Why some immigrants leave Canada


"I really enjoyed life in Canada but I also kept thinking about moving back to India," says Praveen Rao who has moved back to India permanently.
It is a perennial dilemma for newcomers. Should you stay on in Canada, a place where you’ve come after much struggle for a better life but find disappointing, or should you go back to your country of birth to be a dutiful son or daughter, or even just because, as it turns out, there are better job prospects outside Canada?
Canadian Immigrant spoke to new and old immigrants, some who feel let down by the system here and are leaving to explore better options and some who acknowledge that there is no other country like this one and will come back one day.
Is discrimination real?
Zain Mir (name changed for privacy) is at a senior position at a top educational institution in Saskatchewan. He is currently pursuing his PhD, is happily married and is a Canadian citizen. Yet, the 40-year-old Pakistani-born immigrant is all set to leave Canada for good in 2013.
He’s not alone. According to Wendy Cukier, founder, Diversity Institute in Management and Technology at Ryerson University, a 2008 study spearheaded by her, shows that 40 per cent of immigrants who entered Canada in the skilled worker or business class left Canada within their first 10 years.
A previous study by Statistics Canada  indicated that one-third of male immigrants (aged 25 to 45 at the time of landing) left Canada within 20 years after arrival. More than half of those who left did so within the first year of arrival.
“I feel like my career is going nowhere. I am overqualified for the position that I have currently,” says the marketing professional who has already networked with professional organizations in places like Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. He feels he will get a more deserving position there.
Mir, who studied in the United States and landed a plum position with one of the top financial management firms in the world, Merrill Lynch, was thrilled when he first applied for Canadian immigration, and it came through in six months. He quickly moved to Vancouver.
“I was sure that with my education and work experience I would have no trouble finding a job,” he says. What happened next was a series of extended survival jobs in retail and no interview callbacks for months. Mir decided that it was time for a change and took some courses in computer programming. Eventually, he relocated to Regina. “I interviewed for the job and got it. It all happened in a month’s time and I thought that it was finally my time,” he says.
But it was the beginning of a nightmare. Mir claims that his work has been constantly nitpicked, he was stared at during meetings (which in his words comprised of all “white folks”) and on one occasion was completely sidelined when his boss was on leave. “I hold the second most senior position in my organization, but I don’t think I will ever be made director here. They [the management] completely ignored the fact that I was supposed to be made acting director,” he says.
Mir, who was on a committee of the British Columbia Human Resources Management Association (BCHRMA), says that what he heard at a committee hearing about hiring immigrants in Canada shocked him. “Major Canadian multinationals in B.C. are on record saying that immigrants cannot express themselves well in interviews and therefore it is difficult to consider them for senior positions. I found that ridiculous. There are plenty of well-educated professionals who come to Canada, even get themselves accredited to suit Canadian standards and yet fail to reach their full potential because of the discriminatory attitude of employers. I don’t think I can tolerate such behaviour anymore,” he says. Mir admits that he will miss the pristine beauty of Canada and the clean air, but it is a very small price to pay when it comes to being professionally satisfied.
Canadian experience matters
There was no dearth of pristine beauty for Swiss-born immigrant Stephan Burckhardt who lived in scenic Washington State in the United States. But his daughter’s educational prospects prompted the successful marketing professional to move bag and baggage to Vancouver in 2004. Though he was employed immediately, something was missing. “The salaries in Canada are abysmal. I do not mean to compare, but the difference in compensation is just too much. In Switzerland I was being paid about $350 an hour, and in Canada I started at $20 an hour. It is not about the amount, but a huge blow to one’s self-confidence,” he says. This was due to his lack of Canadian experience.
But Burckhardt did not give up and applied everywhere for a better position with better wages. He tried enlisting the support of a mentor through an immigration support program in Victoria and also applied for government positions. “I applied for quite a few jobs, and got a total of two interviews. Two! With both positions I came in second; in one position they clearly preferred a Canadian with more Canadian experience and they even told me to my face: ‘She [the winning candidate] knows someone at the Globe and Mail.’ I did not stand a chance, did I?” he says.
Besides his claim that the skilled worker program is misleading, the other form of bias that he feels is rampant is age discrimination. Burckhardt has been told that he was not in the preferred age group for a particular job, despite his experience. Add to that the constant rejections due to his educational credentials and Burckhardt had had enough. He is leaving Canada for good this spring, but he departs with a heavy heart. “My wife is American, and Swiss society is pretty conservative. I like the social life in Canada; the people are good and tolerant. I don’t think my native country will be very accepting of her and that is one thing that worries me,” he says. Burckhardt has two job offers; one in the United States as the executive director of a non-profit and the other in his native Switzerland as a partner in a consulting firm. “As a family, we spent close to $1,500,000 in the eight years we’ve been here. Once we sell our home, our leaving Canada will mean a net loss of close to $100,000 per year to the Canadian economy without counting any multiplier effects,” he says.
Swiss immigrant by way of the US, Stephan Burckhardt claims that he faced age discrimination in Canada.
Duty calls
A college strike proved to be fateful for Indian-born Praveen Rao who moved to Canada for a better education. “I was enrolled in a college in Delhi to pursue a bachelor’s degree course in 2000. However due to frequent interruptions in my education due to various strikes, my father was concerned about the quality of education that was being imparted at that college, even though it was one of the better ones,” he says. Rao found himself the first in his family to ever step outside India to study and was enrolled in the economics program at the University of Windsor, in 2001. But getting a Canadian education proved far from useful in getting a job afterward. Predictably the issue of Canadian experience raised its head.
After struggling in a door-to-door sales/marketing job in London, Ontario, Rao finally got his foot in the door by joining TD Canada Trust Bank as a teller. “It was disheartening to start with a job that did not really require an undergrad degree, but I knew I had to start somewhere and make my way up as I lacked Canadian work experience and lacked networking skills,” he says in a matter-of-fact manner.
Meanwhile familial duties beckoned in India. His sister was getting married and he thought it was his duty to assist with the wedding. Perhaps the expiry of his work permit and his PR not coming through at that time further helped his decision and he went back. Rao came back eventually to land a good position with RBC bank, his permanent resident visa came through and he took additional courses at Ryerson, completing his MBA. But things were not about to fall in place for him. “The last three years in Canada, my family never made me forget that they would like me to settle down in India. There was a lot of pressure,” he says.
Running out of reasons to stay in Canada (having completed his education and gaining good work experience), Rao decided the sooner the move back to India was made, the better. “I felt that if I stayed in Canada for another year it would become extremely difficult for me to move back to India as I had started to enjoy my lifestyle in Canada. I used to tell my friends that life in Canada is very self-centred; whatever I do in a day is directly benefiting me, which was different from life in India where my time will be consumed helping my family with their issues, driving my mother to visit other relatives, etc. I really enjoyed life in Canada and made some great friends. But I also kept thinking about moving back to India — for family and because I am a bit patriotic as well,” he says.  But Rao, like many who found their place in Canada, has his Canadian citizenship handy, in the event that he wants to come back if things do not go as planned in India.
“Even though I haven’t travelled the world, from what I have read, people I have spoken to and places I have been to, I think Canada is definitely one of the best places, if not the best, in the world. And if I have to leave India, I will come back here,” he says. The same Statistics Canada study cited above, in fact, indicates that those immigrants who leave aren’t necessarily gone permanently. About one in 10 leavers return to Canada within 10 years of first arriving.
A brave new world
Ke Huang doesn’t want to leave Canada because she is just too much in love with the country. Yet, the 27-year-old IT professional is all set to leave Toronto in April as a job in one of the largest personal technology companies in the world, Lenovo, awaits her in Beijing, China. “While I was looking for a job in Toronto, I happened to get a call from a Chinese recruiter in Toronto who tracked me down from the database at the University of Waterloo where I studied years ago. They had an opening in Beijing and he asked me if I wanted to go. And I thought, ‘Why not?’” she says while packing up her last few personal belongings.
Huang came to Canada as an international student to study computer science and right after university found employment, got her permanent residency and happily settled into Canadian life. She was happy, first as an IT support person and then as a web developer. Soon, she was out looking for a bigger profile in a bigger setup. That’s when the headhunter came calling. “The position in China is for an engineer. It is pretty challenging and a good position.  I went through a rigorous process of three interviews before I finally got the offer,” she says.
Is she nervous, moving to a completely different place though it is essentially her home? “Well, Canada is home. I love it here. I don’t anticipate too many problems in China. My parents live there and it will be nice to be with them for a while,” she says.
Huang acknowledges that the biggest change would be the change in lifestyle. “In Canada, there is a work-life balance. One is expected to make time for himself and there is scope for personal growth. In China, the work culture is very different. That will take time getting used to,” she says. There will be more social events to go to in Beijing, something not expected of her in Toronto. In addition, Beijing is one of the most populous and polluted places in the world and that will take some getting used to, too.
But she is looking forward to learning from her experiences in China, which she thinks will be an exciting new adventure. “I will be back in a couple of years. I think this experience will do me good both professionally and personally. These kind of experiences teach you how to work in every situation and become adaptable. One needs that skill in these times and this economy,” she says.
Hopefully, any future Canadian employers will recognize that, too.

