"UN chief Kofi Annan on Tuesday touted global migration as a boon to both host nations and countries of origin but said it needs to be managed to prevent abuses of migrants or xenophobic reactions from native populations," reports Agence France Press.

"In a report to the UN General Assembly, Annan argued that 'international migration, supported by the right policies, can be highly beneficial for the development both of the countries they come from and of those where they arrive.' He however warned in his 'early road map for this new era of mobility' that these benefits were contingent 'on the rights of the migrants themselves being respected and upheld.' ."

Xinhua (China) adds that ".people living outside their home countries numbered 191 million in 2005, with 115 million in developed countries. The report found that one-third of all current immigrants in the world have moved from one developing country to another, with about the same number from the developing world to the developed. In other words, 'South-South' migration is roughly equivalent to 'South-North,' the report states. But migration to countries designated as 'high-income' -- a category which includes some developing countries, such as South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- has grown much faster than to the rest of the world, it observes. ."

The Associated Press notes that ". the document . comes three months before the 191-member General Assembly holds a two-day meeting on how to coordinate immigration policy worldwide. That event will be the first time that the main UN body considers the phenomenon of migration.

While many of its specific findings are not new, the document gave a rare broader look at migration and brought together facts from more than 100 earlier studies published since 1981. It is meant to spur UN member states into taking more action on immigration. The document offered proposals to reduce human trafficking, lower the cost of sending money back home and figure out new ways to entice their highly educated citizens to return home. ."

Reuters writes that ". migration has several positive benefits for both the host nation and the country of origin, according to the report. . Poor countries benefit by receiving an estimated $167 billion a year in remittances, up from $58 billion in 1995. Worldwide, money sent home by migrants totaled $232 billion in 2005, up from $102 billion in 1995. One third of global remittances went to just four countries, India, China, Mexico and France. ."

The New York Times adds that ". the report said that migration sometimes reduced the wages of low-skilled workers in advanced economies, but that it more often freed citizens to perform high-paying jobs. Listing demographic statistics that will make a continued rise in migration inevitable, the report said that in developed countries there is an average of 142 young entrants to the labor force for every 100 people about to retire, but that in 10 years, the ratio will be 87 young entrants for every 100 who leave the labor force. This trend, it argued, creates a deficit that only migrants can close. At the same time, developing countries will have 342 candidates for every 100 jobs that open up."

The BBC (UK) reports that ". Annan's report also highlighted the risk of 'brain drain.' An estimated 60 percent of the highly educated people of Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica now live abroad. The report proposes setting up a permanent forum on the issue so governments can compare their different policies. The report found that Europe hosted 34 percent of all migrants in 2005, North America 23 percent and Asia 28 percent, with 9 percent in Africa, 3 percent in Latin America and 3 percent in Oceania. ."

Legislation Would Modernize The Human Rights System, Better Serve The Public

TORONTO - The Ontario government has introduced legislation that would, if passed, improve and strengthen the promotion, advancement and enforcement of human rights in Ontario, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced April 26.

"Our government is committed to promoting human rights, fighting discrimination and protecting the vulnerable," said Bryant. "A modernized Ontario Human Rights Commission would become a stronger champion of human rights, focusing on the prevention of discrimination, while the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario would be given greater powers to resolve individual disputes fairly, quickly and effectively."

Under the proposed Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, the Ontario human rights system would be improved by:

- Strengthening the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in preventing discrimination by focusing its work on proactive measures such as public education, systemic advocacy, promotion, research and analysis

- Allowing discrimination claims to be filed directly with an enhanced Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) and be resolved quickly and effectively through mediation, adjudication and enforcement

- Creating a new Human Rights Legal Support Centre that would provide information, support, advice, assistance and legal representation for those seeking a remedy at the tribunal

- Establishing two new secretariats, an anti-racism secretariat and a disability rights secretariat, within the OHRC.

"The commission will continue to work with the government to build a renewed human rights system that maintains Ontario's position as an international leader in human rights," said Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the OHRC.

"Under this legislation, Ontarians would be able to have their human rights complaints resolved quickly, efficiently and effectively," said Michael Gottheil, chair of the HRTO. "I look forward to working with the government on implementation."

