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Your thoughts on this National Post article? Should our federal government and Canadian tech companies have better coordination to attract foreign tech workers, and other workers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields of employment?
Trump's new US$100,000 H-1B visa fee could be a boon for Canada, but it isn't a sure thing
by: Barbara Shecter
U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced the addition of a US$100,000 new-applicant fee on the H-1B visa, an avenue used by highly skilled workers, including thousands of Canadians, to enter and work in the U.S. legally. Trump said he is imposing the fee to discourage the hiring of foreign workers over Americans, but the move has sent shock waves through Silicon Valley, which has come to rely on an influx of foreign tech talent, especially from India and China. Canada, which competes with the U.S. for skilled workers from other countries, could stand to benefit from the decision, but as the Financial Post's Barbara Shecter explains, that is by no means a sure thing.
What changes were made to the H-1B visa program?
Last week, Trump proclaimed that workers applying for an H-1B visa would be refused entry to the United States unless their petitions were accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000. H-1B visas are intended to be used to fill jobs that require specialized knowledge or training and at least a Bachelor's degree, and there are estimated to be some 800,000 workers in the United States under the program. Employers are required to sponsor the foreign worker and file their paperwork - and, as of Monday, to make sure the new fee is paid. There are thousands of Canadians among the H-1B visa holders, though another type of visa - a TN visa - is more common for Canadians because it simply requires showing proof of employment and prior education at the border.
Trump's proclamation initially caused confusion about whether the fee would be required for those renewing visas but government officials clarified that it is only for new applicants. The justifications for the change included the suggestion that the program had been "deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour," which in turn threatened economic and national security "by discouraging Americans from pursuing careers in science and technology, risking American leadership in these fields." According to the proclamation, the number of foreign STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers in the United States more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while overall STEM employment has only increased by only 44.5 percent during that time.
Does Canada stand to benefit from the latest proclamation?
Yes. Canada's biggest competitor for top tech talent is the United States, said Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators, and any reluctance among skilled workers to go to the U.S. or employers there to sponsor them creates an opportunity for this country. John Ruffolo, founder and managing partner of Maverix Private Equity, who deals extensively with startups and scale-ups, said Trump's steep new fee on the visas "opens a window for Canada to focus on 'smart' immigration (and) attract the best and brightest in the world to support our access to talent for our digital economy." However, it's not a sure thing. Bergen urged the Canadian government to design its response to the moment Trump has created in a way that makes Canada and its homegrown tech companies the most attractive alternative. "Many will look north. But without a clear plan, the majority will end up working at the Canadian offices of foreign firms," Bergen warned in a statement Monday. "They will build products tied to foreign IP, report to head offices outside Canada, and contribute little to the country's long-term innovation capacity."
What can Canada do to draw in high-skilled tech workers and are there any other potential downsides?
Canada's proximity to the U.S, its world-class research institutions and high quality of living make it a natural destination for those facing a new obstacle south of the border, according to Martin Basiri, a tech co-founder now working as a facilitator for foreign workers and students. But he also warned that U.S. companies now facing a barrier to attracting foreign workers could target Canadian engineers, scientists and healthcare professionals with a workaround to fill the gap created by Trump's new fees. Recruiting workers from Canada under the alternative TN visa could enable workers to bypass the H-1B fee altogether, said Basiri, who co-founded study-abroad application platform Applyboard and served as its CEO until 2022. "Canada is an ideal target for this kind of poaching, with a deep pool of highly educated talent, shared cultural values, and native English fluency," he said in an assessment posted to the website of Build Canada, a platform launched by founders and entrepreneurs to advance policy ideas. Basiri, whose latest venture Passage is building AI tools to assist in global talent mobility, said it's too soon to have seen the effects of the new H-1B fee. "I have not heard anything (yet), but the risks are big," he said.
Trump's pricey H-1B visas raise alarm bells
Canada should drop immigration levels: think tank
What could the Canadian government do to take advantage of this change?
