Bill C-24 Citizenship Act: House of Commons Question Period – June 11, 2014

The following is a partial/selected dialogue which took place during Canada’s House of Commons Question Period on Bill C-24 – Canada’s New Citizenship Bill:

Mr. Andrew Cash (Davenport, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, now yesterday as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration took evasive action after being asked about the constitutionality of his immigration bill. While he refused to answer the question, but he did manage to make an unrelated reference to the “disgraced ideological former lawyer of the Khadr family”.
So, can the minister tell us how his latest smear job is even remotely relevant to the constitutionality of Bill C-24?

Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that we were given a strong mandate as a government to reinforce the value of Canadian citizenship, and that citizenship is based on allegiance.
The Liberals had 13 years to try and sort these issues with backlogs. New Democrats have not had the chance, and if all goes well, they will never have it, but Canadians think it is absolutely legitimate for dual nationals who have committed acts of treason, of terrorism, of espionage to forfeit their Canadian citizenship.
That is a violation of—

Mr. Andrew Cash (Davenport, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that this bill proposes new powers to deport a Canadian-born citizen to a country to which they have no connection to. This is nonsensical, and it is most likely unconstitutional.
The hon. member knows there is a public outcry and he knows people are asking to compromise, yet he stubbornly steams ahead, ignoring all criticism.
So why did the government turn down every single suggestion put forward to try to fix this bill?

Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that the member opposite is lost in the thicket of his own ideology. There is absolutely no new provision in this bill to deport or to strip the citizenship of Canadian citizens who have only one nationality.
It is offensive for the members opposite to be drawing some false distinction between who are naturalized Canadians and those who are Canadian born. The law applies to them equally, and we will continue to take our advice from lawyers who know the difference between a removal and a revocation, which the lawyer that he mentioned clearly does not.

Ms. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe (Pierrefonds—Dollard, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, the minister does not even know what to say to salvage his credibility.
A number of experts, including the Canadian Bar Association, believe that the citizenship bill is unconstitutional. Yesterday, in a CBC interview, the minister dismissed the criticism, saying that Bill C-24 is similar to what is being done in other NATO countries, but what does NATO have to do with a debate on access to Canadian citizenship? It is completely ridiculous.
Will our fundamental rights in Canada now depend on the mood of our NATO allies?

Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, what does NATO have to do with this debate? Our allies and partners think it is important to show allegiance to their system of law and their country.
Canadians also think that is important. That is why we have a citizenship bill that will strengthen the value of citizenship and protect us from terrorists and spies.
It is high time that the NDP realized that these people exist, that they pose a threat and that we have to take action to counter those threats.

Ms. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe (Pierrefonds—Dollard, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the minister had to apologize to an immigration consultant whose name he unfairly dragged through the mud. The minister also attacked the Canadian Bar Association for its position on Bill C-24, and yesterday, he went after Toronto constitutional expert Rocco Galati, who was another victim of the minister’s moods.
Why is the minister ignoring or attacking everyone who does not agree with him? Does he not realize that this attitude, which is typical of the Conservatives, is completely ridiculous and inappropriate?

Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the real question is how the NDP can justify defending terrorism and spying as a cornerstone of our citizenship. How can the NDP say that these people should keep their citizenship, even if they are dual citizens? We will not accept that.
Canadians have been clear in this regard, and we do not think that the few lawyers who expressed an opinion on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association speak for the lawyers of this country. Most Canadians agree that we must protect the value of Canadian citizenship and allegiance to the Crown and this country.
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Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are appalled to learn that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is threatening to unilaterally strip Canadian citizenship from people born here in Canada.
Criminals in Canada are punished according to our law. This arbitrary change to dual citizenship cuts to the absolute core of what it means to be Canadian. How can the minister justify this abuse of power that tramples on the rights of Canadians, even those born here in Canada?

Hon. Chris Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, this bill cuts to the absolute heart of the shortcomings of the 1977 Citizenship Act, brought in by Prime Minister Trudeau, which actually cheapened Canadian citizenship, opened it to abuse, and put to one side the whole question of allegiance and loyalty to this country.
The Liberals had 13 years to clean up this mess. They did nothing to stop citizenship of convenience. They did nothing to protect us from traitors.

