New Canada: land of immigrants with many families under the same roof

English: Flag of Canada over country contour F...
English: Flag of Canada over country contour Français : Drapeau du Canada délimité par les frontières du pays Русский: Флаг-карта Канады (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

JOHN IBBITSON
Ottawa — The Globe and Mail

Each new tranche of census data reinforces the reality of two Canadas: The old Canada is a land of the native-born, where the size of households is small and where children are fewer. The new Canada is a land of immigrants, where multiple families and generations are more likely to mingle beneath the same roof. Politicians and business leaders should take note.


The 2011 census data on families, released Wednesday, brings a familiar picture into sharper relief. The Leave It To Beaver family of mom and dad and kids, while still dominant, continues to decline as a share of the population. For the first time, there are more people living alone than there are couples with children -- the product of a society growing older and of young people waiting longer before forming live-in relationships.

Households of the lonely are most prevalent in regions with struggling economies. More than three-in-10 households in Quebec have only one person in them, though the retirement hub of Victoria has a similarly high percentage.

In contrast, the burgeoning, immigrant-rich cities of Brampton, Markham, Vaughan and other communities on the edge of Toronto have an increasing number of multiple-family dwellings. Such households can also be found in the Greater Vancouver community of Surrey, which also has a high immigrant population.

These are hardly ghetto communities, filled with families crammed into small, dark and unhealthy tenements. They are cities filled with new arrivals from China, India and other parts of the emerging world, where communal and familiar bonds are stronger than among the more atomized families of the native born.

Other statistics paint a similar tale of regional stagnation or growth. The population of couples with children declined in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, but increased in all three Prairie provinces.

In Alberta, 29 per cent of households consist of couples with children. In New Brunswick, the figure is 24 per cent.

The differing demographics across the country present politicians with a contrasting set of challenges. In Alberta, local governments struggle to provide schools and daycare for families with young children. In the Maritimes, the challenge – and it is a formidable one – is to retain or attract a new generation of workers and consumers whose taxes can meet the demand for seniors’ residents and home-care programs.

Businesses will also want to parse the data. Those multiple-family households in Mississauga won’t want to stay multiple-family forever. Though the real-estate market may be showing signs of softening short-term, long-term demand for housing to accommodate the immigrant influx should remain robust.

Marketers will note the growing number of same-sex couples, who seek homes with fewer bedrooms, perhaps, but in neighbourhoods with better restaurants.

And communities with large numbers of retirees, or who seek to attract them, will want to tailor their own services and housing mix to suit the needs of the woman who suddenly and sadly finds herself living alone.

A census is a film, not a snapshot; it chronicles the growth and decline of populations across communities over time. The two Canadas have been apparent for years; the 2011 census simply confirms and amplifies trends already identified or suspected through anecdote.

This census makes concrete what we already suspected: that immigrants are growing the new Canada, while the old Canada watches and worries in decline.


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Canada leads North America in economic freedom, tied with Australia for fifth spot globally; U.S. sinks to 18 th in international rankings

economic-freedom-2009
economic-freedom-2009 (Photo credit: TZA)

September 18, 2012
For Immediate Release
TORONTO, ON—Canada is among the top five most economically free countries in
the world, well ahead of the United States which has fallen to 18
th
 overall, according
to the Fraser Institute’s annual Economic Freedom of the World report.
Canada, with an economic freedom score of 7.97 out of 10, tied with Australia to rank  
fifth out of 144 nations and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the
World: 2012 Annual Report. Last year, Canada ranked sixth overall.
“Canada’s relatively high level of economic freedom has resulted in stronger
economic growth, higher income levels, and less pain from the global recession,” said
Fred McMahon, Fraser Institute vice-president of international policy research.
“Meanwhile, other nations embraced heavy-handed regulation and extensive overspending in response to the American and European debt crises. Consequently, their
levels of economic freedom decreased.”
The United States, long considered a champion of economic freedom among large
industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year,
the U.S. plunged to 18
th
, its lowest-ever ranking and a sharp drop from second overall,
the position it held in 2000. Much of this decline is a result of high spending on the
part of the U.S. government.
Hong Kong again topped the rankings of 144 countries, followed by Singapore, New
Zealand, and Switzerland. Australia and Canada tied for fifth overall.
Research shows that people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom
enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer life spans.
Globally, the average economic freedom score rose slightly to 6.83 in 2010, the most
recent year available, after plummeting to its lowest level in nearly three decades with
a score of 6.79 in 2009.
The annual Economic Freedom of the World report is the premier measurement of
economic freedom, using 42 distinct variables to create an index ranking of countries
around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The
cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom
to compete, and security of private property. Economic freedom is measured in five
different areas: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property
rights, (3) access to sound money, (4) freedom to trade internationally, and (5)
regulation of credit, labour, and business. The full report is available at
www.freetheworld.com.
Canada’s scores in key areas of economic freedom (from one to 10, where higher

