Irish continue to flock to US immigration figures show

By 

HILDA HIGGINS,

 

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Over 14,000 Irish people emigrated to the U.S. during 2010, an increase of seven percent on the previous year, reports the Irish Independent.

Almost 70,000 Irish workers left Irish shores during 2010, the majority moving to Britian, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.S. and Germany. This represented an almost 50 percent surge, up from the 46,0000 who emigrated in 2009.

The U.S. attracted 14,288 workers from Ireland, with the majority being on temporary work permits. New York, California and Massachusetts continue to be the most popular destination for Irish emigrants.
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Some 1,500 Irish citizens became permanent U.S. residents in 2010, a fifth of whom were new arrivals to the country.

The figures were released by the Irish Independent as part of their investigation into the continuing wave of emigrants leaving Irish shores.

Over 16,000 people made the move to Britain in search of work in the UK 2010/11 tax year. Figures from the UK Department of Work and Pensions show that over 300 Irish people per week applied for national insurance numbers to allow them to work, during 2011. The vast majority of applicants were aged 18 to 34.

The department reported the increase was because: "the Irish economy has recently experienced one of the sharpest recessions in the eurozone".

Australia witnessed a 15 percent surge in arrival of Irish emigrants, with 27, 995 arriving during their 2010/11 tax year, the majority of whom were on work visas.

Over 3,000 Irish citizens applied for permanent residency in Oz during 2011, with almost 50 percent being new arrivals.

New Zealand attracted 4,586 Irish emigrants during the 2010/11 tax year, three times more than a decade ago. Between July and December of 2011, 2,100 were granted work visas.

In Canada, almost 4,000 Irish emigrants acquired work permits in the first six months of 2011, according to their latest Citizenship and Immigration statistics.

During 2010, 4,461 Irish people emigrated to Canada, an increase of 34 percent on 2009.

In Germany, unpublished government statistics show that 1,426 Irish people emigrated there in 2010, a 16 percent increase on the previous year.

Canada: Once Again a Destination for European Immigration

While Canada, since the 1970’s, has progressively seen more of its immigration come from Asian countries, there has been at least some hard evidence that immigration from Europe is increasing as well.

Canada remains one of the few open immigrant-friendly countries. What’s more, in many respects it has suffered much less than most during the worldwide financial crisis that started in 2008—with its banks declared the best in the world.

With the effects of this financial crisis still being felt, and even intensifying in Europe, Canada has once again, like generations ago, become an option for European immigration.

Recent news stories on CanadaVisa.com highlight booming resource and energy-driven economies in provinces from one end of Canada to the other, such as:

• Saskatchewan (see Destination Saskatchewan),
• Alberta (see Alberta tops in North America for economic freedom),
• British Columbia (see BC looking to boost skilled worker immigration), and
• Newfoundland and Labrador (see Newfoundland and Labrador, another province in need of skilled labour).

The articles listed above point out that along with these economic booms, there has been a resulting skilled labour shortage that extends into the future. They also demonstrate that viable immigrant destinations exist in many of Canada’s provinces, not just in traditional immigrant enclaves like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Another article on CanadaVisa.com explains that at least some of this skilled labour gap being felt across the country is being filled with Europeans: see Irish influx to Canada, more to come.

Florin Tiron, a Romanian carpenter, will be among these European newcomers. While he has been working in Italy for the past ten years, because of recent economic hardship in Italy he can only get work part time. He has therefore decided to leave, not to return to his native Romania, but instead to come to Canada under the Quebec Skilled Worker program.

Florin will come with his wife and young child, exactly the kind of demographic Quebec is after.

While Quebec is a great destination for highly skilled and educated workers, as profiled in last month’s CIC News articleQuebec’s Attraction for Knowledge-based Workers, it is also a great destination for trades people, such as bricklayers, and in the case of Florin, carpenters. Several trades like these score high in Quebec’s point-based immigration system, which also does not require a job offer like many other Canadian immigration programs.