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Immigration.ca to Conduct International Seminars

The Government of Canada plans to accept 25,000 applications under the Federal Skilled Worker Class. Under new policy, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism will accept up to 1000 applications in each of 50 major high demand occupations.

“This represents outstanding economic opportunities for many candidates who value Canada’s high stature in the global migration market” says Attorney Colin Singer, Managing Partner of immigration.ca and Global Recruiters of Montreal – www.grnmontreal.com.

To commemorate this occasion, Attorney Singer and his team will be conducting seminars in selected venues in the Philippines in June 2014.

Saturday June 21, 2014
Venue: AIM (ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT) CONFERENCE CENTER
Address: Greenbelt Area, Makati City
Time: 1PM

Sunday June 22, 2014
Venue: HOTEL SUPREME
Address: Baguio City
Time: 1 PM

To attend, contact:

Candidates with professional experience in Nursing, Computers, Engineering and Financial Services have the best opportunities under the new program.

In addition to being one of Canada’s foremost Immigration Lawyers, we are independent franchise owners of one of the largest and fastest growing professional staffing and recruitment enterprises in North America known as Global Recruiters Network: www.grnmontreal.com. We provide employment search consulting assistance to all our clients.

If you are a qualified professional with a background in one of 50 major high demand occupations and you are considering relocating to Canada we invite you to attend one of our upcoming seminars, or participate on-line via Live Stream.

Watch for upcoming details on our Live Stream Seminars.

Find out whether you qualify under the Federal Skilled Worker Program or other programs to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation for Skilled Workers or other categories. We will provide you with your evaluation results within two (2) business days.

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Globalisation and Free Trade Have Made Temporary Foreign Workers a Global Phenomenon

In his column for The Toronto Star, columnist Rick Salutin asserts that policies like the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are not merely a cause for concern in Canada. Instead, Salutin writes that because of the widespread effects of globalisation and free trade, temporary foreign workers are currently a global phenomenon, as they move from country to country, seeking jobs and better living conditions than those provided by their native countries, in many cases.

Salutin mentions that initially, temporary foreign workers were simply immigrants. They did jobs that Canadians didn’t want to do. They bought and carefully tended homes in Canada. Their jobs did not define their lives. Consequently, they felt that they – and their kids – were en route to becoming Canadians. Hence, they went about their jobs with verve and panache.

The recent incidents of abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program have resulted in several people criticising the Program because it amounts to nothing more than “importing poverty”. However, Salutin mentions that critics conveniently forget that Canada allowed these foreign workers entry and gave them the opportunity to mutate.

Therefore, he refutes the argument that Canada’s immigration policy aims at selecting people with skills and education instead of bringing in “ditchdiggers and hotel maids”. He writes that while Canada allowed workers like “ditchdiggers and hotel maids” to enter the country, it also enabled these workers to raise their children in decent schools. As a result, many of the children of these foreign workers found employment as artists, bankers, teachers, hockey players etc.

Thus, by bringing in foreign workers, who have no stake in the country, are insecure and willing to work for lower wages, Canada ends up with a number of foreign workers, none of whom would ever be able to become Canadian citizens, thereby contributing to the success of the country.

The rise of globalisation and free trade resulted in businesses commencing operations in countries across the world, in an attempt to hire workers at lower wages, thereby boosting profitability. Over time, it became easier to transport entire workforces, as these workers had no citizenship and little rights. This made the issue of temporary foreign workers a global phenomenon, with massive pools of foreign workers “floating” across the globe. When these workers leave Canada, they do not return to their native places. Instead, they move to another country.

Therefore, Salutin writes, policies like the Temporary Foreign Worker Program have their roots in extended historical conflicts over power between forces like capital and labour, often among people who remain clueless about their stakes in the struggle. These policies are no longer issues confined to any specific country or moment currently.

  

Source: The Toronto Star 

 

 

 

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  • Published in May
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Conservative Government Remarkably Naïve About Labour Market Dynamics

Recently, the CEO of McDonald’s Canada addressed anxious franchisees about the CBC’s investigation into the company for the chain’s possible abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. During the call, Betts said, “Jason Kenney really knows his stuff. And I’ll say he knows his stuff from a businessperson’s perspective”.

The Conservative Government has claimed to understand the private sector better than other federal parties did. However, the Conservatives have shown themselves to be remarkably naïve when it comes to understanding the factors that motivate corporate businesses.

