The Coming Tax Increases in USA. Why americans should consider moving to Canada

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Source:The Economic Collapse blog

Unless the U.S. Congress acts, there is going to be a massive wave of tax increases in 2011.  In fact, some are already calling 2011 the year of the tax increase.  A whole host of tax cuts that Congress established between 2001 and 2003 are set to expire in January unless Congress chooses to renew them.  But with Democrats firmly in control of both houses that appears to be extremely unlikely.  These tax increases are going to affect every single American (at least those who actually pay taxes).  But this will be just the first wave of tax increases.  Another huge slate of tax increases passed in the health care reform law is scheduled to go into effect by 2019.  So Americans that are already infuriated by our tax system are only going to become more frustrated in the years ahead.  The reality is that the U.S. government will soon be digging much deeper into our wallets.
The following are some of the tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect in 2011....
1 - The lowest bracket for the personal income tax is going to increase from 10 percent to 15 percent.
2 - The next lowest bracket for the personal income tax is going to increase from 25 percent to 28 percent.
3 - The 28 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 31 percent.
4 - The 33 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 36 percent.
5 - The 35 percent tax bracket is going to increase to 39.6 percent.
6 - In 2011, the death tax is scheduled to return.  So instead of paying zero percent, estates of $1 million or more are going to be taxed at a rate of 55 percent.
7 - The capital gains tax is going to increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.
8 - The tax on dividends is going to increase from 15 percent to 39.6 percent.
9 - The "marriage penalty" is also scheduled to be reinstated in 2011.
It is being estimated that the total cost of these tax increases to U.S. taxpayers will be $2.6 trillion through the year 2020.
Ouch!
But wait, there are even more tax increases coming.
The "health care reform law" contains over a dozen new taxes that will be implemented in stages over the next decade.  When you add all of these taxes to the taxes that were mentioned earlier, the result is going to be absolutely devastating.  According to an analysis by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation the health care reform law will generate $409.2 billion in additional taxes by the year 2019.
Double ouch!
So is it any wonder why the public has such a low opinion of the U.S. Congress?
Every single major poll done on the topic shows that approval ratings for Congress are at record lows.
For example, Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll found Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year.
Of course there are a whole host of reasons why the American people are upset with Congress, but one of the big ones is the fact that we are literally being taxed to death.
However, it is not just federal income taxes that are killing us.
In a previous article entitled "Taxed Enough Already!", we listed just a few of the taxes that Americans have to pay each year....
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax
Gift Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Payroll Taxes
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
School Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Toll Tunnel Taxes
Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer registration tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Are you dizzy yet?
The reality is that the American people are being drained in dozens and dozens of different ways.
But what did you expect?
Did you think that our politicians would pile up the biggest debt in the history of the world and never ask you to pay for it?
Did you think that we could run deficits equivalent to about 10 percent of GDP without ever seeing tax increases?
The truth is that the U.S. government needs a whole lot more money than even these new tax increases will bring in.
After all, it is being projected that the U.S. government will be spending $2 trillion on the interest on the national debt alone by the year 2020.
To put that in perspective, the entire budget for the U.S. government is less than $4 trillion for 2010.
Are you starting to get the picture?
In the years ahead the IRS is going to be digging deeper and deeper into our pockets and a gigantic chunk of that money is going to go directly into the pockets of those who own our debt.
But very few Americans wanted to listen when this problem was actually somewhat fixable 20 or 30 years ago.
So now we are all going to pay the price - literally.

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Opportunities Ontario: Applying as an International Student (Pilot International Masters Graduate Stream)

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If you are a graduate or will soon be graduating from a Masters program from one of Ontario’s publicly funded universities, you may be able to apply to Opportunities Ontario for nomination as a permanent resident, under the International Student Category’s Masters Graduate Stream.
Ontario’s Masters Graduate students do not require a job offer.
Here is some information that will help you complete the application process:

Who can apply as an international Masters graduate in Ontario?

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international Masters graduate in Ontario, students must:

• Intend to live and work in Ontario.
• Have graduated from an existing Masters program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario.
• Have completed a minimum of one academic year degree program, while studying on a full-time basis.
• Apply within two years of the date on which their Masters degree was granted, or in the alternative, during the last semester of completing their degree.
• Currently be residing in Ontario.
• Have legal status in Canada (i.e. study permit, work permit, temporary resident visa)
• Demonstrate high official language proficiency (For English language proficiency – IELTS – General test with a minimum score of 7 or higher) (For French language proficiency – TEF – with a minimum score of 5 or higher).
• Demonstrate a minimum level of savings/income to support themselves and their dependants.
• Demonstrate at least one year of residence in Ontario in the past two years.