"I applaud the Attorney General's legislation to reform the human rights system," said Ruth Carey, executive director of the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic (Ontario). "Human rights and community groups have asked for this for many years. We welcome this government's commitment to human rights." "We are acting on calls for change to our human rights system that have been heard for over a decade," said Bryant. "This new law would ensure that the system improves services to the public and advances human rights in this province."

Backgrounder

STRENGTHENING ONTARIO'S HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

The current human rights system, consisting of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, has been in place since 1962, when the province enacted Canada's first human rights code. The code was established to prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and in accommodation, goods, services and facilities.

Ontario to Lead in Modernizing the Human Rights System

The McGuinty government has introduced legislation that would, if passed, modernize and strengthen Ontario's 40-year-old human rights system, so that it could resolve complaints faster and more effectively and better respond to modern human rights issues.

Human rights reform has been the subject of discussions and consultations in Ontario for more than a decade. Over the last year, the Ministry of the Attorney General has held consultations with numerous community and human rights groups. The proposed reforms, which are consistent with the recommendations of a number of reports, including the Cornish report, would improve services to the public and advance human rights in the province. In 1992, the Cornish report, by lawyer and internationally recognized human rights expert Mary Cornish, reviewed human rights enforcement procedures under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The report recommended that complainants be allowed to file claims directly with a human rights tribunal. The primary functions of the commission would be to conduct education and research, as well as to address systemic discrimination.

The proposed new model for the human rights system follows these recommendations and would tackle discrimination by:

- Focusing the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission on proactive measures, such as education, public advocacy, research, analysis and promotion to prevent discrimination. The commission would work to address systemic issues that have a broad impact on communities and groups, and attempt to resolve them

- Establishing two new secretariats within the OHRC, an anti-racism secretariat and a disability rights secretariat

- Implementing a more open, accessible and faster complaint resolution process, with applications being made directly to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The tribunal would have enhanced statutory powers to determine its own practices and procedures to manage its caseload efficiently and effectively, and to provide alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

- Creating a new Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

Current Role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission

The McGuinty government appointed Barbara Hall chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in November 2005.

The commission is an independent agency, accountable to the public through the Attorney General. The commission's central role is to receive and process complaints. The average number of cases filed with the commission each year is 2,500. After the parties are interviewed and the commission completes a private fact-finding process, it then decides whether the matter should go forward to a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. This can take up to five years, and during this time, applicants do not receive any legal support.

The commission has received international recognition for its policy work, research and development of guidelines on significant human rights issues. Recent publications include reports on racial profiling, age discrimination, mandatory retirement and an accessibility audit of restaurant chains.

Current Role of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

The McGuinty government appointed distinguished human rights lawyer Michael Gottheil chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in April 2005. The tribunal is an independent, quasi-judicial body, which hears and decides complaints of discrimination and harassment under the code. It can only hear complaints referred to it by the commission. It is responsible for reviewing and making a decision on complaints. The commission refers an average of 100 cases to the tribunal annually.

It currently takes between four and five years for cases that go through the full process to be resolved. This process includes intake, assignment to investigation, investigation, settlement discussions, decision to dismiss or refer to tribunal, tribunal hearing, and final decision. Many delays are caused by duplication in the system at the commission and the tribunal.

Proposed New Ontario Human Rights Commission

Under the proposed Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, the commission's work would focus on proactive measures, such as public education, promotion and public advocacy, research and analysis, to address systemic discrimination in Ontario.

The commission would also maintain the ability to bring a complaint on its own behalf before the tribunal or to intervene in other complaints where there are systemic issues affecting the public interest.

An anti-racism secretariat and a disability rights secretariat would be established within the commission.

Proposed New Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

A new complaints process would be implemented, with applications being filed directly with the tribunal. The legislation would provide the tribunal with updated statutory powers to determine its own practices and procedures to resolve disputes fairly, efficiently and effectively, and to provide for compensation for human rights violations.

Under the proposed legislation, the tribunal would be able to inquire into issues, engage in fact gathering and conduct mediation. The tribunal would assess evidence in an open and transparent process in which the parties could participate directly. The tribunal would have the capacity to ensure that all relevant evidence is before it, and would be able to compel parties to provide this information within set time limits.

New Human Rights Legal Support Centre

The proposed model would also include a new Human Rights Legal Support Centre that would provide information, support, advice, assistance and legal representation for those seeking a remedy before the tribunal.

