Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 19, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A7 I N 2010, citizens from the Philippines, China and India made up more than 57 per cent of provincial nominee immigrants to Manitoba. By 2050, Citigroup projects that China and India will be the two largest economies in the world while the Philippines will be the tenth largest. Canada, which was No. 10 in the world in 2010, will drop out of the top 10 by 2030. If economic growth in the Philippines, China and India results in people staying in these countries or immigrating to these countries, immigration to Canada will either dry up or undergo a massive shift. It is not too late for Canada to remain competitive in attracting the world's best and the brightest. In order to do so, however, a shift is needed in government's attitude towards immigration. Canada must treat immigrants as customers, Canadian diplomats must actively market Canada to prospective immigrants, and immigration officers must provide superior customer service to make foreigners feel welcome. Marketing Canada and providing superior customer service to prospective immigrants is necessary. In today's world, Canada not only competes with countries such as Australia and the U. S. for the world's best and brightest, but with China and India as well. China and India are not only convincing more of their nationals to stay home but are actively luring their expatriates back from Canada and other countries to participate in the economic growth China and India are experiencing. If China and India are joined by the Philippines in attracting people to live and work in these countries, where will Canada find the people it needs to continue to grow? In the last two months, Canada closed immigration offices in the U. S., Germany, Japan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Serbia and Iran. Just last month, Citizenship and Immigration Canada eliminated front counter service at immigration offices in Canada. Will closing offices result in superior customer service? Will it result in better marketing of Canada? If closing immigration offices abroad and eliminating front counter service in Canada means that more immigration applications will be processed faster, this may be a positive development. One of the biggest complaints about the immigration system is that it takes months or years to get visas. Faster customer service will go a long way to improving the immigrant experience for newcomers to Canada. Faster processing alone, however, will not make Canada more attractive. For years, Canada has sat on its high horse and let the world's best and brightest patiently wait in line for years for the privilege of coming to this country. With more career opportunities popping up all over the world, if Canada is truly to remain competitive in attracting international skilled workers, it is necessary to continue marketing Canada as a premier place to work and live. If closing offices abroad results in Canada reducing its marketing to prospective immigrants, there will be a long- term negative effect on Canada's reputation as a destination country. It is crucial that the diplomatic staff who remain in these countries continue to sell the benefits of moving to Canada. Why do we need to treat immigrants as customers? The answer is because they become taxpayers. Since taxes are the only real revenue stream for a government, taxpayers are essentially a government's customers. Skilled immigrants are Canada's future customers and we should treat them as such. Better customer service also means improving the immigration application experience. Currently, some immigration applications require individuals to fill out up to 10 separate immigration forms, enclose over two dozen documents, and then wait for years for an answer. Email and phone inquiries to Citizenship and Immigration Canada often go unanswered for weeks at a time and the online reference guide on the government's website can come close to 50 printed pages. If an applicant fails to provide all of the documents requested and answer every single one of the dozens of questions, the application can be denied. Last year, a case was taken to court by a Philippine architect who was refused a visa to Canada. The architect, who held a degree in architecture, provided a reference letter from his employer that did not contain a description of the tasks or duties he performed. As a result, his application was denied. In upholding the refusal, the judge stated that the refusal of the visa was proper because the onus was on the architect to provide all documents required in the immigration checklist. While this decision is legally correct, it does not assist Canada in attracting the best and the brightest. Is letting a matter go to court the best customer service Canada has to offer? Whatever happened to phoning a customer, asking the customer to come by the office to answer questions, and helping him or her understand how to fix the problem? R. Reis Pagtakhan is an immigration lawyer with Aikins Law in Winnipeg Envy and greed Lindor Reynolds and Mary Agnes Welch are two of the finest writers the paper has on staff. Both contribute vital work toward our community's ongoing dialogue about social issues in Manitoba. This is why I was so disappointed with the direction of their June 16 piece Divided we stand , about the widening gap between the rich and poor in Winnipeg. Canada and Manitoba are blessed with one of the very best economic mobility rates in the world. With a marginal income tax rate of roughly 45 per cent on our highest earners, Canada also does more than a responsible job of wealth redistribution, through comprehensive