SETTLEMENT

| PARENTING | Take a trip

And open up a world of possibilities

Busy schedules and the high cost of travel are two reasons that often deter families from taking trips together. Yet, travelling with family is a great investment for everyone, and the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. These enriching and rewarding experiences will help children make sense of their world, expand their horizons and equip them with the ability to meet the challenges of a demanding global society.

Family bonding Spending precious quality time together while travelling will bring families closer together, and lead to stronger connections to each other. Travelling together creates an equal playing field where everyone explores and experiences things together for the first time. It provides opportunities for family members to take on different roles and responsibilities, and to work closely together toward common goals.

Culture and language By becoming immersed in different places’ culture, language, customs and lifestyle, children will gain appreciation and respect for the richness of diversity in the world and multiculturalism in Canada. It can help affirm one’s own language, culture, family roots and identity. Communicating with the locals might also highlight the importance of one’s ability to communicate in different languages. Seeing firsthand the advantages of being multilingual, it might even ignite the children’s interest in learning their mother tongue or a foreign language. Life skills By actively participating and contributing during the trip, children can master many essential life skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, social skills and many more. With the many surprises and adventures that arise while travelling, children will understand the importance of being patient, flexible, spontaneous, as well as learning to deal with unexpected challenges with confidence, grace and calmness.

Character building Through the adventures in travelling, children will experience the journey of self-discovery and help build their character. Children learn to view things through different perspectives, and hopefully gain many valuable life lessons in the process, such as gratitude, open-mindedness, sense of curiosity, sense of adventure, can-do attitude and lifelong learning. More importantly, children will become more compassionate, understanding and gain a greater sense of the global community.

The world is the ultimate classroom. Travelling as a The world is the ultimate classroom. Travelling as a family is one great way to connect with ourselves, our family and the world.

Cheryl Song, an immigrant from Malaysia, has more than , an immigrant from Malaysia, has more than 10 years’ experience of working in childhood education 10 years’ experience of working in childhood education and family programs.

LIFELONG

Gone are the days when formal studies ended upon high-school or college graduation. The aspiration to engage in lifelong learning is nowadays common and, in fact, very beneficial. Employers have come to expect it, and nowhere is this cultural shift more obvious than among immigrants, be they recent newcomers or veterans.

For most Canadian newcomers, the main focus upon arrival is, understandably, securing employment. While there is an accepted notion that everyone must pay their dues, unfortunately, immigrant underemployment issues go well beyond this cliché; survival jobs often become the new “normal,” and the waste of skills and talent is said to cost Canada approximately $20 billion annually.

BACK TO SCHOOL While international education credentials can be formally assessed via one of the available credential recognition agencies, the reality of the job market doesn’t always follow suit, as employers have no familiar reference point by which to go. That’s why many immigrants decide to add Canadian education credentials to their resumés, and go back to school in one of the many higher-learning institutions in Canada, such as Langara College in B.C.

Established in 1994, but with roots going back to 1965, Langara College provides courses to more than 21,000 students in university studies, career studies and continuing studies. Many of Langara’s students are immigrants to Canada who came with extensive international degrees and experience. By creating a campus environment that is friendly and welcoming to students of all ages and backgrounds, Langara’s Continuing Studies programs make it easy to balance continuing education with a full-time work schedule.

Jenna Li, 48, is a Langara student who emigrated from China in 1991. A safety-equipment designer and volunteer scouting instructor, she found that taking college courses enhanced her professional life even after 23 years in Canada.

“After finishing the ESL program, I started to take some non-ESL classes. Both Business Communication and Writing have been helpful to me when it came to writing reports and emails, conducting my presentations, and describing my feelings. As soon as I finished my class, I received some good compliments from my colleagues.”

For Li, it was the warm and fun classroom environment that inspired her to integrate the Langara courses in her busy schedule: “The teachers were so knowledgeable, productive, creative and humorous. Even though I went to school after my full-time work, I was still able to be energetic in class.”

Among the many programs and courses offered by Continuing Studies are those specifically designed to meet the needs of immigrants like Li. Language and soft skills development are the most sought-after options, followed by other more practical business-related courses.

LANGUAGE OPTIONS The Langara English Proficiency Program (LEPP) is one of the most popular choices for immigrants: approximately 80 per cent of the program students are working adults who have immigrated to Canada. Still, in a city with more than 30 private ESL schools and countless language college courses, what makes LEPP a top choice?

“LEPP is different from other language programs in that the courses

HIGHER LEARNING

Begins for many new Canadians at Langara College in Vancouver Langara College in Vancouver

By Ana-Maria Gheorghiu

offered, as well as the content of the courses, are student-driven. We collect feedback from students each term to learn what their needs and desires are, and we take this into consideration when planning our program,” says Kristi Cattanach, LEPP co-ordinator.