Next Steps

The Ministry of the Attorney General would create an implementation advisory committee to provide advice on new processes for the commission, tribunal and legal support services. Members of this committee would include representatives from the commission, the tribunal, community groups and legal, labour and business associations.

OTTAWA, - Immigrants give larger donations, on average, than the Canadian-born population but they are slightly less likely to volunteer their time than people born in Canada, according to research by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD).

Making Connections: Social and Civic Engagement among Canadian Immigrants also shows that the rate of volunteering is increasing, particularly among recent immigrants.

"Despite a variety of barriers, including economic insecurity, many new Canadians are connecting with their communities and making a difference," says Katherine Scott, CCSD vice president of research and co-author of the report. "Immigrants donated more than 98 million hours of volunteer time in 2000. That is equivalent to 50,000 full-time jobs."

The study found the highest rate of volunteering among immigrants in Atlantic Canada (35%), followed by those in the Prairies (34%) and British Columbia (30%). Just over one-quarter of Ontario immigrants (28%) and 24% of immigrants in Québec volunteered their time in 2003. The participation rate in Québec was approximately the same for both immigrants and non-immigrants. "We found that overall, immigrants were motivated by the same sorts of things as Canadian-born volunteers - in particular, the feeling of personal connection to a cause or organization," says Scott. Personal connection to a cause was particularly important among established immigrants.

"Many new Canadians also see volunteering as a way to use their skills and experience and they hope it will lead to a job," says Scott. "But the reality is that many new immigrants experience significant economic barriers. Those who would most benefit from participation in civic activities are those who are the most marginalized. That has major implications for the health and vitality of both the individuals and Canadian communities."

"The matter at hand is integrating immigrants as quickly as possible into the labour market, while making the best use of their skills," said Minister Finley. She stressed the importance of working together to make real progress in real time to ensure that Canada remains competitive in the global economy.

"I am committed to working with my provincial and territorial colleagues and all stakeholders to ensure foreign-trained professionals get properly trained and meet Canadian standards so they can start working here quickly. I am ready to use the levers of our Government to help advance our common cause," said Minister Finley.

"In the short term, improving the inclusion of new Canadians will help them start working to their full potential--and enhance our productivity. Their success becomes our legacy. Over the longer term, it will help to strengthen Canadian society--reinforcing our international reputation as a nation where women and men from around the world come together to build a better future. That is our shared goal," Minister Finley continued.

The Conference, organized by the Public Policy Forum, brought together senior decision makers from all levels of government, provincial assessment bodies, regulatory bodies, immigrant serving organizations, educational institutions, employers, the business community and non-profit organizations.

Immigrants to the European Union from the Middle East and North Africa send home at least EUR7.1 billion ($8.46 billion) a year, the EU said Monday, but added the amount may be double that because of unreported transactions, reports The Associated Press.

The remittances are a major source of revenue for countries on the Mediterranean's southern and eastern rims and exceed foreign direct investments and development aid, the EU said in a report. It said 90 percent went to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey -- the main providers of immigrants from the EU's southern neighbors. In Morocco, they account for 6-9 percent of the country's GDP, followed by Tunisia, where they are 4-5 percent of GDP, Algeria's 2-3 percent and Turkey's 2 percent. Remittances are even more crucial to Jordan and Lebanon, equaling up to 22 percent and 15 percent of GDP, respectively, notes the news report.

The study -- the first of its kind undertaken by the EU -- was published by the Euro-Mediterranean arm of the European Investment Bank, the bloc's long-term financing agency. It proposed changing the way migrants' money is transferred by banks, post offices and private companies to eliminate fuzzy transfer terms and cut handling fees that may equal 16 percent of the funds transacted. "The longer a transfer takes, the costlier the transaction," the report said. This forces a sender of funds "to pay extra for speed."

The report put "official" remittances to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan at EUR7.1 billion in 2003, the last year for which complete data was available. If unreported transfers are added, the total becomes EUR13.6 billion, the report estimated, well over EUR8.98 billion the eight nations received in foreign direct investments and development aid that year.

