During the fall of 2011 the Conservative government announced and implemented a number of dramatic changes to the Canadian immigration system, including attempts to speed-up the processing of immigration applications, placing a greater focus on attracting economic immigrants, opening new categories of immigration for foreign students, and creating a new "super-visa" for immigrants' parents and grandparents. Pundits and critics have filled much newsprint weighing-in on these changes. However, few have commented on the rapid increases in the number of temporary foreign workers coming to the country. This has meant that the issue has largely been out of the public eye.
Most Canadians are unaware that the number of temporary foreign workers is increasing rapidly. These are people who migrate to Canada for work on a temporary visa and who, unlike other immigrants and refugees, do not have the rights of permanent residents or citizens. Statistics on temporary foreign workers vary widely depending on how they are compiled. This is because of the broad range of workers that fall under the category ranging from university professors or other professionals with specialized expertise hired from abroad, to athletes and performing artists, to low-wage service workers. In all cases, temporary workers are admitted on the condition that their employment does not impede that of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
As confusing as the statistics can be, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada's 2010 Facts and Figures, in 1986 120,074 temporary foreign workers were in the country, by the year 2000 this increased to 177,781 and by 2010 the number increased to 432,682. That is a 140 percent increase during the 2000s alone. Of those counted in 2010 about a quarter of temporary foreign workers, 116,166, were classified as "initial" entrants, presumably coming to the country for the first time. To put that number into perspective, according to the same source, this is equivalent to over 40 percent of the 280,681 immigrants Canada admitted in the same year but these migrants will not receive permanent residence status or citizenship [...]
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Hundreds of students across the province came together on February 1st for the Canadian Federation of Students' Day of Action to protest Nova Scotia’s continuing erosion of funding for higher education. The average Nova Scotian graduate leaves university with $30,000 in accumulated debt, a number that will continue to rise with recently-announced cuts. Tuition for some programs in the province will go up by as much as 3% next year.
Laura Penny, professor and author of multiple books, including “More Money Than Brains: Why School Sucks, College is Crap, and Idiots Think They're Right,” spoke to the crowd of hundreds. See Penny speak at the 4th Annual CCPA-NS Fundraiser in October 2011, here.
In April 2011, CCPA-NS released a study entitled, “Fairness, Funding and our Collective Future: A Way Forward for Post-secondary Education in Nova Scotia.” The authors call on the government to stop underestimating both the individual cost of pursuing a post-secondary education as well as the benefits to society as a whole. Read their recommendations, here.
The direct cost of poverty for the PEI government is an estimated 100 million dollars per year — 7.6% of the 2009/10 PEI government budget. When the costs to government are added to the broader costs to the economy, the total cost of poverty for the province is $315 million dollars, which is equivalent to 7.6% of Prince Edward Island’s GDP. This corresponds to $2,700 per person, per year.
Researchers Christine Saulnier and Angella MacEwan explain these numbers in a new CCPA-NS report, Cost of Poverty in Prince Edward Island (2011).
The report was presented in PEI late last year, covered by The Guardian on December 11th, here.
The authors' most recent visit to PEI was covered by The Gaurdian on January 29th, here.
CCPA-NS, along with our partners, is currently working on the 11th annual Alternative Provincial Budget. This flagship document demystifies the budgeting process, making provincial finances accessible to all Nova Scotians. Look for its launch in March.
Nova Scotia Alternative Provincial Budget 2011 can be seen here.
Finance Minister Graham Steele recently mentioned some proposals offered by CCPA-NS members on CBC Radio One’s Information Morning, here.
Mike Bradfield, economist working on the Alternative Provincial Budget, elaborated on Minister Steele’s comments, here.
Our 4th Annual Fundraiser was held on October 6th, 2011 at the Italian Cultural Centre in Halifax. We want to thank everyone who bought tickets and our table sponsors for their generous contributions. We had a terrific night!
Our guest speaker, Laura Penny, gave an entertaining and thought-provoking talk to guests, entitled Sorry, kids, your future is cancelled! and shared her thoughts on how expensive all this "austerity" is going to be. Her talk focused specifically on the implications of the austerity agenda and on problems with education funding, the environment, and the effects of social disinvestment on kids.
Laura Penny is the best-selling author of Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit and More Money Than Brains: Why School Sucks, College is Crap and Idiots Think They're Right (both Globe and Mail "Best Books of the Year").
If you weren't able to join us, you can watch a video of Laura's talk here.
Special thanks to Sobaz Benjamin for donating his time to film the event for us.
Laura Penny speaks to guests attending the 4th Annual CCPA-NS Fundraiser (October 2011) and shares her thoughts on how expensive all this "austerity" is going to be. She focuses specifically on the implications of this agenda and on problems with education funding, the environment, and the effects of social disinvestment on kids.
Laura Penny is the best-selling author of Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit and More Money Than Brains: Why School Sucks, College is Crap and Idiots Think They're Right. She has been described to be "as scathing as Michael Moore, as incisive as Naomi Klein."
Special thanks to Sobaz Benjamin for donating his time to film the event for us.
The CCPA’s bold vision and creative solutions help us imagine better futures for all. Its efforts to build bridges between labour, industry, and civil society and mentor young activists lay the foundation for realizing those provocative futures. I consider my support for the CCPA an investment in a better future for British Columbia.
— Polly Ng, Next Up graduate