You will need to submit the following documents to demonstrate that you meet Opportunities Ontario eligibility criteria and to confirm your identity, family situation and education:

• A copy of your birth certificate.
• A copy of all the pages of your passport. All prospective nominees should ensure that their passports will be valid for at least two years from the time that they submit their nominee application.
• A copy of your work permit, study permit, temporary resident visa, and/or any other Canadian immigration document or entry stamp you have received. If these documents are inside your copied passport, you do not need to make additional copies.
• Copy of each dependant’s passport page which shows his/her photo and personal information.
• A certified true copy of relevant university degree(s) if the degree has been granted. If the degree has not been granted, you will need to submit:
  
  • Official letter (on institution letterhead) from the university which will be granting the Masters degree confirming:
    1. all degree requirements have been successfully completed;
    2. there are no outstanding fees to be paid; and
    3. the scheduled date when your degree will be granted.
  • Official transcripts in sealed envelope sent directly from the academic institution which will be granting the degree.
• If you are in your last semester of Masters studies, you will need to submit:
  
  • Official letter (on institution letterhead) from the academic institution which will be granting the degree confirming full-time registration and the current academic standing of the applicant
  • Official transcripts in a sealed envelope sent directly from the academic institution which will be granting the degree
• A copy of your current resumé.
• The original score of your IELTS – General test with a minimum score of 7 or higher or TEF – with a minimum score of 5 or higher (obtained within the last year).
• Personal bank account monthly statements for the past 6 months, or (if overseas) an original letter and monthly statements from a recognized financial institution indicating personal account standing/balance in accordance with the following schedule:
• 
  

• Number of family members	Funds required
  1	$11,086
  2	$13,801
  3	$16,967
  4	$20,599
  5	$23,364
  6	$26,350
  7 or more	$29,337

• A copy of ONE of the following to show proof of 1 year of residency in Ontario:
  
  • Monthly credit card statement, phone, hydro or energy bill in any accumulative 12 months in the past 2 years showing your full name and Ontario address
  • Leasing document or rent receipts demonstrating residence in any accumulative 12 months in the past 2 years showing your full name and Ontario address
  
  
  

  How quickly will my application be processed?

  Complete nominee application packages will be processed within 90 days, on a first-come-first-served basis.
  Opportunities Ontario will target 1,000 nominations for 2010. Priority assessment will be given to those applicants who can demonstrate the strongest potential to settle successfully and permanently in Ontario.
  

  What are the fees?

  Opportunities Ontario will charge a non-refundable nominee application processing fee of $1,500 for all international students.
  

  What happens after I am approved?

  A Provincial Nomination Certificate will be issued for all successful nominees. Successful nominees must then apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for permanent residence. A successful provincial nomination replaces the selection component under other immigration classes (such as the Federal Skilled Worker Class, and the Family Class). Provincial nominees will receive priority processing from CIC.

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U.S. job seekers should move to Canada

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A popular U.S. website has a unique suggestion for Americans desperately seeking work.
The advice? Move to Canada.
There's a fluttering Maple Leaf on the homepage today of the Huffington Post, a site popular for its news and celebrity blogs.
The accompanying headline says: Need A Job? Try Canada, Where Hiring Is Booming And Home Prices Are Rising.
That article comes amid news that Canada's economy added a whopping 93,200 new jobs last month; the U.S., meanwhile, continues to struggle with unemployment woes.
The bottom of the HuffPost article carries a poll, asking people whether they would be willing to move to Canada for work.
The early results of that poll – which is by no means scientific: Fifty-five per cent said they'd move to Canada if that's where the jobs are, while 19 per cent said they'd stay in the States.
The article tells readers: “Stubbornly high unemployment rates got you down? Not sold on the economic recovery? Look no further than America's polite neighbor to the north, where jobs numbers are surging and home prices have been rising steadily for nearly a year.
“Last month, Canada, a nation with roughly one tenth of our population, created about 10,000 more new jobs than America.”

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Private sector fuels surge in jobs in Canada

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Jeremy Torobin

Ottawa — From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Jul. 09, 2010 7:06AM EDT Last updated on Monday, Jul. 12, 2010 10:37AM EDT

After weathering a brutal downturn that knocked hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of the work force, Central Canada’s job machine is back and revving into high gear.
The country’s remarkable rebound from recession gained momentum in June, as surging job growth in Ontario and Quebec underpinned an increase of 93,000 jobs and unemployment fell below 8 per cent for the first time since early 2009, Statistics Canada reported.
Ontario produced 60,000 jobs in June, and Quebec added 30,000, as employment soared in the services sector, including gains in retail, health care, trade and building services.
Importantly, the June jobs report showed the private sector continues to pick up the baton from the public sector, which has long supported the economy with a massive stimulus spending package on the order of $62-billion.
The private sector has accounted for more than 246,000 new jobs over four months, a welcome trend for Canadian policy makers who have long urged companies to take the lead on economic growth as government stimulus spending tapers off in the second half of this year.
The stunning employment gain was close to the highest on record, second only to an increase of about 109,000 jobs two months earlier. The June hiring brought the combined total of new positions created since last July to 403,000, restoring most of the jobs lost during the recession. The jobless rate dropped to 7.9 per cent from 8.1 per cent.


“The jobs picture clearly shows that the Canadian recovery hasn’t stalled yet,” said Benjamin Reitzes, an economist with BMO Capital Markets. “The handoff from public to private spending looks to be going smoothly.”
The jobs report, far stronger than expected, also lays the groundwork for another interest-rate hike later this month, following a quarter-point increase by the Bank of Canada in early June, economists said. The quickly improving jobs picture, along with rising interest rates, stands in sharp contrast with the still-sluggish economy south of the border. Only a fraction of the more than eight million jobs lost in the United States between late 2007 and late 2009 have been restored, while the U.S. Federal Reserve shows no sign of raising its near-zero interest rates any time soon.
The Canadian dollar soared by nearly a full cent against the U.S. dollar Friday, as investors bet that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will raise the benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points on July 20 to 0.75 per cent.
But economists caution that Canada’s economy and job creation are not guaranteed to continue at the current clip.
Since June 1, when Mr. Carney became the first central banker in the Group of Seven to lift borrowing costs, the European debt crisis has produced a march toward austerity in the world’s rich economies, a cure which some analysts warn could prove painful. Also, the recovery in the United States, Canada’s top export market, looks increasingly fragile, as housing and the labour market sputter. And there are fears that measures to keep emerging-market economies such as China’s from overheating could cool a vital source of global demand.
For export-heavy Canada, where the housing market is already slowing down, that means it’s highly unlikely that the current pace of job creation, let alone the first quarter’s 6.1-per-cent economic growth rate, are sustainable.
“Any realistic look at what’s happening in the U.S., Europe, China, suggests that the second half of this year will be much, much weaker than the first half,” Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets, said. “This recovery is going to be the most nonlinear recovery in ages. The story will not be as pretty three months from now.”
Mr. Carney later this month will release his latest forecasts for Canada and for key countries and regions around the world. Most economists, including Mr. Tal, say things are good enough in Canada for now that the central bank will probably keep raising interest rates in 25-basis-point increments until the benchmark rate is at 1 or 1.25 per cent, but then policy makers will pause to assess how much global headwinds are affecting the domestic economy.
Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, on Friday predicted “a pattern of oscillating rate hikes and pauses” as Mr. Carney takes a cautious approach.
Another concern is the type of jobs being created. Retail and other service-sector jobs tend to be more temporary, based on flexible hours, and are often lower-paying, economists said. The goods-producing industries that make many of Canada’s exported products saw a net job loss in June.
Still, Canada’s job gains are far brighter than in the United States, where the jobless rate is still 9.5 per cent and in recent months has dropped only because discouraged job-seekers have stopped looking and thus aren’t counted as part of the labour force.
Mr. Carney started warning in April that Canada's rebound from the crisis would slow considerably starting in the second quarter because of a slowdown in housing, the impact of the loonie near parity with the U.S. dollar and the inevitable end of government support.
Pointing to those factors, plus “uneven” global growth and sovereign-debt worries, Mr. Carney has said several times that a return to more normal interest rates is not “preordained.’’
On Monday, he will release a closely watched survey of executives from across the country, which will give a sense of how worried businesses are about Canada becoming a victim of economic problems from outside its borders.
“I have doubts about whether the economy is going to be able to keep up the head of steam that it has right now,’’ said Carl Weinberg, chief economist with High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y. “The U.S. economy is questionable, Europe is in trouble, Japan is in trouble, all the major trading partners are hurting and the loonie is quite strong,” he said. “So it’s hard to look at the months ahead and draw a strong line on the chart for where GDP is headed.”

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U.S. might pick up tips from Canada’s economic rebound

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Washington — Whatever else they’ve thought about their neighbor to the north, Americans have almost never looked to Canada as a role model.
Indeed, during the long, bitter push to revamp the U.S. health care system, opponents repeatedly warned that if we weren’t careful, we could end up with a medical system like Canada’s.


