[mplpost] WorldMusic: Canadian visa

[Derek Andrews]

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At 10:13 AM 10/11/02 -0700, you wrote:

>I am cross posting this as it pertains to both lists.  We are wondering
>why this is good for Canadian musicians, if it is?  We know that the the
>festivals in Canada worked hard for this,

hey randy,

actually the new relaxation of policy (employment authorization) was done 
by CIC staff based on their research and consultation in the field, not any 
(backroom) festival lobbying.  the "field" had been somewhat noisy, but the 
changes were designed to bring some areas of policy (ballet companies, 
hockey teams didn't pay border fees due to their size) in line with other 
areas.

hate to take the glory away from some hard working folks, but we found out 
about this by booking some quality time is a policy person last october.

sadly, the musicians union lobbied HRDC to not allow the liberalization to 
take place in bars, (as has been discussed on maple post.)

>but where is the argument that
>this is good for Canadian musicians that are struggling to get across
>the US border, and are having gigs cancelled regularly?

i haven't seen anyone make that argument.  some of us have suggested that 
to reverse the liberalization would disarm the lobbyists in washington of a 
really tiny point, but compared to the grief that INS is providing for u.s. 
presenters, it is nothing.

>   This seems a
>very unfair advantage for foreign artists, especially Americans (sorry
>folks), in a time when Canadian acts seem to be getting less and less
>work.  If our acts perform outside of Canada, we usually have to get
>work permits for them and these always have a price tag to them.  True
>$150 Canadian a person is high, but getting rid of the fee altogether
>seems the opposite extreme.

i don't think cdn presenters are hiring more u.s. artists as a result of 
border fee savings.  it may mean some presenter budgets are in better 
shape, but there is no reason why a cdn presenter would turn around and 
hire a non-national with the savings.

the real work continues to be with the u.s. INS.

regards,
derek.


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derek andrews - harbourfront centre
416-973-4744 fax 973-8729
mailto:derek@harbourfront.on.ca
http://www.harbourfront.on.ca

235 Queens Quay West
Toronto ON Canada
M5J 2G8


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