Only Turkish banks offer services enabling Turks abroad to send money home quickly and efficiently, it said. Because immigrants from other Mediterranean nations may not have a bank account -- or people to receive the funds in their home country -- they face slow and costly transactions, the report said. It proposed that the EU mimic the US, where legal and illegal immigrants can get a "consular registration card" that banks accept as proof of identification. The card is no proof of residency, but gives access to safe and secure financial services.

The report said the EU must encourage banks in recipient nations to set up offshore accounts -- something only Turkish banks have now -- and band together to use incoming funds for investment purposes. It said recipient nations made poor use of the large sums of money they get from their nationals in Europe, estimating that only 9.7 percent of the funds were used for "productive investments."

The EU has never considered the economic impact of the funds that immigrants in Europe send home to friends and family. The World Bank estimates reported and unreported transfers worldwide in 2005 at $323 billion, up from $131 billion in 2000. While India, China and Mexico are the largest recipients, the remittances are most crucial for poor nations such as Tonga, Moldova, Lesotho and Haiti, accounting for more than a quarter of their GDP, notes the news report.

Kitchener - SkillsInternational.ca has launched a online system that will unite prescreened internationally-educated professionals with employers who need their skills. This online tool is cost-effective, efficient and the first of its kind in Canada.

Immigrant serving agencies across Ontario, including the Waterloo Region District School Board’s New Canadian Program, will be able to post the resumes of qualified, screened applicants who are ready to work in a field related to their education and experience. Employers can perform a variety of searches based on relevant criteria including skills, experience and education to review the resumes of qualified candidates, helping to ease existing and looming shortages.

The SkillsInternational.ca Project is a collaborative initiative of WIL Employment Connections (London), COSTI Immigrant Services (Toronto) and the Waterloo Region District School Board. A grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation has enabled the creation of this tool that unites pre-screened, internationally educated professionals with employers who need their skills.

CAs set the standard for access by internationally trained professionals

TORONTO - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario today commended the McGuinty government's announcement of www.ONTARIOIMMIGRATION.ca -- a new Web-based government information resource for internationally-trained professionals and other newcomers to Canada. "We support initiatives like these that help internationally trained professionals apply their skills in Ontario," said Institute President and CEO Brian Hunt, FCA. "Our province depends on developing a workforce that reflects the world in which we do business. That's why we have partnered with the Ontario government on a range of complementary initiatives, including working with settlement.org in developing an electronic version of the Institute's CA Career Map."

In fact, for more than two decades, Hunt noted, the CA profession has been acknowledged by the Ontario government as leading the way in ensuring that access. Former Citizenship Minister Bob Wong said in 1989:

"It is very encouraging to see a group such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario taking the vital step towards improving fair access to the profession of accounting. I am very interested to see if your example will be followed by the other self-governing occupations."

In December 2003, the then Honourable Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Mary Ann Chambers, MPP, wrote:

"The Ministry recognizes the role the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario has played to improve access for internationally trained accountants, including working with the Ministry on an occupational fact sheet, the Sector-specific Terminology Information and Counseling Project, and the CD-based Competency Matching Tool. As well, senior staff from your organization play a leadership role on the Ontario Regulators for Access Steering Committee."

Other highlights of the Institute's record include:

- Participation in the International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB), which assesses the qualification standards of accounting bodies in other countries against Canadian CA standards to provide access to qualified applicants

- A transparent registration and appeals processes that includes full participation by public representatives (persons who are not accountants) as voting members

- Working with accounting bodies in other countries - including many in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim - to help them achieve standards equal to those in Canada.

"The Institute is already seen by the Ontario government as doing a solid job of providing access to foreign trained professionals," said Hunt. However, neither employers nor the self-regulated professions can do it all themselves, Hunt added, noting factors that are beyond their reach, including better coordination of immigrant services and programs between Ottawa and the provinces, and enhanced university access.

"We all want new Canadians to succeed," Hunt concluded. "Let's build on our progress with a realistic system of standardized best practices that identifies achievable goals."

Immigrants today account for a large and increasing proportion of labour force growth in Canada. In fact, immigrants who arrived during the 1990s accounted for about 70 percent of net labour force growth between 1991 and 2001 – a proportion set to increase to 100 percent over the next decade, a result in part of low rates of natural increase in the Canadian-born population.

Data from the 2001 Census show that between 1991 and 2000 alone, 2.2 million immigrants were admitted to Canada, the highest number for any decade in the past century. In contrast, 1.3 million immigrants came in the 1980s and 1.4 million in each of the 1970s and 1960s. The majority of the immigrants who arrived in Canada during the 1990s were in the working ages of 25 to 64 years and increased the size of Canada's working age population by more than 1.1 million.1

Immigrants arriving in Canada in recent years are more educated than were immigrants who arrived in the past and are twice as likely as the Canadian-born population to have a university education.2 However, the evidence shows that despite having high levels of education, the economic performance of immigrants relative to the Canadian-born population has deteriorated. Many immigrants find it difficult to secure well-paying jobs and their earnings tend to be well below those of the Canadian-born population.3 These trends raise questions about the factors that can explain diminished economic returns for immigrants.

Other important shifts have taken place in the characteristics of new immigrants. One of those changes has been a shift in the countries from which many new immigrants to Canada come, from countries where English or French are regularly spoken to countries where other languages predominate. New immigrants are much less likely to speak English or French as their mother tongue than previous immigrants and large numbers have completed their schooling in their home countries, often in a language other than English or French.

While data on the characteristics of recent immigrants and their economic performance in Canada have been collected and analyzed extensively, no comprehensive data on the literacy level of recent immigrants have been previously available. The 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) collected data from large enough samples of recent and established immigrants to answer key questions about the literacy levels of these two groups. The report on the Canadian results of IALSS, Building on Our Competencies,4 published in November 2005, presents an analysis of skill levels for three groups of individuals - the Canadian-born, recent immigrants (those who have been in Canada for 10 years or less) and established immigrants (those who have been in Canada for more than 10 years).

The International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey

Conducted in 2003, the IALSS is the Canadian component of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills program (ALL). The ALL program is a "… large-scale co-operative effort undertaken by governments, national statistical agencies, research institutions and multi-lateral agencies" that provides internationally comparable measures in four domains: prose and document literacy, numeracy and problem solving.5 Over 23,000 individuals aged 16 and over from across the ten provinces and three territories responded to the Canadian IALSS.

Literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills are essential to function in today's world. Proficiency in these domains enhances the capacity of individuals to participate in lifelong learning. In a global economy, a highly skilled population is an asset and fundamental to economic growth. Factors such as globalization, the impact of new technologies and the move to a knowledge economy have led the occupational composition in Canada to shift towards more highly skilled occupations requiring higher levels of education. A knowledge economy requires workers who can adapt quickly to the changing skill requirements of the labour market. Furthermore, differences in the level and distribution of skill have been found to be associated with large differences in outcomes in multiple facets of life - work, education, home and the community.

To understand the meaning of an individual's scores in the domains tested by IALSS, it is important to define a minimum level of competence that is needed for an individual to cope with the increasing skill demands of a knowledge- and information-based economy and society. Scores in each domain (prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem solving) were grouped into proficiency levels representing a set of tasks of increasing difficulty In all domains, Level 1 contains respondents displaying the lowest level of ability. Level 4/5 (or Level 4 for problem solving) contains those with the highest level of ability. For the literacy and numeracy domains, Level 3 performance is chosen as the benchmark because performance at or above that level is generally associated with a number of positive outcomes. These include increased civic participation, increased economic success and independence, and enhanced opportunities for lifelong learning. In countries like Canada, individuals at proficiency Levels 1 and 2 typically have not yet mastered the minimum foundation of literacy skills needed to perform tasks generally viewed to be important for full participation in social and economic life.

Skill proficiencies of the immigrant population

Immigrants aged 16 to 65 performed significantly below the average for the Canadian- born population in all four domains. The average prose literacy score for the Canadian-born population corresponded to Level 3 proficiency, while for recent immigrants the average score was at Level 2. Differences in performance between Canadian-born and recent as well as established immigrants were largest for prose literacy and smallest for numeracy.

Perhaps contrary to expectation, duration of residence in Canada appeared to have no significant impact on the average performance of immigrants in any of the four domains. This may be because counteracting influences are at work. For example, it might be expected that immigrants will perform better the longer they have been in Canada. However, we know that recent immigrants are generally better educated than established immigrants and so, literacy levels may be higher for them despite the short time they have been in Canada. Additional analysis is needed to better understand the lack of impact length of residence appears to have on proficiency in the four domains.

