By Tanya Basok
University of Windsor
Interest in temporary migration programs has been rising across the globe. Economist Manolo Abella conservatively estimates that, since 2000, the temporary migration of foreign workers into high-income countries has grown at about 4 to 5 percent a year.
Compared with permanent forms of migration, policymakers consider temporary migration more attractive for a number of reasons. In particular, temporary migration permits greater flexibility in the labor market and can seem more acceptable to electorates that find permanent immigration "threatening."
Also, a legal channel for labor migration can reduce flows of unauthorized immigrants. A less considered reason among destination countries is the development impact of migrants remitting income.
The Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP), which began over 40 years ago, is Canada's flagship temporary migration program (the newer Low Skilled Workers Pilot Program operates on a much smaller scale).
Widely recognized as one of the better administered temporary migration programs, SAWP involves multilateral cooperation between governments of origin countries and the Canadian government, and has stable and predictable levels of workers.
SAWP Background
In the years preceding the program, farmers in the province of Ontario experienced serious labor shortages. Farm labor supplied by the National Employment Service was unreliable since many workers did not stay long enough to harvest the crop. For several years, Ontario growers petitioned the Canadian government to allow them to import foreign agricultural labor.
Countries and Provinces Participating in SAWP
Countries and Year They Joined SAWP
Jamaica (1966), Mexico (1974), Trinidad and Tobago (1967), Barbados (1967), and the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) (1976), and Guatemala (2003).
Provinces in Canada
Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.
Under constant pressure from Canadian growers, one of whom, Eugene Whelan, was a Liberal member of parliament and a future minister of agriculture, the Department of Labor consented to importing Caribbean farm workers. SAWP began in 1966 by bringing Jamaican workers to harvest field crops in Essex County, Ontario.
Despite the pool of Caribbean farm workers, Canadian growers continued to experience labor shortages and consequently contracted unauthorized migrants from Mexico and Portugal. To dry up the pool of unauthorized workers and insure respect for labor standards, the government extended the program in 1974 to include Mexican workers. A number of Caribbean nations joined later.
Today, migrants can work in nine Canadian provinces, further testimony to the program's success. However, Ontario receives 90 percent of the workers.
Under SAWP, approximately 16,000 migrant farm workers are recruited in the Caribbean and Mexico to work in Canadian agriculture. Approximately one-half of these workers are from Mexico. In 2006, 7,806 Mexican and 7,770 Caribbean workers came to work in Canada. Most workers are men, but about 3 percent are women, mostly single mothers.
Migrant workers provide labor for such activities as apple and other fruit harvesting; canning/food processing; bee and flower production; and ginseng, sod, tobacco, and greenhouse and field vegetable harvesting. The hourly wage is generally CAN$8.58 though workers harvesting tobacco earn CAN$9.63.
How SAWP Works
Within Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) manages SAWP and sets general policies for the program. HRSDC works closely with private agencies, including Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and its French-language equivalent, the Fondation des entreprises pour le recrutement de la main-d'œuvre étrangère (The Foundation of Enteprises for the Recruitment of Foreign Labor, or FERME), in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Employers submit requests for foreign agricultural workers to FARMS or FERME. These requests, once HRSDC approves them, are forwarded to recruitment agencies in Mexico or the participating Caribbean countries. It is then the responsibility of migrant-origin countries to recruit workers to match the requests.
Growers bear most of the program's costs, including airfare and ground transportation, visa fees, and administrative costs paid to FARMS or FERME. Some of the airfare costs are consequently deducted from the workers' paychecks. Growers also provide housing to the workers and contribute to the provincial health insurance and workers' compensation insurance programs.
Migrant selection criteria and procedures are different in each participating country. In Mexico, for instance, ideal candidates have worked in agriculture, are responsible for the economic well-being of their households (such as male heads of the family or single mothers), and have experienced difficulties in finding other viable sources of subsistence in Mexico (due to low educational levels and/or occupational backgrounds).
Workers and employers sign a contract that outlines respective rights and obligations and length of employment, which is not to exceed eight months.
