The last few weeks I have been preoccupied with defending the soldiers of the Waffen SS Galicia Division who emigrated to Canada in and around 1950. Following that I was fighting with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to extend Tanya's work permit for one year. Yesterday the website crashed so I gave it up. Tanya and I took Lucky for a walk which was far more enjoyable.
IRCC websites are badly organized, immensely complicated and explanations are missing or difficult to find. Contacting a human being is impossible. There is a number but don't even bother. There is an emergency email which might be answered in two weeks or simply ignored. One easily draws the conclusion that the staff of IRCC do NOT want people moving to Canada,
So for those of you from USA who are thinking about it, start now to work your way through the on-line bureaucracy or contract professionals. Progressives and MAGAts threaten to move here if the vote doesn't go their way. Saskatchewan has gone from a socialist province that cared about its people to a far right fake-Christian province in the past 15 years both provincially and federally. Alberta has mellowed considerably with strong NDP opposition both provincially and federally. Manitoba just elected a First Nations Premier and NDP government. So pick your destination carefully.
The big fuss is "parents' rights" especially in Saskatchewan. It is a coalition of antivaxxers, Trudeau haters, evangelical Christians and out right conspiracy believers. They thrive on hatred of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community and can be violent. The things they believe kids are taught in the schools is pretty wild. They want SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) taken right out of the curriculum. They claim they need to know what is going on in the schools and what kids are being taught and that they have a right to know if their kids come out to their teachers.
Many of them don't even have kids in school. Most have never been to a parent teacher interview and none of them have actually taken the time to volunteer at a school or ask about the curriculum. All of which they can do at any time. None of them care that if Trans kids come out to their teachers but not their parents it is because they know it is not safe to do so. And THAT is the parents fault.
If some of the "parents' rights" groups had their way the 2SLGBTQAI+ would all be rounded up and put to death, based on threats that have been made.
I thought it was just the US that had the magas. Or in your case MCGAs.
ReplyDeleteMAGA ideology is being exported around the world and cheerfully imported into Canada. Our political system is a bit more stable than USA but likely can still be rigged.
DeleteSigh. We are seeing and hearing more and more of those I think dangerous people here too.
ReplyDeleteI heard a report on CBC radio recently analyzing Steve Bannon and the extremist right's long-game agenda to convert American voters to their side. It is thought that the strategic reason for the extremist right's current obsessive emphasis on trans/gender/drag issues and how it's "really" sexual abuse and "grooming" is to bring more women into their base, a group traditionally under-represented in the male dominated MAGA group.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the IRCC and its website. Maximum patience is needed when dealing with any bureaucracy and this new governmental switch to email/website only service is only making it worse, I agree.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to apply for Permanent Residency for Tanya instead. It is more complicated but at least fits the little boxes. I hope.
DeleteThey have been time I thought of moving North to Canada. I'm only about 40 minutes to the borders.
ReplyDeleteCheck it out. Income, health and family ties are all important
DeleteMy step-grandson has just moved to Canada from Australia after getting a work visa in your lottery system. I look forward to hearing his views about how our respective social and political scenes compare.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, please. Where in Canada is he going?
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