Prime Minister Harper unveils grand plan to reshape Canada

JOE FRIESEN  AND BILL CURRY

TORONTO AND OTTAWA— From Friday's Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 10:05PM EST

Last updated Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 10:51AM ES

After five years of minority governments, Stephen Harper finally has the freedom to act.

He’s no longer looking at the limited horizon of the next budget or the next election. He’s planning on transforming Canada for a generation or more. This is Stephen Harper’s blueprint for reform.

Although short on details, Mr. Harper’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday made clear the sweep of his ambition. He will change how Canadians finance their retirement. He will overhaul the immigration system. He will make oil and gas exports to Asia a “national priority” and aggressively pursue free trade in India and Europe.

Several times in his speech, Mr. Harper portrayed his agenda as a fix for a generation – a fix he claimed is necessary to confront the challenges of an aging population. Canada’s demographics, he warned, pose “a threat to the social programs and services that Canadians cherish.” Preserving those social programs will likely mean cuts elsewhere.

“Western nations, in particular, face a choice of whether to create the conditions for growth and prosperity, or to risk long-term economic decline. In every decision, or failure to decide, we are choosing our future right now,” Mr. Harper said.

“We’ve already taken steps to limit the growth of our health-care spending. … We must do the same for our retirement-income system.”

He said he plans to make Canada’s old-age security program sustainable. What that means is unclear. He did not spell out whether seniors will have to wait longer to receive the benefit or whether clawbacks would be increased for higher income earners.

Unlike the Canada Pension Plan – which is supported by a separate and well-financed pool of savings – there is no pot of cash to support the OAS program, which is paid out of government revenues. A recent actuarial report pointed out that the cost of OAS will climb 32 per cent between 2010 and 2015, and OAS payouts to retirees will rise to $108-billion in 2030 from $36.5-billion in 2010.

While future changes to OAS were not explained, Mr. Harper said current retirees will not be affected. The major policy reforms are in addition to looming spending cuts, which Treasury Board President Tony Clement said on Thursday could be as much as $8-billion, twice the $4-billion target announced last year.

Mr. Harper further outlined the blueprint for his government by ticking off a list of policy priorities. He said Canada’s investments in science and technology had produced poor results and were a “significant problem for our country.” He said he intends to pursue free trade with the European Union and India and find new energy markets beyond the United States. Regulatory delays for mines and energy projects are also being targeted.

Mr. Harper said he intends to tackle immigration reform, a thorny issue in a country where one in five is an immigrant. Canada’s humanitarian obligations and its family reunification objectives will be “respected,” he said, but the needs of the labour force and the economy will now be central.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has been working on significant reforms to the immigration system for several months. Mr. Kenney has said he wants to speed immigrant integration in the labour market by changing the emphasis of selection criteria. He intends to reward applicants who speak English or French, have job offers, Canadian work experience or postgraduate degrees, all of whom tend to fare better economically. The increased emphasis on economic immigrants could lead to reductions in the family class.

As the Canadian population ages, immigration is increasingly the major source of population growth. At the moment, more than 60 per cent of population growth comes from immigration, but that will approach 100 per cent by 2030. If Canada wants to maintain its population structure, or at least the proportion of the population that’s over 65, it would have to start admitting about three to four times its annual intake of roughly 250,000 immigrants, experts say.

As for OAS, previous Liberal and Conservative governments have tried – and failed spectacularly – to make the program financially sustainable. Both Brian Mulroney, and Paul Martin when he was finance minister, were forced to back down in the face of public pressure.

C.D. Howe Institute president Bill Robson said he believes the public will support changes if they see MPs and the public service scaling back their benefits as well.

“As seniors get more numerous, it’s clearly more difficult for politicians to take them on,” he said. “But I’m encouraged to think Canadians can get together on things like this.”

Susan Eng, vice-president of the non-profit retired persons advocacy group CARP, predicts a strong negative reaction to OAS changes, which were never discussed during the election campaign.

Ms. Eng said her group’s surveys show strong opposition to changing the OAS.

With reports from Jane Taber in Ottawa and The Canadian Press in Davos, Switzerland

Immigration minister says immigrant language proficiency must be a requirement

BY CLARA HO, POSTMEDIA NEWS JANUARY 26, 2012

 

STORY 

 

 

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

Photograph by: Nick Procaylo, edmontonjournal.com

CALGARY — Canada's immigration minister is calling for minimum language proficiency standards, which could help minimize immigration fraud cases emerging mainly out of the eastern provinces.

