AKCanada

A reappointment to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation’s (CRRF) Board of Directors was announced today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

“The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is committed to building a national framework for the fight against racism in Canadian society,” said Minister Kenney. “This government seeks to fill the Board with qualified individuals who can provide dedicated expert advice to manage the Foundation. I look forward to Mr. Chow’s contribution to the Foundation.”

Mr. Lyn Q. Chow was reappointed for a four-year term. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of a Chair and up to nineteen other directors appointed by the Governor in Council (Cabinet). CRRF directors serve for terms of up to four years, which are renewable.

Canada is internationally recognized for its commitment to human rights and for its fight against all forms of discrimination, including racism. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is Canada’s leading agency dedicated to the elimination of racism in the country. Governments, NGOs, and the national and international community regularly call upon the Foundation to contribute to developing policies, programs and workshops leading towards a more equitable and just society.

For a biography on the CRRF member being reappointed, please see the attached backgrounder.

BACKGROUNDER

Reappointment to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation

One member was reappointed to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Biography of the members is below.

Mr. Lyn Q. Chow

Calgary, AB

A professional electrical engineer, Mr. Chow was employed by Manitoba Hydro for 33 years and retired as the senior manager of the engineering systems department. Previously, he was a junior engineer with the Saskatchewan Power Corporation.

Mr. Chow has also been involved in community organizations. He was a member of the board of directors of the Winnipeg Chinatown Non-profit Housing Corporation and served as its chair for two years. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre.

After moving to Calgary, Mr. Chow continued his community service as a member of the board of directors of the Wu Yi Association, vice-president of the board of directors of the United Calgary Chinese Association, member of the board of directors and member of the executive committee of the Chinese Christian Wing Kei Nursing Home Association, vice-president of the board of directors of the Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens’ Association, and member of the board of directors of the Calgary Chinatown Seniors Centre Foundation.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation undertakes research, collects data, and develops a national information base to further an understanding of the nature of racism and racial discrimination. It provides a knowledge base from which governments, academia, business, labour and community organizations can draw for the development of effective race relations policies and practices. The Foundation also disseminates information to increase public awareness of the importance of eliminating racism.

The Olympic torch which started the day in Oshawa has begun to wind its way towards the downtown. Police are asking motorists to be patient throughout the afternoon as the relay heads south on Yonge St. into the city through Richmond Hill, Thornhill and North York and then to the Scarborough Town Centre. From there it will go to City Hall to be followed by fireworks and music between 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. For that celebration, Bay St. will be closed from Queen St. W. to Dundas St. W.; Hagerman St. will be shut from Elizabeth St. to Bay St.; Elizabeth St. remains to be cordoned off from Dundas St. W. to Hagerman St; Albert St, from Bay St. to James St; and James St. from Queen St. W. to Albert St. This afternoon, police say there will be traffic delays and brief rolling road closures along the route and that they will be tagging and towing illegally parked vehicles. But Const. Tony Vella says that as soon as the procession passes a given street or intersection, officers will reopen roads.

Here is the route:

Richmond Hill Start 12:26 p.m.:

Hwy 7 E at Exit 25 12:40 p.m.:

North on Valleymede Dr. West on Briggs Ave.

Follows west along Bantry Ave. 1:07 p.m.:

Red Maple Rd. and Bantry Ave.

South on Yonge St. Finish 1:34 p.m.:

Yonge St. at Hwy 407 Thornhill Start 1:34 p.m.:

South along Yonge St. Finish 1:52 p.m.:

Yonge St. and Morgan Ave. North York Start 1:52 p.m.:

South along Yonge St. 2:11 p.m.: Newtonbrook Plaza Finish 2:39 p.m.:

Willowdale Plaza Scarborough Start 2:54 p.m.:

South on Grangeway Ave., from Progress Ave. South on Town Centre Ct. Through Scarborough Town Centre West on Borough Dr. 3:03 p.m.:

South at Brian Harrison Way Finish 3:36 p.m.:

Brimley Rd. and Ellesmere Rd. Toronto Start 3:41 p.m.:

Ellesmere Rd., west of Warden Ave. Follows west onto York Mills Rd. 4:21 p.m.:

York Mills and Leslie St. South along Yonge St. 5:18 p.m.:

Lawrence Park South on Yonge St. 6:06 p.m.: Bloor St. and Yonge St. 6:16 p.m.:

West on College St. from Yonge St. South on Elizabeth St. West on Elm St. 6:28 p.m.:

North on University Ave. East on Gerrard St. W South on Yonge St. West on Queen St. W Finish 7 p.m.:

Old City Hall

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The Canadian economy is set to rebound next year, leading growth among G7 nations, the country’s largest bank predicted Monday.

The domestic economy is expected to grow 2.6 per cent in 2010 and 3.9 per cent the year after that, after shrinking by an estimated 2.5 per cent this year, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report.

Stimulus spending, improving credit conditions and consumer spending will be the main drivers of growth, the bank said, with Saskatchewan leading the country’s economic expansion next year.

