A GOOD QUESTION!!

Written by Paul Fromm

Sunday, 08 April 2012 20:46

A GOOD QUESTION!!* * [image: ATT00001.jpg] *A young Arab asks his father, "What is that weird hat you are wearing?"* *The father said, "Why, it's a 'chechia' because in the desert it protects our heads from the sun."* *"And what is this type of clothing that you are wearing?" asked the young man.* *"It's a 'djbellah' because in the desert it is very hot and it protects the body." said the father.* *The son asked, "And what about those ugly shoes on your feet?* *His father replied, "These are 'babouches", which keep us from burning our feet in the desert."* *"So tell me then," added the boy.* *"Yes, my son?"* *"Why are you living in **Brampton** **, Ontario** and still wearing all this shit ?*

 

Chambermaid Trailblazer

Written by Paul Fromm

Sunday, 08 April 2012 05:56

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email newsletter was sent to you in graphical HTML format. If you're seeing this version, your email program prefers plain text emails. You can read the original version online: http://ymlp261.net/zHLhzE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chambermaid Trailblazer "Rossel Macapagal often works overtime in his housekeeping job at a downtown hotel. That's fine with him. He's sending much of his salary to his wife and three children in the Philippines to give them a better life. Macapagal, 30, is grateful for his chance to come to Edmonton as a temporary foreign worker,as are his two roommates from the Philippines. He would like to stay and bring his family to Canada. [How he would support a family of five on a chambermaid's salary is not clear, but] Macapagal is exactly the kind of worker Alberta Employment andImmigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk has in mind when he talks of shifting to more immigration and fewer temporary foreign workers to solve the province's labour shortage. ... Macapagal has one possible option. He could qualify for landed immigrant status under the provincial nominee programme. In fact, he has made a joint application with his employer. ... But there's a federally imposed ceiling of 5,000 applicants under this programme for Alberta. Lukaszuk is pushing the Harper government to raise the cap. ... Lukaszuk also has concerns about the negative social impact of short term jobs. The workers live in transient communities and don't integrate into society. They send up to 80 per cent of their salary back home rather than spending it here, take up a lot of rental accommodation and are separated from their families for long periods. ... 'The divorce rate is high, people change when they are away, some start new relationships,' Lukaszuk said. Though increasing immigration can be a sensitive topic, Lukaszuk is confident people would be open to the idea as long as they are reassured all Canadians are fully employed first, including underemployed groups like aboriginals, disabled people and women. 'I think Albertans will support this. That's the way this province was built. 'We didn't give people land, have them break the soil and pick the rocks and send them home.'" (Edmonton Journal, July 17, 2011) Top marks for arguing like a Philadelphia lawyer, but it really isn't really a straight across comparison is it? Pioneers breaking soil and picking rocks on the frontier are not the same thing as a knowledge-based economy's surplus inventory of male chambermaids and 50-year-old paper boys. There are myriad other problems associated with guest worker programmes, but the very fact that temporary workers send home up to 80% of their earnings means that money generated in Canada is removed from the economy before it ever circulates. The amount is not insignificant; an estimated $7.5-billion leaves Canada by way of overseas remittances each year. [This article appears in the April, 2012 issue of the CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE. Published monthly, the CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE is available by subscription for $30 per year. You can subscribe by sending a cheque or VISA number and expiry date to CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE, P.O. Box 332, Rexdale, ON., M9W 5L3.] _____________________________ Unsubscribe / Change Profile: http://ymlp261.net/ugmjhqsqgsgbbqgmhwgguewwmw Powered by YourMailingListProvider

 

Chambermaid Trailblazer

Written by Paul Fromm

Sunday, 08 April 2012 05:51

*Chambermaid Trailblazer* "*Rossel Macapagal* often works overtime in his housekeeping job at a downtown hotel. That's fine with him. He's sending much of his salary to his wife and three children in the Philippines to give them a better life. Macapagal, 30, is grateful for his chance to come to Edmonton as a temporary foreign worker,as are his two roommates from the Philippines. He would like to stay and bring his family to Canada. [How he would support a family of five on a chambermaid's salary is not clear, but] Macapagal is exactly the kind of worker *Alberta Employment and* *Immigration Minister Thomas* *Lukaszuk* has in mind when he talks of shifting to more immigration and fewer temporary foreign workers to solve the province's labour shortage. ... Macapagal has one possible option. He could qualify for landed immigrant status under the provincial nominee programme. In fact, he has made a joint application with his employer. ... But there's a federally imposed ceiling of 5,000 applicants under this programme for Alberta. Lukaszuk is pushing the Harper government to raise the cap. ... Lukaszuk also has concerns about the negative social impact of short term jobs. The workers live in transient communities and don't integrate into society. *They send up to 80 per cent of their salary back home rather than spending it here*, take up a lot of rental accommodation and are separated from their families for long periods. ... 'The divorce rate is high, people change when they are away, some start new relationships,' Lukaszuk said. Though increasing immigration can be a sensitive topic, Lukaszuk is confident people would be open to the idea as long as they are reassured all Canadians are fully employed first, including underemployed groups like aboriginals, disabled people and women. 'I think Albertans will support this. That's the way this province was built. 'We didn't give people land, have them break the soil and pick the rocks and send them home.'" (*Edmonton Journal*, July 17, 2011) Top marks for arguing like a Philadelphia lawyer, but it really isn't really a straight across comparison is it? Pioneers breaking soil and picking rocks on the frontier are not the same thing as a knowledge-based economy's surplus inventory of male chambermaids and 50-year-old paper boys. There are myriad other problems associated with guest worker programmes, but the very fact that temporary workers send home up to 80% of their earnings means that money generated in Canada is removed from the economy before it ever circulates. The amount is not insignificant; an estimated $7.5-billion leaves Canada by way of overseas remittances each year. * [This article appears in the April, 2012 issue of the CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE. Published monthly, the CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE is available by subscription for $30 per year. You can subscribe by sending a cheque or VISA number and expiry date to CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HOTLINE, P.O. Box 332, Rexdale, ON., M9W 5L3.] *