Kenney spoke on CBC Radio’s The House, shortly after suspending restaurants from using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. He said, “If it’s true that we have a very tight labour market, we should be seeing more inflation in terms of wages, employers should be responding to tightness in the labour market”.

On the face of it, this would sound logical. A tight labour market would lead to wage inflation and ensure that companies make themselves more attractive to workers. Yet, his words say nothing about governments intervening with a program that enables companies to circumvent the labour market dynamics.

Nor do they raise questions about a government that tweaks a program repeatedly to expedite the process of recruiting temporary workers from outside the country and allows certain employers to set abysmally low wages for these foreign workers.

On all counts, Kenney and the Conservative Government could have foreseen the scenario where no businessperson would pass over the opportunity of capitalising on an environment that boosts productivity and minimizes costs. This is especially so since Kenney “understands a businessperson’s perspective” and the Conservatives understand the private sector.

Kenney’s comments to CBC Radio began with “If it’s true…” They clearly betrayed the fact that he – or his colleagues in the government – have no clue about the job market currently – even if they have been vociferous while talking about acute labour shortages.

Despite the Canadian economy being on the rise, domestic workers are not willing to relocate to where the jobs are. Canada’s Employment Insurance system gives no incentives for workers to relocate either – even in areas suffering from chronic unemployment.

A recent CD Howe report criticised the current version of the TFW program, declaring that the government’s policies actually accelerated the rise in unemployment rates in Alberta and British Columbia. It mentioned that Canada would need to develop better data about the state of the local labour markets, before permitting temporary foreign workers to enter Canada.

Source: Maclean’s

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  • Published in May
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Chinese Entrepreneurs Transforming the Economy of Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Over the last eight years, the surge in Chinese immigrants to Prince Edward Island (PEI) has brought about a transformation in the Island’s economy.

From the start of 2006, thousands of new immigrants began arriving at Prince Edward Island. A significant number of them hailed from China. Most of these immigrants came as immigrant investors through the provincial nominee program, which required these immigrants to invest in a business on the Island. Over the past eight years, many of these immigrants have settled themselves in Prince Edward Island and have started their own business ventures too.

When she left China in 2010 with her husband, Vicki Li had not even heard of bagels. In China, they had been running a successful steel supply business; that too, in a province that had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Today, although she is not a Canadian citizen yet, she is the owner and operator of the Great Canadian Bagel in Charlottetown. She liked living in the PEI and so she bought the business to support the family.

In China, John Li worked for one of China’s largest food corporations for 20 years. He was in a senior role in the company’s management in 2011, when he quit his job and immigrated to PEI. Upon arriving in PEI, Li launched Golden Bridge Marketing and Consulting. In conjunction with his three employees, he helps the PEI government and the Island food producers establish connections with the markets in China, which represent a potentially huge market for Canada’s very high quality foodstuff.

Gavian Fang came to PEI from China as a student in 2009 and attended the University of Prince Edward Island. She graduated in May 2012 before moving to Toronto with her husband, where she worked in a bubble teashop. Six months later, they returned to PEI, where she started her own bubble teashop – Charlotte Tea in the Confederation Court Mall in January 2013.

Jason Lee is the program coordinator for PEI Connectors, which works to connect newcomers to Prince Edward Island to the existing business community. He said, “These are people coming from a different country with different cultures, different business styles, in many cases there’s a significant language barrier. They were getting here on P.E.I. and they were looking for some help”. PEI Connectors has helped over more than 260 clients, thus far. All of these 260 clients – barring a dozen, are from China.

Source: CBC News

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  • Published in May
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Canadian Bar Association Concerned by Proposed Changes to the Citizenship Act

The Government’s proposed citizenship bill is ringing alarm bells for the Canadian Bar Association, which feels that some of the more controversial measures included in the bill could be unconstitutional, thereby contradicting the government’s own evaluation of the bill.

In February, the Government had proposed some drastic changes to the Citizenship Act by introducing Bill C-24. However, three contentious measures have earned it the ire of the Canadian Bar Association, which submitted a 30-page response to the House’s citizenship and immigration committee recently.