But on health care, and such crucial issues as the deficit, unemployment, immigration and prospering in the global economy, Canada seems to be outperforming the United States. And in doing so, it is offering examples of successful strategies that Americans might consider.
While the United States, Japan and much of Europe are struggling with massive fiscal deficits, Canada’s financial house is tidy and secure. Most economists say it will take years for the United States to make up the 8 million-plus jobs lost during the recession, but Canada — despite its historic role as a major supplier for the still-troubled U.S. auto industry — already has recovered essentially all of the jobs it lost.
Meanwhile, as Americans continue their grueling battle over immigration, Canadians have united behind a policy that emphasizes opening the door to tens of thousands of skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and other productive workers who have played an important role in strengthening the Canadian economy.
Granted, Canada’s problem with illegal immigration is smaller, and its economy does not match the scale and dynamic productivity of the world’s largest. But on the most troubling issues of the day, the U.S. is locked in near-paralyzing political and ideological debates, while those issues are hardly raising eyebrows in Canada.
“We did a lot of things right going into the financial crisis,” said Glen Hodgson, senior vice president at the Conference Board of Canada, a business-membership and research group in Ottawa.
One of the most important, he said: Back in the 1990s, Canada cleaned up the fiscal mess that most every developed nation is now facing.
Earlier that decade, Canada too was straining from years of excessive government spending that bloated the nation’s total debts, to 70 percent of annual economic output — a figure the U.S. is projected to approach in two years.
As with Greece, Portugal and Spain this year, Canada’s credit rating was downgraded in the early 1990s, sharply raising its borrowing costs. With its economy suffering and pressure mounting from international investors — Wall Street bankers in particular — Canadian officials slashed spending for social programs and shifted more of the cost burden to provincial governments, which almost everyone in Canada felt.
With the economic downturn, Canada pumped up public spending to stimulate growth, as other nations did. Still, its fiscal shortfall this year is projected at $33 billion, comfortably below the 3 percent-of-GDP threshold that economists consider a manageable level of debt.
Washington’s deficit this fiscal year is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $1.35 trillion — or 9.2 percent of projected GDP.
The United States’ larger size — its population and economy are roughly 10 times those of Canada — makes direct comparisons difficult. And many Canadians readily acknowledge that American entrepreneurship and productivity are enviably stronger.
“U.S. businesses are certainly looking at lessons learned from Canada,” said Bart van Ark, chief economist at the Conference Board in New York. “In a nutshell, Canada has been very pragmatic in dealing with the economy.”
Canada’s approach to immigration is one example. With one of the highest immigration rates in the world, Canada has been receiving about 250,000 permanent residents annually. About one-fourth of the new arrivals gain entry through family relations, but more than 60 percent are admitted as “economic immigrants” — that is, skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors.
In the U.S., it’s basically the reverse: Most of the 1 million-plus permanent residents received annually have been family-sponsored; only about 1 in 7 are admitted based on employment preferences. That is, Washington emphasizes bringing in family members of immigrants already in the U.S. Ottawa puts the emphasis on admitting those who can contribute to the economy.

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JOHNSON: A nation of migrants

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By RICHARD JOHNSON Local Columnist

> SOUTHERN INDIANA — As far as we know, the only true natives living in America today are the Indians. Columbus gave them that name. He was wrong...this isn’t India. In Canada, they are called the “First Nations;” this better describes those who were here long before a single European set foot on the continent. So, unless you have “First Nations” blood flowing in your veins, you are an immigrant, or a descendent of immigrants.

Immigrants built this nation; from the earliest days, people have come here looking for a better life, and worked hard to find it. Many fled poverty, persecution, and despotism. They came to experience the freedom to worship as they chose, and to live in a country where inalienable human rights were recognized.

Every new wave of immigration in our history has been met with suspicion and hostility by the people already here. The First Nations certainly didn’t want their land taken away...but it was, with the exception of a few reservations that the French, the Spanish and the English didn’t want.

When the Irish began to arrive on our shores in the early 1800’s, they were stigmatized by those already here as a whiskey-loving people incapable of little more than getting drunk and brawling. To a predominantly Protestant population, the fact that most Irish immigrants were Roman Catholics made them especially undesirable as neighbors. It wasn’t all that long ago when signs that read “No Irish Need Apply” could be seen on the doors of prospective employers everywhere, but especially in Boston, New York and other great cities of the northeast.

About the same time the Irish were coming from the east, the Chinese began to come from the west. The attitude of those who felt threatened by these new immigrants was that as bad as the Irish were, at least they were white. Since their language, customs and culture seemed especially alien, the Chinese were hated, feared and treated with considerable brutality.

In spite of their uncertain welcome, the Irish and Chinese kept coming ... and thank God they did. These two peoples built much of this country’s infrastructure, especially our railroads, bridges, and canals. As some still say today, they took the jobs that no one else wanted ... and did them well.

Later immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe; the Italians, Poles, Slavs, Greeks and others. These in their turn were met with hostility and suspicion by the people already here ... including the Irish and Chinese.

In recent years, our nation has been enriched by the arrival of legal immigrants from every nation, including the Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians; Indians, Africans ... the list is too long to publish. Most arriving on our shores have suffered the same suspicion and rejection as their predecessors ... but have stayed, worked hard and become law-abiding, contributing citizens.

Then there are the immigrants that came here against their wills; Africans who were kidnapped and sold into slavery here in America. Of all the immigrants to reach these shores, their treatment by those already here has been the most brutal; and they have suffered discrimination for the longest period of time ... generations.