Quebec is also home to an increasingly large number of Francophone Europeans who fill a spectrum of jobs in their new homebase.

With Spanish unemployment hovering around 20%, and Greek immigration to Germany up 84% this year alone—Germany being virtually the only vibrant economy left in Europe—Europeans are left looking for other options.

Nudrrat Khawaja is another case in point. She was born and lived most of her life in Lahore Pakistan, working as a Senior Associate Producer at the television station Express 24/7. More recently, however, she has been completing a Master’s of Business Administration in Liverpool, in the UK.

“I would have liked to stay in the UK,” she says, “but there are no jobs here for foreign students, or a clear way to become a resident, Canada is my only option.”

Nudrrat is panning to pursue her studies in Canada, where she then can become eligible for immigration under programs such as the Canadian Experience Class, or through the newly available PhD eligibility criteria of the Federal Skilled Worker program.

“Every time something bad happens in the world,” says Attorney David Cohen, “people think of Canada as an optional destination for them. Unfortunately there has been a lot of turmoil in the world these past few years, including in Europe. We are seeing that Canada has again become popular as a destination for Europeans like it was generations ago for my own family.”

Both for native born Europeans, like Florin, and for those in transit who might have in other circumstances remained in Europe, like Nudrrat, Canada’s stability, and varied provincial booms, position it once again to become a hot ticket for those across the pond.

Source: CanadaVisa.com

Economists spell out Canada’s best- and worst-case scenarios for 2012

TAVIA GRANT

From Monday's Globe and Mail

The Canadian economy went on a roller-coaster ride in 2011: The year began with a bang, but momentum wobbled in the second half. So what’s in store for 2012? Most economists see slow growth, with an average forecast of 2 per cent for the year. But opinions are split on how it will play out.

THE BEAR: Beata Caranci, deputy chief economist (U.S. and international), Toronto-Dominion Bank

1. You see the economy growing about 1.7 per cent this year. What will drive this growth – or hold it back?

We expect further deterioration in financial conditions in early 2012 alongside a deep recession taking root in Europe. … Because much of Canada’s performance is dependent on global events, the knock-on effects will scar growth by weighing down consumer and business confidence, and by resulting in softer exports and commodity prices.

2. Where do you see the currency?

If European turmoil intensifies, investors will flee to the safety of the U.S. dollar, [to the detriment of] the Canadian dollar, which would likely slip to roughly 90 cents (U.S.) in the first half of the year.

3. Canada’s jobless rate is 7.4 per cent. How will the labour market fare in 2012?

Canadians probably have to brace for an unemployment rate that is likely to go up in 2012 … in the 7.5 to 7.7-per-cent range.

4. The Bank of Canada held the line on interest rates in 2011. What will happen this year?

2012 will be marked by more of the same when it comes to the Bank’s overnight interest rate. The uncertainty and financial market turbulence created by Europe coupled with a slowdown in the broader global economy is not an environment that will be conducive to higher rates in Canada. And, against this backdrop, inflationary pressures should ease in the coming year, facilitating the decision to leave rates unchanged at ultra-low levels.

5. Inflation got a little hotter this year. What’s your outlook in 2012?

Much of the momentum in inflation this year can be attributed to the runup in energy and food prices, which likely also seeped into the prices of other goods and services. But, commodity prices have eased in recent months … given the prospect for weaker economic growth and a rise in the unemployment rate, we think inflation will hold below 2 per cent next year.

6. Consumers remain heavily indebted. What’s in store for them?

The prognosis is not good for 2012. … Soft job creation will equal stagnant wages, and asset growth will be constrained by ongoing equity market volatility, low interest rates and cooling home prices. … debt levels relative to incomes will hit new highs in 2012. As debt burdens keep rising, [consumer spending] will show pretty shallow growth of 1.6 per cent.

