Showing posts with label Canadians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadians. Show all posts

CIC: COME TO CANADA WIZARD WORKING ITS MAGIC

Prospective immigrants and visitors to Canada now have a new interactive web tool at their fingertips to help them determine if they are eligible to come to Canada. Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today the launch of the Come to Canada Wizard.
“We understand that our application processes can be complex, but this new tool is a major service improvement,” said Minister Kenney. “The Wizard will make it easier for potential immigrants and visitors to navigate the application process.”
“The Wizard should also reduce applicants’ reliance on immigration consultants and hopefully will make the Department more efficient by decreasing calls to our Call Centre,” Minister Kenney added.
The Wizard simplifies the application process by matching applicants with the federal immigration option that best suits their specific circumstances. The Wizard does this by asking applicants a series of questions and, based on the answers, it provides the best options for them.
The Wizard leads applicants to a results page that breaks down the application steps and provides instructions and forms.
To view the Wizard, go to www.cic.gc.ca/cometocanada.

39% of Canadians see immigration as positive, poll finds

Nearly half the respondents to a groundbreaking global poll believe immigration has had a negative impact on their countries, according to results released Thursday by Ipsos.
And while Canadians have a relatively upbeat attitude on immigration, only a minority of Canadians polled - 39 per cent - viewed its impact as positive.
Forty-five per cent of the 17,601 respondents to the 23-country survey believe "immigration has generally had a negative impact on their country." Only 21 per cent believe immigration has had a positive effect. The rest - 29 per cent - are on the fence.
Thirty-five per cent of Canadians viewed immigration's effects as negative, while 26 per cent were either neutral or did not know.
Countries with the strongest negative opinions were Belgium (72 per cent) followed by South Africa (70 per cent), Russia (69 per cent), Great Britain (64 per cent) and Turkey (57 per cent).
Education made a big difference in respondents' attitudes. Educated Canadians topped the list of people most likely to view immigration positively. Sixty per cent of Canadians with higher levels of education believed its impact on their country was positive, "followed by their highly-educated counterparts in Australia (51 per cent), Saudi Arabia (47 per cent), Brazil (43 per cent), India (43 per cent), Sweden (39 per cent) and the United States (32 per cent)."
The results come at a time when many people seem to believe immigration rates are rising. Some 80 per cent of those surveyed believe that immigration has increased in their respective countries in the past five years.
Ipsos senior vice-president John Wright said he wasn't surprised by the results, given the social end economic tur-moil that has embroiled many of the countries surveyed.
Italy, for example, has dealt with a flood of migrants fleeing strife in Tunisia. Millions of migrants have headed to South Africa from neighbouring African states.
Wright said the survey was a "quick snapshot to find out where the world is" and Ipsos is providing details to academic institutions for study.
Most countries surveyed had more than 1,000 respondents. In those countries, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.


Read more:http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Canadians+immigration+positive+poll+finds/5208948/story.html#ixzz1UCaIKztM

