Politics

Canada Liberal’s Temporary Workers Program Riddled With Abuse

Published

1 month ago

2024-08-04

Canada Liberal's Temporary Workers Program

Scams selling fake jobs to foreign workers - Getty Images

Canada’s Liberal government is reportedly preparing to introduce a slew of measures to crack down on temporary workers, but it has no plans to halt the large influx of unauthorised immigrants into the nation.

“The age of uncapped programs entering this country is rapidly coming to an end Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Reuters on Thursday. This is a huge shift. However you can’t just slam on the brakes and expect it to stop right away, he said.

Canada’s liberal government has always prided itself on embracing newcomers, and the Liberals have presided over a significant increase in the number of international immigrants, particularly temporary ones. With Canada Immigration experiencing a significant increase in Labour Market Impact Assessments for international workers.

Now, Canadians are blaming the Liberals’ mass immigration policy for a deteriorating housing situation and a national affordability issue. Critics accuse the Trudeau government of bringing in too many people.

According to a July Leger poll, 60% of respondents believe there are too many immigrants coming to Canada.

The Canadian government has already announced certain steps. In January, it imposed a two-year cap on international students, an area of Canada’s immigration system that had become “overheated” and was not intended to provide “a backdoor entry into Canada,” Mark Miller told Reuters.

In March, Canada’s immigration minister announced the first-ever temporary immigration cap. Canada intends to reduce temporary residents to 5% of the total population over the next three years, from 6.2% in 2023.

This would represent a 20% reduction in Canada’s 2.5 million temporary residents by 2023.

Miller stated that the government may put harsher conditions on temporary residence permits to deter asylum applicants from entering.

The administration has previously stated that it will undertake a regularization program to provide status to unauthorised residents. Miller stated that sector-specific policies are not on the table prior to the election, but he did mention the possibility.

However, most Canadians are dissatisfied with the Liberals’ mass immigration policies, and many believe Mark Miller’s efforts are too little and late. A growing number of Canadians believe that Canada’s current immigration rate is too high.

Labour Market Impact Assessments Abuse

Meanwhile, the Liberals have come under fire for enabling abuse in the Temporary Workers Program. The TWP has permitted tens of thousands of new immigrants (mainly from India) to enter Canada with the promise of permanent residency and citizenship.

Foreign workers are paying tens of thousands of dollars for the ability to live and work in Canada, according to leaders of the rucking group.

“The Canadian Trucking Alliance on many occasions has seen unusual activity in our sector and irregularities when it comes to some carriers and the number of approved LMIAs [Labour Market Impact Assessments] they have,” said Stephen Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and Ontario Trucking Association.

“In some circumstances, we can see corporations with a large number of certified LMIAs relative to their fleet size. This should be an obvious red flag for authorities, raising questions about why more drivers are required than trucks registered in the fleets.

When an employer is unable to identify a Canadian or permanent resident with a specific job expertise for their company, they may file an LMIA application with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to engage a foreign worker.

According to an immigration expert based in Brampton, Ont., the scheme intended to help businesses and the economy develop is “a toolbox for abuse.”

Abuse of Canada’s Temporary Workers Program

Several Canadian consultants have been accused of giving positions to foreign workers in exchange for money. Immigration lawyers and authorities are warning that the practice is growing more widespread. (New Window)

Scammers frequently sell labour market impact assessments (LMIAs), which are federal documents that Canadian firms must obtain when hiring a foreign worker.

Manan Gupta, president of Skylake Immigration, told TruckNews.com that foreign workers to Canada sometimes purchase an LMIA from unethical consultants and businesses, changing their visitor visas to work permits.

Gupta has heard of people spending up to $60,000 for an LMIA in Ontario. Prices vary by province.

Aaron Dolyniuk, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA), says he has heard of people being charged between $50,000 and $60,000. Robert Harper, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA), said he has heard that customers have paid anything from $25,000 to $40,000.

Dolyniuk stated that his organisation is concerned about ongoing abuses and has encouraged the government to take action.

“Complaints include people being charged for work permits, paid less, much less than minimum wage, indentured servitude and forced work, fear of being deported and fired and jeopardising their status in Canada,” he said.