In spite of these circumstances, no other immigrant group has contributed as much as they have to the success and culture of our nation. Someday Martin Luther King’s dream will come true; we will no longer classify people by their color or ethnicity, but judge them by the content of their character.

Today, some are concerned about people of Latin descent coming from Mexico and Central/South America. It’s the same old story; just the name of the immigrant group has changed. Latinos have already contributed much to our nation, and will continue to do so, just as immigrants who came before them have done.

Today’s issue is not about immigration, as some would have us believe; it is about illegal immigration. We are a nation of immigrants ... but we are a nation of legal immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. It’s not good to start a new life in a new country by ignoring the law.

Arizona has it right; leaving our borders open and unprotected is dangerous ... and foolish. Illegal drugs are flowing into our country from Mexico almost unimpeded. If our Federal government is unwilling to enforce its own immigration laws, then the states will have to step in out of self-defense.

The Mexican drug cartels are well financed, well-armed, and well-organized; and they are taking full advantage of our government’s inaction. If nothing changes, we can expect a continued escalation of violence on both sides of the border. Crime loves a vacuum. Law enforcement needs more help.

Drug money is a major source of funding for many of the terrorist organizations that have declared war on our freedom. Whether it’s heroin from the poppy fields of Afghanistan, or cocaine from South America, some of that money is buying bombs to be used to blow up innocent people.

Let’s not forget the Canadian border, either. Just because we don’t hear much about it in the news, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be paying closer attention.

In the end, we are a nation of immigrants. Immigration has made us the freest and strongest nation in the world ... the envy of those who desire to live here, and the bane of those who hate our freedom and want to take it away. We are all best served, citizen and immigrant alike, if our borders are secured, and those who desire to live and work in our country come here legally.

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Indian doctor makes to the top in Canada

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Source: hindustatimes
With most Indian doctors in Toronto driving taxis because of non-recognition of their degrees, few have established themselves in their medical profession in Canada. But Amritsar-born physician Birinder Ahluwalia has made it to the very top of his trade, with his BSA Diagnostic Medical Imaging Centre in Toronto rated as one of the biggest and best in this country.
"Last year, we treated a record 70,000 patients and the numbers will be even higher this year. I don't know of any other medical centre in Canada treating more patients than us," Ahluwalia, who is equally well known in cultural circles as one of the founders of the city's Spinning Wheel Film Festival, said in an interview.
For his professional and cultural accomplishments, he was chosen among the top 25 immigrant achievers and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited him to accompany him to India in 2009.
"It was so kind of the Prime Minister to invite me to India. Since we are one of the largest medical centres in Canada, they thought it fit to invite me. Maybe I was included because Canada and India also to increase medical tourism," said the alumnus of Amritsar Medical College where his illustrious father Balbir Singh Ahluwalia also taught.
Like all immigrants, Ahluwalia too began his life at the bottom after reaching Toronto in 1985.
"Yes I was a qualified doctor from India, but I started here as a courier boy. But that didn't last long as I made quick moves, becoming assistant to the chief of the RDS Diagnostics as well as training as a diagnostic imaging specialist," he recalled.
Luckily for him, diagnostic imaging was just taking off and the young Indian saw a huge opportunity in this field.
"I set up a small facility under the name of BSA Diagnostic Imaging Centre in 1989 and have not looked back since. We have grown many times over to become one of the biggest in Canada. I was lucky to enter this field at the right time and become financially successful very quickly," Ahluwalia said.
With Toronto earning the dubious distinction of having more immigrant doctors turned taxi drivers than any city in the world, Ahluwalia is angry about the the plight of his fellow professionals.
"Canada is making its system inaccessible to foreign trained doctors on the false grounds that their skills may not be up to Canadian standards. It is bigotry. I have hired more foreign trained professionals and we have become one of the best diagnostic centres in Canada. I tell these people: put immigrant doctors through 6-12 months of training, and they will be wonderfully okay," he said.

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Governments boost training for immigrants

