ImmigrantChildren.ca Archive

Category: Policy and Legislation

  • Election watch ~ Fall '08?

    Rumours are rife in the media about a fall election, most recently, the notion that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is prepared to abandon his fixed election date law (Globe and Mail, August 20th). Immigration policy will likely be a key point of debate/discussion in the upcoming election (as is often is). See, for example, the August 4/08 piece by Lawrence Martin in the Globe and Mail entitled “Playing the immigration card will come with some risk for the Liberals” where Martin captures what will likely be a key theme for the Conservatives: i.e., calling out the Liberals for their voting ‘yes’ on the recent budget bill, Bill C-50 (June 9/08). The bill included immigration policy reforms that the Liberals said (April 3/08) that they were/are not in support of:

    “The Liberal Opposition feels strongly that the drastic immigration reforms introduced by the Conservative government should be removed from the budget bill debated in Parliament”.

    Related links:
    Members of Parliament.
    Conservative Party of Canada.
    Conservative Convention, scheduled for November 13-15, 2008 in Winnipeg. NB: Of eight “key policy issues” identified for the convention, immigration does not appear.
    Liberal Party of Canada.
    Forum Liberalis, where the Liberal Party of Canada is inviting Canadians to participate in policy dialogue. Lots of input/interest in immigration issues.
    New Democratic Party of Canada.
    Green Party of Canada.
    Bloc Quebecois.

  • Metropolis Conversation series: Transnationalism and citizenship

    The Metropolis Canada Conversation Series brings together researchers, civil servants, policy makers and others to “identify and explore public policy issues”.  At the December 11, 2007 Conversation, the topic was “Transnationalism and the Meaning of Citizenship in the 21st Century” and participants were asked to consider how transnationalism has impacted citizenship.
    Transnationalism was defined this way:

    Transnationalism refers to the ties linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states. As the country having the second highest proportion of foreign-born residents in the world, and with an estimated 9% of its population residing overseas (Zhang, 2006).

    We are pleased to see that issues related to immigrant/transnational children and families were part of this conversation. 

  • Federal government launches consultation on immigration

    Following the recent changes introduced to immigration policy, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the Honourable Diane Finley is conducting a cross-Canada consultation to receive input from provincial and territorial officials, stakeholders and the public on how the changes should be implemented.
    The changes will, according to the federal government, “reduce wait times so that families are reunited faster and skilled workers arrive sooner“. The consultation has 3 components: 
    1. The Department will meet with the provinces and territories on the following dates:

    • July 7 ~ St. John’s NF & Labrador
    • July 9 ~ Halifax NS
    • July 10 ~ Fredericton NB
    • July 11 ~ Charlottetown PE
    • July 16 ~ Edmonton AB
    • July 17 & 18 ~ Winnipeg MB and SK
    • July 21 & 22 ~ Toronto ON
    • TBD ~ The Territories.

    2. A national roundtable of stakeholders will be held on August 15 (by invitation only).
    3. The public can participate by completing an online survey. The survey instructions include a request to confine comments in response to the questions posed. There are no questions about immigrant children or families or the family reunification aspect of Canada’s immigration policy.

  • Baker v. Canada – 10 years later

    July marks the tenth year anniversary of the Baker decision. A milestone in both immigrant and children’s rights, the Baker case addressed the rights of four Canadian-born children to have their immigrant mother remain with them on Canadian soil, despite her foreign citizenship, illegal status, and the deportation order to return to her home country.
    The Court ruled that immigration officials should pay “close attention to the interests and needs of children, since children’s rights and attention to their interests are central humanitarian and compassionate values in Canadian society“.

    Ten years after Baker v. Canada, where are we with regard to immigrant children’s rights?

    While Canada has long struggled with its immigration policy, it can be argued that Canadians have been fairly consistent – at least recently – in the value they put on children. Canada is recognized on the world stage as a champion for children’s rights. Canada was the co-host for the World Summit for Children and in 1991 was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention lays out the basic human rights to which all children are entitled: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harm; and to participate fully in family, culture and social life. Countries that are parties to the Convention are legally obligated to meet the standards set out in the Convention and the Convention applies to all children, everywhere. So in Canada, immigrant and refugee children have the same rights as Canadian-born children. So – does Canadian immigration policy line-up with the Convention? As part of the current immigration policy, the family reunification aspect has been seen as central and was recently cited as a key feature of our immigration policy.

