Latest news with #workpermits
New York Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Spain Is Going Its Own Way
Spain is having a moment bucking Western political trends. The country has recently recognized Palestine as a state, resisted President Trump's demand that NATO members increase their defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product and doubled down on D.E.I. programs. But there's no better example of Spain going its own way than immigration. At a time when many Western democracies are trying to keep immigrants out, Spain is boldly welcoming them in. The details are striking. In May, new regulations went into effect that eased migrants' ability to obtain residency and work permits, and the Spanish Parliament began debating a bill to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants. These reforms could open a path to Spanish citizenship to more than one million people. Most of them are part of a historic immigration surge that between 2021 and 2023 brought nearly three million people born outside the European Union to Spain. Demand has something to do with it: Like many Western democracies, Spain needs more people. Last year the national birthrate was 1.4, the second lowest in the European Union and well below the 2.1 threshold needed to maintain the country's population level of around 48 million people. Spain also has a big economy — the fourth largest in the E.U. — fueled by a travel and tourism industry that is brimming with jobs that most Spaniards do not want. But unlike in other countries, backlash has been strikingly muted. That's partly because some of these pro-migrant measures stem from society at large. The push for the undocumented immigrants' amnesty did not originate with the government, tellingly, but with a popular petition that garnered 600,000 signatures and was endorsed by 900 nongovernmental organizations, business groups and even the Spanish Conference of Bishops. The government, in turn, has designed a humane and pragmatic approach, offering an example for other countries to emulate. There are, to be sure, some very Spanish reasons for the exception. Because of its vast overseas empire, Spain was for centuries a mass exporter of people. During the Spanish Civil War and the four-decade-long dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco, some two million people were forced to leave the country, fleeing famine, violence and political repression. Up until the 1970s, Spain provided migrant laborers to farms and factories across Europe. After the 2008 financial crisis, which sent unemployment soaring to 25 percent, thousands of professionals left Spain for jobs abroad. This rich and complex history helps explain the relatively high level of tolerance for immigration among Spaniards. In 2019, a Pew survey found that Spain had by far the most positive attitude toward immigrants in Europe. This was no outlier. A 2021 study of polls going back about 30 years showed that 'Spain has consistently maintained more open attitudes toward immigration than the European average, with less rejection and a greater appreciation of its contributions to society and the economy.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
National Post
30-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Geoff Russ: Doug Ford walking back initiative allowing asylum seekers to work was right choice
If Canada's leaders will not put young Canadians first, they should not be surprised when those same people abandon a country that abandoned them first. Article content After a meeting in Huntsville, Ont., on July 24, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the rest of the premiers made it clear that they want greater powers over immigration. Article content Article content Ford specifically mentioned that his government was examining Section 95 of the Constitution Act to find a way to bypass Ottawa and unilaterally grant work permits for Ontario. Section 95 allows the provinces to make immigration decisions, 'as long and as far only as it is not repugnant' to any federal law. Article content Article content On Monday, however, Ford announced he was walking back that initiative, and this is a tiny spot of good news for young job seekers in the province. Article content Article content There are nearly 100,000 unemployed asylum seekers currently housed in hotels in Etobicoke. Prior to his retreat on the policy, Ford wanted to put them to work, even though the unemployment rate of Ontario residents aged 15 to 24 stood at 16.4 per cent, higher than the national average of 14.2 per cent. Article content During the short time he considered the initiative, Ford's elbows were up, displaying a willingness to throw them at his province's youngest and most vulnerable adult citizens. Article content Trying to add another 100,000 people to the workforce would have been a cruel strategy when youth unemployment is rampant in the Greater Toronto Area. Between January and July of 2024, it spiked from 13.2 per cent to 19.8 per cent. Article content The Ontario government would not be helping by pushing for even more cheap foreign labour, which has already likely already suppressed wages and worsened housing affordability for Canadians. Article content Article content This combination has grown alongside a national immigration policy that saw an average of 612,000 permanent and temporary residents admitted to the country yearly between 2016 and 2023. The policy of mass, low-wage immigration had a considerable effect on the Canadian economy, according to Michael Bonner, a former policy advisor in the Harper government and later Director of Policy for the Government of Ontario. Article content Article content 'The consequences are structural underemployment, stagnant wages, and a climate in which businesses are rewarded for failing to invest in hiring, training, and retaining a domestic workforce,' wrote Bonner. Article content Despite his modest promised reductions in yearly immigration, Prime Minister Mark Carney is still planning to admit 400,000 permanent residents annually by 2027, far more than the average during the years of the Harper government. Article content Housing unaffordability is a crippling fact of life for those under 40. During the spring election, the Liberals pledged to deliver a housing plan that was the 'most ambitious since WWII' and build 500,000 homes per year.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doug Ford walks back pledge to issue work permits to asylum seekers