values indicate higher levels of economic freedom) are:
• Size of government: 6.12 (74
th
 overall)
• Legal system and property rights: 8.74 (12
th
 overall)
• Access to sound money: 9.46 (25
th
 overall)
• Freedom to trade internationally: 7.65 (43
rd
 overall)
• Regulation of credit, labour, and business: 8.48 (sixth overall)
 (more) Economic Freedom of the World—page 2
International rankings
Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 8.90 out
of 10, followed by Singapore (8.69), New Zealand (8.36), Switzerland (8.24), Australia and
Canada (each 7.97), Bahrain (7.94), Mauritius (7.90), Finland (7.88), and Chile (7.84).
The rankings of other large economies include: United States (18
th
), Japan (20
th
), Germany
(31
st
), South Korea (37
th
), France (47
th
), Italy (83
rd
), Mexico (91
st
), Russia (95
th
), Brazil (105
th
),
China (107
th
), and India (111
th
).
Venezuela has the lowest level of economic freedom among the 144 jurisdictions measured.
Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo, and Angola round out the bottom five nations.
“Sadly, citizens living in the bottom-ranked countries face a significantly lower quality of life
since they lose the benefits that come from growth spurred on by economic freedom and suffer
reduced prosperity,” McMahon said.
When the rankings are adjusted to account for changes over the years, it shows that during the
past decade some African and formerly Communist nations have experienced the largest
increases in economic freedom worldwide: Rwanda (44
th
 this year, compared to 106
th
 in
2000), Malawi (84
th
, up from 114
th
), Ghana (53
rd
, up from 101
st
), Romania (42
nd
, up from
110
th
), Bulgaria (47
th
, up from 108
th
), and Albania (32
nd
, up from 77
th
).

Countries showing the greatest declines since 2000 in the adjusted rankings include Venezuela
(123
rd
 this year, down from 94
th
), Argentina (110
th
, down from 34
th
), Iceland (59
th
, down from
11
th
), and the United States (19
th
, down from second overall).



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News Release — Canada imposes visas on St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland


This news release was updated September 12, 2012.
Ottawa, September 11, 2012 — Beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT today, citizens of St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (St. Vincent), Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland now require a visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced.
For the first 48 hours, or until 11:59 p.m. September 12, 2012, citizens of these countries who are in transit to Canada at the time the visa requirement takes effect will be able to receive a Temporary Resident Permit on arrival in Canada, free of charge, if they are not otherwise inadmissible to Canada.
"We continue to welcome genuine visitors to Canada," said Minister Kenney. "These changes are necessary to protect the integrity of Canada's fair and generous immigration system by helping us to reduce an unacceptably high number of immigration violations."
These changes will allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and its partners to ensure that those seeking to visit Canada intend to return to their country of origin, rather than overstaying or committing other immigration violations.
A key reason why the government has imposed visa requirements on St. Lucia and St. Vincent is unreliable travel documents. In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports. In some instances, people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports. In the case of Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland, human trafficking, especially of minors, and fraudulent documents are of significant concern.
There has also been an unacceptably high number of asylum claims from St. Lucia and St. Vincent, with about one and a half percent and three percent of the population of these countries making asylum claims in Canada over the past five years. The African country that has the highest immigration violation rate is Namibia, with eighty-one percent in 2011. Seventy-one percent of travellers from Namibia made asylum claims in 2011.
"These changes are necessary because all the countries concerned have an immigration violation rate of over thirty percent, well above the level we deem acceptable for countries benefiting from a visa exemption," said Minister Kenney.
Canada regularly reviews its visa requirements toward other countries. Countries are aware that they have a responsibility to satisfy certain conditions to receive a visa exemption.
This visa policy change means that nationals from St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland who want to travel to Canada will first need to apply for a visitor visa and meet the requirements to receive one.
It is up to the applicants to satisfy visa officers that their visit to Canada is temporary; they will not overstay their authorized stay; they have enough money to cover their stay; they are in good health; they do not have a criminal record; and they are not a security risk to Canadians. These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada.
Applicants from St. Lucia and St. Vincent can now submit their applications by mail or in person to the Canadian visa office in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Applications will be accepted by the visa office in Pretoria, South Africa, for those from Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland. In the months ahead travellers to Canada will be able to apply online for all temporary visas.
This decision will further strengthen the immigration and asylum systems, and it complements the measures the government is implementing this year under the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, which recently received Royal Assent.
"The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting the integrity of our immigration system and welcoming bona fide visitors from around the world."

News Release — Reducing Backlogs to Achieve a Fast and Flexible Immigration System

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

Ottawa, September 17, 2012 —The Government of Canada welcomed the findings of a report on immigration backlogs by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and tabled its response in Parliament today.
“I think we can all agree that backlogs are unfair to applicants, harmful to Canada’s ability to attract the best and brightest from around the world, and hold back economic and job growth,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “I thank the Standing Committee members for their hard work in compiling their report.”
The Committee commented favourably on what the Government has already achieved to date through the Action Plan for Faster Immigration and the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification. However, the Committee report also made clear that more needs to be done in order to better align application intake with admission levels.
The committee report recognizes that backlogs have occurred because for too long Canada has accepted more applications than it can process and admit in a given year.  Over time, this annual surplus of applications resulted in a backlog of more than a million applicants, and processing delays of eight to ten years in some immigration categories. The report concluded that, in order to avoid future backlogs, it is critical that the Government act to ensure that the annual number of applications better align with the number of admissions.  The report also recommended exploring further options to deal with the problem of existing backlogs, particularly in the federal skilled worker, immigrant investor, and parent and grandparent classes.
The Government agrees with all of the Standing Committee’s report recommendations and has already acted quickly to tackle application backlogs in key areas. Successes include:
  • Reducing the pre-2008 Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) backlog by more than 50 percent by 2011 – two years earlier than expected – through the 2008 Action Plan for Faster Immigration and successive Ministerial Instructions limiting application intake.  Most recently, Economic Action Plan 2012 removed around 280,000 applicants from that FSW backlog, which paves the way for a faster and more flexible economic immigration system;
  • Managing intake of the Immigrant Investor Program applications starting in July 2011.  Most recently, a temporary pause on new applications was introduced on July 1, 2012 to allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to focus on processing existing applications and reviewing the program’s effectiveness;
  • Significantly decreasing the backlog of applications for parents and grandparents since fall 2011, as a result of increased admission targets and a two-year pause on new applications under the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification.  At the same time, CIC introduced a new “Super Visa,” which allows for visits of up to two years by parents and grandparents, and has proven to be a popular alternative for applicants.
In the last year, the Government has also launched public online consultations on re-designing the parent and grandparent program, and reforming the Immigrant Investor Program.  Policy work on reformed programs is now underway.
“The economy and job growth remain the Government’s number one priority,” said Minister Kenney. “We continue to take the issue of immigration backlogs very seriously, and we will be doing even more in the future to transform our immigration system into one that is fast, fair, flexible, and serves the interests of Canada’s long-term prosperity.”
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration tabled its report, entitled “Cutting the Queue: Reducing Canada’s Immigration Backlogs and Wait Times,” in March 2012.