Workers are covered under provincial Employment Standard Acts. In Ontario, harvesters are entitled to vacation pay and public holiday pay if they have been employed for at least 13 weeks. Vacation pay is calculated at the rate of 4 percent of total gross earning.
Canadian law requires employers to carry workers' compensation, and workers make contributions to unemployment insurance and the Canada Pension Plan through regular deductions from their salaries.
Workers receive weekly wages calculated as the greatest of the following:
* the minimum wage of workers as stipulated in provincial legislation
* the rate HRSDC determines annually to be the prevailing wage rate for the type of agricultural work being carried out
* the rate the employer pays his Canadian workers performing the same type of agricultural work.
Workers who earn the approval of employers are "named" and requested to return to the same employer. New participants are sent to the same farm for the first few years and then, if not "named," are relocated to another farm.
At the end of the contract, growers arrange for their workers to be transported to a nearby airport. Upon arrival in their home country, workers report to the recruitment agencies with evaluation forms from their employers. A negative report can result in suspension from the program.
Since 2003, the province of Quebec and the government of Guatemala have engaged in a program with the same objective and principles of SAWP, but one that is managed in a slightly different manner. The federal employment ministry approves the offers of employment on an individual basis. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides technical assistance, selects qualified Guatemalan workers, and transports the workers to Canada. In conjunction with FERME, IOM returns the workers to Guatemala once their contracts have ended.
Economic Benefits of SAWP
Up-to-date statistics on the economic benefits of SAWP are not available. However, some conclusions can be drawn from a 1995 FARMS report, which argued that new jobs are created and old ones sustained in fields related to agriculture because of the employment of seasonal foreign workers.
The report presented the following calculations. In 1995, the Ontario horticulture industry required a labor force of 99,876 workers per year. Canadians filled only 90 percent of these jobs, generating a shortage of 9,876 jobs.
Ontario farmers invested CAN$626 million in seed stocks, chemicals, equipment, and other goods and services, and thus supported approximately 2,500 jobs in the supply side of the industry. At the same time, they also contributed to the creation of 49,938 jobs in the food processing industry, which employs predominantly Canadian workers.
Thus, each farmworker in horticulture supported 2.6 jobs in the supply and processing sectors in 1995. If the 9,876 jobs in the Ontario industry were not filled, 25,678 jobs in other sectors would have been lost.
SAWP as a Model
Many policymakers and scholars who study labor migration view SAWP as a best-practice model.
At a 2000 workshop (organized by IOM in cooperation with the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean), David Greenhill, a Canadian government official responsible for the program, argued that a program like SAWP, which recognizes and responds to legitimate labor shortages in the economy, is in the national interest.
Greenhill contended that SAWP's key strength is its formal structure. This structure ensures that all the key players are engaged and that the workers' rights are clearly understood, outlined, and enforced through agreements, memoranda of understanding, and operations guidelines.
A 2006 World Bank report identifies numerous benefits of the Canadian program. Growers receive reliable and experienced agricultural workers. Local communities benefit from expanded employment opportunities for native workers (linked to the growth of agricultural industries staffed by reliable and skilled foreign workers). Foreign workers stimulate demand for local services and goods.
For foreign workers, the program provides an opportunity to gain secure employment and to support family needs, especially improved housing, children's education, better nutrition, and medical services. Since they do not need to pay recruitment or smugglers' fees, even the poorest of Mexican and Caribbean workers can gain employment through this program.
For instance, among the 465 Mexican workers I surveyed between 1997 and 2000, about 80 percent (and higher in some villages) used their earning to improve their homes in Mexico. Some had to buy land to build a house. Those who already owned land bought material and paid wages to construction workers.
About 60 percent of the workers I surveyed used their Canadian-earned income to improve the education of their children. For most workers, Canadian jobs provided an opportunity to improve their households' diet and respond to medical emergencies. Anthropologist Leigh Binford and sociologist Gustavo Verduzco report similar findings.
Among Jamaican participants of the program, 35 percent of remittances was spent on children's education, according to Roy Russell, a researcher affiliated with the Agro-Socio Economic Research Center in Jamaica.