While the bar association welcomed some of the new measures proposed in Bill C-24 (such as granting citizenship to “lost Canadians”), the three parts that it wants the Government to amend or scrap altogether concern:

  • The new eligibility requirements for becoming a citizen
  • The requirement that wants prospective citizens to show an intent of residing in Canada and,
  • Expansion of the grounds for the revocation of citizenship

Under the proposed changes to the Citizenship Act, the Government would have the authority to strip dual nationals of their Canadian citizenship, if the individuals were “members of an armed force or an organized armed group engaged in armed conflict with Canada”. In addition, the Government could also revoke the citizenship of those individuals, who have been “convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason, or spying offences, depending on the sentence received”.

The current Citizenship Act only authorises the Government to revoke naturalised Canadians of their citizenship, if the individuals obtained their citizenship via fraudulent means. In addition, such individuals would have the right to attend a full hearing before a judge of the Federal Court.

However, according to provisions made in Bill C-24, the Government could eliminate the right to a hearing in most cases, but not in all the cases. For instance, the immigration minister has the authority to make a decision without needing to conduct a formal hearing.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander appeared before the citizenship and immigration committee and informed the MPs that all the proposals listed in Bill C-24 are constitutionally sound. However, this had no effect on the bar association, which urged the Government to modify Bill C-24 by considering their 20 recommendations that included:

  • Deleting the requirement that prospective citizens would need to declare their intent to reside in Canada if granted citizenship
  • Amending the rigorous residency requirements needed for becoming a citizen
  • Removing the requirement that applicants would need to be present for 183 days during four of the six years before applying for citizenship
  • Scrapping the requirement that applicants would need to submit their tax returns for four of the six years before applying for citizenship and,
  • Removing the requirement that applicants would need to provide knowledge tests in one of the two official languages

Source: CBC News

 

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  • Published in May
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Test Results Reflect Weaknesses in Citizenship Reform

A surprising new internal government report has found that those immigrants who have been in Canada longest are the ones most likely to fail the citizenship test.

The citizenship test is one of the last steps completed by immigrants wishing to obtain full citizenship rights as a Canadian, including the ability to carry a Canadian passport and to vote. The citizenship test was redesigned in 2012 to promote newcomers’ awareness of Canadian history, values and culture.

In recent years, the government has made reforms not only to the test, but also other citizenship regulations in an attempt to strengthen loyalty to Canada and promote successful integration. In addition to the revamped test, the government’s most recent proposed changes include raising residency requirements so that immigrants must wait longer before applying for citizenship.

However, the findings of the departmental report are troubling this idea in suggesting that length of time living in Canada does not correlate to a better grasp of Canadian history and values – at least as exhibited in standardized tests.

This has led some immigrant advocates to question what the government understands about what it means to be Canadian. Is there really a way to test newcomers on how Canadian they are?

Since the redesigned test was introduced, more immigrants are failing the exam overall. People who have been in the country longer are less likely to write the test, and therefore less likely to pass. New arrivals, generally, are more motivated to gain full citizenship and are therefore more likely to take the test and to do well on it.

Applicants from South Korea and China were found most likely to do well on the test. Those taking the test in the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were also most likely to do well.

Failing the citizenship test is the top reason for rejection of citizenship applications, followed by failure to prove language proficiency, and not meeting the residency requirements.

Source: Toronto Star

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  • Published in May
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Oil Fuels Economic Growth for Canadian Provinces

Canada’s oil-producing provinces have been ranked among the world’s top economic performers in a newly released think-tank report.

Each year, the Conference Board of Canada ranks 16 of the world’s richest countries in terms of economic performance, based on factors such as growth and employment rates. This year, however, the Canadian think-tank not only analyzed the country as a whole, but also broke down and compared the economies of the ten different provinces.

The findings were somewhat surprising, due to the disparity between those provinces whose economies are oil-based and those that are not. While overall Canada ranked fifth among the world’s richest countries, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland were ranked the top three jurisdictions in the world, when graded separately.

The top-rated economy was Alberta, which outperformed the top-rated country Norway by about $10,000 per capita on income. Ontario, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island all ranked in the middle of the group with countries like Germany and the United Kingdom. At the bottom of the pack were France, Belgium and the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

“What this tells us is we have provinces outperforming the rest of the world, and we have provinces that are struggling along with the laggards in the Eurozone,” said Conference Board project director Brenda Lafleur.