In all four domains, a higher percentage of both recent and established immigrants performed at Levels 1 and 2 than did the Canadian-born population. Sixty percent of recent and established immigrants, compared to 37 percent of the Canadian-born population, were at Levels 1 and 2 in prose literacy.

At the other end of the proficiency scale, twelve percent of established and eight percent of recent immigrants performed at Level 4/5. This compares to 22 percent of the Canadian-born population - indicating that the differences between Canadian-born and immigrants were larger than they were between the two immigrant groups.

The analysis of the IALSS also examined the distribution of prose literacy scores for immigrant and Canadian-born males and females. Thirty-four percent of recent female immigrants scored at Level 1; this compares to nine percent for Canadian-born females. Similarly, a smaller proportion of recent-immigrant females attained the highest levels of literacy, with only seven percent at Level 4/5 compared to 25 percent of Canadian-born women. Similarly, some 28 percent of recent male immigrants performed at Level 1 literacy, a proportion more than double that of Canadian-born men. About 9 percent of recent immigrant males compared to 19 percent of Canadian-born men scored at Levels 4/5.

Literacy skills, age and education

The 2003 IALSS data allow an examination of the relationship between age and prose literacy for each of the three populations: recent immigrants, established immigrants and Canadian-born individuals. Across all age groups, there were higher proportions of recent and established immigrants at Level 1 proficiency than there were Canadian-born. The difference in the proportions at Level 1 prose literacy was most pronounced for recent immigrants, but the proportion of established immigrants at Level 1 was also at least double that of the Canadian-born in each age group.

In prose literacy, younger age cohorts generally performed at a higher level than older cohorts for both immigrant groups and for the Canadian-born population. The difference in prose literacy performance between the younger and older cohorts was more pronounced for established immigrants than for recent immigrants. One possible explanation for this difference is that young people among the established-immigrant population were likely to have pursued more of their education within Canada than would be the case for either older established immigrants or for young people within the recent-immigrant group.

There were large differences in literacy performance between immigrants and the Canadian-born with the same level of educational attainment. About two percent of the university-educated Canadian-born scored at Level 1 in prose literacy proficiency. In comparison, 14 percent of university-educated established immigrants and 18 percent of recent immigrants scored at this level. At the other end of the scale, 37 percent of university-educated Canadian-born scored at Levels 4/5 compared to 21 percent of university-educated established immigrants and 11 percent of university-educated recent immigrants.

Comparing those at the lowest level of prose literacy (Level 1), the Canadian-born and established immigrants both reported lower levels of educational attainment than recent immigrants. At Level 1 proficiency, 59 percent of the Canadian-born, 46 percent of established immigrants and 26 percent of recent immigrants had less than high school education.

Given the higher educational attainment of recent immigrants, it might be expected that many of them would have higher literacy proficiency in their mother tongue. More research is needed to determine the extent to which the relatively poor literacy performance of recent immigrants reflects a lack of proficiency in English or French, rather than low literacy in their mother tongue.

Literacy skills and language

In 2003, one in ten immigrants spoke English or French as their mother tongue, compared to almost one in three in 1980.6 Respondents to the IALSS tests in Canada had a choice between taking the test in either English or French. A key question, then, is whether speaking a language other than English or French as a mother tongue is associated with literacy performance. While the number of immigrants surveyed does not allow an analysis of recent and established immigrants separately with respect to individual languages, it is possible to examine all immigrant groups together in order to examine the impact of mother tongue on literacy scores.

The results showed that immigrants whose mother tongue was different than the test language had lower average scores in all four domains than did immigrants whose mother tongue was the same as the test language. As shown in Figure 1, about 43 percent of immigrants whose mother tongue was different than the test language scored at the lowest level on the prose literacy scale. This was about twice the proportion of immigrants whose mother tongue was the same as the test language (21 percent) and almost three times that of the Canadian-born population (15 percent). In contrast, about 30 percent of immigrants with a mother tongue that was different than the test language performed at or above Level 3 in prose literacy compared to 47 percent of immigrants whose mother tongue was the same as the test language and 57 percent of the Canadian-born.

Figure 1. Distribution of prose proficiency levels, by immigrant status and mother tongue, Canada, population aged 16 to 65, 2003

Source: International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey , 2003.