“While challenges remain, a peak in stimulus and infrastructure spending across the federal, provincial and municipal governments, along with low interest rates, should result in a sustained recovery,” said Craig Wright, the bank’s chief economist, in the report.

The peak of stimulus spending will happen next year, while better credit conditions should lift growth through to 2011, he added.

Recovery comes with a steep price tag, though the budget deficits will still be lower, relative to GDP, than the peaks reached in the early 1990s, the report said.

Altogether, the provinces are projecting shortfalls of $38.2-billion in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and at least $30.2-billion the year after that – both records in terms of value, RBC said.

Canadian consumer spending should rise 2.3 per cent next year and accelerate to 2.7 per cent in 2011.

The jobless rate, meantime, will stay high next year, averaging 8.7 per cent and peaking at 8.9 per cent before easing to 7.8 per cent in 2011. Canada’s unemployment rate is currently 8.5 per cent.

“The past year has been, by far, the toughest since the early 1990s recession and, in some cases, the early 1980s recession,” the bank said.

Activity in the housing market will stay strong, though the pace will taper off in the second half of next year due to rising mortgage rates and higher home prices.

The Canadian dollar will trade around parity, supported by rising commodity prices and as the Bank of Canada boosts interest rates before the U.S. Federal Reserve. On Monday morning, the currency was trading around 93.88 cents (U.S.).

The U.S. economy will grow 2.5 per cent next year and 3.4 per cent in 2011, RBC said.

Among provinces, Saskatchewan is likely to tally the biggest growth spurt, with 3.9-per-cent growth next year and a 4.6-per-cent increase in 2011, thanks to a pickup in potash and natural gas markets.

“This will return the province to the top of the growth ranking among provinces after likely losing this honour to Manitoba in 2009,” it said.

The slowest growth will likely be in Quebec and Prince Edward Island, at 2.2 per cent each next year.

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Although federal-provincial accords on immigration have proliferated, Quebec was the first Canadian province to set its own immigration policy and is the only one with a non-economic basis for that policy. Yet these advantages do not seem to have served the province well, given that some policy choices appear to have reduced its attractiveness as a destination for migrants.

Immigrant Criteria
The Quebec and Canadian governments share jurisdiction with respect to immigration, but the Quebec government sets its own requirements:

-Selection. Quebec selects immigrants who it deems will adapt well to living in the province.

-Language matters. Crucially, the foundation of Quebec’s immigration regime is language: Quebec wishes to select immigrants who speak French.

-Relative Performance
Over the past decade, approximately 400,000 immigrants have arrived in Quebec. The annual rate has almost doubled during this time and the nature of those immigrating has also changed. Until the 1980s, most immigrants came from Europe, whereas now approximately 40% come from North Africa, particularly Algeria and Morocco.

However, the province’s total represents just 18% of all immigrants to Canada (225,000 immigrants arrive in Canada each year). By contrast, Ontario attracts 52% of all immigrants to Canada, with the majority settling in Toronto.

-Retention Problems
Canada, like the United States, does not require people to officially report changes of address, so it is difficult to measure precisely how many migrants leave Quebec. But distinguished Quebec demographer Jacques Henrinpin has estimated that the province loses 28% of its immigrants within five years, 40% over 10 years and approximately 50% over 20 years.

Quebec also chronically loses non-immigrant residents to other provinces via internal migration. Since 1966, Quebec has lost approximately 30,000 residents annually to English-speaking provinces and welcomed only 16,000 to 17,000 Canadian migrants.

Quebec’s relative attractiveness. Several factors make Quebec less attractive to immigrants than other provinces (particularly Ontario and British Columbia) for immigrants:

-French language schooling. Unless they were educated in English in another province, new immigrants may not send their children to English-speaking state schools. (The relevant law has been struck down by the courts, but the Quebec government has two years to respond.)

-Anti-immigrant rhetoric. Relative to other provinces, political and media commentators are often highly critical of immigrants.

-French returnees. Surprisingly, Quebec also appears to have trouble retaining immigrants from France. According to Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, every year 3,000 to 4,000 French nationals settle permanently in the province, 7,000 enter on temporary visas and over 5,000 arrive as students. However, there is strong evidence that a substantial number of these migrants leave the province within a relatively brief period of time.

-Credential Recognition
In the public debate on how to improve Quebec’s attractiveness to immigrants, it is often observed that migrants have trouble securing recognition of professional credentials earned overseas. However, this is a chronic problem in all Canadian provinces, so it does not explain relatively low net migration to, or out-migration from, Quebec.

-Key Policy Challenges
Quebec is unlikely ever to overtake Ontario or Western Canada as a favored destination for immigrants. Economic payoffs associated with proficiency in English are higher than French.

However, public policy has not systematically sought to compensate for this drawback by improving the attractiveness of the province in other areas, such as easing restrictions on English school enrolment for new immigrants. Most problematic, Quebec is relatively unattractive to business investors–particularly entrepreneurs, the category of migrants that generate the most wealth for the recipient society. Remedial policy responses are apposite in this latter area.

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