The overstay rate among SAWP workers is negligible. The previously mentioned World Bank report estimates it to be 1.5 percent.
Ghost Consultants
The world has seen several effects following the earthquake in Haiti, the saddest and perhaps most worrying are the emergence of fraudulent Canadian immigration lawyers. This is the story that in the province of Quebec numbers of these supposed lawyers has sky-rocketed since the disaster happened, aiming to capitalise on the thousands of desperate people that are now hoping to start a new life in Canada or bring relatives over to Canada to live.
The numbers on the surface are slightly shocking; Canada government officials estimate that there are now over 3000 illegal Canada immigration lawyers operating in Quebec, the number of registered lawyers is 150!
This has seen a hastily arranged ad campaign by the Canadian Government to warn people of the risks involved with using such agents.
New Canada immigration ad campaign depicts a seal being eaten by a shark
One source has told us that victims are being charged between $6,000 and $15,000 for the bogus Canada immigration service.
“They are being offered false hope and false promises, people think that because they are paying these astronomical prices they are somehow assured of getting a Canadian visa, when in fact the sad truth is that most of these people do not qualify for immigration into Canada at all.”
“If you are paying nearly $15,000 in some cases you would think that this would be a guarantee of a visa, the fake lawyers however have no intention of honouring whatever lies they have told and are not regulated so just disappear.”
Of course this is worrying to everyone involved in immigration circles, and it is hoped that the measures now being taken by the Canadian Government to counteract this will be effective.
As well as the ad campaign Canada immigration have announced that they are relaxing the rules for relatives of those Haitians affected by the earthquake. For full details of the new rules please contact us.
Source: Global Visas
The numbers on the surface are slightly shocking; Canada government officials estimate that there are now over 3000 illegal Canada immigration lawyers operating in Quebec, the number of registered lawyers is 150!
This has seen a hastily arranged ad campaign by the Canadian Government to warn people of the risks involved with using such agents.
New Canada immigration ad campaign depicts a seal being eaten by a shark
One source has told us that victims are being charged between $6,000 and $15,000 for the bogus Canada immigration service.
“They are being offered false hope and false promises, people think that because they are paying these astronomical prices they are somehow assured of getting a Canadian visa, when in fact the sad truth is that most of these people do not qualify for immigration into Canada at all.”
“If you are paying nearly $15,000 in some cases you would think that this would be a guarantee of a visa, the fake lawyers however have no intention of honouring whatever lies they have told and are not regulated so just disappear.”
Of course this is worrying to everyone involved in immigration circles, and it is hoped that the measures now being taken by the Canadian Government to counteract this will be effective.
As well as the ad campaign Canada immigration have announced that they are relaxing the rules for relatives of those Haitians affected by the earthquake. For full details of the new rules please contact us.
Source: Global Visas
Quebec announces special immigration sponsorship program for Haiti.
Canada, Haiti
February 5 2010
By:Davis LLP
Bistra G.Stoytcheva
On February 3, 2010 Québec's Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities Ms. Yolande James announced exceptional sponsorship measures for persons from Haiti. These measures will enable family members that are significantly and personally affected by the January 12th earthquake to immigrate to Quebec and join their families.
The measures are twofold:
1) A new humanitarian sponsorship program has been created which gives the possibility to sponsor people who are not currently admissible pursuant to the regular sponsorship program. In accordance with the program, permanent residents and/or Canadian citizens of Haitian origin who reside in Québec may sponsor their brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters and children who are over 22 years of age, together with their spouses and dependant children. New forms to be used for sponsoring pursuant to this new humanitarian program will be available starting February 17, 2010.
2) Another measure consists in the possibility of having another person (and his/her spouse, as the case may be) without any family ties to the sponsored person to co-sign the financial undertaking together with the principal sponsor. This measure will apply to both the regular sponsorship program and the humanitarian sponsorship program described above. The co-signatories will be solidarily responsible during the length of the undertaking and the duration of the financial undertaking for the humanitarian sponsorship program will be of 5 years.