It is important to note that low literacy scores in the test language in IALSS do not necessarily reflect low literacy in the respondent's mother tongue. More research is needed to learn how mother tongue and official language acquisition affect literacy performance in Canada's two official languages.

Conclusion

The 2001 Census reported that a growing proportion of Canada's newest immigrants speak a language other than English or French most often at home. In 2001, 61% of the immigrants who came in the 1990s used a non-official language as their primary home language. In comparison, 56% of the immigrants who arrived in the 1980s spoke a non-official language at home in 1991.

The IALSS results show that proficiency of Canadians aged 16 to 65 in literacy, numeracy and problem solving is clearly linked to their labour market outcomes. The average proficiency scores of employed individuals are higher than the scores of those who are either unemployed or not in the labour force; employment rates are also higher for those with higher proficiency levels. Individuals who work in more knowledge-intensive jobs tend to have higher literacy and numeracy proficiencies. In addition, higher proficiency is associated with higher earnings, especially in the case of women. These findings highlight the importance of building and maintaining human capital among Canadians of working age.

The ability to use and understand information is fundamental to daily life at work, at home, and in the community. Given the size of the immigrant population in Canada and its large and growing contribution to labour force growth, the link between language and literacy identified by the IALSS and the finding that immigrants tended to perform at lower proficiency than the Canadian-born population is cause for concern. This is especially the case because immigration will account for all of the net labour force growth in the coming years. This highlights the need to further advance our understanding of the interactions between language, literacy, skills and economic growth.

VANCOUVER, Feb. 28 - Canada's flawed refugee system and a lack of political will to reform the program has been a major factor in making Canada a prime destination for terrorists, according to a new paper, Canada's Inadequate Response to Terrorism, released today by The Fraser Institute. While improvements also need to be made to the screening of immigrant applicants and the screening and tracking of visitors, our highly dysfunctional refugee determination system has been the channel most often used by terrorists for gaining entry.

"A survey that we made based on media reports of 25 Islamic terrorists and suspects who entered Canada as adults indicated that 16 claimed refugee status, four were admitted as landed immigrants and the channel of entry for the remaining five was not identified. Making a refugee claim is used by both terrorists and criminals as a means of rendering their removal from the country more difficult," said Martin Collacott, author of the paper and Senior Fellow at the Institute.

The paper looks at the specific shortcomings of current policies and the reasons why the government has not rectified them. These reasons include the lack of resources provided for effective program delivery, as well as the influence of special interest groups who argue that the rights of refugee claimants and others ordered removed from the country should take priority over other considerations.

A further explanation for the reluctance of the federal government to take firm measures against terrorists and their supporters has been concern over the possible loss of political support. A notable example of this is Ottawa's failure to designate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as a terrorist group. Related to this is the fact that little action has been taken to stop terrorist fundraising in Canada even though this is now estimated at $180 million a year.

In addition to improving controls over who enters and leaves the country, policies in other areas also need to be changed if Canada is to deal effectively with the prospect of extremist groups increasingly recruiting terrorists from within our ethnic communities.

In particular, current multicultural policy has to be revised so that, while we continue to welcome people of different backgrounds from all over the world, there is a much clearer expectation that newcomers will be committed to Canadian values and be loyal to Canada.

While this applies to people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds, special attention must be given to working with Muslims since their community is the source of the terrorists who pose the greatest danger to our national security. "Canada must give emphasis to building bridges with members of the Muslim community both to ensure they feel fully a part of Canadian society as well as to enlist their full cooperation in identifying extremists in their midst," said Collacott.

The paper also looks at the impact on our trade with the United States and our economy in general if there is another major terrorist attack in North America and we have failed to take reasonable precautions against such an eventuality. This paper argues that the measures we need to take are necessary for our own security and sovereignty, quite apart from helping to ensure that our border with the United States remains open for the movement of goods and people.

Collacott points out that the gap between what the United States is doing to increase security along its borders and the steps Canada is taking will become increasingly apparent in the years to come and, unless the threat from terrorism unexpectedly diminishes, our failure to demonstrate that we are serious about protecting our borders could cost us dearly, particularly in the area of trade.

