Critics see Canada’s immigration minister as weak and invisible a year into her mandate. But is she doing exactly what Mark Carney wants?

2026/06/24 Leave a comment

Interesting take:

If Prime Minister Mark Carney wanted a low-key minister to handle the Liberals’ immigration mess and stay out of the headlines, he may have found the right person in Lena Metlege Diab.

Whether or not by design, Immigration Minister Diab, unlike her predecessors, has maintained a low profile. That’s despite relentless attacks by the opposition Conservatives over her invisibility and competence in the high-stakes portfolio.

The MP from Nova Scotia has been lambasted by critics for relying on bureaucrats to answer questions at committee, and being unclear in communicating policies and less responsive than her predecessors.

In the year and a bit since she was tapped by Carney to lead the file, Diab seems to have delivered what the prime minister has asked her to do in returning overall immigration to more “sustainable levels” — at least in terms of slashing the immigrant population.

A Parliamentary Budget Officer report this year projected the share of non-permanent residents will fall under five per cent of Canada’s population by the end of 2027, aligning with the government target.

But the system the Nova Scotia MP inherited is still in flux, rife with uncertainty, backlogs and long processing times — issues that experts say need to be urgently addressed to restore stability and faith in Canadian immigration.

Diab ‘turns down political heat’

“Her mandate certainly was to turn down the political heat on immigration, and I would say that she’s done that successfully,” said Victoria-based immigration lawyer Kyle Hyndman. 

“A lot of the immigration conversation has got really focused on numbers. We’re not talking about bushels of soya beans here. We’re talking about people who are very different in terms of what they bring to Canada and in terms of what they need. This conversation about reaching a sustainable level of immigration is only half of the question.”

And the falling numbers of temporary residents are what Diab has wanted to register with Canadians….

University of Toronto political science professor Phil Triadafilopoulos said Canada’s immigration system is still in transition, rolling back a messy expansion under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, especially after the pandemic. And the repair can only be done in “a piecemeal way,” he added.

He said the issues of temporary residents have built up ever since Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s time, and exploded in 2022 and ‘23 as politicians caved to the demands of colleges and universities to recruit foreign students to offset government funding cuts, as well as the push by businesses seeking easy access to foreign labour.

“The expectation is that most people will leave, but we know from experience that a large number of people will not leave and will overstay and live in a more precarious way,” said Triadafilopoulos.

To Carney, he added, Diab seemed to be the right person to keep immigration issues out of the news cycle because the PM needed someone to do things quietly and not want to be in the news all the time, to “decompress immigration.” His sense is that the Prime Minister’s Office is now steering the boat and trying to return the Immigration Department to an operation led by civil servants…

Source: Critics see Canada’s immigration minister as weak and invisible a year into her mandate. But is she doing exactly what Mark Carney wants?

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Moffatt: A wave of young digital nomads is leaving Canada for cheaper, warmer countries

2026/06/24 Leave a comment

Need better data. But if they file Canadian taxes and thus technically remaining Canadian citizens, does it matter that much compared to those who leave and don’t file Canadian taxes?

…These visas have caused a form of shadow emigration, where talented young Canadians have left the country, but they are not counted in our statistics, forcing policymakers to rely on anecdotes to determine the extent of the issue and how it is growing over time. 

The Canadians who live in work in those countries typically file Canadian tax returns each year, they continue to have Canadian bank accounts and Canadian passports, so in the eyes of data collectors, they still are domestic residents in Canada, even if they have been living elsewhere for years.

Their absence, however, is a loss for Canada. A 2024 study from the Bank of Canada found that two-thirds of Canada’s labour productivity gap with the U.S. stems from differences in the productivity levels of high-income workers in the two countries, and that the emigration of the high-talent workers from Canada to the U.S. is likely a contributing factor….

Source: A wave of young digital nomads is leaving Canada for cheaper, warmer countries

Filed under Immigration Tagged with , ,

Human rights museum board member resigns over ‘one-sided’ exhibit on displaced Palestinians

2026/06/24 2 Comments

Of note. One sided is, of course, partially in the mind of the beholder but this is a hard issue to navigate but one that merits attention:

A trustee for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights says he has resigned from the Winnipeg facility’s board over an upcoming exhibit about displaced Palestinians.

Mark Berlin submitted his resignation in a letter to federal Heritage Minister Marc Miller and the museum’s board chair. In it, Berlin accuses the museum of putting forth “ideology” instead of an accurate history.

“Telling the story with a one-sided perspective chosen by the museum serves to deepen division and contributes to further hostility toward Jews in Canada,” Berlin wrote in his letter, shared with media outlets.

“Presenting the Palestinian displacement of 1948 without its proper historical and political context offers a narrow, one-sided argument of history that can only deepen the distrust and animosity that currently exists between Jews and Muslims in this country.”

