美国国家公共电台 NPR Canada's Tech Firms Capitalize On Immigration Anxiety In The Age Of Trump

 

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Countries around the world are trying to entice¹ Americans unhappy with the Trump² administration. French President Emmanuel Macron has invited climate scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to come to France. Now the Canadian government is reaching out to tech professionals. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, Canada is making it easier for highly skilled workers to move north of the border.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE³: A lot of people talked about moving to Canada after the U.S. election. Kathryn Hume actually did. Earlier this month, Hume packed up her apartment in New York and moved to Toronto.

KATHRYN HUME: It wasn't a, like, going on Facebook and being like, I'm done. I'm moving to Canada. It was a little bit more organic.

ROSE: Hume works in the field of artificial intelligence. She is employee number three at a startup company called Integrate AI, where her title is vice⁴ president of product and strategy.

HUME: I had a couple of job offers also in the U.S., and I chose it primarily because it really felt like the right job.

ROSE: Still, Hume says Trump's election was in the back of her mind. She voted for Hillary Clinton.

HUME: You know, I thought, well, if there's a time to move to Canada, it may as well be now.

ROSE: Canadian tech companies are hoping to capitalize on this moment. For years, the industry watched in frustration⁵ as Microsoft and Google hired the country's top computer science grads for high-paying jobs in Seattle and Silicon⁶ Valley. Now Canada believes it's found a new way to lure⁷ international tech workers.

NAVDEEP BAINS: For us to compete globally, we need to be open.

ROSE: Navdeep Bains is Canada's minister of innovation, science and economic development. Starting Monday, Bains says the government will streamline⁸ the visa process so that international tech workers can get a work permit in just two weeks, compared to a complicated process in the U.S. that can take months.

BAINS: We do believe it does give us a competitive advantage.

ROSE: Bains insists this was in the works before last year's U.S. election, but the timing⁹ is striking. The White House stoked anxiety among international visitors and would-be immigrants with its travel ban. And President Trump has sharply criticized the U.S. visa program for technical workers. His administration could reduce the cap for such visas, which is set at 85,000 per year. The president vowed¹⁰ to reform that program in Wisconsin a few months ago.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They should never, ever be used to replace Americans. No one can compete with American workers when they are given a fair and level playing field.

SALIM TEJA: We feel that Canada has a window of opportunity here to be able to attract the best and the brightest here.

ROSE: Salim Teja is vice president of the MaRS Discovery District, a major incubator for tech companies in Toronto. Teja says there's fierce global competition for talent in the industry, with companies offering escalating¹¹ salaries and perks¹². And those employers need to know that they can get visas for the people they're hiring.

TEJA: A lot of these technology companies are very international businesses where talent is flowing freely in and out of different countries. And I think that if the U.S. becomes a tough place to do business that way, they may look at Canada as an easy market for them to set up in.

ROSE: Facebook, Google and Uber have recently opened or expanded their offices in Toronto. Microsoft has satellite offices in Vancouver, and smaller Canadian companies say they're getting interest from a pool of American and international job applicants¹³ they hadn't heard from before.

Roy Pereira is the founder¹⁴ of Zoom¹⁵.Ai, a startup in Toronto. After Trump's election, Pereira says he saw a 30 percent jump in Americans applying for engineering jobs.

ROY PEREIRA: As Canadians, we're not accustomed to seeing Americans who want to move to Canada. You know, they have a perception that Canada is cold. But there is a certain anxiety around the immigration policies and so forth¹⁶.

ROSE: Pereira and others hope that means a warmer forecast for the Canadian tech industry. Joel Rose, NPR News.

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1 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

6 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

7 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

8 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

9 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

12 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

13 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。