Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Temporary foreign workers: mass exodus expected after April 1
A Calgary immigration lawyer says changes to the temporary foreign workers program could effect everyday Albertans as early as this week. You go to a Tim Hortons and all of sudden your lineup doubles," said ​Peter Wong of Caron & Partners LLP. April 1 is the day that permits expire for temporary foreign workers who have been in Canada for more than four years.

CBC
Temporary foreign workers: mass exodus expected after April 1






Temporary foreign workers: mass exodus expected after Ap...
A Calgary immigration lawyer says changes to the temporary foreign workers program could effect everyday Albertans as early as this week.
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A Calgary immigration lawyer says changes to the temporary foreign workers program could effect everyday Albertans as early as this week.
"You might find that your service is diminished. You go to a Tim Hortons and all of sudden your lineup doubles," said ​Peter Wong of Caron & Partners LLP.
Wong has dozens of clients who — come Wednesday — could be forced to get on a plane and go home.
"They're scared; they can't sleep at night," said Wong.
April 1 is the day that permits expire for temporary foreign workers who have been in Canada for more than four years.
In 2011, the federal government changed the rules — giving TFWs in low-skilled jobs the option to either become permanent residents or leave the country.
"When the workers started here, they had no idea that this was going to happen in the way that it unfolded," said Wong. 
While many of Wong's clients have applied to stay in the province through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, he says it could take up to two years to process those requests.​
That will be too late for Michele Quiyan, who works at a fast-food restaurant in Calgary and sends almost her entire paycheque home to her family in Manila every month.
"My son and husband were deeply dreaming about living here, in Canada," a tearful Quiyan​ told CBC Calgary.
Her colleague, Alvin Sacluti has been working in the city for nearly eight years and also faces deportation in the next few weeks.
"We are still praying. We are still hopeful," said Sacluti.
Wong says there are very few options for TFWs like Quiyan and Sacluti, except to apply for another four-year permit and wait to be formally rejected from Ottawa.

He says legally, they do not have to leave the country until they receive that letter. 

Comment

 "Good bye Alberta
 Good bye Canada

Now can you understand why we did the right thing by going to Federal Court.

When I was a young lawyer, Government had three core principles when it came to immigration:

First, the applicant must never lie
Second, the government must never lie
Third, each file must be considered on its own merits

The first principle still applies.
The rest is history.

Since

It’s difficult for an old believer to say but : Under no circumstances can we trust government.

We must trust the Queen  and those agencies which have the tradition and honour not to be whored by political expeindienc e"
Richard Boraks, March 31, 2015
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Comment

"EXPRESS ENTRY

Its not even 3 months into 2015 and early the reviews for Express Entry are coming in. 

As expected, the numbers for Express Entry are not good. 

The bottom line here is that Express Entry is a shell game.

The idea behind Express Entry is to expedite needed workers.

The problem is that government has no clue what workers are needed.

They have no idea what they are supposed to expedite.

On June 20, 2014, Ministers Kenney and Alexander admitted that they did not have reliable Labour Market Information (LMI). Brother Jason assured us that the $1,000 LMIA fee would pay for good LMI. The good LMI would be available in the spring of 2015.

Still no LMI.

Now the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms that there is no LMI in the works.

So at the end of the day:

  1. The $1,000 fee was a straight scam
  2. Government has idea what skills are needed
  3. There is no relationship between immigration programs and the nation’s skills requirements
  4. Express Entry is a meaningless pre election gimmick
  5. Jason and Chris spoke with forked tongue"
Richard Boraks, March 29, 2015

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India arrests hundreds over Bihar school cheating