Berlin, a professor at McGill University’s international development institute with a background in human rights law, argued the exhibit fails to explain that Arab states fought those who ultimately established the State of Israel in 1948 and then expelled Jews to Israel.

The exhibit, set to open Saturday, focuses on people affected by the forced displacement of about 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Palestine war — an event known as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe.

Source: Human rights museum board member resigns over ‘one-sided’ exhibit on displaced Palestinians

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Ottawa reverses orders to surrender some ‘lost Canadian’ citizenship certificates

2026/06/24 Leave a comment

Sigh…. Suspect that the lack of discussion at CIMM and SOCI over third and earlier generation impact may reflect a lack of policy analysis over this potential:

Just one week after some “lost Canadians” were told to surrender their new citizenship certificates, a few received letters over the weekend confirming their citizenship claims are valid once again.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson said Monday the department is now reviewing the roughly 4,100 citizenship by descent claims made under an amendment to the law that offers a path to citizenship for those with Canadian ancestors.

Citizenship certificates will not be suspended unless the review turns up a problem with a document already issued, the spokesperson said.

A statement the department issued last week said it is temporarily pausing the finalization of citizenship certificates related to the citizenship by descent amendment passed as Bill C-3.

That amendment allows people born before Dec. 15, 2025 to claim Canadian citizenship if they can prove a direct line to a Canadian ancestor generation-by-generation.

Many of those making citizenship claims under this new rule are Americans.

The department has said it sent letters earlier this month to “a few dozen” people who received citizenship under the citizenship by descent law demanding they surrender their proof of citizenship pending further review….

Source: Ottawa reverses orders to surrender some ‘lost Canadian’ citizenship certificates

Filed under C-3, Citizenship Tagged with ,

Canada’s immigration policies are creating new barriers for international students

2026/06/24 Leave a comment

Good example of leanings of immigration scholars, many of whom remain in denial over some of the abuses:

…The International Student Program reflects a deeper contradiction in Canada’s approach to international students. Canada encourages international students to come here and support economic growth. However, those students are now also blamed for abusing the system and exacerbating pressures on social services and housing.

For example, a recent House of Commons report suggested international students misuse asylum claims and recommended a cap on applicants from countries with high student application rates, such as India, Nigeria, and the Republic of Guinea.

There is an urgent need for more equitable policies. The way IRCC connects geopolitics and domestic issues with student recruitment legitimizes discriminatory immigration screening based on students’ race, ethnicity and nationality.

Current caps have led to a reduction of more than 60 per cent in international student enrolment. Yet, the recent Auditor General report showed a significant increase in students from European countries even after the enrolment cap was implemented.

Emma Harden-Wolfson Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, McGill University

Source: Canada’s immigration policies are creating new barriers for international students

Filed under Immigration Tagged with ,

Grant: The Real Reason Bosses Want You Back in the Office Full Time (It’s Not Productivity) 

2026/06/23 Leave a comment

Although the analysis is based upon the private sector, parallels in the public sector as well, although the public sector has to address perceptions of public service as being coddled compared to the private sector:

…There are limits to the benefit of flexible office policies. Research suggests that working from home for more than half the week can be isolating — it’s harder to build connections and cultures. It’s also more difficult to encourage creative collisions, informal learning and mentoring. But it doesn’t take five days a week to accomplish these goals. In fact, it turns out that people are most collaborative and creative when they work remotely part of the week. They can use a day or two at home to focus on individual deep work and reserve the rest of the week for communication and collective problem-solving. It’s well documented that too much togetherness breeds groupthink (not to mention germs). When we spend some time apart, we actually generate more innovative ideas and make smarter decisions.

Hybrid work does have its own challenges for leaders. It’s not fun to try to inspire through a recorded video message or lead a brainstorming session on a digital whiteboard. But to maintain a competitive advantage in an increasingly flexible world, it’s time for leaders to put their egos aside and master the art of managing from afar. Evidence supports a few basic guidelines.

One: Coordination counts. Teams need anchor days when everyone shows up — especially to welcome newcomers and mentor junior people. At Microsoft, new hires who spent at least a couple of days a month with their manager and their teams were more satisfied with their early experiences, which in turn meant they were more likely to stay over the next year and a half.

Two: Intensity beats frequency. The software company Atlassian has found that spending a few days with your team at a well-designed quarterly team gathering does more for connection and belonging than daily schleps to the office.

Three: Hybrid work is not one-size-fits-all. Different jobs require different amounts of time in person. So do different people; for example, flexibility proves particularly important in attracting and retaining women. And you need to gather together more if your staff operates like a basketball team passing the ball back and forth, rather than a gymnastics team whose members do their own individual events. (This explains why fully remote teams struggleto patent new technologies, but the people who examine patent applications are more productive when they can work from anywhere they like.)