"Some of the people who have lower language proficiency have come in through these investor schemes that we've had to shut down because they were quite dodgy, and some provinces were allowing consultants to run fast and loose and attract people who had a lot of money but no language proficiency," Jason Kenney told reporters Thursday, while providing an update on the federal government's Provincial Nominee Program.

Kenney recommended that the Canadian government work more closely with provinces to step up fraud prevention efforts and eliminate "bottom-feeding, unscrupulous immigration agency consultants," many of whom use fake documents and line up fake jobs to take advantage of the system.

By setting language proficiency standards, the nominees selected are also more likely to better serve themselves, to succeed in their employment and, in turn, benefit provinces and territories economically.

Meanwhile, Kenney also highlighted the successes of the Provincial Nominee Program, which authorizes provinces to nominate individuals for permanent residence who meet specific regional labour market needs, such as engineers or tradespeople.

The Provincial Nominee Program, now the second largest economic immigration program after the Federal Skilled Worker Program, has grown nearly sixfold since 2004 and currently accounts for more than 36,000 new permanent residents per year in Canada.

A recent study, which looked at nominees admitted between 2005 and 2009, revealed that more than 90 per cent declared employment earnings after a year in Canada, and after three years, had an average income that ranged between $35,200 and $45,100. About 70 per cent found a job that matched their skill set.

As well, the program was able to spread nominees outside of the major metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, with 26 per cent of all economic immigrants destined for provinces outside of Ontario, Quebec and B.C. compared with 11 per cent in 1997.

However, provincial retention rates varied significantly across the country, from 23 per cent in the east coast compared with 95 per cent in B.C., Kenney said, adding: "This issue merits further attention."

The report also recommended that the federal government work closer with provinces and territories to get businesses involved in the recruitment of people from overseas and to have jobs lined up for people when they arrive.

Alberta Human Services Minister Dave Hancock said the province doesn't have set language proficiency standards in its program, but he's confident most if not all nominees in Alberta have the necessary language skills to work here.

He added Alberta doesn't really have a problem with fraud cases within the nominee program here.

However, he said his main concern with the program is that Alberta's allotment has been capped at 5,000 for the last few years, which will remain the same this year. But he estimates Alberta needs up to 10,000 positions to deal with the province's labour crunch.

"We're going to have a skills shortage and this is one of the best programs from an immigration perspective to ensure we have a targeted way of bringing people needed in Alberta for the economic growth that's happened," he said, adding the province is facing a shortage of 114,000 skilled workers over the next 10 years.

Hancock said his department has been discussing with the federal government to have the cap lifted. But at the very least, he'd like to see the allotment raised to a minimum of 6,000.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada plans to admit 42,000 to 45,000 immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program, including spouses and dependents, and has given provinces and territories the same overall nomination allotments from 2011.

With files from Chris Varcoe, Calgary Herald

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Rmore:http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Immigration+minister+says+immigrant+language+proficiency+must+requirement/6058296/story.html#ixzz1kiqcj5ST

P.E.I. lags in immigrant retention

P.E.I. has one of the worst records in the country for retaining immigrants from the provincial nominee program, says a report from Canada Immigration.

Just 37 per cent of PNP immigrants who arrived on P.E.I. before 2008 were still living on the Island at the end of that year. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with a worse record: 23 per cent. Retention rates in Alberta and British Columbia were over 95 per cent.

The retention issue for PNP immigrants was particularly problematic for P.E.I., which relied on the program for 95 per cent of its immigrants. Nationally immigrants arrived through a broad range of programs, with PNP making up just 17 per cent of immigrants.

The report concludes employment may be a factor in immigrant retention.

Just over half of P.E.I.'s nominees were earning a wage in their first year on the Island, and those who were earning were averaging just over $20,000 a year.

In Alberta and British Columbia, more than 80 per cent of PNP immigrants had been employed in Canada on work permits before being accepted to the provincial nominee program. On P.E.I., that number started at a high of 10 per cent in 2005 and had fallen to five per cent by 2009.

Province's workforce continues to shrink

MLA says retirements will see B.C. lose one million workers; only 650,000 on hand to fill the need

 

BY WALTER CORDERY, DAILY NEWS JANUARY 27, 2012

 

 

As the baby boomers retire and leave the workforce, British Columbia will need hundreds of thousands of skilled immigrants to replace them.

That need is one of the reasons why the provincial government has established an immigration task force that is travelling throughout the province to determine the needs of individual communities, said RichmondSteveston MLA John Yap, who leads the task force.

"There's no doubt B.C. needs more economic immigrants," Yap said, following a presentation at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre on Thursday.