  • 21 March 2015
    •  
  • From the sectionIndia
Indians climb the wall of a building to help students appearing in an examination in Hajipur, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar
The images have embarrassed regional authorities in India
About 300 people have been arrested in the Indian state of Bihar, authorities say, after reports emerged of blatant cheating in school exams.
Parents and friends of students were photographed climbing school walls to pass on answers.
Many of those arrested were parents. At least 750 students have been expelled.
An estimated 1.4m students are taking their school leaving exams in Bihar alone - tests seen as crucial for their chances of a successful career.
The authorities have clearly been embarrassed by the cheating, the BBC's Jill McGivering says, with the episode prompting ridicule on social media.
Students were seen copying answers from smuggled-in note sheets, and police posted outside test centres were even seen being bribed to look the other way.
Cheating in Saharsa
Cheating is reportedly common in Bihar exams but rarely seen on this scale
Cheating in Saharsa
One official warned parents they were harming their students by helping them cheat
On top of the arrests, in four centres further exams have been cancelled.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condemned the cheating but said the images were not the "whole story" of his state.
He warned parents that helping their children cheat would only harm them in the long run.
State Education Minister PK Shahi said it would be difficult to conduct fair exams without help from parents, given the potential number of people involved.
"Three to four people helping a single student would mean that there is a total of six to seven million people helping students cheat," he said.
"Is it the responsibility of the government alone to manage such a huge number of people and to conduct a 100% free and fair examination?"

Cheating in Saharsa

Comment

"I love this picture from India.

It reminds me of Canada’s “Express Entry” immigration program.

This is why Minister Alexander visited India and opened up a bunch of new offices.

Given the collapse of Immigration’s computer and personnel systems, government relies on files being “perfect “ when they are filed.

You can be assured that files from India are perfect.

The folks who climb the walls are probably immigration consultants on the prowl for certificates required by the Express Entry fantasy machine. "
Richard Boraks, March 22, 2015
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Temporary foreign workers pin hopes on April 1 reprieve

In Alberta alone, 10,000 temporary foreign workers have applied to stay in Canada

By Briar Stewart, CBC News Posted: Mar 13, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 13, 2015 8:36 AM ET
Temporary foreign workers hope for April 1 reprieve 1:08
8 years temporary
8 years temporary 1:36
Stephan Belitsky is like thousands of temporary foreign workers in Alberta: his life is in limbo and all he can do is wait.
His work permit will expire April 1, which is when a deadline kicks in for those workers who have been in Canada for more than four years. They either need to be on the path to becoming permanent residents, or they have to leave the country.
"It is rather nerve-wracking, I have to admit," the 35-year-old said from the dining room of the hotel where he works in Jasper, Alta.
He is one of about 10,000 temporary foreign workers who have applied to stay in Canada through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. The overwhelming number of applications has led to lengthy backlog in the system.
Belitsky submitted his paperwork in December 2013, and he is still waiting for his application to be processed. His hope now is that he will be one of 1,000 workers to be granted an extension, which will let him remain in Canada for another year while his paperwork is dealt with.
The federal government announced the reprieve earlier this year, but officials in Alberta say they are still in the process of contacting employees and can’t say when all of those who will receive an extension will be notified.
That leaves Belitsky checking his email several times a day, waiting for some kind of news.
"I know it’s not just me in this position, and that there are lot of people in this position. I understand that things take some time. But of course, I am hoping things will come through," he said.

Desperate to stay

While the federal government’s recent overhaul of the temporary foreign worker program was designed to reduce abuse and make it harder for companies to bring in foreign labour, the tens of thousands of workers who are already settled in Alberta are desperate to stay.
Romel Dabo
After six years of working in Canada, Romel Dabo is packing up his young family in Edson, Alta., and preparing to head back to the Philippines due to changes in Canadian law around temporary foreign workers. (Briar Stewart/CBC)
​Belitsky moved to Jasper in 2007 from Berlin, Germany, after securing a job at theFairmont Jasper Park Lodge. He works as a banquet server, and is heavily involved in the local community - he has helped to organize soccer tournaments, fundraisers and even the annual rodeo. But now, like many other workers, he is facing the very real prospect of having to go home.
Romel Dabo is also waiting to hear from the government. For six years, Dabo sent part of his paychequefrom his job at Tim Hortons to his parents, who are farmers in the Philippines. The money also allowed him to send his son, who is still living there, to private school.  
Now he has a young family to take care of in Alberta as well. While staying in a home with other temporary foreign workers, he met and married a woman, and they now have an eight-month-old son together.
Dabo became teary-eyed when he talked about his family’s future. "I know our quality of life is going to be changed for sure."
Romel Dabo
Romel Dabo got married while in Canada, and now has an eight-month old son named Gabrielle. (Briar Stewart/CBC)
​Like Belitsky, Daboapplied to stay in Canada under the provincial nominee program back in 2013. While he has a file number, he doesn’t know whether he will be granted an extension, which is why he and his wife have already begun packing up their belongings in cardboard boxes that now line the kitchen of their rental home.
​Even though he is preparing to leave,Dabo said he remains optimistic.
"I still keep praying all the time that the application I submit to them will give us a chance to stay here," he says.
However, the reality is that soon many will be going home.  
Alberta can only hand out a  maximum  of 5,500 nominations for permanent residency each year, and the only way a worker can qualify for an extension to stay is if their current permit is still valid.  So as the clock ticks toward April 1, and as contracts are on the verge of expiring, more workers will inevitably have to abandon their hope of staying in Canada.
Temporary Foreign Workers
(Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada)