Immigration backlog a major challenge

Jason KenneyImage by mostlyconservative via Flickr
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MONTREAL - Canada could soon stop accepting applications for immigration in an attempt to clear the backlog of more than a million people currently awaiting processing around the world, Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Friday.
In Montreal to hold consultations on how many immigrants should be accepted into Canada per year - and just as importantly what kind of immigrants - Kenney told an audience at the Armenian Community Centre that clearing the huge backlog is one of the main challenges faced by his department as it plans for the years ahead.
"There's an unlimited number of people who want to come to Canada," Kenney said, adding that about 254,000 would be accepted this year, down from 281,000 in 2010.
"We used to have hundreds of thousands of applications more than we could process, and it's stupid and unfair to make people wait seven, eight, nine years for their application to be even looked at. That's the rationale for limiting the number of new applications."
Two years ago, Parliament modified immigration laws to give the minister the authority to place a cap on applications, and this year Kenney has so far chosen to limit the number accepted in the Federal Skilled Worker program, for example, to 10,000. He emphasized, however, that Canada would still be accepting 65,000 skilled workers into the country, most of them chosen out of the backlog of applications.
It remains to be seen which other categories may be capped, and at what level.
Stakeholder consultations across the country on the right "mix" or "balance" of immigrants for Canada began two weeks ago, with employers' associations, immigration lawyers, refugee advocates and other interested parties. Friday's session
in Montreal was postponed until October, however. Public consultations will be held online starting in August.
Apart from dealing with the backlog, Kenney said he is looking for solutions on how to deal with an impending labour shortage as the population ages, without overburdening Canada's housing, health care and education systems with too many newcomers.
Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees worries the minister will place too much emphasis on economic immigrants at the expense of refugees.
More than 35,000 refugees - government-assisted and privately sponsored - are already on the waiting list to come to Canada, and the numbers, especially in Africa, are growing day by day.
Kenney said he has recently added resources to deal with the huge backlog at the Nairobi mission, which serves 18 countries in East Africa, most of them in conflict, and now also struck by famine.
But he also put a cap on the number of privately sponsored refugee applications out of the Nairobi office, Dench said.


Read more:http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Immigration+backlog+major+challenge/5148208/story.html#ixzz1Sy3A8u3q

Canada's immigration levels won't jump drastically, Kenney says

Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney listens to a question while speaking to journalists in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa March 7, 2011. Canada needs more immigrants to sustain its economic growth but the Conservative government won't significantly increase immigration levels because Canadians don't want too many newcomers and the federal government can't afford to integrate them either, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says.

Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney listens to a question while speaking to journalists in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa March 7, 2011. Canada needs more immigrants to sustain its economic growth but the Conservative government won't significantly increase immigration levels because Canadians don't want too many newcomers and the federal government can't afford to integrate them either, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says.

Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters

Canada needs more immigrants to sustain its economic growth but the Conservative government won't significantly increase immigration levels because Canadians don't want too many newcomers and the federal government can't afford to integrate them either, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says.
Canada faces a labour shortage and needs immigrants to offset the balance of an aging population, Kenney is expected to tell the Vancouver Board of Trade Tuesday.
"Several studies have concluded that we would have to quadruple immigration levels from 250,000 to more than one million annually in order to maintain the (working) age ratio in the Canadian population. But that's not going to happen," he is to say, according to his speaking notes.
"We do not have the resources or ability to integrate a million new immigrants every year. We can't teach them English or French. We can't flood our taxpayer-funded services like health care and public education. We don't put such high pressure on housing and real estate markets," Kenney explains.
"We must also be very careful not to jeopardize the generally very positive and welcoming attitude toward immigration and immigrants that Canada enjoys," he later adds.
Only 30 per cent of Canadian immigrants are economic migrants, people selected on the basis of their necessary skills or arranged employment offer, Kenney notes. Another 30 per cent are the spouses or dependents of these individuals and 26 per cent are immigrants from family class while 14 per cent are refugees.
"People want to come to Canada because we are a model for the world. We can't, however, take all who want to come. There is a limit," Kenney says.
The Citizenship and Immigration Department is currently consulting with Canadians about amount and the types of people it should accept into the country.
Faced with a backlog of more than a million people in the immigration queue, Kenney says he has issued ministerial instructions to put applicants with experience in key occupations and those with job offers from Canadian employers in front of the line.
"We have enough parents and grandparent applicants for seven years, and this problem is getting worse," the minister says.
Kenney is also expected to announce that the federal government will increase the number of provincial nominees — immigrants that provinces themselves select based on their own economic needs — from approximately 36,000 to 40,000.
araj@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/althiaraj


Read more:http://www.canada.com/Canada+immigration+levels+jump+drastically+Kenney+says/5126862/story.html#ixzz1Sbent8vA



