Hazel’s Blog IV, IMCD - 02

PNP need for family reunification and "Abrupt changes to Saskatchewan’s Provincial Nominee Program;   May 28, 2012 FWCanada"

The notice about the change was brought to light on May 2^nd, 2012.  No transition period, no preparation, it just happened.  It’s amazing how quickly changes can occur to cancel a process. 

Our provincial nominee programs are a pathway to employment for immigrants who want to come and who we need to fill a skill shortage.  I believe that this is the trend and will be here to stay for some time. 

Baby boomers are retiring, we keep hearing about this and also we have a low birth rate.  I believe in times past that there was one time that there were more abortions registered then live births registered in Toronto.  Excerpt from:  wcr.ab.ca/Columns/OpinionsStories/tabid/70/entryid/.../Default.aspxCached

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29 Aug 2011 – By 1982, there were more abortions than live births in the city of Toronto. I have talked to physicians who practiced medicine during that time.

I believe we are heading into a time of economic change and need that we may not have experienced to this degree before. Back in the late sixties and seventies the birth rate dropped.  Most couples were having one or two children compared to the larger families of days gone by. 

I believe we can fill the gaps and increase our population concern by inviting more immigrants and developing programs that make it viably for a mother or father to work and afford child care for both single and married couples of all income brackets.  Sometimes the middle income level becomes the working poor.  The economic balancing ball, with no tax breaks.

If we don’t have the Canadians and the new immigrants to cover the jobs as the aging population retire; what will the answer be to address such a need? What would the affect be on our economy within and to our international trade without?  I believe that the PNP fast track for business entrepreneurs that BC has should be a module followed for not only business investment and self-employed streams, but for other occupations as well. PNP helps the new immigrant to have a job to come to, or a business or to have been or be a student with a Canadian University (accredited).

PNP programs are great, the newcomer to a job that needs to be filled and matches their occupation and abilities to become economical established.  I believe having family with them is the comforting fact that influences their performance and wellbeing in a positive manner

This is time to prepare for the labour market climate, the economic boom that is upon us.  If we can change a PNP policy and regulations so fast and so abruptly, perhaps we can create them to accommodate the needs just as quickly.  Something to think about, are we already starting to scramble?

Limiting family applications in Saskatchewan is devastating news for the new PN who had high hopes of having all their family members with them.  Now they can only nominate one individual at a time, before they could sponsor multiple relatives for a permanent resident visa all at once.  Having ones family with them I believe would make life easier and help the integration process. 

The Saskatchewan government has placed a limit on applications and the primary candidate must be employed here in Saskatchewan for a 6 full months before they can sponsor any additional family members.  There are other PNP programs and the federal family class to which they may apply as an alternate route to fit into Saskatchewan’s own reunification legislation.  They must be able to financially support their family to ensure that they don’t need to pull from government. 

By instilling these new changes the goal is to reduce the burden upon provincial government’s social welfare systems by supporting those who can become economically established.  I’m wondering how it got to be a burden in the first place, what measures were not taken and how can we plan and prepare to avoid making our newcomers feel like they are a burden.  Proper screening and diligent investigations before approval could be intensified to ensure that the financial stability is there.  Also do we play a part, when we bring in newcomers to a job they end up getting laid off from when the boom turns to bust?  I believe catching the financial need that could occur during paid work or in the event of a lay off; should be reviewed more intensely and the ability to become economically established with the job or without should be confirmed before approval is granted.

It’s been said that Canada, the government wants to tighten the ropes for the family reunification program to stop and discourage abuse of the system and to secure the economic integration and welfare of sponsored applicants. 

Ottawa’s recommendations at the risk of losing the program altogether and to further communicate its main objectives, such as: matching the skills of foreign workers to the short term demands of its local labour market, only individuals aged 18 to 49 may now be eligible for sponsorship and must also have an arranged employment off in hand. 

I believe we shouldn’t lose such an opportunity to bring those newcomers who want to come and to provide the opportunity of job matching for them.  We do need this, but we must keep in mind that family members are the supporting platform that keeps our primary applicant/worker in a state of wellbeing.  They are only allowed to sponsor one family member and then work six months before they can sponsor another.  I’m wondering if this process of breaking up the sponsorship from all on one form is going to up the cost for generating separate applications.  More paper work, more government staff will be needed to do the additional work. Is it really cost affective?

It’ll be interesting to watch the processes evolve and unfold over the next few months/years.

Ottawa doctors decry cuts to refugee health benefits

Hazel’s Blog   May 17, 2012

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney recently announced he would eliminate coverage of supplemental health benefits like vision care, dental work and drug costs for refugees.  Excerpt from: Rebecca Lindell, Global News: Friday May 11, 2012

“Refugees will still receive basic health coverage, comparable to provincial programs and medication and immunizations will be provided in cases where there is a risk to public health.  The government expects the cuts will save taxpayers 100 million over five years.

“Tyndall disagrees: “It will be offloaded to emergency rooms to deal with these things and it makes no sense at all…I’ll cost five times that much if we rely on emergency rooms and hospitals.”

SOUNDOFF:  Do you think refugees should receive a year of health care benefits, which include those not available for average Canadians like dental and vision care?

Of course I believe in equality for all.  Don’t take away this most precious gift that our Canadian Refugees need to help them to rise to their potential here in Canada and become healthy productive citizens. They are part of our economic future and if we address any health issues and concerns now we will be avoiding creating a pool of very ill and dying people that will be even more costly to the health system.  Also costly to a more important factor “Human Life” and dignity; it’s inhumane to step back and let people become ill.  They say it takes a community to raise a child, I say it takes a nation to raise a refugee, an immigrant to the pinnacle of settlement, where they can stand tall and feel proud to call Canada home and mean it.  Our investment today is our outcome for tomorrow, let’s pull together and build our new and future Canadians.

Any child, elderly, or young person with an aching tooth should have basic dental care. Depending on the dental need should depend on government coverage.  There should be a plan in place for refugees and Canadians alike to meet basic coverage, even start with emergency dental work.

Drugs and medications; once again I think that refugees have come from a background that we don’t fully understand, they may be in poor health due to civil warfare or famine.  Their needs may differ and be life or death threatening.  Once again I believe that Canadians should also receive the same treatments when the seriousness of a health condition validates the need.

I don’t think that we should abolish the refugee health plan, which is only in place for them for a two year period.  Tynall says; “refugees won’t get the drugs they need to treat conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure or pneumonia.”  I believe that it is inhumane to let any human being fall in to bad health when it can be avoided.  Also the hospital trips and medical care costs would far outdo the drug costs.  When they become seriously ill due to lack of treatment then the whole scene gets worse including the medical costs.  We should keep in mind that we need to help our Canadian Refugees bounce back to good health, build them up, we need to remember that they are part of our Canadian mosaic and future tax payers too.  By letting them get stuck in bad health is cruel and is not a help to our health system.  Spend some money today to save for tomorrow and do the right thing and treat people when they are ill.   Also by treating refugees and others who are ill we do keep some of the devastating diseases at bay such as tuberculosis; the worst thing to do is not to check for and treat it.  We need to address the need to stop the spread of any potential communicable diseases.  

Are there other areas that could be cut back; how many more #*#?*$ and new buildings do we really need?  Hmm… what other cutbacks would be more suitable, ones that would be better than cutting back on health services.  Let’s prioritize. 

Let’s not wait until we’re in a state of emergency, an epidemic of some sort, let’s practice preventive medicine and keep the medical benefits coming as needed for refugees and Canadians alike.

Worldwide Job Bank for Skilled Workers

Hazel’s Blog May 10, 2012

 Wandering on Canada’s evolving immigration path of change, worldwide job bank full of skilled workers