Low-skill immigrants to face mandatory language test, Kenney announces

A map of Canada exhibiting its ten provinces a...
A map of Canada exhibiting its ten provinces and three territories, and their capitals. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
BY TOBI COHEN, POSTMEDIA NEWS



Thousands of newcomers destined for low-skilled jobs in far-flung parts of the country will now be subject to mandatory language testing, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Wednesday in Saskatoon.
Starting July 1, Kenney said Provincial Nominee Program applicants in semi-skilled and low-skilled professions will be tested and required to meet a minimum standard when it comes to listening, speaking, reading and writing in at least one of Canada's official languages — English or French.
Additional changes will be made to the program to ensure economic streams also are prioritized.
"As a result, immigrants coming to Canada under PNPs will arrive with much better language skills and will be selected for the impact they can have on Canada's economy," Kenney said.
"We have supported enormous growth in the number of provincial nominees in recent years because it makes sense for the provinces and territories to have the flexibility to meet regional needs."
The new language requirements will impact tradespeople, those in manufacturing, sales and services, as well as certain clerical and assistant categories.
Applicants will be required to provide valid test scores from a designated testing agency in order to comply with the new rules.
Temporary foreign workers who arrive before July 1 and transition to the provincial nominee program within a year, have a one-time exemption.
More than 38,000 workers and their families came to Canada last year through the program, which gives the provinces and territories a greater say in immigration, in a bid to fill gaps in their local labour markets.
It's also helped spread out the immigrant population as more and more people have been choosing to settle outside traditionally popular provinces, such as Ontario and British Columbia.
An economic boom in Saskatchewan, for example, has seen the program grow to 5,354 immigrants in 2010, compared with just 173 in 2003.
In January, Kenney hinted the government would bring in language proficiency requirements as a means of cracking down on fraud.
At the time, he suggested a "correlation" existed between high levels of immigration fraud and regions that don't make language proficiency a top priority.
He said it was a particular problem with immigrant investor programs in Eastern Canada.
In fact, allegations of fraud, mismanagement and a series of lawsuits prompted the government to shut down immigrant investor programs in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
"Some provinces were allowing consultants to run fast and loose and attract people who had a lot of money but no language proficiency," Kenney said at the time.
With a file from The Calgary Herald
tcohen@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/tobicohen