Harper stated that the AMTA has discovered LMIAs granted to companies that have no employees. “We’ve phoned them and asked if they are hiring and they’ve said they are not.”

Justin Trudeau Hellbent on Destroying Canada

Justin Trudeau Hellbent on Destroying Canada

Related Topics:canada immigration liberals

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Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

Published

19 hours ago

2024-09-16

Kiara Grace

NEW YORK — Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares rose on Friday after former President Donald Trump said he would not sell his ownership in the social media company.

“I don’t want to sell my stock. “I don’t need money,” Donald told reporters at his golf club in Los Angeles.

Donald owns over 115 million shares in the corporation, according to a recent SEC filing. According to Thursday’s closing price of $16.08, Donald’s stock is worth nearly $1.85 billion.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

If the former president desires, he can begin selling shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, on September 19, when a lockup provision expires. The lockup agreement banned corporate insiders from selling newly issued shares for six months after the company went public in March.

Even though Donald would earn a sizable payoff if he sold, Trump Media’s stock is now significantly less valuable than it was six months ago. When the company debuted on the Nasdaq in March, it reached a high of $79.38.

Donald founded Truth Social after being barred from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol brawl. Trump Media, headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has been losing money and failing to generate revenue. According to regulatory documents, it lost approximately $58.2 million last year and generated only $4.1 million in revenue.

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

“I use it as a method of getting out my word,” Donald remarked on Friday about Truth Social. “For me, it is a great voice.”

Following Donald’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the stock fell by more than 10% on Wednesday. On Friday, shares rose as much as 29% and closed up 11.8%.

SOURCE | AP

Politics

Liberal Defence Departments Spends $34 Million on Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Published

3 days ago

2024-09-13

Geoff Thomas

Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Canadian soldiers travelling to an Alaskan military drill were given 1960s military sleeping bags after complaining that the new ones were poor quality and unsuitable for sub-zero weather.

Despite the Liberal government spending more than $34.8 million on new sleeping bags, the Canadian Army requested late last year that hundreds of soldiers attending a joint northern exercise in Alaska with the Americans be provided antiquated, 1960s-vintage sleeping bags.

In late November last year, about 350 men from the 3rd battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry went to Ram Falls Provincial Park, west of Red Deer, Alta., to train for northern operations.

During the training exercise last autumn, soldiers stated that despite using both the inner and outer shells and sleeping in stove-heated tents, they remained cold.

The temperatures during the exercise ranged from -5°C during the day to -20°C at night. According to an internal DND report dated December 5, 2023, the soldiers noticed “critical issues” with the new GPSBS sleeping bags, including a lack of warmth.

GPSB sleeping bags cost taxpayers $34.8 million, were not suitable for for typical Canadian winter conditions – CBC Image

The inadequacy of the new GPSB sleeping bags caused the Department of National Defence (DND) to begin seeking for extra sleeping bags to keep soldiers warm and usable in the Far North.

The briefing memo proposed that soldiers participating in the drill with the US be “loaned” 500 of the army’s old Arctic sleeping bags, which the new system was intended to replace.

The Trudeau administration has emphasised the importance of protecting Canada’s Arctic in recent defence policy updates, and has committed a series of new equipment acquisitions for cold weather operations.

Specifically, the policy promised to purchase “new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra.”

However, some soldiers who contacted CBC News with complaints about the sleeping bags expressed scepticism about such claims, citing DND’s failure to deliver on something as fundamental as a sleeping bag fit for the Canadian winter.

The DND stated that the 3rd battalion was the second unit to complain about the new sleeping bags. During a separate drill, troops from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, discovered flaws in the new sleeping bags.

Nonetheless, the government stated that it will not abandon the new sleeping bags and has begun a separate procurement of sleeping bags fit for a Canadian winter at an undisclosed cost to taxpayers.

In its statement to the CBC, the DND stated that it solicited comments from soldiers, but they did not respond immediately when asked what type of cold weather testing was conducted before purchasing the sleeping bags.

The GPSBS sleeping bags were chosen through a rigorous competition process, with technical requirements such as insulation value, bag weight, and packing volume, according to the DND.