Canada's tech industry would like to see more coordination between companies and the government to boost the potential to match workers to needs. The Council of Canadian Innovators would like to see a program created in 2023 to draw skilled workers to North America resurrected and tweaked. It allowed anyone with a valid H-1B Specialty Occupations visa living in the United States to apply for an open work permit to work in Canada for up to three years, but closed quickly after reaching its cap of 10,000 applications. The program could be reopened with a specific focus on skills most in demand by Canadian tech companies, sending a signal that Canada is open to skilled talent immigration. "The demand is clear. Now we need to rerun that plan, but with better targeting," said Bergen. "We should tailor criteria to the most sought-after skill sets and create stronger pathways that connect this talent to Canadian scale-ups." Another avenue for recruitment of skilled workers would be to add a "global top-100 university express track" to Canada's permanent resident application and award additional points to graduates from elite institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Tsinghua University in Beijing, said Basiri. "This targets the same talent pipeline that previously produced major tech executives in the U.S. and will now be looking for alternatives." With the U.S. becoming less inviting, he, too, suggested reopening and adapting the 2023 work permit program. Open permits could be replaced with closed ones that would allow current and prospective H-1B visa holders to live in Canada while working for U.S. employers for up to three years. Set salary thresholds could help ensure foreign workers don't displace Canadians that are qualified to do the jobs. "America's $100,000 H-1B fee just created the biggest talent acquisition opportunity in Canadian history," Basiri wrote.
Back in the 2010's a company had an idea to have a cruise ship off the coast of California in international waters to house tech workers who could not get a visa. Housing them in Canada seems like a much better idea.
now that's thinking out of the box....imagine the diesel fuel bill to run that thing sitting idling out in the ocean with all the equipment, computers and tech running.
Talked to a guy that worked in the valley for years and he said the people behind Blue seed where worse than Steven Miller. They wanted to house people like cattle.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
The Wally's at the East 49th and Elliot store closed down this summer, so the only remaining store in is N.Van (Dollarton area, I think?).
I miss the days when it was the old school joint on Kingsway...
I believe the last location isn't even a store though it's a stand at a park or something?
Wally's leaving is a bit of a blow because my kid likes going after school with his friends. They had after school deals from 3-5 where burgers were $5 but I wasn't surprised they closed because every time I go it was dead.
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Interesting update news from Canada Post and government. They are free to end some home delivery. That's kinda big ... not for folks in big cities who lives in complexes with central mailbox but to the somewhat rural communities where mail might be crucial?
I would say the federal gov is taking a very good step in the right direction in regards to ending home deliveries (for letter mail). Letter mail is literally a dying business, and will continue to trail off while costing millions and billions as users of letter mail -- ie. basically only seniors at this point -- grow old and pass on. The 5 days a week mail delivery model, esp when that mail is mostly delivered to individual homes, is entirely unsustainable. It is extremely expensive both in terms of labour cost as well as financial costs, and accounts for a significant chunk of CP's expenses. So the delivery model just needs to change and adapt to the realities of modern life.
IMO letter mail delivery should really be reduced to 2 or 3 days a week. The natural consequence of that is -- signfiicantly fewer staff will be required for letter mail delivery, and that's where the bulk of the cost savings will come from. Naturally, the union will be against it and try to fight it tooth and nail. But the reality of the mail business is -- people no longer use letter mail, and its usage will continue to dwindle. Parcel delivery is where the business opportunities are at.
If anyone is interested in the subject, the following is a really good podcast episode to discuss it.
The whole world has gone down a road no one can recover from, and it's nothing to do with governments, it's because so much of the general public is so fucking stupid.
I believe the last location isn't even a store though it's a stand at a park or something?
Wally's leaving is a bit of a blow because my kid likes going after school with his friends. They had after school deals from 3-5 where burgers were $5 but I wasn't surprised they closed because every time I go it was dead.
i couldn't recall if they were closed saturday, but they were def closed on sunday, given the amount of foot traffic in killarney market, i was surprised they would do that. i assume in that strip mall complex, it is busiest weekends & after hours. it's not like there's a lot of offices to give business during the week during bankers hours...
looks like something else is going to take it's place there's a 'coming soon' sign on the door
I would say the federal gov is taking a very good step in the right direction in regards to ending home deliveries (for letter mail). Letter mail is literally a dying business, and will continue to trail off while costing millions and billions as users of letter mail -- ie. basically only seniors at this point -- grow old and pass on. The 5 days a week mail delivery model, esp when that mail is mostly delivered to individual homes, is entirely unsustainable. It is extremely expensive both in terms of labour cost as well as financial costs, and accounts for a significant chunk of CP's expenses. So the delivery model just needs to change and adapt to the realities of modern life.
