Government of Ontario to organize Business Immigration Seminar

India Infoline News Service / 09:49 , