Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from December 2002

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from December 2002

A day with the gatekeepers. (Immigration--Introductions).(immigration officers)
December 1, 2002... Front-line immigration officers have the very difficult job of processing the foreigners arriving in Canada. One of them is Cynthia Garcia and she says: "You never know what you are going to get. You can get 200 people that are totally okay....

A turning point. (Immigration--Why?).(Canadian demographics)
December 1, 2002... The average age of Canadians has been gettingsteadily older for several decades; this has a profound impact on the making of social policy, including that governing immigration. Demographics is the study of the "statistics of births,...

The skills deficit. (Immigration--Policy).(Canada's new law and immigrant placement)
December 1, 2002... Welders are needed in Wetaskiwin. There's a shortage of tile-setters in Tillsonburg. And, engineers are scarce in Edmonston. In fact, Canadian businesses are having difficulty finding skilled workers in many parts of the country. The prediction...

How many is enough? (Immigration--Opposition).
December 1, 2002... It's very difficult to be against immigration without being labelled a bigot, but some non-bigots are standing up and criticizing the program. In June 2001, a group of eminent Canadians wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien....

Seeking a better life. (Immigration--Refugees).
December 1, 2002... This is a very tricky issue. True refugees are defined by the 1951 United Nations Convention, to which Canada adheres. They are individuals fleeing because of a well-founded fear of persecution. Today, people also flee in large groups, and...

The queue jumpers. (Immigration--Illegals).
December 1, 2002... There are many, many people who don't want to wait out the long approval process to become landed immigrants in Canada. It's a risky business and from time to time a container is opened in a port somewhere to reveal the bodies of people who...

Crossing the line. (Immigration--Border Security).(Canada-United States border)
December 1, 2002... After the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, there is increased pressure on Canada to harmonize its immigration process with that of the United States. There seems to be a perception that any terrorist in the world...

Closing the door. (Immigration--Europe).(European immigration laws)
December 1, 2002... Migration into Europe has grown in the last decade, since the end of the Cold War and the growth of regional conflicts, and many countries are trying to stem the flow by changing the rules for admission. In 2002, Denmark tightened its...

Losing the best and the brightest. (Immigration--Source Countries).(brain drain)
December 1, 2002... Developing countries have a hard time keeping the people they need most. The World Medical Association says it's time for rich countries to stop trying to solve their doctor shortages by poaching medical staff from less-developed...

Quote ... unquote.
December 1, 2002... "We must continue to welcome new arrivals so that Canada will continue to grow and proper and continue to be recognized in the years ahead as the best place in the world in which to live." Former Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan (2001)...

Starting over. (The Immigrant Experience--Introduction).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... At Confederation in 1867, 61% of Canadians were of British origin, 31% were of French, while Aboriginal groups and others made up the balance. A hundred and thirty five years later, almost half of Canada's immigrants were from Asia. "You...

Patterns of settlement. (The Immigrant Experience--20th Century).
December 1, 2002... The first 14 years of the twentieth century brought nearly three million immigrants to Canada. "The twentieth century belongs to Canada" Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier made that bold prediction as the new century began. Most observers...

Not our proudest moments. (The Immigrant Experience--Discrimination).(Canadian immigration policies)
December 1, 2002... Canada's immigration policy has had some very dark times over the years, although it's considered generous now. The Nansen Medal was awarded to the Canadian people in 1986. This prestigious honour was given to Canadians by the United...

Strangers in a strange land. (The Immigrant Experience--Arrivals).
December 1, 2002... People arriving in Canada have many adjustments to make. Sometimes, these are trivial, such as someone from a tropical country wearing gloves for the first time in their lives. Often, the adjustments are major. Imagine coming from a...

Pounding the pavement. (The Immigrant Experience--Work).(immigrant employment)
December 1, 2002... Getting a job isn't as easy as it used to be for immigrants. Even foreign-trained doctors sometimes have a long wait before they can practise in parts of the country. For a long time, the story was the same: immigrants arriving in Canada...

Ties that bind. (The Immigrant Experience--Family).
December 1, 2002... Who is allowed into the country depends to some extent on the country's needs at any given time, but family is a big factor too. Most immigrants settling in Canada, do so as part of a family unit. Three quarters of the people settling here...

Unacceptable customs. (The Immigrant Experience--Values).(immigrants cultural values)
December 1, 2002... How should we react when the cultural values of immigrants clash with our own? Here are some examples of the customs and traditions that immigrants sometimes bring to their new homes. Not all of them are legal in Canada. Polygamy ...

Life without rights. (The Immigrant Experience--Non-Permanent).(migrant workers)
December 1, 2002... Tens of thousands of migrant workers put up with poor working conditions to ease their poverty back home. Farmers in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and Southwestern Ontario rely on them. Without non-permanent migrant workers many...

Guns and grenades. (The Immigrant Experience--Terrorism).(terrorist groups in Canada)
December 1, 2002... Most, but not all, immigrants are law abiding. With so many people coming to Canada from troubled parts of the world, we shouldn't be surprised to find a few troublemakers in our midst. Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the...

Racial tension. (The Immigrant Experience--Profiling).(Black immigrants in Canada)
December 1, 2002... Much of the crime among immigrants is linked to poverty. Bloody Sunday happened in Toronto in late October 2002. In the early hours of the morning, four young men were shot to death in the city and five others were injured. All the victims...

Taking the oath. (The Immigrant Experience--Citizenship).
December 1, 2002... A lot of time, effort, and emotion goes into leaving one's homeland and setting down roots in a new country. There are often tears at citizenship ceremonies. The swearing of the citizenship oath and the handing over of the citizenship...

Quotes.
December 1, 2002... "We had our dreams come true. Like a sunbeam from a clouded sky, came a permission for us to come to Canada, a free country." Marianne Echt, written in 1942, at the age of 16, after escaping Poland in 1939 "I had the time of my life for...