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By: Bruce Owen

OTTAWA will spend more than $2 million over the next two years to help immigrants to Manitoba hone their skills and credentials so they can find work more quickly.
Minister of State for Democratic Reform Steven Fletcher and Manitoba's Advanced Education Minister Diane McGifford announced the post-secondary programs on Friday.
The money can't come soon enough for Zaheer Ahmad, a student at the University of Winnipeg's internationally educated IT professionals bridge program.
"This will fill in gaps to help us polish our skills," Ahmad said, adding the program will include work placement so students such as him can get work experience. He immigrated from Pakistan three years ago.
"This program will help show you how to get into your related field," he said, adding he's "100 per cent" confident he'll find a job through the program.
The federal funding helps pay for two programs, Fletcher said.
The first pays the province more than $1.2 million to expand programs to upgrade the credentials of skilled foreign-trained professionals through Manitoba's universities and colleges. The province's contribution is $950,000.
"What we're trying to do here is to allow individuals to be masters of their fate and the captain of their souls, and the best way to do that is through education," he added, paraphrasing English poet William Ernest Henley.
The province's bridge-to-work programs are a response by government that many immigrants can't find work in their chosen fields because they don't meet Canadian standards.
The second part of the federal funding will see $942,000 go to the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) for a project that helps integrate internationally trained immigrants into the workforce more quickly. The project will make the portability of their training and vocational assessments more consistent across Canada.
McGifford, chair of the CMEC, said these programs are needed as immigration to the province continues to grow.
Last year, 13,520 people immigrated to the province, an increase of 263 per cent over the past decade, she said.
The federal funding also expands the bridge-to-work program to include accountants at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba and the financial-services sector through a new program at Assiniboine Community College. A trades-related program is under development at Red River College. It will focus on construction and industrial electrician trades.
Similar programs already exist at the U of M for foreign-trained doctors, dentists, engineers, teachers and agrologists.

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Canada high on list for Chinese planning to travel, invest abroad

Image by Scalino / On The Road Again via Flickr

by Al Campbell
VANCOUVER, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Only a few weeks after finalizing its Approved Destination Status (ADS), Canada has already ranked the third most popular tourist destination among Chinese looking to travel abroad, according to a survey released Monday.
In a telephone poll of 1,080 people living in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the "Research Report on China's Outbound Tourism Market" found Australia the most desired destination of prospective Chinese travelers, followed by Singapore and Canada.
The report was conducted jointly by the Vancouver-based SUCCESS Foundation, EMR International and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada,
Japan ranked fourth, just ahead of the United States, South Korea and New Zealand. Europe (16 percent), currently the most popular Western destination with Chinese travelers after Asia (67 percent) according to the Chinese Tourism News Association, surprisingly ranked 11th on the list of 13 countries and regions. The Middle East was last with only about 2 percent showing interest in visiting the region.
Unlike Australia which has had ADS since 1999, Canada, which only had its status finalized late last month during Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the country ahead of the G20 summit in Toronto, was a desired destination of about 13 percent of travelers. Last year, Canada received 160,833 Chinese visitors out of the 47.6 million who traveled abroad.
Historically, countries that have been granted ADS, a designation which allows Chinese tourists to visit in organized, pre-sold tourist groups, have experienced a 40-percent jump in Chinese visitors the first year, increasing to more than 50 percent after two years.
With China forecast to have 100 million outbound tourists by 2020, Yuen Pau Woo, head of the Asia Pacific Foundation, said Canada was uniquely positioned to capitalize on the increasing number of travelers because of the "deep and profound" relationship shared by the two countries.
Currently, Canada and China are marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
"It is this unique connection that we have because of immigration, because of tourists, because of students, because of business ties, that puts Canada, I think, in a unique competitive position to build stronger relations with China. If we have more tourism traffic and Chinese visitors have a better understanding of Canada, in turn Canadians have a better understanding of China and Chinese visitors, suspicions go down, trust goes up," he said.
Other findings listed Canada as the most popular place for emigration among Beijingers, while Shanghai and Guangzhou residents both preferred Australia. Overall, Australia was the most popular destination for emigration among those polled, just ahead of Canada, the United States, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
While America was the unanimous choice for studying abroad among all three cities polled, Canada ranked first (22 percent) as the favorite country or region for investment. the United States was second (18 percent), followed by Australia (13 percent).
Tung Chan, head of SUCCESS, a non-profit group which helps new immigrants start their lives in Canada, said Chinese investors liked the country for its political stability and that it was seen as a "comfort zone" for its large Chinese community numbering about 1.4 million people.
The survey also found Chinese perceived Canada as a place to lead a relaxed life with its beautiful scenery, fresh air, skiing and maple syrup. About 15 percent of respondents said they would like to travel to the country to ski, while another 15 percent wanted to go for the food and wine.
Last year was historic in terms of Chinese tourism as it was the first time in 30 years the country had a trade deficit. Chinese tourist spent more abroad than what foreign visitors spent in China.

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A few reasons why Canada’s economy is better than the U.S. economy

The United States has long prided itself as being a global superpower, and consequently, celebrating all the things that come with that title. Which is namely, being able to claim you’re the best at most things.
But it looks like Canada can now confidently say it is finally better than the U.S. at one thing (besides winning gold medal Olympic hockey games): economic management.
On Monday, the LA Times ran a piece on why Canada’s economy is defying the nearly ubiquitous trends of economic malaise afflicting the developed world. And it explains why the U.S. is still struggling to recover from the global recession while Canada has almost shrugged off its effects.
“We did a lot of things right going into the financial crisis,” Glen Hodgson, senior vice president at the Conference Board of Canada, told the Times.