“Since every group of students is a bit different, instructors use this information to tailor the content to each particular class. We aim to meet the needs of the population we serve by involving them in the learning process, and this is a unique feature of the LEPP program.”

WORKPLACE CULTURE READINESS Beyond language, the Corporate Readiness Training Program Certificate (CRTP) at Langara addresses subject areas that apply directly to workplace situations for immigrants, such as public speaking, accent reduction, management, leadership and business communications. While there are numerous soft-skills workshops available in the Lower Mainland, the CRTP takes a very thorough, in-depth approach, recognizing that integration in a new work culture is not something that can be tackled in just a few hours.

Eleanor Clarke, CRTP co-ordinator, explains: “This program is different for a number of reasons, specifically in that it is full time for four months and the focus is on those new or recently arrived in Canada. A full-time program means that students can get the relevant skills, both hard and soft, in a quick and intensive time frame, and then get out there and start working. The bulk of the program is on soft-skills management, leadership, communications, teamwork and project supervision, all so important for work in Canada.”

BUSINESS SKILLS AND MORE Since many newcomers also turn to entrepreneurship, Langara’s Selfemployment Program (SEP) is also a great fit, although the program is not exclusive to them. The 12-16 week full-time program walks students through topics such as understanding Canadian commerce laws and regulations, making sense of banking requirements, writing business proposals, doing market research, using advertising that works, understanding a multicultural client base, and building relationships with banks and business associations.

Langara College offers many other programs and courses in fields as diverse as nursing to publishing to recreation management. With two campuses in Vancouver, Langara is one of B.C.’s leading undergraduate institutions providing university studies, career studies and continuing studies programs and courses.

To learn more about Langara College Continuing Studies, see langara. bc.ca/cs.

| IMMIGRATION LAW | Citizenship — harder to get, easier to lose

An overview of the latest changes, and what’s to come

At the time of writing, the Government of Canada was rushing Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, through the House of Commons. By the time you read this, the controversial amendments to Canada’s Citizenship Act will likely be law.

The history of the current government’s determination to overhaul Canada’s citizenship regime dates to the 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict. Then, the recently elected Prime Minister Harper found himself overseeing the evacuation of around 11,000 Lebanese-born Canadian citizens, many of whom had allegedly never resided in Canada, and many of whom purportedly returned to Lebanon within a month of being evacuated. It was during this time that the term “Canadians of Convenience” was created, and the Government of Canada endeavoured to address the issue.

Limitation on first generation abroad In 2009, Jason Kenney, then Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, introduced the “first generation limitation” on Canadian citizenship. After April 2009, Canadian citizenship could only be conferred to those who were born abroad if they had a Canadian parent who was either born in Canada, or who was a naturalized citizen. But it would no longer be possible for those first generation Canadian citizens to pass on their citizenship to their children and then theoretically endless generations born outside Canada.

Changes in Bill C-24 In 2014, Chris Alexander, the current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, introduced Bill C-24, which overhauls much of Canada’s citizenship regime. Canadian citizenship will now be harder to obtain, and easier to lose.

To apply for Canadian citizenship, permanent residents will both have to have lived in Canada for four years out of the last six, and also have to have lived in Canada for 183 days or more per year in four out of the last six years. Previously, permanent residents only had to live in Canada for three out of the four years prior to their application. As well, much to the chagrin of international students and foreign workers, the time spent in Canada prior to obtaining permanent residency will no longer count toward the residency requirement.

As well, Bill C-24 introduces a requirement that all citizenship applicants have an intention to reside in Canada. While the Government of Canada has been vague on what the practical effect of this provision will be, this requirement combined with the fact that Bill C-24 makes it easier for the Government of Canada to revoke citizenship for misrepresentation in citizenship applications has left many concerned that Bill C-24 will create a second class of citizens who will have to fear working and travelling abroad.

Ending birthright citizenship The final change to Canada’ citizenship regime will be the most controversial, and has yet to be introduced. Ministers Kenney and Alexander have both proclaimed their dissatisfaction with the law that anyone born in Canada is a Canadian citizen (unless they are the children of diplomats). Both have stated an intention to modify this principle, although specifics have not been

provided. In my opinion, if the current government remains in office, the abolition of birthright citizenship in Canada is a question of “when” not “if.”

Value of Canadian citizenship The Government of Canada’s purported reason for all of the above changes is to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship. I simply do not understand this claim, and do not understand the argument that Canadian citizenship becomes more valuable if fewer people have it. To me, the value of Canadian citizenship is determined by our relative economic, social and political prosperity. It is not determined by reducing the number of Canadians.

Steven Meurrens is an immigration lawyer with is an immigration lawyer with Larlee Rosenberg in Vancouver. Contact him at 604681-9887, by email at steven.meurrens@larlee.com 681-9887, by email at steven.meurrens@larlee.com or visit his blog at smeurrens.com.

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