is unnecessary because a timely risk assessment is conducted in the context of the refugee claim. There are a number of problems with this position.

PRRA applications often include evidence that was not presented to the refugee Board to support a claim. Given that the bill also proposes to shorten the timeline of the hearing to sixty days, it is likely that applicants will not be able to collect the evidence in time. As such, it will be even more critical that a PRRA be conducted otherwise removals will occur before this crucial information can be reviewed.

The PRRA is also important because it serves as a safety net for the most vulnerable claimants. Often it is used to raise new risk grounds that the applicant could not raise at the hearing. For example, female claimants that live in situations of domestic abuse come to Canada with their abusive spouses who make claims on behalf of the entire family. Once in Canada these women separate from their abuser and seek their own legal advice because they fear returning with their spouse. Because these women have already made a refugee claim, the PRRA is the only application where she can tell her story.

A third consideration is that circumstances in a refugees country of origin can change significantly over a short period of time. Situations such as the collapse of a peace accord, a major terrorist attack or a political coup can drastically alter the risk for individuals being returned, even in a matter of days. The Federal Court has clearly stated that a timely risk assessment be conducted that considers the relevant circumstances that are present at the time of removal.

The current PRRA is purposefully designed to consider evidence that was not, or could not, have been considered by the Refugee Board. Any ban on PRRA would put refugees at greater risk of being deported to torture or death. This is too high a price to pay for the sake of expedient removals.