It all started in the 1990s, when Canada could have easily been a contemporary member of Europe’s “PIIGS” — an acronym referring to Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, countries with bloated debts and sputtering economies. Canada too had a bloated debt in the early ‘90s. It also faced credit rating cuts across the board, and saw borrowing costs spike as a result.
But Canada responded with deep spending cuts to fix what many economists saw as a ticking economic time bomb. The federal government introduced harsh austerity measures that every Canadian felt — social programs were gutted, civil service pay was cut — as Canada attempted to decrease its massive 70% debt-to-GDP ratio.
In the end, after slowed growth and thousands of lost jobs, it worked. By 2008, Canada went into the global recession with a debt-to-GDP ration of just under 20%.
That meant Canada was better prepared than the rest of the developed world to face the effects of the recession. This year, for example, the country’s fiscal deficit is forecasted be $33 billion, well below the 3%-of-GDP threshold that economists consider manageable. Compare that to the U.S.’s 9.2%.
But that’s not the only thing Canada has done better than the U.S. The Times for instance points out that Canada’s banks were heralded as beacons of stability after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the start of the credit crisis in 2008. Banks here are relatively conservative compared to their American counterparts — exposure to sub-prime loans was low and home equity lines, which contributed to the credit crisis in the U.S., are recent offerings in Canada.
Another interesting facet of Canada’s economic success is attributed to the handling of immigration. The Times says that while Canada admits 60% of its immigrants as “economic immigrants” — that is skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors — only one in seven such immigrants to the U.S. match that criteria.
And that might not change anytime soon. Because illegal immigration is such a dominating topic in the U.S., making changes to the country’s immigration system tend to take a back seat in policy discussion. That means Washington will likely continue to emphasize bringing in family members of current immigrants over targeting highly-skilled workers. Which is simply counter-intuitive, since such people are so crucial to today’s knowledge-based economy.
So will the U.S. wake up and adopt Canada’s best practices? Although all of the above issues have been discussed (and extensively debated) in Congress, it seems unlikely. The immigration issue doesn’t look like it will be tackled anytime soon, considering Arizona’s new immigrant law has pushed illegal immigration to the forefront now more than ever before. Meanwhile, austerity measures haven’t gained much traction in the U.S., and banking reform faces significant opposition in Congress.
Whatever the U.S. ends up doing, one thing is for certain: when it comes to economic management, Canada reigns supreme. And that doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon.
jshmuel@nationalpost.com

Posted in: FP Posted  Tags: debt, Canada, Economy, GDP, United States, recession, credit crisis, austerity, PIIGS, Spending Cuts, Conference Board of Canada

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Canada's economy can teach the U.S. a thing or two

Image by The Adventures of Kristin & Adam via Flickr

Source: Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington — —
Whatever else they've thought about their much smaller neighbor to the north, Americans have almost never looked to Canada as a role model.

Indeed, during the long, bitter push to revamp the U.S. healthcare system, opponents repeatedly warned that, if we weren't careful, we could end up with a medical system like Canada's.

But on healthcare, as well as on such critical issues as the deficit, unemployment, immigration and prospering in the global economy, Canada seems to be outperforming the United States. And in doing so, it is offering examples of successful strategies that Americans might consider.

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While the United States, Japan and much of Europe are struggling with massive fiscal deficits, Canada's financial house is tidy and secure. Most economists say it will take years for the United States to make up the 8 million-plus jobs lost during the recession, but Canada — despite its historic role as a major supplier for the still-troubled U.S. auto industry — already has recovered essentially all of the jobs it lost.

Meanwhile, as Americans continue their grueling battle over immigration, Canadians have united behind a policy that emphasizes opening the door to tens of thousands of skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and other productive workers who have played an important role in strengthening the Canadian economy.

Granted, Canada's problem with illegal immigration is smaller, and its economy does not match the scale and dynamic productivity of the world's largest. But on the most troubling issues of the day, the U.S. is locked in near-paralyzing political and ideological debates, while those same issues are hardly raising eyebrows in Canada.

"We did a lot of things right going into the financial crisis," said Glen Hodgson, senior vice president at the Conference Board of Canada, a business-membership and research group in Ottawa.

One of the most important, he said: Back in the 1990s, it cleaned up the fiscal mess that most every developed nation is now facing.

Earlier that decade, Canada too was straining from years of excessive government spending that bloated the nation's total debts, to 70% of annual economic output — a figure the U.S. is projected to approach in two years.

As with Greece, Portugal and Spain this year, Canada's credit rating was downgraded in the early 1990s, sharply raising its borrowing costs. With its economy suffering and pressure mounting from international investors — Wall Street bankers in particular — Canadian officials slashed spending for social programs and shifted more of the cost burden to provincial governments, which almost everyone in Canada felt.