Read more: http://www.canada.com/skill+immigrants+face+mandatory+language+test+Kenney+announces/6443177/story.html#ixzz1rpGYwCkm

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Select immigrant workers to face mandatory language testing: ministers

BY JASON WARICK, THE STARPHOENIX, WITH POSTMEDIA NEWS FILES



Thousands of new immigrants in Canada will require basic language skills, federal Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced in Wednesday in Saskatoon.
Kenney said low- and medium-skilled workers applying under the Provincial Nominee Program will be subject to mandatory English or French language testing, and will be required to meet a minimum standard for speaking, reading, writing and listening in one of Canada’s two official languages.
As a result, immigrants coming to Canada under the program will arrive with much better language skills and will be selected for the impact they can have on Canada’s economy, he said in a news release.
“We have supported enormous growth in the number of provincial nominees in recent years because it makes sense for the provinces and territories to have the flexibility to meet regional needs.”
The cost of the tests will be paid by the applicant or their prospective employer.
The changes take effect July 1, and will not affect workers already approved before that point.
The new language requirements will impact tradespeople, those in manufacturing, sales and services, as well as certain clerical and assistant categories.
Applicants will be required to provide valid test scores from a designated testing agency.
Temporary foreign workers who arrive before July 1, 2012 and transition to the provincial nominee program within a year have a one-time exemption.
More than 38,000 workers and their families came to Canada last year through the program which gives the provinces and territories a greater say in immigration in a bid to fill gaps in their local labour markets.
It’s also helped spread out the immigrant population as more and more people have been choosing to settle outside traditionally popular provinces like Ontario and British Columbia.
Kenney lauded the work of the Saskatchewan government and Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris. Kenny said at the press conference there is an “economic revolution” occurring in the province, in part due to the improved immigration policies of both levels of government.
“It is great to see this province humming with energy,” Kenny added.
He noted Saskatchewan immigration rates have more than quadrupled since 2005, and those new residents are helping boost the economy. The provincial boom has seen the program grow to 5,354 immigrants in 2010 compared to just 173 in 2003.
Norris welcomes the new language requirements, saying they will be good for the Saskatchewan economy, but also for the workers. He said it will ensure safer workplaces, higher wages and improved chances of success in Saskatchewan society.
Norris said immigration is just one piece of the economic strategy. He said the government also places a high priority on improving the education, training and employment of Saskatchewan aboriginal people, noting there have been 10 consecutive months of increases in aboriginal employment in Saskatchewan.
“It’s not either-or,” he said. “We’re very pleased,(but) there’s a lot more to do.”

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Canadian Building Trades praises Minister Kenney for Skilled Trades initiatives in the Federal Skilled Worker Program

Supreme Court of Canada building, Ottawa, Onta...
Supreme Court of Canada building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OTTAWA, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Canadian Building Trades commends Minister Kenney for his announcement April 10th creating focus on skilled trades in the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). The skilled trades traditionally have not been able to access this program due to the complexities and rigidness of the 100 point grid system used by Citizenship and Immigration.
Robert Blakely, Director of Canadian Affairs, says "this is a landmark change for skilled trades professionals who want to apply to come to Canada on a permanent basis. Our economy is challenged with producing enough people domestically to meet industrial demand - it is a natural fit to realign, in a positive way, the rules to come to Canada to assist with this demand. Previously, prospective applicants to Canada who were proficient in a skilled trade had very little hope with the way the "Points" system was structured.
John Telford, Canadian Director of United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) says "this initiative will assist in the long term replenishing an aging workforce -it is part of the solution for the labour demand issue. The Building Trade unions spend more than $250 million dollars annually on training young Canadians - it is important the Government of Canada understand immigration alone can't fix construction labour market issues. Training of underrepresented groups in construction like aboriginals and women need to be a policy focus.
Blakely says this is a good start to address the coming labour crunch and "we look forward to working with the Government of Canada on the other industry priorities. A "hive out" system for skilled trades short term immigration from the United States is widely supported by the energy industry, construction contractors and the Canadian Building Trades Unions. Given the current economic situation in the United States and Canada's industrial demand, this would be a win-win. It was anticipated by industry in the Beyond the Border Working Group initiative and then the subsequent federal 2012 Budget.
About the BCTD
The North America-wide BCTD AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labour - Congress of Industrial Organizations) coordinates activities and provides resources to 15 affiliated trade unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries. In Canada, the BCTD represents 500,000 skilled trades workers.
SOURCE Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved 