"Our workforce is shrinking right now because people are retiring. We are losing one million people from the workforce in the near future due to retirement and we only have 650,000 people to fill the need," Yap said.

He leads a 10-member task force that recently started to criss-cross the province, seeking input from employers and others who are worried about the dwindling work force.

He started his consultation with local business and political leaders as well as other interested stakeholders in Fort St. John. "The immigration task force is part of the B.C. Jobs Plan. A strategy aimed at preparing for the expected economic boom," Yap said.

He has until March to consult with communities across the province and then submit his

report to Premier Christy Clark. "Based on the findings we have found so far, we realize that this is a growing problem," Yap said.

"What appears to be happening is businesses that hire new immigrants are seeing a high turnover rate because the immigrants take entry-level jobs when they first arrive and then look around for better work."

B.C. appears to be leading the other provinces in attracting immigrants but it still needs to do more, he said.

Yap praised the provincial nominee program because it accelerates the permanent resident application process for skilled workers, experienced business persons and their family members who want to settle in B.C. permanently. It allows nominees to apply for permanent resident status through Citizenship and Immigration Canada under the fast-tracked program.

Hilde Schlosar, executive director of the Central Island Multicultural Society, was at the meeting, which was closed to the public. Schlosar applauded B.C.'s plan to assist new immigrants and develop the workforce.

"This kind of thinking has worked well in other provinces, like Alberta. They have been able to maintain their workforce through immigration and there's no reason that I can think of why B.C. should be any different."

WCordery@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4237

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Feds want to tackle troubling trends in immigration program

The Canadian Press

The program — which allows participating provinces and territories to nominate potential immigrants who they believe will meet particular economic and labour market requirements — is under fire for its lack of documentation and standards.

Topics : 

RCMP , Atlantic Canada , CALGARY , British Columbia

[CALGARY, AB] — A program which allows provinces to tailor immigration to fit local labour needs may look fine on the surface but a federal government evaluation has uncovered what it says are some troubling trends.

The program allows participating provinces and territories to nominate potential immigrants who they believe will meet particular economic and labour market requirements. It is the second-largest source of economic immigration to Canada and an estimated 42,000 to 45,000 people will be allowed to apply this year.

The evaluation by Immigration and Citizenship Canada says the majority of workers selected by the provinces are succeeding. More than 90 per cent declared employment earnings after one year in Canada and 70 per cent held a job in line with their skills.

But Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says there are problems. One is that less than one-quarter of nominees who moved to the Atlantic provinces stayed there compared with a 95 per cent rate in British Columbia.

Another is that too many of those coming to Canada have little or no proficiency in either official language. Kenney wants a minimum language standard for all provincial nominees and stronger links between their occupations and local job needs.

"It's a partnership, not an Ottawa-knows-best situation, but at the end of the day we are going to be quite assertive in saying that we do think it's best to have a standard, national language benchmark," Kenney said in Calgary on Thursday.

He said some provinces don't seem to care whether their nominees speak the language at all.

"I guess what we're saying to them is it doesn't make a lot of sense to invite someone to Canada who doesn't speak any English ... and some of the provinces have been, I would say, undervaluing language proficiency in their selection," he said.

Fraudulent immigration applications are significant, and there is a correlation between provinces that don't enforce a language requirement and a higher rate of fraud, Kenney added.

"Some of the people who have little or no language proficiency come in through these investor schemes that we've had to shut down because they were quite dodgy. There were some provinces allowing consultants to run fast and loose to attract people who had a lot of money but no language proficiency."

Kenney said there are always "people around the world, particularly in the industry of bottom-feeding, unscrupulous immigration agents and consultants, who are willing to cut corners in order to make money to get people to Canada."

In November, New Brunswick stopped accepting applications under a Chinese immigration pilot program after an internal review. The auditor general there has also flagged concerns after finding that the province accepted about 5,000 immigrants during a 10-year span but didn't track where they ended up living.

In Prince Edward Island, a former civil servant has alleged she saw senior provincial officials accept bribes to expedite immigration applications. Immigration Canada has forwarded that allegation to the RCMP, who are deciding whether to investigate.

In Nova Scotia, the government had to pay a $25-million settlement to immigrants who paid thousands of dollars for the promise of middle-management jobs which they never received.

Kenney said problems in Atlantic Canada can partially be blamed on a higher unemployment rate. As well, there may not be a strong established immigrant community to provide guidance and support.

"We need to work with the Atlantic provinces. They have benefited from this program. I don't want to be too critical of the program."