7. In the global economy, where will be the strongest and weakest pockets of growth?

Looking at advanced economies, without question, the weakest pocket will be the euro zone, which we think will contract by roughly 1.2 per cent. Both [the U.S. and Canada] are expected to post real GDP growth just shy of 2 per cent.

Among the emerging market economies, all seem to be gearing down, but some more so than others. We think the Asian NICs [newly industrialized countries], Brazil and perhaps even India will slow down to a lesser extent than China.

8. What are the greatest risks next year to the Canadian and global economy?

The greatest risk to Canada and the global economy are one and the same – a misstep by European policy leaders that results in a global financial crisis.

9. What are you planning on reading over the holidays?

I’m doing a right-brain, left-brain thing. I’m reading Boomerang and The Girl Who Played with Fire … I’ll let you know which one kept me up at night.

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THE BULL: Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist, Royal Bank of Canada

1. You see the economy growing about 2.5 per cent this year. What will drive this growth – or hold it back?

Our forecast that U.S. economic growth will gear up a notch and that the worst for the euro-zone crisis will occur early in the year sets up Canadian exports to grow at the fastest pace since 2000. Businesses, which have recorded strong earnings growth and are flush with cash, are also going to support growth … helped along by the consumer although the pace of consumption is likely to grow by a moderate 2.1 per cent next year.

A modest paring of inventories after two years of rebuilding, declining government investment and slowing residential construction activity will weigh on the economy.

2. Where do you see the currency?

Canada’s dollar is well-supported by fundamentals … [but] during periods of uncertainty investors prefer to be in … the U.S. dollar. So we forecast that Canada’s dollar will trade around parity.

3. Canada’s jobless rate is 7.4 per cent. How will the labour market fare in 2012?

The bump-up in the pace of U.S. growth in the fourth quarter is likely to restore confidence in Canada as our largest trading partner gears up. [We] anticipate a return to a more sustainable pace of hiring [and that] the unemployment rate will gradually decline … to 7.1 per cent by the end of 2012.

4. The Bank of Canada held the line on interest rates in 2011. What will happen this year?

[We believe that] European leaders will be able to forge a plan to solve the sovereign debt crisis … investors are likely to become less risk-averse if they believe that a solution is on the way. … Our base case forecast for growth of 2.5 per cent in both Canada and the U.S. sets the stage for the Bank of Canada to start to unwind some of the [current] stimulus. By the end of 2012, we expect the overnight rate will be 1.5 per cent (from 1 per cent now). Further rate increases are likely in 2013 as long as the U.S. expansion continues and European economies return to health.

5. Inflation got a little hotter this year. What’s your outlook for 2012?

We anticipate energy prices will stabilize … The core rate has edged up in recent months partly due to increasing prices for motor vehicles. Now that the supply disruptions … of 2011 have been alleviated, these prices will reverse course. We expect both the headline and core inflation rates to average less than 2 per cent in 2012.

6. Consumers remain heavily indebted. What’s in store for them?

Our expectation that the labour market will hold up, and that interest rates will be very modestly higher by the end of next year, suggests households will continue to be able to service their debt [while moderating their spending].

7. In the global economy, where will be the strongest and weakest pockets of growth?

Canada and the U.S. are looking good in 2012 with growth averaging 2.5 per cent while the euro zone is expected to … gradually recover [from recession] over the course of 2012. China and other emerging nations are showing signs of flagging with average growth likely to be 5.5 per cent in 2012, down from 6.3 per cent in 2011. However EM [emerging market] growth is still expected to run much faster than in 2009, when it increased by just 1.5 per cent.

9. What are the greatest risks next year to the Canadian and global economy?

That the European sovereign debt situation continues to run in crisis mode, and that jitters about government debt damage sentiment in the U.S. as well.

Canada Border Services Agency arrests 30 mall workers in Ottawa, Gatineau

SEAN MCKIBBON

Published: December 20, 2011 10:21 a.m.

Last modified: December 20, 2011 11:21 a.m.