The report predicts continued strength for the three oil-producing countries, and recommends that the lagging provinces work on productivity initiatives to boost their economic performances.

Canada’s overall fifth place ranking is an improvement after coming in sixth last year.

Source: Vancouver Sun

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  • Published in May
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How the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Moved from Being a Nimble Program to One that Requires a Complete Revamp

According to popular perception, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, currently under intense Parliamentary scrutiny following a series of program abuse allegations by the Royal Bank of Canada, three McDonald’s franchises in Victoria, British Columbia and a pizza restaurant in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, was a program that had merit on paper initially, before it spiralled out of control.

Currently, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program has become a major issue affecting not only unemployed Canadians but also those individuals coming to Canada from abroad, for short-term jobs.

Canada launched the program in 1973, aiming to bringing in highly specialised workers like academics and engineers for meeting skills gaps in the country. In 2002, the Liberals under Jean Chretian, included low-skilled workers under the ambit of the program.

Successive Liberal and Conservative governments continued to tweak the program further so that it expedited the process of bringing in foreign workers into several sectors of the industry, including food and construction, once pilot projects commenced in Alberta and British Columbia. This resulted in the accelerated entry of temporary foreign workers into Canada – moving from 101,000 in 2002 to 338,000 in 2012, with low-skill workers forming the fastest growing denomination of workers.

Under the current program, Canadians lose out on jobs as do several foreign workers. Locals also miss out on employment opportunities and employers keep wages at artificially low levels. In addition, the government also does not have the bandwidth to keep monitoring a program of this size for any possible program abuses.

Researches also back the impact of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. A CD Howe Institute reported that a pilot project that accelerated the approval process for companies to hire low-skill temporary foreign workers, raised unemployment levels.

The Alberta Federation of Labour revealed recently that some companies were paying temporary foreign workers up to $5 less than the prevailing local market wage for the job, with the tacit approval of the federal government. This also means that the program can reduce wages for foreign workers as well.

According to Jason Foster, the coordinator for Athabasca University’s industrial relations program, “The Temporary Foreign Worker Program moved from being a small, nimble program to a large-scale one that the Government could not manage successfully.” While Employment Minister Jason Kenney promised to implement new reforms for the program, experts believe that only a complete revamp of the program could help salvage the situation.

Source: CBC News

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  • Published in May
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How Quebec Could Prevent University Grads from Leaving

Quebec has a great record when it comes to finding new ways of doing things. However, one sector that continues to search for a solution is Quebec’s higher education system – the prime question for many people in the previous election, some 19 months back. This time though, it has been conspicuous by its absence.

Despite that, the question remains unanswered – How does an individual pay for a university system that offers both access and quality? Although this debate is not a new subject for Quebec or for the rest of the world, Quebec must emerge with the answer.

Committed citizens speak of a renaissance for Montreal, which happens to be Canada’s second largest city. However, despite having over 225,000 students at the universities and Cégeps, Montreal still hires less university graduates annually than any other major city in Canada.

It would be impossible to think of a similar renaissance for Quebec without finding some noteworthy funding solutions first. Until then, Quebec needs to find ways to keep its university system and economic future strong. In addition, Quebec also needs to find ways of retaining the talented students it attracts, once these students graduate. According to the president of Concordia University in Montreal, Alan Shepard, Quebec could achieve this in three possible ways.

The first method involves facilitating student immigration and seeking help from universities for this. This means that the authorities must simplify the bureaucratic processes. By connecting these students to the commercial and civic realms of Quebec and teaching them French, the universities could retain these students.

The second proposal entails providing additional physical spaces, linked together by networks, which would enable students to take control of their creativity and innovations. For example, Concordia launched District 3 in 2012. This multi-disciplinary incubator enabled Concordia’s students and alumni to work side-by-side for coming up with solutions or ways to build their own businesses.

The third method entails providing tax incentives for promoting a culture of innovation even further. Last summer, for example, Governor Andrew Cuomo commenced New York’s incubator networks with Start-Up New York, which offered tax credits to businesses that got established on or near a university campus and also supported the university’s mission.

Currently, universities favour merit and access along with the highest ideals of learning. If Quebec could harness these and make them drivers of civic and economic equality, their contribution to Quebec’s future could be invaluable.

Source: The Globe and Mail and Alan Shepard

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  • Published in May
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