“Ottawa wants to create a worldwide job bank for skilled foreign workers” for us to pick from as needed. Canada already has a pool of skilled workers here in Canada who immigrated over the years and ended up in survival and/or transitional jobs.  It would be interesting to know if it is possible to provide the type of bridging program that really does fast track an international professional, skilled worker into their field of expertise addressing skill and cultural pockets by credible universities, colleges and technical institutes, all which would provide documentation to validate that our newcomer is really ready, willing and able to obtain and maintain employment in their occupation here in Canada.  Let us not forget about those who are already here and with some updating could be working in their profession as a skilled worker, which they were meant to be.   Meanwhile have our global glasses on seeking out the cream of the crop from the global pool to meet Canada’s industry needs. Labour market forecast so I hear is to be one of turbulence, filled with labour shortages partially due to the boomers are leaving the world of work.  I believe all occupations will suffer a loss especially the medical field and elder care facilities, the numbers are on the edge of increasing.  Due to the boomers and Canada’s low birth rate, we will be experiencing a shortage of skilled workers over the next few years and beyond. I keep hearing we won’t have the people power to maintain our economy if we don’t act now and have immigration plans, policies, acts in place to support our industry needs and how we can bring the those who are ready to work asap. Are we panicking yet?  Is there reason for concern? What about health care are there sufficient funds and facilities to care for our aging boomers?  What about the newcomers, I hope they are not looked upon as tools for Canada’s tool box.  Hopefully not just the principal applicant will be taken into consideration, but also the holistic settlement needs of his/her family to ensure a quick and smooth integration process.  I believe that if well prepared newcomers experience less stress, confidence isn’t totally lost and the feeling of belonging does cushion the process if they are treated like people and not just industry tools.  I am pleased with all the good work our not for profit government monitored settlement agencies are doing Canada wide.  Also I’m impressed with the Canadian Immigration Integration program a much needed service that should have been activated many years ago. New Canadians, those who have been accepted and approved to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents receive orientation to Canada and then one to one consultation to develop an action plan and resources to match their needs.  It’s amazing how they start to use the Working in Canada Tool to help them identify the city and province which best meets their employment needs; also cost of living is explored.  This program has really helped newcomers before they even leave their country of origin.  The CIIP orientation officer upon completion of their service in country of origin immediately refers the newcomer to a credible settlement agency and they are connected to a settlement practitioner who guides them all the way through their integration from country of origin to city of destination (no fees).  They the newcomer doesn’t have time to slip through the cracks that have swallowed up many of our previous newcomers whose skills have gone unused.  They say the best place to have a heart attack is in a taxi cab; the driver is probably a doctor and perhaps a heart specialist/surgeon. I’m wondering how the Global Pool of Skilled Workers will work out?  Hopefully an employment match will occur and settlement will be less stressful for all involved.  It is important to track and stay in contact with our newcomers to be ready to help them if they fall.  After all they are Canada’s future taxpayers.  Minister Jason Kenney states: “If they get that job offer and if they’re already among our qualified pool of candidates, we’d bring them in a light speed because we know they’re set for success.”  I wonder how this success step was missed in the past and I’m still wondering about the doctor driving the cab, the registered head nurse who is cleaning daycares, and the engineers, the technicians who are working two or three fast food jobs just to get by. All of these jobs are valuable, but one needs to be working in the field that they were educated for, and paid for. Overall I’m happy to hear that the word employed is going to be attached to our skilled workers who are yet to come.  

Blog 1 Canada to Fast - Track Foreign Docs, other Skilled Professionals

Article by CanadaUPdates, Harleen Kaur, April 18 2012

"Eased entry for professionals - Kenney said "the nation wants to get qualified foreigners out of underemployment after coming to Canada." We all know that it is sad but true that our welcomed medical doctors and other professionals fall into the cracks and become underemployed or not employed at all, some end up in other occupations. It takes years to get back to the status of one’s profession. We as a nation are in need of such professionals; there is a nationwide demand for such professions. I believe by reforming the immigrant process could make a difference. It appears to me that the focus is on industry need and the immediate attention to fill the need is a priority. I am hoping that the holistic needs of our new Canadians will be addressed and we will continue to see our newcomers as people and not just industry tools. The eased entry process is to ensure that our professional immigrants work in their designations and occupations here in Canada. I understand that the process for selection is more concise and focused to the younger applicant, one who's education and experience is an exact match to the job here in Canada. I'm still pondering how this might work, I think about how many seats there are for doctors and that varies province wide. Also provincial professional associations how will they all come on board and have a standardized regulation? I'm thinking there are many changes to be made to allow the Eased Entry to be seamless and smooth. I understand from this article by CanadaUPdates the changes announced to Canada immigration process include the recruitment from international labour markets. Fast tracking approval of applications, in cases of acute requirement this is different than the traditional system, which was "first come, first served". There will be more emphasis on language proficiency and screening of credentials to find whether they have a chance at getting a license. This will all happen before they leave their country of origin. It is such a fast change that I hope it all works out. Minister Kenney has stated ""A large number of newcomers, majority of who are medical professions, find themselves stuck in doing meager survival jobs in Canada. It is nothing but underemployment or unemployment; and this is something Canada won't tolerate any longer." That is why Canada needs to reform its immigration process! I agree, we do owe it to our newcomers and to Canada to ensure our newcomers are guided into their own profession here in Canada. The future is in their hands, we need to have the best immigration policy to help them to become proud Canadians those who can happily call Canada home and keep our industry flourishing with the best skilled professionals. I like to think positive, but I do hope that any possible glitches in this policy have been identified. Sigh let's see