    The recent federal government budget bill – Bill C-50 – introduced major changes to immigration policy, with critics charging that that the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration will have far-reaching powers to hand-select immigrants, fearing that the family reunification aspect of Canadian immigration policy would fall to the wayside, giving preference for skilled immigrants to fill the country’s labour needs. The emphasis – critics charge – would be on based on an immigrants ability to contribute economically, and that bringing families together will no longer be seen as a priority.

    The Canadian Coalition for Immigrant Children and Youth marks the 10th anniversary of Baker v. Canada by inviting Canadians to revisit Canada’s commitment to children as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children while considering the impact to children in the recent changes to Canadian immigration policy.

  • Alberta expands family sponsorship program

    The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program has amended its policies to allow “eligible Albertans” to sponsor family members, even those without a job awaiting them. Alberta Employment and Immigration Minister, The Honourable Hector Goudreau, in a news release entitled “Invite your uncle to pack his arc welder for a new life in Alberta“, says that adding to the family stream will support employment, “while creating more diverse and welcoming communities for all our families“.

  • Canadian Multiculturalism Day

    The federal government is bundling a series of days (June 21 – National Aboriginal Day; June 24 – Saint Jean Baptiste Day; June 27 – Canadian Multiculturalism Day; and July 1 – Canada Day) as the Celebrate Canada! initiative.
    Let’s revisit the Proclamation that, in 2002, established Canadian Multiculturalism Day:

    “Whereas multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage; Whereas Canadians of all backgrounds have made and continue to make valuable contributions to Canadian society; Whereas it is considered appropriate that there be, in each year, a day to mark and celebrate those contributions and to recognize Canadian diversity;  And whereas, by Order in Council P.C. 2002-1869 of October 31, 2002, the Governor in Council has directed that a proclamation do issue declaring June 27 of each year as Canadian Multiculturalism Day, a celebration of the contributions of Canada’s diverse people to Canadian society; Now know you that We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada, do by this Our Proclamation declare June 27 of each year as Canadian Multiculturalism Day, a celebration of the contributions of Canada’s diverse people to Canadian society”.

    How relevant is official multiculturalism in Canada today? What’s the impact for immigrant children and families? 
     

  • 2nd annual Metropolis research competition

    This year’s Metropolis Canada research competition is asking the question how has large-scale immigration transformed Canada’s society and economy?
    Some key dimensions of this question, relevant to research in the immigrant children and families area include the following (taken from the Metropolis site), include:

    How has immigration influenced policies of taxation and the provision of social goods and services such as public education and healthcare?
    What is the impact of immigration on Canadian social relations, including perspectives on family and friends, the discourse on individual and group rights, and inter-ethnic, inter-racil, and inter-religious relations?
    What impact has large-scale immigration had on Canadian social policy, e.g., the choice between the state, the community, and the family as service provider?

    Up to $125,000 for 12-18 months is available for researchers affiliated with any Metropolis Centre and a post-secondary educational institution. Here’s an opportunity for researchers interested in immigrant children and families. See the SSHRC site for details.
    Application deadline is September 30, 2008.
    For more information, contact the SSHRC Program Officer, Mika Oehling at 613.992.4227 or mika.oehling@sshrc.ca.

  • Talking to Liberals

    FYI, the federal Liberal Party of Canada is launching an online forum to engage Canadians in its policy development process. Here’s an opportunity to raise issues related to immigrant children and families. An excerpt from the announcement (links added by me):

    National Policy Chair Joan Bourassa and National Policy Vice-Chair Dominic LeBlanc are proud to announce the full public launch of the Liberal Party of Canada’s Forum Liberalis, a web platform that enables Canadians to collaborate, exchange ideas, and develop innovative new policies….

    The online forum is at http://forum.liberal.ca. Registration is required.

  • Bill C-50 gets voted on today

    The CBC reports that Bill C-50 will be voted on today. If defeated, it may trigger a federal election, but news sources agree that it is likely only the NDP and the Bloc Québécois will vote against it. Search this blog for “proposed changes to immigration policy” for more info.

  • IRB seeks members

    The Immigration and Refugee Board is seeking full-time order-in-council members for its offices in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. The positions are with the Refugee Protection Division and the Immigration Appeal Division. Let’s get some child advocates inside! Deadline to apply is June 30th.