"I had to share a phone line with another professor. Can you believe it?" recalled Wenran Jiang, who joined the University of Alberta's political science faculty in 1993. Professors there and elsewhere also took salary cuts.

It would take several years of such tough medicine, but as Canada headed into the new millennium, the government's total debts were shaved nearly in half, and then whittled down to a little more than 20% of gross domestic product just before the global recession began in 2008 — by far the lowest ratio among major developed countries.

With the economic downturn, Canada pumped up public spending to stimulate growth, as other nations did. Even so, its fiscal shortfall this year is projected at $33 billion, comfortably below the 3%-of-GDP threshold that economists consider a manageable level of debt.

Washington's deficit this fiscal year is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $1.35 trillion — or 9.2% of projected GDP.

The United States' larger size — its population and economy are roughly 10 times those of Canada — makes direct comparisons difficult. And many Canadians readily acknowledge that American entrepreneurship and productivity are enviably stronger.

But having learned to tighten their belts in the 1990s, Canadians such as Michael Gregory have little sympathy for U.S. consumers who pile debt onto their credit cards and homes.

"We've been taught: You don't buy what you can't afford," said Gregory, a senior economist at the Bank of Montreal.

Similarly, Canadian banks have been more conservative than American ones. So they made few subprime loans, and home equity lines are relatively recent offerings in Canada.

Yet their solid if unexciting product lines and financial results mean Canadian firms can now expand lending. This as U.S. banks continue to refrain from extending credit, thus restraining spending, investment and job growth.

Canada's stricter banking regulations and bankruptcy rules certainly have played a role too, but Gregory attributes part of the difference to cultural factors. When he worked for now-defunct Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. in New York in the late 1990s, Gregory drove a Ford minivan or a Toyota Camry, while many of his colleagues tooled around in BMWs and other luxury brands.

"It was consumerism. People spent more money, ate out more, bought more stuff," Gregory said. "I felt awkward."

Canadian firms weren't unscathed by the credit debacle and the global economic retreat. And Canada's strong currency — the loonie is worth just a few cents less than the U.S. dollar — is sure to pinch Canadian exports, much of which head south.



But unlike the United States, where the financial crisis turned into the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, the hit to Canada was fairly mild.

In the final quarter of last year, Canada's GDP surged nearly 5%, rising even higher in this year's first quarter. Growth in the U.S. slowed sharply early this year, heightening fears of a double-dip recession.

"U.S. businesses are certainly looking at lessons learned from Canada," said Bart van Ark, chief economist at the Conference Board in New York. "In a nutshell, Canada has been very pragmatic in dealing with the economy."

Its approach to immigration is one example. With one of the highest immigration rates in the world, Canada has been receiving about 250,000 permanent residents annually. About one-fourth of the new arrivals gain entry through family relations, but more than 60% are admitted as "economic immigrants" — that is, skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors.

In the U.S., it's basically the reverse: Most of the 1 million-plus permanent residents received annually have been family-sponsored; only about one in seven are admitted on the basis of employment preferences.

That is, Washington emphasizes bringing in family members of immigrants already in the United States. Ottawa put the emphasis on admitting those who can contribute to the economy.

Many Americans, of course, don't see that as the key difference. The estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. are what dominate public discussions of immigration policy.

"The thing about the U.S. is you have a border with Mexico, which Canada doesn't," said Jeffrey Reitz, a sociologist and immigration expert at the University of Toronto.

He figures that as many as 300,000 illegal immigrants reside in Canada, not a small number for a country of its size. But there's no really good estimate, which Reitz views as a reflection of just how little the subject weighs on the nation.

"The big issue is how immigrants, though highly skilled, aren't getting jobs as easily," Reitz said.

As for most Canadians' attitude toward immigration, he said, they seem to know that their country needs new arrivals because of Canada's small population and a birth rate that is lower than in the U.S.

"The vast majority of Canadians accept that immigration is essential to the economic and demographic future of the country, and that openness is a Canadian value," said Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. "I know that sounds terribly crazy to us."

Even as some economists in the U.S. have pushed for a Canadian-style system that gives points for higher education, work skills and experience, the policy discussion almost always seems to hinge on illegal immigrants.

"That sucks all the oxygen from the debate," Papademetriou said. As a result, he said, not much policy attention is given to important concerns — increasing visas for skilled workers, enabling people with advanced degrees to obtain residency, adding greater flexibility to the system to better compete in a global economy.

Over the years, Canada in fact has adapted some of the strengths of the U.S. immigration policy, such as the H1B work visa program, to shore up its weaknesses, he said. The H1B program allows employers to bring in foreign workers in specialty occupations on a temporary basis. The U.S., on the other hand, has dealt with its immigration policy like a political hot potato.

"Canada has really outshone the United States," he said. "That's a reality."

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