Canada Letter: Spurning Silicon Valley and Rock’s Native Roots

The Times’s recent Canada-related coverage with back stories and analysis from our reporters along with opinions from our readers. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Saturday, August 5, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Canada »]( [Spurning Silicon Valley and Rock’s Native Roots]( By IAN AUSTEN When it comes to technology, [Canada]( — as well as Mexico and China — is expanding, at the expense of the United States. That’s what Kirk Semple, one of my colleagues based in Mexico, and I found out and wrote about recently. [Technology workers in Guadalajara, Mexico. Visa uncertainty in the United States is an opportunity for Canada and Mexico.] Technology workers in Guadalajara, Mexico. Visa uncertainty in the United States is an opportunity for Canada and Mexico. Rodrigo Cruz for The New York Times It’s partly a result of President Trump’s immigration proposals, but it isn’t all about Mr. Trump. Canada has long been focusing on its tech industry, and in June began a program that [produces temporary visas]( for skilled workers in just two weeks and that, unlike the American system, puts no cap on those visas. “Trump is a factor,” I was told by Karen Greve Young, a vice president of the Mars Development District in Toronto, which works to develop new technology businesses in the city. “But Trump isn’t the only factor.” An American, Ms. Greve Young worked with tech companies in the United States and Britain, usually as a management consultant. Like others I interviewed, she said she was attracted to Canada by a work culture more accommodating for women and minorities. The cost of living in Canada was another lure, even if salaries tend to be lower than those in the United States. “Toronto, for Canada, is expensive,” Ms. Greve Young said. “But the cost of living is so much lower than the Bay Area or New York or London.” While reporting the story, I found out that the traffic goes the other way too. Increasingly, Canadians in the tech industry are turning their backs on places like Silicon Valley and returning home. There’s even a formal program, [Go North Canada]( which has been trying to charm Canadians to return though billboards in California and at social events at tech centers throughout the United States. The differences between the two countries’ work cultures, along with a desire to be near family, motivated the return of several Canadians who spoke with me. “I’d say in Canada in general it’s a lot more balanced lifestyle than in the United States and San Francisco especially,” said Lindsay Farlow, an electrical engineer who once worked in Silicon Valley and recently took a job with a software research lab that General Motors opened in Kitchener, Ontario, last year. “Moving back here, when shopping for houses, I had my pick — a whole house and a yard and a driveway and trees and gardens,” she said. “San Francisco — not a chance.” Read: [America’s Competitors Angle for Silicon Valley’s Business]( Shopping Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to legalize the sale and recreational use of marijuana may prove to be the easy part. His government has left it up to the provinces to determine exactly how the system will work within their borders. And some premiers have suggested [they can’t meet the government’s deadline of next summer]( to finish that job. [Uruguay]( has already gone where Canada plans to go. Its retail system, which went into operation last month, is laden with rules and quotas, and uses pharmacies for sales. While getting there took years of debate and planning, Ernesto Londoño found that not everyone is satisfied. Read: [Uruguay’s Marijuana Law Turns Pharmacists Into Dealers]( Rocking [Link Wray performing in London in 1979. The guitarist was of Shawnee heritage.] Link Wray performing in London in 1979. The guitarist was of Shawnee heritage. David Warner Ellis/Redferns Indigenous Canadians and Native Americans played a major role in shaping the sound of rock ’n’ roll. In “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World,” the Montreal filmmakers Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana have documented their contribution. “If you couldn’t name two Native American musicians at the beginning of the documentary, you’ll remember at least a half-dozen after the end,” Ken Jaworowski wrote in his review for The Times. “And it’s a good bet you’ll be searching for their albums, too.” Read: [‘Rumble’ Gives Due to Unheralded Native American Pop Musicians]( Read: [An Encore for the Native Americans Who Shook Up Rock ’n’ Roll]( Arriving Why it picked up this week seems to be anyone’s guess. But the last few days saw a drastice surge of refugee claimants illegally entering Canada from the United States. So many arrived that Montreal’s Olympic Stadium has been turned into a temporary shelter. The wave was most pronounced at [Roxham Road]( which dead-ends in Champlain, N. Y., with the border south of Montreal. [Justine Nkurunziza, left, and Tabitha Mukamusoni fled violence in Burundi and sought asylum in Canada. “All those who dare to speak the truth, they are targeted,” Ms. Nkurunziza said of her homeland.] Justine Nkurunziza, left, and Tabitha Mukamusoni fled violence in Burundi and sought asylum in Canada. “All those who dare to speak the truth, they are targeted,” Ms. Nkurunziza said of her homeland. Dave Chan for The New York Times Dan Levin looked into the surge, which largely involves Haitians. And earlier, he explored why Canada has become a particular haven for people escaping the war and political violence of [Burundi](. Read: [Facing Wave of Refugees, Montreal Opens Up Stadium for Housing]( Read: [Burundians, Fleeing Political Violence, Find Welcome in Canada]( Screening Watching, The Times’s guide to the moving image, has produced its monthly list of recommendations for Netflix users in Canada. It includes Denzel Washington’s film version of “Fences,” the [August Wilson]( play set in 1950s Pittsburgh. As always, please note that Netflix sometimes changes its plans without notice. Read: [The Best Movies and TV Shows New on Netflix Canada in August](  Trans Canada [Canada’s Treaty Payments: Meager Reminder of a Painful History]( Think you haven’t seen a raise in a while? Canada last increased the amount of its annual treaty payment to indigenous Canadian in 1875. But it still hands out the 5 dollars each year to anyone who qualifies and wants it. Dan Levin took in the ritual in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [The Baronesses Are Coming! And Filling a Comedy Gender Gap]( “The Baroness Von Sketch Show” has arrived on American television, making it Canada’s latest humor export. [The Biker? He’s a PGA Tournament Director]( He sports tattoos, favors leather clothing and rides a Harley Davidson, but Brent McLaughlin is also the director of Canada’s most important golf tournaments, including the Canadian Open. [Canada Debates Whether Gift of Leibovitz Photos Is Also a Tax Dodge]( A donation of 2,070 photographs by Annie Leibovitz to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax led to a major exhibition and widespread attention a few years ago. Now the pictures are hidden away while the donor battles a federal panel’s finding that the apparent act of generosity was a “tax grab”. A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at [@ianrausten](. HOW ARE WE DOING? We hope you enjoyed our Canada Letter. Tell us what you think and what you’d like to see, at [nytcanada@nytimes.com](mailto:nytcanada@nytimes.com? subject=Canada%20Letter%20Newsletter%20Feedback). If you or your business have changed plans because of the immigration situation in the United States, I’d like to hear about it. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTIMES [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Canada Letter newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018