Four: Most people care more about when they work than where. If they can choose the hours, they’re more willing to let leaders pick the place.

Organizational policies shouldn’t be vanity projects. The responsibility of leaders is not to mold the world to their needs. It’s to adapt themselves to the world’s needs, even if it means learning to live without the thrill of a live audience.

Dr. Grant, a contributing Opinion writer, is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Shandell and Ms. Elliott are Ph.D. candidates there.

Source: The Real Reason Bosses Want You Back in the Office Full Time (It’s Not Productivity)

Filed under Government Tagged with ,

Bhagat: Canada needs South Asian labour, and racism keeps it cheap

2026/06/23 Leave a comment

Think there has been a fair degree of public scrutiny of the government policies that contributed (e.g., international student “puppy farms, Temporary Workers”:

…None of this means that Canadians cannot debate immigration levels, housing pressures or labour policy. No doubt these are legitimate political questions. However, we must all address the problem that arises when economic anxieties are redirected to vulnerable workers themselves. South Asians have become the face of policies they did not create, which allows governments, corporations and social media platforms to elide scrutiny. 

Ali Bhagat is assistant professor and director of the public policy minor at the School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University.

Source: Canada needs South Asian labour, and racism keeps it cheap

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with ,

Lederman: There’s a lot not to like about the new anti-hate council

2026/06/22 Leave a comment

Never was convinced that these two positions were effective in reducing hate but they did provide assurances to the specific groups. We will see if the council will be more or less successful (don’t envy the officials responsible…):

…The group replaces Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia and the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. That was the government’s first mistake. Why not keep those positions (and perhaps set up others) and have the various representatives sit on a wider council? 

The problem is urgent, but beyond this announcement, it’s unclear what is happening. In responding to an interview request, one council member indicated they had not yet been officially onboarded and was waiting to have a better sense of specifics. 

Meanwhile, Canadian youth are being hired by a foreign entity to shoot up synagogues. 

Government bureaucracy is notoriously snail-paced. This is no time for dawdling or endless committee discussions, but for meaningful action. This week’s passing of the anti-hate bill will offer some protection. But hate must be targeted at its root, not just its activation. It’s going to be a massive challenge. Let’s go.

Source: There’s a lot not to like about the new anti-hate council

Filed under Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Canada gave these former refugees a chance. Now they’re pushing back against anti-refugee claims

2026/06/22 Leave a comment

Of note:

…While success stories like hers are common, she said they have been overshadowed by narratives in recent years that portray refugees as a drain on Canada, rather than contributors. The surge of refugees in the country is just a reflection of the rising global displacement as a result of wars and unrest, she noted.

A 2024-25 public opinion poll by the Immigration Department found that just a third of Canadians felt that the impact of refugees on Canada was positive. Forty-eight per cent of respondents said Canada was admitting too many asylum seekers, while 41 per cent said the country was resettling too many refugees from abroad. Just over half agreed that “accepting refugees is part of Canada’s humanitarian tradition.” 

“The more you feed into this negative narrative, the more fearful society and the politicians become, and the more restrictive these policies become,” said Faizi, who was a corporate lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights, before switching to refugee law in 2021. 

That’s why the council has launched a week of action to highlight refugee contributions and show solidarity across Canada with them, leading up to the World Refugee Day on Saturday. It comes in the wake of Ottawa’s new law to restrict eligibility for asylum and rules to limit health-care coverage for refugees. 

The campaign — including an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, highlighting local events organized by its 200 member organizations across Canada and a tool kit to promote the message “We are Better Together” — also followed a report released by UNHCR Canada in early June that looked at the social and economic benefits of welcoming displaced people in need of protection….

Source: Canada gave these former refugees a chance. Now they’re pushing back against anti-refugee claims

Filed under Immigration, Refugees Tagged with , ,

Geoff Russ: Sorry, Carney, but the idea that newcomers don’t bring hatreds with them is a fiction

2026/06/22 1 Comment

More on values in right-leaning media, overly comparing to UK:

…If the prime minister means what he says, he should follow it up with action, such as instituting a Canadian values test for newcomers. It’s true that not every migrant will become an extremist or give a second thought to history. However, highly motivated individuals can have an outsized effect and it is the government’s duty to ensure that extremism does not continue to gain a foothold in this country.

The once-mighty Great Britain, currently racked by ethnic and religious violence caused in part by irresponsible mass immigration, is our future if Canada doesn’t abolish its myths about “blank slates.” People do not always forget the past when they get off an airplane.

Source: Geoff Russ: Sorry, Carney, but the idea that newcomers don’t bring hatreds with them is a fiction

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

← Older posts