The Canada Border Services Agency arrested 30 people Monday in raids targeting illegal foreign workers in shopping malls in Gatineau and Ottawa.

"Those people are currently being detained and will have a detention review hearing Thursday in Montreal," said CBSA spokesman Stephane Malepart.

Malepart said the people arrested were working at kiosks selling beauty products at Bayshore Shoping Centre, Place d'Orleans, Carlingwood Mall, St. Laurent Shoping Centre, Hazeldean Mall, Billings Bridge Shopping Centre,  Les Galeries de Hull and Les Promenades de l'Outaouais.

Malepart said the arrests happened toward the end of the business day.

He said more information will be released at the detention review hearing, which must be held within 48 hours of an arrest.  Those arrested may be detained longer pending an admissability hearing if they are deemed a flight risk or danger to the public by the presiding Immigration and Refugee Board member. They can also be released or released with conditions, Malepart said.

A similar arrest happened in Gatineau in November, Malepart said.

More to come...

Manitoba probes immigrant-investor program

ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

From Monday's Globe and Mail

Manitoba’s auditor-general is reviewing an initiative designed to bring immigrant investors to the province in light of scandals plaguing similar programs in the Maritimes.

There has been no suggestion of wrongdoing in Manitoba; but scathing audits, fraud allegations, lawsuits and RCMP investigations in the Atlantic provinces have raised concerns thousands of kilometres away.

It was an area we thought there was a high risk that there could be problems,” said Manitoba Auditor-General Carol Bellringer in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “We wanted to find out how that whole investment part worked, and if there was any potential for [immigrants] to be taken advantage of.”

Ms. Bellringer said the audit can delve into any aspect of the program’s administration – from financial and human-resources management to its information system. “It all depends once we’re into the details of it, which areas are of highest risk,” she said. “We start the audit with a blank page.”

The investor stream is part of a broader provincial nominee program that allows provinces to hand-pick immigrants, usually through direct employer sponsorships or, as in this case, by inviting people to inject tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy for the privilege of permanent residency.

This is supposed to be the new face of Canadian immigration – a localized, market-responsive alternative to the traditional point system of selecting skilled newcomers. The latter has become notorious for supplying the country with legions of taxi-driving engineers while employers in other regions and sectors grapple with labour shortages.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has credited the provincial nominee program with better matching immigrants to employers. He argues it has also injected needed growth and diversity into rural corners of the country whose populations had been declining.

Nowhere is this more true than in Manitoba, which has become the poster child for successful provincially driven immigration. It has attracted by far the most newcomers – more than 12,000 of the 36,000 nominees nationally in 2010. In addition to the thousands of skilled workers sponsored annually, says Enterpreneurship, Training and Trade Minister Peter Bjornson, “we’ve got a waiting list of people who want to come and invest in Manitoba."

Manitoba is banking on its record of success to persuade Mr. Kenney to give the province more leeway in how many people it is allowed to bring in.

“We feel there’s a bit of a tight leash right now. … We think that's quite restrictive.We would like to see that change,” Mr. Bjornson said. “We have a great example of how the program can work well.”

But Mr. Kenney says he’s considering moving in the opposite direction.

"We do have some concerns with the program," he said in an interview. “We are not going to continue with the rate of growth in the program over the past few years until we’re able to sit down with the provinces and make sure our concerns are addressed,” he said.

His department is conducting what he calls a “major study” of the program in the wake of a series of scandals in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. That report, originally due this fall, is supposed to come out in "early 2012," according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Kenney.

In all three provinces, audits found the programs’ goals were poorly defined. Where they were defined, they weren’t measured, and what could be measured fell short or failed to comply with the provinces’ own rules – especially in their investor-specific streams.

PEI’s nominee program fast-tracked thousands of immigrant investors after the federal government announced plans to suspend that stream. Nova Scotia settled a class-action suit in September. Some Chinese immigrants who came to New Brunswick have also filed lawsuits, claiming they invested in bogus schemes. Many more have simply moved to Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal.