social programs available to all. The writers suggest that Manitoba somehow fares better because of " our shortage of super- rich people." The incredibly wealthy, not to mention industries that may fall under their responsibility, are an integral benefactor of the social programs that Canadians hold dear. Without them, programs like disability and social assistance would not be feasible. The politics of both envy and greed have been the downfall of many great civilizations. The ongoing politics of envy in this city since 1919 have done Manitobans little good. I ask that the Free Press exercise extra vigilance against it in the future. DAVID SHORR Winnipeg �� Thank you for the article on the income inequities in Winnipeg. Social stability, which depends in part on equity in society, impacts all of us. As a result, we really need to look carefully at issues like this and ask ourselves why we create the systems in our society that result in these outcomes. Certainly, individual decisions impact individual outcomes, but when overall numbers trend in certain directions, it is more likely the result of something beyond individual choice. One thing the article mentions in passing that requires further exploration is the shrinking of the middle class and the growing powerlessness of workers at the same time as the declining reach of unions. I would also welcome a deeper look at what has contributed to a growing median income in inner- city communities over recent years. One thing I do know is that there has been a shift in the work of community organizations away from charity toward initiatives that create change ( give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish), healing and creating real economic opportunities for people. I suspect we will see some directions that we can take as society to address the question in this article. BRENDAN REIMER Winnipeg Shared moment Judge in sex flap breaks silence ( June 15). I used to feel sorry for Lori Douglas as I thought it was just a skeleton in her closet and God knows we all have them. What I now find is that the closet was bursting with lawyers, judges and the Manitoba Law Society all sharing in her moment of indiscretion. The fact remains that naked photos of her were on the Internet for all to see, so her integrity as a judge has been compromised, and she should have done the right thing and resigned back in 2010. Another fact is the law society knew about this incident and did nothing, so it is as complicit as she is. My only hope is the Canadian Judicial Council inquiry into this sordid affair finds her incompetent and censures the Manitoba Law Society for its part in this matter. KIM SIGURDSON Winnipeg Develop clear plan Re: Solution for ' eyesores' elusive ( June 15). The necessary redevelopment of Winnipeg's surface parking lots won't happen by issuing a vague directive and then moaning and groaning when results don't magically appear. It's not enough for Mayor Sam Katz to simply say, " Here's a tax incentive, now make it happen." I urge Katz to take the ideas that we raised two years ago in the last mayoral campaign for developing a clear plan that shifts the focus away from surface parking lots and encourages the development of multi- level parkades and multi- use facilities. That means getting business and downtown stakeholders to the table to recommend a taxincentive structure that works best for our city, investing the $ 24 million from the questionable sale of the Winnipeg Square parking garage in projects that combine retail, housing and community space with multi- tiered parking, and drawing on best practices from cities around the globe where cohesive, vibrant, liveable streets are a reality. As Coun. Jenny Gerbasi astutely noted, tax incentives may not be enough, but we won't know without priority given to an actual plan that is debated on the floor of council and contains actual timelines for implementation. Whether we're talking about water parks, rapid transit or surface parking lots, it is clear that the public is best served when all the facts are on the table, stakeholders are consulted and meaningful planning takes place. JUDY WASYLYCIA- LEIS Winnipeg Parents know best Re: Picking up parents' slack ( Letters, June 9). The press may be free in this province, but parenting is becoming more regulated and less free if parents cannot opt their children out of the school system's curriculum on human sexuality. The medical profession confirms that children develop sexually at different rates. One only needs to observe the differing ages that menstruation or the need to shave begins with students. That means their hormone levels develop at different stages. Why is the province insisting on stimulating sex instructions for all students at the same time? Parents are the best judges of when their children are ready for each aspect of sexual instruction. The education system is supposed to prepare our children for global competition in reading, writing, mathematics and science, not in global competition on sexuality. Unfortunately, they seem to be doing a terrible job on the former and an even worse job on the latter. Perhaps if they concentrated their efforts on the former and let parents take over sex- ed, our children would better learn the basics they need in life. VALERIE WADEPHUL Winnipeg �� I am one of those parents who removed her children from sex education classes, as it is my firm belief that it should be taught in the home with abstinence being the No. 1 priority. There are many reasons why premarital sex is not a good option. Does it get discussed in class how a young girl loses her virginity in a back seat of a car, let's say, and then gets dumped the next day. Why? Because there was no love, no commitment. What about the emotional impact of having sex before one is ready? Parents owe it to their children to be open and up front concerning sex and to teach abstinence first and foremost. JUDY TYLER Winnipeg Making a difference The Manitoba Marathon volunteers, spectators and sponsors really make a difference. I'm in my 50s and ran the Super Run on Sunday. The volunteers, spectators and even the announcer made it an experience I'll never forget. Their support and encouragement made me feel like I was in the Olympics. Thank you so much. You have motivated me to shoot for the Free Press 10K next year. JOANNE MARKS Winnipeg HAVE YOUR SAY: The Free Press welcomes letters from readers. Include the author's name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited. Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, R2X 3B6. Fax 697- 7412. E- mail letters@ freepress. mb. ca Letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg Free Press or its staff. �� LETTER OF THE DAY Re: Rae bows out: will Trudeau jump in? , ( Joan Bryden, June 14) and Whispers of uniting the left growing louder ( Mia Rabson, June 18). Unlike U. S. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman who famously declined the 1884 Republican presidential nomination by declaring, " I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected," interim Liberal leader Bob Rae has made no such incontrovertible pledge. Stating that " the way in which I can serve my party best is by not running for the permanent leadership" does not, however, rule out his accepting the party's leadership if it were offered via acclamation. Given the lack of gravitas in the current list of potential candidates, this artfully passive strategy may indeed be the best way Rae can serve the Liberal Party. MARK S. RASH Winnipeg Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday, June 19, 2012 A 7 POLL �� TODAY'S QUESTION Has the financial unrest in Europe affected your investment plans? �� Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com �� PREVIOUS QUESTION Did you take part in the Manitoba Marathon? . Ran the full marathon 6% . Ran the half 9% TOTAL RESPONSES 2,606 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 VOL 140 NO 216 2012 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 697- 7000 A member of the Manitoba Press Council BOB COX / Publisher MARGO GOODHAND / Editor JULIE CARL / Deputy Editor T HE warm reception the media accorded a comprehensive report calling for more openness and transparency by the Ontario College of Teachers when it comes to disciplining errant teachers is hardly surprising. After all, media outlets, including The Waterloo Region Record , have long grumbled about the veil of secrecy that so often surrounds cases where teachers accused by the college of teachers of sexual improprieties or other disciplinary matters are virtually shielded from public identification. That will change - and it deserves to - if the series of recommendations ( 49 in all) delivered by former Ontario Superior Court chief justice Patrick LeSage are promptly acted upon. Among other things, LeSage has recommended that the names of teachers found guilty of misconduct be made public, that hearings into those cases be open, and that teachers found guilty of sexual assault involving students be decertified for at least five years. They're all sensible proposals that are worth endorsing. But the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario was also right, in responding to the release of LeSage's report on June 7, to highlight an equally concerning, issue: false abuse accusations made against teachers. In contrast to the publicity blackout that can attend matters of misconduct, it's not unusual for teachers accused of grievous offences, particularly if criminal charges are laid, to find their names in the newspaper or broadcast in local TV or radio newscasts. Responsible media outlets will follow those cases as they make their way through the courts, and if an accused party is found not guilty, provide an equal amount of publicity to the acquittal. But that is only a partial remedy to wrongly accused teachers, who between the time of the initial publicity and the public exoneration can live in a very unsettled world. LeSage does make recommendations on ways for the college of teachers' investigations committee to improve its screening of " frivolous or vexatious" complaints to determine if they should proceed. Teachers who are falsely accused - and according to University of Ottawa education professor Joel Westheimer, the number of such incidents has grown dramatically in recent years - can take no comfort in the fact that students ( often enabled by their parents) who level such accusations face few, if any, consequences. It's reasonable to ask if parents, in such instances, should be held legally responsible in serious cases. An amendment to the province's Parental Responsibility Act, as at least one teachers' union representative has suggested, could afford the proper remedy. Bad teachers must face the proper discipline, in an open arena. Equally, students and parents who act badly by levelling unfounded allegations need to be held accountable. Wrongly accused teachers also need protection Rae could be acclaimed Liberal interim leader Bob Rae: ' artfully passive strategy.' Foreigners are valued customers REIS PAGTAKHAN OTHER OPINION The Waterloo Region Record . Ran in a different race 11% . Ran through the possibilities for next year 19% . Shook my head in disbelief ( that should burn a few calories, right?) 55% A_ 07_ Jun- 19- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A7 6/ 18/ 12 9: 06: 18 PM ;