WES Weekly Roundup July 17, 2024

_{World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. This content has been created by WES and is reproduced here with their permission, in partnership.}

Optimizing Immigration for Economic Growth (CD Howe) 

Skilled immigration pathways to Canada have long been celebrated for their success in attracting and retaining quality talent from abroad. Often cited as a means to alleviate temporary labour market needs, Canada is increasingly looking to immigration to solve chronic shortages long-term. When assessing productivity projections, analysis suggests that Canada’s immigration system has moved towards categorizing workers into skill level tiers and ultimately the level of productivity they provide to the economy through GDP. However, certain experts caution that Canada may not be well-positioned to rely solely on increased immigration levels to raise the level or growth rate of per capita GDP and urge that a more responsive labour market recovery plan should focus on human capital expansion of Canadians and newcomers alike, not only increased GDP as an indicator of success. A sustainable plan as recommended by the authors includes gradual economic immigration levels, in line with expected earning, focusing on those with higher income projections - then eventually lowering this threshold annually towards the overall population average.  

Ontario court approves class-action by immigration detainees against federal government (CBC) 

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has certified a class-action lawsuit against the federal government for detaining 8,360 immigration detainees in provincial jails from 2016 to 2023. The court dismissed all 15 objections from federal lawyers. Justice Benjamin Glustein noted that detainees faced conditions similar to criminal inmates, including co-mingling with violent offenders, shackling, strip searches, and severe restrictions on contact and movement, violating their Charter rights as immigration detention should be administrative, not punitive. One plaintiff, Tyron Richard from Grenada, endured harsh conditions and numerous strip searches while detained for 18 months as a flight risk. Richard is now fighting against these "inhumane practices." Over 80 percent of detainees were held for flight risk. Most provinces have ended agreements allowing such detentions, citing human rights concerns. The lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages. The certification allows the lawsuit to proceed, but the outcome will be determined in a future trial. The federal government has not commented on the decision or indicated if it will appeal. 

Economic Impact of International Education in Canada (Global Affairs Canada)  

Recent data from Global Affairs Canada indicates that expenditures from international students contributed nearly CAD 30.9 billion to the economy in 2022. Education exports (the total value of international students in Canada) account for just over 23 percent of Canada's total exports during the 2022 fiscal year, with students’ contributions being derived from tuition, accommodation, and discretionary items. Students from India, those studying at the college level, represented the largest share of "long-term" students. Ontario is the province with the highest concentration of international students, making the largest contribution to GDP with $16.9 million (54.6 percent of 30.9), followed by British Columbia (18.4 percent) and Quebec with a contribution rate of 12.4 percent. The labour market has also been supported through inclusion of international students; overall annual spending of international students in 2022 accounted for 361,230 jobs supported in the Canadian economy in 2022. 

Quebec’s attack on refugee sponsorship (Policy Options) 

Canada has a history of communities sponsoring refugees, enriching society through these efforts. However, Quebec faces unique challenges compared to the rest of the country, as it has controlled aspects of the program since the late 1990s. Quebec has lowered its refugee sponsorship targets from 4,400 six years ago to between 1,850 and 2,100 this year and has consistently failed to meet these targets. Slow application processing has led to long wait times, leaving refugees in challenging situations. Despite promises to process all applications by the end of 2023, many from 2022 remain unaddressed. Minimal interaction between Quebec’s government and sponsorship groups affects effective management, which sits in contrast to the federal government’s collaborative efforts. Quebec favors ad hoc groups over experienced organizations, using a lottery system to select applications and prohibiting trust funds, which has created uncertainty and frustration among sponsors. To maintain an effective refugee sponsorship program, Quebec may need to raise targets, reduce processing times, increase collaboration, and allow trust funds for sponsorship groups. These adjustments are important to support the ongoing efforts of refugee sponsors in the province.