Comment

"Here we go again with Alberta

Where do the Albertans in Ottawa get the nerve?

When will Ontario wake up?

The Albertans in Ottawa have allowed unskilled PNP applicants in Alberta an opportunity to stay and work in Alberta while their landed immigrant applications are being processed.

Meanwhile, back in Ontario skilled workers have to get out of town while Ontario figures out whether its wants any legal immigrants from Europe."
Richard Boraks, March 15, 2015 
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Budget watchdog can't tell if employers need low-skilled foreign workers

Parliamentary budget officer says no clear data on what Canadians are available for work

By Louise Elliott, CBC News Posted: Mar 12, 2015 10:38 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 13, 2015 4:52 PM ET
Parliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Frechette's latest report examined whether Canadian employers really need temporary foreign workers. His office found a lack of clear data to properly answer the question.
Parliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Frechette's latest report examined whether Canadian employers really need temporary foreign workers. His office found a lack of clear data to properly answer the question. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
The parliamentary budget officer's latest report on temporary foreign workers was unable to accomplish its original goal: to assess whether there is an actual need for low-skilled foreign workers in Canada due to labour shortages.
Jean-Denis Frechette blames a "lack of disaggregated data on labour demand and labour supply at the regional and local level."
He concluded he was unable to answer the question: Do employers really need to hire foreign workers for low-skilled jobs, or are there Canadians available to fill those jobs?
Instead he offered an overview of the system that the Conservative government has been trying to overhaul since stories of abuse surfaced in the media.
Frechette wrote that for the majority of foreign workers in Canada, employers do not have to evaluate the labour market first to see if Canadians are available.
That's because they enter Canada under two streams — the temporary foreign worker stream and the international mobility program — but, of those two, only the temporary foreign worker program​ requires a labour market impact assessment first to find Canadians.
In fact, 70 per cent of foreign workers come in without one of those assessments.
Frechette did find that the size of the Canadian low-skilled workforce is shrinking, saying "businesses may continue to argue that there is still a need of foreign workers in low-skilled positions, at least in the short run."
But he also warned: "Care has to be taken that the policy parameters of the program allow market forces to work and make hiring foreign workers the last resort rather than the first option for businesses."

Corrections

  • This story has been edited from the original to correctly state that the temporary foreign worker program requires a labour market impact assessment before permission is given to hire a worker from abroad.
    Mar 13, 2015 4:41 PM ET

Comment

"The clock is running


Back on June 20, 2015, Jason Kenney said that he had no reliable data concerning Canada’s labour needs.

He assured that he’d have the information by the spring of 2015. He even said that he’d charge $1,000 for LMIA s in order to pay for the information.

Now the most senior parliamentary  official  responsible for data states that Jason Kenney has yet to come up with information .

I know that Jason is now Defense Minister.

But he’s still Chair of the Cabinet Committee responsible for ALL government operations.

We have Jason’s word that the data will be here by mid June …

In the meantime, can somebody please explain how government makes decisions about work permits and economic landed immigrant status without any labour related data?

It looks like the chicken is running around without its head. "
Richard Boraks, March 15, 2015
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