The number of immigrants from Haitian origin that Québec will accept pursuant to this program is limited to a maximum of 3,000 persons. The selection criteria applied to applicants will be chosen the degree of distress of the person affected by the earthquake and his/her capacity to integrate into Québec society.
The exceptional measures will be in effect from February 17 to December 31, 2010.
February 5 2010
By:Davis LLP
Bistra G.Stoytcheva
On February 3, 2010 Québec's Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities Ms. Yolande James announced exceptional sponsorship measures for persons from Haiti. These measures will enable family members that are significantly and personally affected by the January 12th earthquake to immigrate to Quebec and join their families.
The measures are twofold:
1) A new humanitarian sponsorship program has been created which gives the possibility to sponsor people who are not currently admissible pursuant to the regular sponsorship program. In accordance with the program, permanent residents and/or Canadian citizens of Haitian origin who reside in Québec may sponsor their brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters and children who are over 22 years of age, together with their spouses and dependant children. New forms to be used for sponsoring pursuant to this new humanitarian program will be available starting February 17, 2010.
2) Another measure consists in the possibility of having another person (and his/her spouse, as the case may be) without any family ties to the sponsored person to co-sign the financial undertaking together with the principal sponsor. This measure will apply to both the regular sponsorship program and the humanitarian sponsorship program described above. The co-signatories will be solidarily responsible during the length of the undertaking and the duration of the financial undertaking for the humanitarian sponsorship program will be of 5 years.
The number of immigrants from Haitian origin that Québec will accept pursuant to this program is limited to a maximum of 3,000 persons. The selection criteria applied to applicants will be chosen the degree of distress of the person affected by the earthquake and his/her capacity to integrate into Québec society.
The exceptional measures will be in effect from February 17 to December 31, 2010.
New Brunswickers allowed to help relatives immigrate (10/02/05)
Feb. 5, 2010
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The provincial government is changing the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to allow residents to help family members immigrate if they possess work skills required in New Brunswick.
"The immediate family members of permanent residents should be afforded an opportunity to be successful in New Brunswick," said Business New Brunswick Minister Victor Boudreau, who is also the minister responsible for the Population Growth Secretariat.
The PNP is designed to help the provinces attract entrepreneurs and skilled workers according to their specific needs. Under the program's existing categories of skilled worker and entrepreneur, nominees need to have a job offer or a business plan to be nominated.
These program changes will introduce a new category for skilled workers who have family support. Residents with family members who have specified work skills will be able to help these family members with their job search, settlement and integration.
"Anyone looking for a job can tell you that the process often takes time and requires face to face contact with potential employers," said Boudreau. "The process is even more difficult for those who live abroad."
Dependents who are eligible to apply for the federal program are not eligible for the PNP.
The entrepreneurial component is also being adjusted to improve overall immigrant retention.
Entrepreneurial immigrants who wish to set up a business in New Brunswick must now submit a conditionally refundable deposit. They will be eligible for a refund if they establish a business within two years of arriving in the province and have it in operation for at least one year.
"This program change encourages retention by attracting newcomers with a genuine desire to stay in New Brunswick," said Boudreau. "Ultimately, we want our staff processing applications from individuals who are sincere about establishing businesses in our province."
The deposit will apply only to entrepreneurial immigrants. Applicants must still prove they have the skills, training and finances to start and operate a successful business in New Brunswick.
"Typically, entrepreneurial immigrants are financially flexible and very independent," said Boudreau. "Unless there is some commitment to our province, they can easily move to other regions of Canada."
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have Provincial Nominee Programs that include a requirement for a refundable deposit.
In 2008, almost 2,000 immigrants arrived in New Brunswick through the PNP, compared to 24 in 1999. The Population Growth Secretariat has a government mandate to attract 5,000 immigrants by 2015 and to significantly increase the retention rate.
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The provincial government is changing the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to allow residents to help family members immigrate if they possess work skills required in New Brunswick.
"The immediate family members of permanent residents should be afforded an opportunity to be successful in New Brunswick," said Business New Brunswick Minister Victor Boudreau, who is also the minister responsible for the Population Growth Secretariat.