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Minister Kenney Meets With Employers in Saskatoon

The Centre Block on Parliament Hill, containin...
The Centre Block on Parliament Hill, containing the houses of the Canadian parliament (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, Apr 11, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Government of Canada is strengthening its partnership with employers to ensure the economic immigration program better meets the needs of Canada's economy, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today at a roundtable discussion with Saskatoon employers.
The Government is building a fast and flexible economic immigration system that focuses on finding people who have the skills and experience required to meet Canada's economic needs. The development and delivery of a modernized, efficient economic program will rely on partner engagement and - in particular - a greater role for employers. The Government is working to better understand employers' challenges, their workforce planning, hiring and recruitment practices, and the circumstances in which they use the immigration system. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) also wants to hear from employers in specific areas where changes are proposed to its programs.
"Economic growth and job creation remain the top priorities for our Government," said Minister Kenney. "Labour shortages are becoming a growing problem in many regions, and this is particularly true in this part of the country. Our Government wants to make it easier for employers to hire permanent or temporary foreign workers when no Canadians are able to fill a position, and we want to involve employers in immigrant selection."
Today's roundtable is part of a series of meetings to consult with employers - who have first-hand knowledge of the economic impacts of Canada's immigration policies - on how they can be more involved in immigrant selection, and to update them on work the Department has under way. Previous sessions with senior CIC officials have taken place in Halifax, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, St. John's and southern Saskatchewan. Minister Kenney will also meet with employers in Halifax next week.
The Government has already undertaken some initiatives to make the immigration system more responsive to the needs of employers. For instance, the Department processes federal skilled worker applications with a qualifying job offer on a priority basis. CIC also recently redesigned its website to include a new section to guide employers to the most suitable programs for hiring permanent and temporary foreign workers. The new section of the website builds on the success of other online tools for employers, such as the Employer's Roadmap.
"We want to go from a passive immigration system to an active system where Canadian employers are actively recruiting people in the international labour market from abroad," said Minister Kenney.
During the meeting, Minister Kenney also outlined several important Economic Action Plan 2012 commitments to the immigration system. These include:
        
        --  Realigning the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to better meet labour
            market demands;
        --  Supporting further improvements to foreign credential recognition and
            identifying the next set of target occupations beyond 2012;
        --  Moving to an increasingly fast and flexible immigration system where
            priority focus is on meeting Canada's labour market needs; and
        --  Returning applications and fees to certain federal skilled worker
            applicants who have been waiting for processing to be completed.
        
        


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Immigrants seeking low-skilled jobs to face mandatory language testing: Jason Kenney