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Canada Closing Its Doors To The Roma – OpEd

Young Hungarian Roma dancing.
Young Hungarian Roma dancing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By: VOR

September 16, 2012


By John Robles

The situation for the Roma in Europe is not improving. Trapped in a cycle of discrimination and poverty where they are not allowed a decent education and therefore cannot obtain decent jobs and in many cases segregated, not allowed proper health care and under constant attacks by ever increasing nationalist groups all over Europe, many turn to crime, prostitution and any other means they can to simply survive. This only reinforces the negative view of the Roma and leads to even more discrimination against them.


Canada
The Hungarian Roma community, which accounts for approximately 7% of Hungary’s population, continues to face discrimination in every aspect of their lives. Since a report issued by Amnesty International in 2009 little has changed for Hungary’s Roma, they still face discrimination and segregation in all areas of life. This includes public education, housing, employment and medical care.

The Roma not only face daily racism and discrimination but they have to contend with violent attacks by nationalist and neo-Nazi groups such as the illegal paramilitary Hungarian National Guard, which was disbanded by the Hungarian government but reformed and continues to grow. It is for the most part an anti-Roman organization whose members have included high level Hungarian officials in the past.

Last month the Hungarian Guard held an inauguration ceremony for 140 new members in a secret location in Dunaföldvár Hungary. Although the police came out in force, with over 300 officers taking part in an operation to shut down the ceremony and arrest members, the group managed to confuse police with decoys and misleading phone calls, and the police raided a location where none of the group’s members were actually present.

The discrimination of the Roma is by far not limited to Hungary, they face discrimination all over Europe but the reason that I am focusing on the Hungarian Roma is because soon they may have no place to go as many who were seeking asylum in Canada are being sent back and the doors for Roma asylum seekers in Canada are about to be all but closed.

With the passing of the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, a Canadian piece of legislation that some are calling the “anti-Roma law, the process for the Roma obtaining asylum will be all but impossible and their deportation will be much easier and quicker.

According to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, in a report on the cic.gc.ca website; “This legislation will help stop foreign criminals, human smugglers and those with unfounded refugee claims from abusing Canada’s generous immigration system and receiving taxpayer funded health and social benefits. Canada’s immigration and refugee system is one of the most fair and generous in the world and will continue to be so under the new and improved system.”

In reality the law will stop the waves of Roma that had begun to arrive in Canada and were abusing the system, often by returning to Hungary and still receiving benefits from the Canadian government. But the reason they return is not so simple as the government wants to portray. For many of the Roma they have no choice, many arrived in Canada with the hope for a better life but were trapped in conditions that were worse than the ones that they had left another example of the vicious cycle that the Roma are trapped in.

The new law now allows the Canadian Government the option of adding countries to a safe list in order to speed up the processing of refugees and deporting them. If a refugee comes from a country on the list, their claim will be processed in 45 days, not the 1,000 days that the other claimants have.

Such a move may help Canada to implement a universal no-visa policy for the entire European Union, something it currently does not have. For example Hungarians do not require a visa to travel to Canada but Czechs do. Their non-visa status was revoked due to the number of Roma claims for asylum.

According to the Budapest times the Canada Border Services Agency has recently reported that they are worried about the rising level of crime being committed by Hungarian Roma refugees in the country, these crimes mainly include skimming fraud and check fraud with a rising level of cases where checks are stolen and deposited into the bank accounts of refugee claimants who returned to Hungary.

The Budapest Times reported last year that the head of the National Roma Self-Government Flórián Farkas was warned by the Canadian Ambassador in Budapest, that Roma travelling to Canada “face prolonged and complicated procedures and have little chance of their asylum application being successful.”

So for the Roma seeking a better life and to break the cycle discrimination which starts with poor education, poor medical care and poor housing and continues and leads to job discrimination and no chance for quality employment and the betterment of their lives due to the previous reasons, another door appears to have been closed due to the actions of some who have supposedly cheated the system.
Unfortunately for the Roma the vicious cycle they are trapped in may not have an exit.

Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/16092012-canada-closing-its-doors-to-the-roma-oped/



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