IMO letter mail delivery should really be reduced to 2 or 3 days a week. The natural consequence of that is -- signfiicantly fewer staff will be required for letter mail delivery, and that's where the bulk of the cost savings will come from. Naturally, the union will be against it and try to fight it tooth and nail. But the reality of the mail business is -- people no longer use letter mail, and its usage will continue to dwindle. Parcel delivery is where the business opportunities are at.
If anyone is interested in the subject, the following is a really good podcast episode to discuss it.
Canada Post probably gain significant economies if they do what Richmond does with their garbage cycle. Divide an area into 4 sections and service it Monday - Thursday. A given area will always receive their mail on a particular day unless there's a holiday, then their day is taken up by Friday.
Like you said there simply isn't the volume to maintain this service and they can reduce their worker count significantly. Of course the union will have a problem with this, and it won't work for rural smaller areas. For a town of under 1000 there may just only have a pickup service in town center.
Interesting update news from Canada Post and government. They are free to end some home delivery. That's kinda big ... not for folks in big cities who lives in complexes with central mailbox but to the somewhat rural communities where mail might be crucial?
Canada Post probably gain significant economies if they do what Richmond does with their garbage cycle. Divide an area into 4 sections and service it Monday - Thursday. A given area will always receive their mail on a particular day unless there's a holiday, then their day is taken up by Friday.
Like you said there simply isn't the volume to maintain this service and they can reduce their worker count significantly. Of course the union will have a problem with this, and it won't work for rural smaller areas. For a town of under 1000 there may just only have a pickup service in town center.
in theory this works really well. I don't know CP really well. How does delivery work. I think more AMZ / UNI UNI are all private and outsourced to individuals. Does CP do any parcels or small delivery. say I have mailbox, does the package still only get routed to the guy who drives and the guy who does postal walk get paid differently?
I'm so not sure what it's like but i hope the settle on some type of solution.
Amazon, Temu, Costco, and most other online shopping comes through a separate service anyways. Clothes still come by CP but those typically aren't I need it next day kind of deals. The strikes in the last while forced a lot of these retailers off CP and the union dealt themselves a death blow.
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We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the postal service becoming privatized. Maybe we will all get to save $8 a year on postal service related taxes and get to pay $250 for a package from UPS instead of $40 from Canada post. Enjoy.
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Originally Posted by boostfever
Westopher is correct.
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Originally Posted by fsy82
seems like you got a dick up your ass well..get that checked
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Originally Posted by punkwax
Well.. I’d hate to be the first to say it, but Westopher is correct.
You won't even get that, since Canada Post is not actually directly funded through taxpayer dollars.
The move to end door-to-door delivery is kind of funny. The last time the Conservatives were in power they wanted to do that. Trudeau actually made it a campaign promise to keep it.
in theory this works really well. I don't know CP really well. How does delivery work. I think more AMZ / UNI UNI are all private and outsourced to individuals. Does CP do any parcels or small delivery. say I have mailbox, does the package still only get routed to the guy who drives and the guy who does postal walk get paid differently?
I'm so not sure what it's like but i hope the settle on some type of solution.
I work at CP so let me chime in.
The new system they have in place now is there are staff that stay inside the mail depot and manually sort in mail such as magazines, redirected letters, oversized mail and addressed admail. Then there are letter carriers that go out to deliver. They just grab the manually sorted mail, the mail sorted electronically at the processing facility (the one at YVR), the packets and parcels, load it all up in their vehicle and go out and deliver
CP letter carriers have key access to mailrooms and letter boxes as well as entry inside private residences and business buildings as well. They deliver your mail, flyers, small packets and parcels all at once on the same day while out on the route.
Other couriers don't have that luxury of access, so they have to deliver in person or they just throw it on the floor by the mail panels and go
A lot of newer communities in the last 15 years and forward in Calgary proper have mailbox stands you have to walk up the street and get your mail from a little box…. My neighborhood still has door to door but the 4 neighborhoods around me are all community box.
i couldn't recall if they were closed saturday, but they were def closed on sunday, given the amount of foot traffic in killarney market, i was surprised they would do that. i assume in that strip mall complex, it is busiest weekends & after hours. it's not like there's a lot of offices to give business during the week during bankers hours...
looks like something else is going to take it's place there's a 'coming soon' sign on the door
Sandwich shop. I think they soft opened already. I was at Killarney Market on Monday.
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