‘Canadians Abroad’ website to link expats, home
Asia Pacific Foundation release – The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada has launched the Canadians Abroad website – www.CanadiansAbroad.ca – one of the products of the Canadians Abroad Project which is examining various aspects of the Canadian diaspora. The website is designed to be a knowledge portal and platform to stimulate dialogue among transnational Canadians – those who live abroad or spend extended periods overseas for work, study or to experience a different lifestyle. The website has been developed with funding support from the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation.
The Canadians Abroad Project attempts to gain a better understanding of the economic implications of citizenship and promote dialogue leading to a better awareness of the international movement of Canadian citizens. Beyond providing statistics and research reports, the website will present profiles of 17 different Canadian communities abroad and will encourage overseas Canadians to share their experiences, in words and pictures.
“The policy implications of an estimated 2.7 million Canadians living abroad are generally not well understood, but they extend into citizenship, consular affairs, trade, innovation, health, finance, and much more,” said Yuen Pau Woo, president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation. “Through this project, the Foundation is providing information and research to guide appropriate policy responses to the Canadian diaspora,” Mr. Woo added.
The Canadians Abroad Project is supported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Government of British Columbia.
Simultaneous with the website launch, Dr. Don J. DeVoretz, Research Director of the Canadians Abroad Project and Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University, will discuss his latest book, The Economics of Citizenship. The book, which was written in conjunction with Swedish academic Pieter Bevelander, reviews immigration and citizenship policies in a number of countries. It examines the impact of immigration and naturalization on labour markets and public finance. The authors conclude that Canada’s relatively rigorous immigrant selection procedures, coupled with a generous naturalization policy, yield substantial economic benefits to naturalized Canadians.
Commenting on the book, Dr. DeVoretz said the evidence strongly suggests that a ”triple selection” process ultimately yields large economic premimums to naturalized Canadians. ”First, strong economic immigrants self-select to migrate to Canada, then the points system reinforces this positive selection and finally those immigrants who choose to naturalize equip themselves with human captial to garner the citizenship premium,” DeVoretz added.
Tags: Asia Pacific Foundation, Canadian diaspora, expats, immigrant, overseas CanadianRelated posts
Short URL: http://www.chineseinvancouver.ca/?p=8613
Great site and information.
Thanks.