Our country needs more people

Canadian parliament from the Musée Canadienne ...Image via Wikipedia
The Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies poll found a slim majority of Canadians think that Canada's population (34 million) is just right.
Size does matter! Our population is comparable to California's, yet we have the world's second-largest land mass.
Immigration must be a priority - you can't run a country this size without it. The United States prospered because it opened its gates - now it's 10 times our size.
Canadians love Canada's space, but Canada needs at least 150 million more people - preferably more. Sixty per cent of our population live within a few hundred miles of the U.S. border. A large part of Canada remains unused.
Many think our north can't be populated. It can with investment and new technologies. Switzerland fits inside Algonquin Park! France and England take up Ontario (with room left over Liechtenstein). We're definitely under-populated.
People want Canada's postcard look, but don't want anyone else to live here. If Canada doesn't increase its population the quality of life for will fall exponentially. There's a definite and important correlation between a country's population size and the health of the economy.
Canada needs a 'Statue of Liberty" effect - more assertive and industrious attitudes to attract hard-work-ing immigrants. Canada has been called the largest hotel in the world - that should be changed to one of the largest houses in the world. People should be enticed, so they can work hard, build a good life and adopt enviable Canadian values of dignity, tolerance, and fairness.
Canada is not "just right" with only 34 million people. If this attitude persists, taxes will increase, and some otherwise needless social programs will prosper.
A land mass of almost 10 million square kilometres with only 34 million people will carry that burden.
Bring me your hardworking, your ambitious, your visionaries.
Let the immigration revolution begin.
DOUGLAS CORNISH, Ottawa


Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/country+needs+more+people/5111790/story.html#ixzz1SH5kt1l0

Be emotionally prepared - Newcomers to Canada offer move-in advice: RBC poll

Entrance of Mount Robson Provincial Park, Brit...Image via Wikipedia
TORONTOJuly 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - The best advice newcomers to Canada have for anyone looking to follow in their footsteps is to be mentally prepared, including being ready for any sacrifices involved in settling in this country, according to an RBC poll.
More than half (58 per cent) say mental preparation is key, with almost a third (30 per cent) noting that sacrifices or tradeoffs may need to be made and 28 per cent saying being positive and patient will help achieve long-term results.
"Moving to a new country is a life-changing decision and being mentally prepared for the challenges of a different culture can really help ensure a successful move," said Camon Mak, director, Multicultural Markets, RBC. "Many newcomers focus on the physical and financial changes that come with a move, but establishing a support network and connecting with the community can be just as important."
According to the RBC poll, 47 per cent conducted online research to understand more about life in Canada, while more than half (54 per cent) said they prepared themselves for the social aspects of moving to Canada before they came to this country, by:
  • Informing relatives/friends already in Canada of their intentions to come here so relatives/friends could provide help and advice (33 per cent)
  • Refreshing their language skills (33 per cent)
"There are a number of ways RBC helps potential immigrants prepare before moving. For example, our Beijing branch offers advice on life in Canada and what to expect on arrival, assists in setting up a bank account and whenever possible, introduces clients to local branch staff," added Mak. "Through our website, anyone around the globe can be connected to someone at RBC who speaks their language, as we now offer banking assistance in over 180 languages."
Established newcomers also noted that success in Canada is not just measured in financial or career terms. Almost half (46 per cent) of newcomers who have already settled in Canada define success based on "mind/spirit", including inner peace and strength, enjoying small daily events of life, and love. In fact, female newcomers were more likely than male newcomers to use mind/spirit measurements (54 per cent compared to 39 per cent), while male newcomers were more likely than female newcomers to define success based on their career (57 per cent compared to 47 per cent).
About the Environics Poll
The findings were conducted by Environics Research Group on behalf of RBC in April 2011. Environics conducted a total of 608 interviews among Chinese and South Asian immigrant residents in British Columbia and Ontario who are first generation and have lived in Canada for 10 years or less. Interviews were conducted online and respondents were recruited from an online consumer research panel. Quotas were applied to represent the different regions and tenure in Canada. Data was weighted according to population data from 2006 Census to represent the population as closely as possible. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of ±4 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of Chinese and South immigrants in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error.
About RBC Welcome to Canada Package
For more than seven generations, RBC has been supporting newcomers by providing them with resources and tools that make the transition to a new country seamless. The RBC Welcome to Canada package helps newcomers who have been inCanada for less than three years with key financial decisions and includes advice and discounts on products and services. Details on The RBC Welcome to Canada banking package can be found at www.rbc.com/settlequick. Consumers around the world can access information on moving to Canada, including financial advice checklists and more, at www.rbc.com/canada. From 2005 to 2009, 14 per cent of all immigrants were Chinese (including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan) and 18 per cent were South Asian (from IndiaPakistanBangladesh and Sri Lanka). These two groups represent one-third of recent (past five years) newcomers and are the largest sources of immigration in this time period.
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Canada ranks high on 'better life index'

