Average Canadian family paying more than $11,000 per year for public health care insurance

English: Canadian per capita health care spending by age group in 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CALGARY, AB—An average Canadian family of two adults and two children will pay about $11,400 in taxes for Canada’s so-called “free” health care in 2012, calculates a new report from the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading public policy think-tank.

The report, The Price of Public Health Care Insurance: 2012 Edition, calculates the amount of taxes an average family pays to all levels of government in a year and the percentage of the total tax bill that goes towards public health care insurance.

By estimating the average income for six types of Canadian families, the report breaks down how much money each will contribute to public health care insurance in 2012:

A family of two parents with an average income of $106,808 and one child will pay $10,623.
A family of two parents with an average income of $113,226 and two children will pay $11,401.
A family of one parent with an average income of $46,134 and one child will pay $3,418.
A family of one parent with an average income of $50,964 and two children will pay $3,429.
A family of two adults with an average income of $96,458 and no children living at home will pay $11,358.
Unattached individuals earning an average income of $37,812 will pay approximately $3,707 for public health insurance.
"There’s a widespread belief that health care is free in Canada. It’s not; our tax dollars cover the cost of it. But the way we pay for health care disguises exactly how much public health care insurance costs Canadian families and how that cost is increasing over time," said Nadeem Esmail, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of the report.

The report notes that since 2002, the cost of health care insurance for the average Canadian family increased by 59.8 per cent before inflation. By way of comparison, the cost of public health care increased more than twice as fast as the cost of shelter, roughly four times as fast as the cost of food, and more than five times as fast as the cost of clothing.

"We also found that the cost of public health care insurance grew 1.6 times faster than the average income over the decade," Esmail said.

In addition, the report calculates that the 10 per cent of Canadian families with the lowest incomes (less than $12,500) will pay an average of about $487 for public health care insurance in 2012. The 10 per cent of families earning an average income of $55,271 will pay $5,285, while families among the top 10 per cent of income earners will pay $32,628 towards public health care insurance this year.

"With a more precise estimate of what they really pay for health care on a personal level, Canadians will be in a better position to judge whether they are getting a good return on the money they spend on health care," Esmail said.

Source: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/research-news/news/display.aspx?id=18859

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Venture capitalists take lead role in immigrant visas

Image via CrunchBase

WALLACE IMMEN
The Globe and Mail


Venture capitalists are eager to become overseas scouts to lure potential technology stars to Canada as part of the federal government’s plan to fast-track immigration of promising entrepreneurs.

A statement from the immigration ministry last week said a Startup Visa program launching next year would set aside as many as 2,750 immigration places for innovators with investment backing from Canadian venture capitalists. But in an interview with The Globe and Mail, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney cautioned that he doesn’t want to he held to that number.


“I would be surprised if we get a few dozen entrants the first year,” Mr. Kenney said. “We’re starting this as pilot program. But if it works and picks up momentum, I can easily see hundreds of immigrants a year coming through this program.”

The federal government put a moratorium on new entrepreneur visas more than a year ago because the program had an eight-year backlog of applicants, and the vast majority of the 1,000 immigrants admitted each year opened small family businesses that didn’t create new jobs. A major change to the system is that applicants will have to be sponsored by Canadian venture capital or angel investor groups and be identified as having the potential to employ several Canadians in the first year of operation.

Immigrant entrepreneurs must secure an investment from the sponsoring fund, though the minimum amount has not yet been set, Mr. Kenney said.

The new program is slated to launch in January, and it will green-light applications at “lightening speed” compared with the earlier program, “because it will be starting without a backlog and it’s a priority for us. I think the timing for approval will be at most a few months,” Mr. Kenney said.

The program was developed through a series of consultations this summer between Ottawa and representatives from more than 20 startup accelerator programs, venture capitalists and angel investors. “There were concerns about ensuring it is not abused,” said Boris Wertz, who was in on the discussions and is principal and founder of Version One Ventures and the GrowLab accelerator in Vancouver. “But I think in general there is a great optimism among government officials and the entrepreneur community that this can provide a much better basis to attract entrepreneurs to start business in Canada.”

Richard Remillard executive director of Canadian Venture Capital Association in Ottawa, said his members “are looking to find the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, and that person could be in Bangalore or Singapore.”

The association – Canada’s largest, with 160 funds as members – was also involved in consultations with the ministry. About 80 of CVCA’s member companies invest in overseas startups, representing about 100 overseas investments a year. That compares with about 400 investments in Canada, he said.

“We’re looking at having to work more closely than before with Canadian offices abroad and trade commissions and consul-general offices. As awareness of this program spreads, we’ll look at those offices abroad as part of the scouting system for the industry.” Mr. Remillard explained.

The immigration ministry will still have to vet all Startup Visa requests like other immigration applications, Mr. Kenney said. “The visa will require security and medical checks and there may be some other criteria we set up, like a minimal language requirement. There’s no point in bringing people here to start a business if they speak zero English or French.”

Mr. Kenney said he wants to begin promoting the program overseas to get a jump on the United States, which is also planning to launch a startup visa program.

That plan is an amendment to the U.S. Immigration Act that would allow entrepreneurs sponsored by a qualified investor who invests at least $100,000 to get a conditional permit to come to the country to set up shop. The temporary permit would become permanent after two years if the business generates at least $500,000 and employs at least five people. The visa plan has been put on hold due to the leadup to the next U.S. election.

“We want to say, ‘look, the United States may have a dysfunctional immigration system, but Canada is open for business,’” Mr. Kenney said.

Canada’s plan is admirable, but there needs to be a bigger push toward implementation, says Alan Diner, partner and immigration practice leader at Baker McKenzie, who was a founder of the Ontario provincial nominee program. “The minister is justified in changing the program to find and bring in young entrepreneurs who can create growth and jobs rather than just open restaurants or laundromats,” he said. “But let’s get the program running and up to speed as fast as possible, because otherwise these young innovators will end up going to another country to set up their businesses.”

He said he still has doubts that Canada has enough venture capitalists to generate hundreds of new entrepreneur immigrants a year. “And I’m not aware that there are big bundles of capital that are not going to use.”

But Mr. Remillard said venture capital firms are hoping to find higher quality candidates for investment. “Our focus in the discussions was our role to look at the investment merits of the entrepreneurs. The same rigour with which our folks do their due diligence to potential investments will get applied to this new program,” he said.

And the advantage is they will do their innovation and hiring in Canada rather than overseas, he explained.

“I think Canada has a huge power of attraction now,” Mr. Remillard said. “We can offer political stability, an economy that’s market friendly. In a world where financial eruptions can occur, Canada is looking pretty good as an environment for newcomers to start a business.”

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

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 (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."