“The real focus was on the head count,” says Kurt Peacock, immigration project officer with Enterprise Saint John. “They wanted to bring more immigrants each and every quarter, and there wasn’t as much attention paid to how those newcomers that have already arrived are faring.”

Mr. Kenney puts it more bluntly.

“Passive investor streams are problematic. There’s a lot of money that moves around, you get promoters and agents involved,” he said. “Where this program works best, in my view, is where it’s based on an arranged employment offer for a skilled trades person.”

Ms. Bellringer’s attention was piqued when her Nova Scotia counterpart came to her office seeking help with forensic investigations into the province’s nominee program.

“We thought, ‘Wow, that sounds pretty serious. … We’d better make sure there isn't a problem here,’” Ms. Bellringer said.

Rosemary Lu and Jack Yang were among New Brunswick’s first immigrant investor s when they arrived in Saint John with nine-year-old twins in 2006. But their business partnership soured. She spent years waitressing and teaching English; he installed windows for a contracting company.

They got fed up, launched a lawsuit and moved to Toronto. Their new restaurant, Fleur de Lys, has been open since June.

“We couldn’t keep going,” Ms. Lu said. “It’s a good idea … if you don’t get taken advantage of.”

Immigrants say they know nation better than Canadians born here Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Immigrants+they+know+nation+better+than+Canadians+born+here/5910317/story.html#ixzz1hhfhvmpA

BY RANDY BOSWELL, OTTAWA CITIZEN DECEMBER 26, 2011

 

 

Immigrants to Canada claim a stronger knowledge of the country's history than those who were born here, according to one of the surprising results of a nationwide survey probing Canadians' grasp on the past.

More than 2,300 people were polled this fall by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies for a year-end report that explores respondents' perspectives on Canada's history, including how they assess their own command of the subject.

About 82 per cent of survey respondents who identified themselves as being born outside of Canada claimed to have "very strong" or "somewhat strong" knowledge of Canadian history. In contrast, only about 70 per cent of respondents born in Canada rated their historical knowledge strong or very strong.

Notably, nearly twice as many immigrant respondents (27 per cent) as born-in-Canada citizens (16 per cent) described their history knowledge as "very strong."

ACS executive director Jack Jedwab suspects the reason immigrants are more likely to claim a solid command of Canadian history is that they have - in many cases quite recently - been required to familiarize themselves with highlights of the country's past as part of the process of gaining citizenship.

"Those people are exposed to our citizenship test, which has a historical dimension," said Jedwab, referring to the examination that immigrants must pass before becoming full-fledged Canadian citizens.

While native-born citizens get a Canadian history education during their elementary and secondary schooling, they don't get the "refresher course" newcomers receive in their quest to gain citizenship.

Jedwab also notes that polling repeatedly shows a correlation between high levels of education and knowledge of national history and that immigrants are - relative to average schooling levels among born-in-Canada citizens - better educated.

He also speculated that immigrants may be more attuned to the story of Canada's evolution because of their direct connection to the country's multicultural identity, which Jedwab says "is becoming the dominant narrative in Canadian history. They see themselves as part of this."

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, under the direction of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, revised and updated the 63-page Discover Canada citizenship guide last year to underline the need for newcomers to learn about Canada's past.

The department also raised the passing grade for the 20-question test to 75 per cent, from 60 per cent, and implemented a random-scramble system to ensure no two tests are identical and thus subject to copying and memorization. Last December, Kenney argued that the changes wouldn't prevent earnest newcomers from passing the citizenship test.

"We reject completely," he said then, "the condescending notion that new Canadians aren't smart enough to learn some basic facts about the country's history and values."

The survey results suggest that immigrants are quite confident in their knowledge of Canadian history

The polling was conducted for ACS in late September and early October by Leger Marketing. A representative sample of 2,345 Canadians were surveyed online, and the results reflect a potential margin of error of two per cent, 19 times out of 20.

rboswell@postmedia.com

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

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