Internal development of Canada's internal bord...
Internal development of Canada's internal borders, from the formation of the dominion to the present. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Tobi Cohen
Thousands of newcomers destined for low-skilled jobs Canadians don’t want in far-flung parts of the country will now be subject to mandatory language testing, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Wednesday during a stop in Saskatoon.
Starting July 1, Kenney said Provincial Nominee Program applicants in semi and low skilled professions will be tested and will be required to meet a minimum standard when it comes to listening, speaking, reading and writing in Canada’s official languages — English and French.
Additional changes will be made to the program to ensure economic streams are also prioritized.
As a result, immigrants coming to Canada under PNPs will arrive with much better language skills and will be selected for the impact they can have on Canada’s economy,” he said in a news release.
“We have supported enormous growth in the number of provincial nominees in recent years because it makes sense for the provinces and territories to have the flexibility to meet regional needs.”
The new language requirements will impact tradespeople, those in manufacturing, sales and services, as well as certain clerical and assistant categories.
Applicants will be required to provide valid test scores from a designated testing agency.
Temporary foreign workers who arrive before July 1, 2012 and transition to the provincial nominee program within a year have a one-time exemption.
More than 38,000 workers and their families came to Canada last year through the program which gives the provinces and territories a greater say in immigration in a bid to fill gaps in their local labour markets.
It’s also helped spread out the immigrant population as more and more people have been choosing to settle outside traditionally popular provinces like Ontario and British Columbia.
An economic boom in Saskatchewan, for example, has seen the program grow to 5,354 immigrants in 2010 compared to just 173 in 2003.
Kenney hinted in January that the government would bring in language proficiency requirements as a means of cracking down on fraud.
At the time, he suggested a “correlation” existed between high levels of immigration fraud and regions that don’t make language proficiency a top priority.
He said it was a particular problem with immigrant investor programs in Eastern Canada.
In fact, allegations of fraud, mismanagement and a series of lawsuits prompted the government to shut down immigrant investor programs in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
Some provinces were allowing consultants to run fast and loose and attract people who had a lot of money but no language proficiency,” Kenney said at the time.
With a file from The Calgary Herald




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Minister Kenney Strengthens Economic Value of Provincial Immigration Programs

Pie chart of the area of provinces and territo...
Pie chart of the area of provinces and territories of Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, Apr 11, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today announced changes to strengthen provincial immigration programs.
Starting July 1, 2012, most Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants for semi- and low-skilled professions will have to undergo mandatory language testing of their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities and meet a minimum standard across all four of these categories.
In addition, Minister Kenney said that further changes to the program will be made to continue to focus on economic streams. The changes are the latest in a series of announcements the Minister has made about transforming Canada's economic immigration program into a fast and flexible system focused on jobs, growth and prosperity.
"As a result, immigrants coming to Canada under PNPs will arrive with much better language skills and will be selected for the impact they can have on Canada's economy," the Minister said. He was joined at a news conference by his Saskatchewan counterpart, Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris.
The announcement is the latest in a series Minister Kenney has made about transforming Canada's immigration system to better support economic growth.
The PNP has been a major success in helping to spread the benefits of immigration across the country, with many economic immigrants choosing to settle outside of the three major cities. In Saskatchewan, 5,354 immigrants arrived under the program in 2010, compared with 173 in 2003.
"We have supported enormous growth in the number of provincial nominees in recent years because it makes sense for the provinces and territories to have the flexibility to meet regional needs," said Minister Kenney. "Saskatchewan has successfully used the program and has actively recruited immigrants with the skills needed here. I'd like to thank the province for its continued cooperation."
"Newcomers play a significant role in building and maintaining the highest quality of life in our province and in our country," said Minister Norris. "The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to building the best provincial immigration program to meet our economic and labour market needs."
The Provincial Nominee Program was designed to be aligned with Canada's economic and labour needs. But, in some provinces, it is being used as an indirect route to family reunification.
"We have a federal family sponsorship program that reunites families," added Minister Kenney. "This is not the goal of the PNP and we want to work with provinces and territories to ensure that the program is solely focused on supporting economic growth rather than duplicating non-economic federal immigration streams."
The PNP is now Canada's second largest economic immigration program, with admissions having grown from about 8,000 immigrants in 2005 to expected admissions of 42,000 people this year. Each province and territory is responsible for the design and management of its own PNP, which must be consistent with federal immigration policy, legislation and the terms of bilateral agreements.
Backgrounder: New minimum language requirements for immigrants under the Provincial Nominee Program
Photo of Minister Kenney will be available later today at: www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/photos/high-res/index.asp .

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