Canadians make more, work less, are happier with their lives and better educated than most residents of the 34 countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a new index suggests.
The OECD launched the "better life index" Tuesday, which allows comparisons between the member countries that go beyond the traditional economic measures, such as gross domestic product.
"Canada performs exceptionally well in measures of well-being," the agency said, citing statistics such as:
  • Nearly four out of five Canadians are satisfied with their lives, compared with three out of five for the OECD as a whole.
  • Average Canadian household income of $27,015 US in 2008, more than $4,700 above the OECD average.
  • Nearly 72 per cent of Canadians 15 to 64 have a paid job, above the OECD average of 65 per cent.
  • Canadians work 40 hours a year (a work week) less than the OECD average.
  • About 87 per cent of Canadians have the equivalent of a high-school diploma, much higher than the OECD average of 73 per cent.
  • Life expectancy in Canada is 80.7 years, a year above the OECD average.
  • The level of atmospheric PM10, tiny particles that are small enough to damage the lungs, is 15 micrograms per cubic metre, lower than the OECD average of 22.
But in terms of voter turnout, "a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation in the political process," Canada ranks at 60 per cent, below the OECD average of 72 per cent.
Canada's rankings are based on assigning an equal weight to each of 11 topics. But using the OECD's interactive index, individuals can adjust the weight of the topics and create their own index. The 11 items are housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance.
The index "has extraordinary potential to help us deliver better policies for better lives,” said OECD secretary general Angel Gurría.
It's part of an OECD plan to measure well-being and progress.
The organization includes many European countries, the U.S., Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

Immigration consultants reflect on their work to help immigrants live their dreams during Citizenship Week

Toronto, ON – Canada’s Citizenship Week is a time for all Canadians to consider the shared benefits and responsibilities we enjoy as citizens, and immigration consultants are especially aware of just how lucky we all are.
As part of Citizenship Week, the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC) is releasing What is a CCIC?, a video that details what Certified Canadian Immigration Consultants are and how they feel about helping immigrants live their dreams of becoming Canadian.
“Canada is a nation built on immigration and immigration continues to play a pivotal role in Canada’s future,” said CSIC Chair Nigel Thomson. “We are fortunate that many immigrants enrich our cultural fabric by choosing to make Canada their home.”
Members of CSIC, known as Certified Canadian Immigration Consultants, members of a provincial or territorial bar and Quebec notaries are the only paid representatives who are legally entitled to appear before the Canadian government on behalf of an immigration applicant.
“Immigration is a crucial step on the long journey to citizenship,” said Thomson. “Our members are proud to be a part of that journey by helping prospective Canadians navigate the often stressful and uncertain immigration process.”

The Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants is the professional regulatory body for Certified Canadian Immigration Consultants. Established in 2004 it currently has over 1,800 members. CSIC’s mandate is to protect consumers of immigration consulting services. Consequently, it is responsible for ensuring the education, competency testing and the discipline of its members. CSIC also requires its members to carry errors and omissions insurance and to contribute to a compensation fund. The best way to find a CCIC is via CSIC’s toll free referral line, 1-877-311-7926 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-877-311-7926      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
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G20: Why we all want to be Canadian now

The Montreal head office of the Royal Bank of ...Image via Wikipedia
Even on a rainy weekday at Ottawa's By Ward market, Canadian shoppers are cheery.
As Americans and Europeans face deficits and drastic government cuts, Canada's economy is recovering from only a mild recession.
Sheltering near the maple syrup stall, local restaurant promoter Melissa Grecco says Canada escaped the fate of the US.
"We felt the effects on corporate bookings, companies not spending money on staff or booking on a limited budget. But we didn't feel it as much as the US. And within the last couple of months our business has exploded."
Painful reforms
Pierrre de Varennes Real estate broker, Ottawa
So Canada is now one of the top performing industrialised economies. How did they manage it?
For a start, painful reforms in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Canada's government, based in the stone neo-gothic Parliament building in Ottawa, along with individual provinces, were able to afford an economic stimulus package.
Whilst other nations borrowed, Canada had a budget surplus for over a decade.
According to James Flaherty, Canada's jaunty finance minister, it was also down to a more cautious approach.
"The Canadian character is relatively fiscally conservative. Canadians themselves are relatively prudent, I think, in terms of how much they are prepared to borrow and the risks they are prepared to take."
Safe as houses Certainly, fewer risks are allowed in the housing market.

Julie Dickson Banking superintendent Europe told to 'focus on growth'
Canadian home values have held fairly steady according to Pierre de Varennes, a real estate broker in Ottawa, with 350 employees.
He says stricter standards for homebuyers meant no housing boom and bust in Canada:
"In Canada, you cannot over-mortgage your property. In fact if you are financing more than 75% of the value, you have to get insurance. Not for you but for the bank."
With that protection, Canadian banks have done well from mortgages. And with less exposure to toxic sub-prime mortgages in the US, Canada's six biggest financial institutions, headquartered on Bay Street in Toronto, survived the financial crisis disaster free.
'Big stick' The Toronto skyline that Gordon Nixon, the President of Royal Bank of Canada, can see from his office on Bay Street not only looks very different to Manhattan. It is run differently, too.
"The structure of our marketplace in Canada is very different," he says.
"Most mortgages are held on the balance sheet of banks. The terms are more conservative and there is not as aggressive a marketplace.

"Sub-prime lending is very limited in the Canadian marketplace. What was the weakest asset class in the US and spread to the balance sheets of many banks was one of the strongest in Canada."
But Canada has also been happy to wield a bigger stick when it comes to financial regulation.
Banking superintendent Julie Dickson credits Canadian firms with better risk management.
But banks must also adhere to more stringent standards. What's more, her office is within walking distance.
"We spent a lot of time looking at what they are doing on a day-to-day basis. We also had good rules when it comes to capital and leverage. And the industry is of a size that it is easier for the regulator to get their arms around it."
Canada's financial sector is smaller and perhaps more insulated than in the US.
Critics add that Canadian banks are less innovative, with higher costs for consumers. Talking to Canadians, they seem to shrug off those arguments, happy with the results of a more prudent and, some argue, less greedy economic philosophy.
Puzzle solved  John Criswick says being in Canada has helped his business The G8 and G20 is a crucial opportunity for Canadian policy makers, eager to vaunt their successes to leaders gathered in Toronto.
And Canada need only point to growing businesses like Magmic. The Canadian IT firm makes games for the Blackberry, Apple's iPhone and iPad.
John Criswick, who founded in the firm in 2002, says the recession was painful but the odds have been tipped in his favour because he is in Canada.
"The recession definitely had an impact on us. We are half the size we used to be. But we are growing out of that and being in Canada has aided us in that recovery. It is pushing us beyond what our competition are doing in the US."
John's most profitable game? The iconic US brand the New York Times Crossword - currently the top selling gaming app on the iPhone.
The Canadians, it seems, have answers for even the toughest puzzles and they are keen to share their strategies with the rest of the world. Why in this economy, we all want to be Canadian.
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