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back last week's pledge to wrestle some control away from the federal government to issue work permits to asylum seekers. He did not explain why he changed his mind. "I don't want to take the responsibility off the federal government, but in saying that, if you have a pulse and you're healthy, you need to be working," Ford said Monday. Ford and the rest of the country's premiers said at their gathering last week they wanted more control over immigration, usually a purview of the federal government. The Ontario premier pointed to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who cited Section 95 of the Constitution that they believed gave provinces the power to make decisions on immigration. 'We will be issuing our own work permits,' Ford said last week when all the premiers met in Huntsville, Ont. He said the federal government was taking up to two years to issue work permits to asylum seekers. But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said work permits are usually processed within 45 days of an asylum claimant submitting a completed application that includes a medical examination and an updated address. "The Government of Canada will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to achieve our shared economic immigration objectives," said Jeffrey MacDonald, a spokesman for the department. He said immigration is within both federal and provincial jurisdictions and Ottawa enters into legally binding agreements with each province and territory to administer, co-ordinate and implement federal legislation on immigration. MacDonald said the department is still in the midst of planning immigration levels from 2026 to 2028 with input from all provinces and territories. Despite Ford's change of mind, he still said the federal government is taking far too long to issue work permits. He said 70,000 work permits were issued to asylum claimants last year, but there were 90,000 such claimants in the province and he wants the backlog cleared. New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles said Ford needs to focus on the problems he can control. "He wants to talk about a whole bunch of stuff that is not his responsibility in the first place," Stiles said. "I think that the premier needs to start actually showing up for work for the people of this province and that means showing up to fix our health-care system, showing up to address the crumbling infrastructure in this province, showing up for the post-secondary institutions." —With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
CTV News
28-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Doug Ford walks back pledge to issue work permits to asylum seekers
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media during the meeting of Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back last week's pledge to wrestle some control away from the federal government to issue work permits to asylum seekers. He did not explain why he changed his mind. 'I don't want to take the responsibility off the federal government, but in saying that, if you have a pulse and you're healthy, you need to be working,' Ford said Monday. Ford and the rest of the country's premiers said at their gathering last week they wanted more control over immigration, usually a purview of the federal government. The Ontario premier pointed to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who cited Section 95 of the Constitution that they believed gave provinces the power to make decisions on immigration. 'We will be issuing our own work permits,' Ford said last week when all the premiers met in Huntsville, Ont. He said the federal government was taking up to two years to issue work permits to asylum seekers. But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said work permits are usually processed within 45 days of an asylum claimant submitting a completed application that includes a medical examination and an updated address. 'The Government of Canada will continue to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to achieve our shared economic immigration objectives,' said Jeffrey MacDonald, a spokesman for the department. He said immigration is within both federal and provincial jurisdictions and Ottawa enters into legally binding agreements with each province and territory to administer, co-ordinate and implement federal legislation on immigration. MacDonald said the department is still in the midst of planning immigration levels from 2026 to 2028 with input from all provinces and territories. Despite Ford's change of mind, he still said the federal government is taking far too long to issue work permits. He said 70,000 work permits were issued to asylum claimants last year, but there were 90,000 such claimants in the province and he wants the backlog cleared. New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles said Ford needs to focus on the problems he can control. 'He wants to talk about a whole bunch of stuff that is not his responsibility in the first place,' Stiles said. 'I think that the premier needs to start actually showing up for work for the people of this province and that means showing up to fix our health-care system, showing up to address the crumbling infrastructure in this province, showing up for the post-secondary institutions.' —With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
CBC
28-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
‘We aren't taking it over': Ford backs down on plan to issue asylum seekers work permits
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back a plan for Ontario to begin issuing work permits to asylum seekers less than a week after he and the country's premiers said they wanted more control over immigration.
