German immigrants Kirstin Kreuder and Alexander Beyer
Vancouver is home to people from all over the world, but international workers and students often stay only temporarily and are not eligible to participate in political decision-making. SFU Masters student Alexander Beyer and temporary work permit holders Eduard Barcélon, Yulia Hadi and Kirstin Kreuder open up about their approaches to politics in Canada and their home countries.
Before coming to Canada, Beyer, Political Science graduate student at Simon Fraser University, wasn’t interested in Canadian politics at all. He says that has changed, and what he finds particularly intriguing are the changes that have occurred in the Canadian political landscape.
“For a long time, Conservatives and Liberals were the major parties to lead the government and now NDP took on greater significance and could have the next Prime Minister,” he explains. “For me, it’s great to see that a social-democratic party plays an important role now, especially since I am from Germany, which can be considered the ‘motherland’ of social-democracy.”
Upcoming elections and the current PM
Beyer feels that Canadians discuss the upcoming federal elections more than Germans did during their last election in 2013.
“Probably because this election is depicted as fateful and because Stephen Harper is such a controversial prime minister,” he says.
Beyer also believes the way the rest of the world sees Canada has changed. He explains that his adopted country played a leading role in establishing the ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine years ago, which states to protect foreigners from human rights violations.
“This has changed since Harper has been in power. There doesn’t seem to be much left of this doctrine anymore,” he says.
Beyer adds that Canada has focused more on itself in recent years, like when they withdrew from the Kyoto protocol, for instance.
Yulia Hadi, a temporary work permit holder, moved to Canada from Indonesia two years ago to work. Unlike in Indonesia where she is eligible to vote, Hadi does not follow Canadian politics much, but her interest increases during election time. Her enthusiasm is mainly focused on environmental issues.
“I grew up with general awareness about environment, “ she says.
Besides climate change, what interests her most is how people, such as traditional communities living in rural areas, depend on natural resources and wildlife management in regards to hunting and fishing in Canada.
Passionate politics: Canada vs. Spain
Originally from Spain, Eduard Barcelón has been living in Canada for two and a half years. He works in a graphic design studio in Vancouver and is currently awaiting the approval of his provincial nominee application in order to apply for permanent residency.
“I am not sure if I will get a positive response or not,” says Barcelón.
Barcelón notices differences in the political debates in Spain and Canada.
“I think people in Spain tend to discuss politics way more often than Canadians,” he says, adding that maybe Canadians prefer to not express their opinions in public.“In Spain, people express their political views passionately.”
Barcelón says he does not follow politics much, neither in his home country nor in Canada. He says the politics in Spain often involve corruption scandals and in order not to become enraged, he avoids the topic completely. He adds that in Vancouver, politics rarely arise in conversation.
“Just occasional small talk about Rob Ford when he got involved in the smoking-crack scandal, and some comments about how bad Christy Clark is,” he says.
Barcelón believes that many Vancouverites are upset with the current government. Like Beyer, Barcelón notices the controversial debates surrounding Stephen Harper.
“You can see that they are really angry and tired of him by walking around the city and looking at posters and stickers, that say for example ‘Stop Harper’.”
Immigration politics: a major concern for some
Like Barcelón, Kirstin Kreuder, who came to Canada in 2012 from Germany, doesn’t know for how much longer she will stay in Canada.
“I currently have a bridging work permit and applied for permanent residency through the BC PNP, the Provincial Nominee Program, Express Entry,” Kreuder says.
Affected by current immigration policies herself, she is very interested in this topic. Her first application was declined after she uploaded the wrong document.
“The immigration authorities didn’t let me correct the mistake, so I had to apply again,” she says.
This second application was also cancelled, however, because the BC PNP office did not confirm her provincial nomination to the immigration authorities in time, which is required for the application.
“There was no response at all, and the PNP does not answer emails, even though I work in childcare, one of the fields that is most in demand,” Kreuder says. “And what’s even more bizarre, the immigration authorities knew I had a provincial nomination from my first application.”
Her third application is currently pending. Comparing Germany to Canada, she said what strikes her most odd is that when you want to immigrate to Canada, you have to pay for help, even just for a consultation.
“In Germany, you can get support for free from the Foreigners’ Registrations Office,” Kreuder explains.
Vancouver’s international temporary residents are not indifferent to politics, even if they cannot partake in elections, and some, like Beyer, find election time a good opportunity to delve deeper.
“When you are in a country for a long period of time, it’s good to know what’s going on and what matters to and what bothers people,” says Beyer. “The current elections are perfect to find out which topics concern Canadians.”
