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Vol. 141, No. 29 — July 21, 2007 Order Amending the Order Prescribing the Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in CanadaStatutory authority Financial Administration Act Sponsoring department Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT (This statement is not part of the Order.) Description Since January 2000, a program participation fee of C$150 has been charged to youth from Australia and New Zealand participating in the International Youth Program (the "Program"). The proposed Order aims to extend these fees to all international youth entering Canada under the Program. The proposed program participation fee would be charged only to those international applicants who have been selected to participate in the Program and would be set at C$150. The Program is in existence between Canada and over 50 countries through bilateral and multilateral arrangements and consists of four components: Working Holiday Program, Student Work Abroad Program, Young Workers Exchange Program and Co-op Education Program. The reciprocal nature of the Program allows Canadian and foreign youth between the ages of 18 and 35 to travel and work for up to a period of 12 months within each other's countries. Until now, the program participation fees were charged to international youth entering Canada from Australia and New Zealand as noted above. Given the cost-recovery nature of the Program, the implementation of program participation fees to all other countries is necessary to increase the awareness of the Program to Canadian youth with a view to encourage Canadian participation, increase meaningful international work opportunities for Canadian participants, as well as strengthen the operational capacity at Program processing centres around the world. The revenues generated through the program participation fees will be used exclusively for the activities and operations carried out under the Program. The proposal to extend the fees to all countries stems from the added benefits that will be conferred to Canadian youth and society through the expansion of the Program. For Canadian youth, the Program provides the opportunity to acquire professional skills and global experience, learn about other countries and cultures and learn a new language. From an economic perspective, international youth working and travelling in Canada inject direct foreign investment, fill temporary labour shortages experienced by Canadian business and may be influenced to immigrate to Canada and contribute to Canada's innovation and productivity as skilled immigrants. Furthermore, foreign youth have the opportunity to increase their familiarity with and knowledge of Canada and will be more likely to maintain links with Canada as they progress into positions of authority in business, politics and other areas. Alternatives There are insufficient resources currently dedicated to the management and administration of the Program in responding to the domestic and foreign demand that has increased in recent years and that is expected to continue. The Department is not equipped to proactively respond to increasing demand of participants wanting to enter Canada, nor to further promote the Program among Canadian youth. Furthermore, the application of fees only to Australian and New Zealand participants is not equitable nor consistent with the spirit of reciprocity built into the Program, and Canada incurs costs for all participants and not just from those two countries. The implementation of a program participation fee to all incoming international participants is the selected approach. Within the ambit of the User Fees Act, these participants obtain a distinct benefit under the Program and thus can be expected to pay for some of the costs involved. The fees charged (C$150) will be similar in value to those charged to Canadians by other countries participating in the Program. Benefits and costs The Program is expected to make a significant impact on the development of Canada's cultural, economic and diplomatic relations. All program revenues will be applied to the costs of new program activities and increased operational capacity within Canada and at missions abroad to administer the Program. Consultation In early 2006, the Department engaged Ipsos-Reid to undertake a series of consultations with Canadian stakeholders (youth, educators, parents), non-governmental organizations providing services to the Program, federal government stakeholders and foreign government stakeholders. Consultations with Canadian stakeholders reinforced their interest in the Program, described the ongoing need for promotion and maintaining awareness of Program opportunities, identified potential niches that could be explored, and suggested a need for outreach activities to encourage Canadian participation. Consultations with federal government stakeholders generally indicated that moderate fees would not be a detriment to the Program, particularly if the fees were universally charged to all incoming participants. However, non-governmental organizations (Program service providers) were concerned that the application of fees would lead to a decrease in the number of participants. It should be noted, however, that the number of participants from Australia and New Zealand have actually increased in the six years since fees were introduced for participants from those countries. Representatives of foreign governments indicated that fees of C$150 would not be a significant issue. On March 29, 2007, the proposal to implement a worldwide program participation fee for foreign nationals participating in the Program in Canada was tabled in the House of Commons and the Senate as per the User Fees Act. The Senate Committee submitted its report on the proposal stating that the members "support the general principle of increasing cost recovery in this important program." Overall, the Senate Committee considered the expansion of the Program and the increased support to both Canadian and foreign participants to be "laudable goals." In addition, the Senate Committee believes that global experience gained by Canadian participants makes them ideal candidates for recruitment by the Public Service of Canada and at the same time, promotes the benefits of immigrating to Canada to international participants. While the Committee recognized the numerous benefits of the Program, it was of the view that additional efforts must be expended to make the Program more accessible to youth from the poorest developing countries. It recommended that the Government of Canada either waive the new fees for youth from these developing countries or take other measures to ensure that the strengthened Program remains accessible to them. The report was subsequently adopted in Senate on June 12, 2007. Compliance and enforcement The fees are payable upon acceptance of an application to enter Canada and will be self-enforcing in that participants will be required to pay the fees prior to obtaining their letter of introduction to Canada.
Michel Gigault
Notice is hereby given that the Minister of Foreign Affairs proposes, pursuant to Order in Council P.C. 2000-1723 of November 30, 2000 (see footnote a) made pursuant to paragraph 19(1)(b) (see footnote b) of the Financial Administration Act, to make the annexed Order Amending the Order Prescribing the Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in Canada. Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Order within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Michel Gigault, Head, International Youth Programs Section, International Education and Youth Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2. Ottawa, July 11, 2007
PETER G. MACKAY ORDER AMENDING THE ORDER PRESCRIBING THE FEE TO BE PAID BY FOREIGN NATIONALS TO PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM IN CANADA AMENDMENT 1. Section 2 of the Order Prescribing the Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in Canada (see footnote 1)is replaced by the following: 2. Any national of a foreign state who applies to enter Canada under an international youth exchange program shall, if the application is approved, pay a fee of $150. COMING INTO FORCE 2. This Order comes into force on October 1, 2007. [29-1-o] SI/2000-111 S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6 SOR/2000-418 |
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