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Politics

Trudeau’s Grapples With a Mass Exodus of Senior Staff

Published

5 days ago

2024-09-11

Geoff Thomas

Five chiefs of staff for Liberal ministers have quit - Image Counter Signal

The minority Liberals are returning to a precarious position in the House of Commons, having lost the automatic support of the New Democratic Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is currently grappling with an exodus of senior staff.

According to six Liberal sources who each confirmed some of the names of those leaving, five of his 38 ministers are losing their chiefs of staff in quick succession, with several already gone. These chiefs of staff include the top advisers at Global Affairs, Heritage, Environment, National Revenue, and Mental Health and Addictions.

According to the sources, a number of employees had been contemplating their departures for months, while others had been entertaining the idea for an extended period before ultimately making the decision. Some of the sources stated that five out of 38 is a significant decrease, despite the fact that the Liberals have frequently encountered turnover among their ministerial staff since assuming office in 2015.

The Globe and Mail is refraining from disclosing the sources due to their inability to disclose an internal staffing change.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office downplayed the importance of the departures. Hundreds of political personnel are responsible for providing support to our government, cabinet ministers, and members of Parliament. Turnover is a typical aspect of the employment process for the personnel who perform this critical function, according to Mohammad Hussain, the press secretary for the PMO.

Trudeau’s loss of its top executive

Peter Wilkinson, the director of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, is departing the office less than two years after his appointment. Senior staff member Jamie Kippen, who has served as the chief of staff to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for an extended period, has already completed his final day. Jude Welch, the director of staff for Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, has already departed.

Sarah Welch, the chief for Ya’ara Saks, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen, the chief to Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, are also departing. According to the sources, the majority of the senior staff who are departing do not currently have a position lined up. However, they are eligible for severance payments that are calculated based on their years of service.

The party’s loss of its top executive, national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst, a prominent senior Liberal for the past two decades, coincides with the exodus of top staff in ministerial offices. He was previously the national campaign director in 2019 and a senior adviser in the PMO before returning to the party last year.

Mr. Broadhurst tendered his resignation on Thursday, mere days prior to Mr. Trudeau’s scheduled meeting with his caucus in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Three Members of Parliament informed The Globe that they are anticipating the Prime Minister’s presentation of a credible strategy to regain the support of Canadian electors.

Senior staff members have resigned

According to two senior officials, it is unlikely that Mr. Trudeau will designate a replacement for Mr. Broadhurst at the caucus meeting. Nevertheless, an official in the PMO stated that the caucus will be provided with a comprehensive roadmap for the upcoming election. The two officials who were prohibited from disclosing the internal planning are not being identified by The Globe and Mail.

In addition to the anticipated resignation of Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the departure of Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan in July, all of the senior staff members have resigned.

Mr. O’Regan was a significant political ally of Mr. Trudeau. Mr. Rodriguez is anticipated to declare his departure from the federal Liberals in order to participate in the provincial party’s leadership race, as he currently occupies the most significant political position in Quebec for the government.

“I believe it is a sign of the end of government,” Lori Turnbull, chair of the public and international affairs department at Dalhousie University told the Globe and Mail. She said senior staff members are aware that their departures will only exacerbate the perception and reality of the current state of Trudeau and the government.”

“There is a perception that the Trudeau government has reached its conclusion and that the upcoming election will result in a loss.” The departure of senior staff indicates that even those who are committed to Team Trudeau can perceive the impending doom.

“It raises the question of whether we would witness the same departures in the event that a new leader were selected,” she continued.

The second-in-commands for each office have already been appointed to numerous top-level positions; however, the most critical position at Global Affairs has yet to be permanently replaced.

As of Sunday, Alexandre Boulé has assumed the role of interim chief for Ms. Joly, according to her office. In the interim, deputy chief of staff Joanna Dafoe will succeed Mr Kippen at Environment, and deputy Michael Lartigau will succeed Mr Welch at Heritage.

Marianne Dandurand has succeeded Ms. Tsai-Klassen as the superintendent of National Revenue.

The office announced on Sunday that the position of chief to the Mental Health and Addictions minister is still vacant.