The PNP is designed to help the provinces attract entrepreneurs and skilled workers according to their specific needs. Under the program's existing categories of skilled worker and entrepreneur, nominees need to have a job offer or a business plan to be nominated.
These program changes will introduce a new category for skilled workers who have family support. Residents with family members who have specified work skills will be able to help these family members with their job search, settlement and integration.
"Anyone looking for a job can tell you that the process often takes time and requires face to face contact with potential employers," said Boudreau. "The process is even more difficult for those who live abroad."
Dependents who are eligible to apply for the federal program are not eligible for the PNP.
The entrepreneurial component is also being adjusted to improve overall immigrant retention.
Entrepreneurial immigrants who wish to set up a business in New Brunswick must now submit a conditionally refundable deposit. They will be eligible for a refund if they establish a business within two years of arriving in the province and have it in operation for at least one year.
"This program change encourages retention by attracting newcomers with a genuine desire to stay in New Brunswick," said Boudreau. "Ultimately, we want our staff processing applications from individuals who are sincere about establishing businesses in our province."
The deposit will apply only to entrepreneurial immigrants. Applicants must still prove they have the skills, training and finances to start and operate a successful business in New Brunswick.
"Typically, entrepreneurial immigrants are financially flexible and very independent," said Boudreau. "Unless there is some commitment to our province, they can easily move to other regions of Canada."
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have Provincial Nominee Programs that include a requirement for a refundable deposit.
In 2008, almost 2,000 immigrants arrived in New Brunswick through the PNP, compared to 24 in 1999. The Population Growth Secretariat has a government mandate to attract 5,000 immigrants by 2015 and to significantly increase the retention rate.
New Brunswick makes changes to PNP to welcome more immigrants
This week, the province of New Brunswick made modifications to its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to allow it to attract a greater number of immigrants. Family members of current residents of New Brunswick are now eligible to apply under this PNP if they possess work skills that are in demand in New Brunswick.
Before the changes, there were two categories under the New Brunswick PNP: one category for individuals with job offers in the province and one for those who planned to establish a business in New Brunswick.
There are now three categories:
* Skilled Worker Applicants with Employer Support, for those who have guaranteed job offers from New Brunswick employers;
* Skilled Worker Applicants with Family Support, for those who have family members who have been living and working in New Brunswick for at least one year and who possess skills in demand in the province;
* Business Applicants for individuals who wish to start a business in New Brunswick.
A new requirement was added to the Business Applicants category to ensure that only those who intend to start a business in New Brunswick are nominated under this program. Applicants must now make a conditionally refundable deposit of CDN 75,000 prior to nomination. The deposit will be refunded if the applicant established a business within two years of landing in New Brunswick and operates it for at least one year.
Are you eligible to immigrate to Canada under this PNP or any other category? Fill out our free Canadian immigration assessment form and find out.
Source: Canadavisa.com
http://www.canadavisa.com/new-brunswick-changes-pnp-welcome-more-immigrants-100208.html
Before the changes, there were two categories under the New Brunswick PNP: one category for individuals with job offers in the province and one for those who planned to establish a business in New Brunswick.
There are now three categories:
* Skilled Worker Applicants with Employer Support, for those who have guaranteed job offers from New Brunswick employers;
* Skilled Worker Applicants with Family Support, for those who have family members who have been living and working in New Brunswick for at least one year and who possess skills in demand in the province;
* Business Applicants for individuals who wish to start a business in New Brunswick.
A new requirement was added to the Business Applicants category to ensure that only those who intend to start a business in New Brunswick are nominated under this program. Applicants must now make a conditionally refundable deposit of CDN 75,000 prior to nomination. The deposit will be refunded if the applicant established a business within two years of landing in New Brunswick and operates it for at least one year.
Are you eligible to immigrate to Canada under this PNP or any other category? Fill out our free Canadian immigration assessment form and find out.
Source: Canadavisa.com
http://www.canadavisa.com/new-brunswick-changes-pnp-welcome-more-immigrants-100208.html
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