"As a matter of urgency, the Canadian government should address the various issues of border security identified in this paper. If we wait until the next major terrorist attack in North America before taking action, the costs to Canada could well be devastating," concluded Collacott.

OTTAWA, Dec. 6 /CNW Telbec/ - The President of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union today called for heightened protection, up to and including the issuing of tasers and sidearms, for Immigration Officers of the Canada Border Services Agency.

Jeannette Meunier-McKay said the CEIU would be contacting the campaigns of all major federal parties to seek their support for making higher levels of protective force for Immigration Officers a post-election priority. She also stressed that the union was representing the views and wishes of its

Immigration Officer members.

"A recent, internal union survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of Immigration Officers - 86.5% of Enforcement Officers and 74% of Port of Entry Officers - expressed a strong need for additional protective devices, including tasers and/or sidearms," she said.

"Our members have spoken strongly with a united voice - that current force options are inadequate to ensure their security when carrying out their duties to protect the public by keeping high-risk criminals and terrorists out of Canada."

Meunier-McKay also pointed to last June's interim report of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, which called for strengthened port of entry security and concrete measures to improve the safety of CBSA enforcement staff.

"The Senate Committee was very clear in urging the Martin government to give CBSA workers the tools they need to carry out their important duties in a safe and secure work environment," Meunier-McKay noted.

"Whatever the composition of the next Parliament, the federal government has a clear duty to ensure the highest level of protection for these frontline peace officers."

The Canada Employment and Immigration Union represents more than 17,000 federal public service workers, including some 1,300 immigration staff at both ports of entry and at inland enforcement offices.

The Canadian Immigration Integration Project will receive $3,980,499 to pilot test a framework for the delivery of a continuum of programs and services for immigrants, starting in their country of origin and continuing after they arrive in Canada. The project seeks to reduce barriers faced by immigrants wishing to enter Canada's labour market, but will also support immigrants in finding employment by facilitating recognition of their credentials.

Colleges and Institutes Supporting Immigrant Integration Into the Labour Market will receive $149,621 to support the exchange of innovative practices and enable colleges, institutes, sector councils, immigrant serving organizations and regulatory bodies to better collaborate. The project will also develop a model for the establishment of College and Institute Immigrant Integration Centres.

"These two projects underscore the importance of learning institutions, like Canada's community colleges, in our ongoing efforts to help immigrants to make full use of their skills so that they may do the work for which they are qualified," said Minister Stronach. "The integration of immigrants into Canada's labour market is not something we can do alone - we must work in partnership with stakeholders like the ACCC to improve the quality of life for immigrants which in turn will benefit the health of our cities and our overall economy."

The Government of Canada's FCR Program will improve the integration of internationally trained workers into the labour force by working with provinces, territories and key stakeholder organizations, such as professional bodies, trade associations and sector councils, to implement projects that will facilitate the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired in other countries.

Today's announcement is linked to Canada's Workplace Skills Strategy, aimed at helping Canadians to become the best-trained, most highly skilled workers in the world, as well as ensuring that employers' needs are met.

The Government is providing $68 million over six years to implement the FCR program and to fund key activities from our partners aimed at improving FCR processes in Canada.

For details, see the backgrounder below.

BACKGROUNDER

Government of Canada provides over $4 million to help integrate

immigrants and internationally trained Canadians into the workforce

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Organization Description of Project Funding

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Association of Canadian Immigration Integration Project $3,980,499

Canadian (CIIP) - This project will develop and

Community test a framework, on a pilot basis, for

Colleges the delivery of a continuum of programs

and services for immigrants starting at

their country of origin and continuing

after landing in Canada. The Pilots

proposed in this proposal are intended

to reduce the barriers currently faced

by immigrants who wish to enter the

Canadian labour market and to support

them in finding employment in their

field of specialization by facilitating

recognition of their credentials.

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Colleges and Institutes Supporting $149,621

Immigrant Integration into the Labour

Market - This project will support

partnerships between colleges and

institutes, sector councils, immigrant

-serving agencies, credential assessment

organizations and regulatory bodies to

address foreign credential assessment and

recognition and labour market integration;

facilitate collaboration and exchange of

innovative practices among colleges and

institutes; develop a model for the

establishment of College and Institute

Immigrant Integration Centres.

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Total Projects $4,130,120

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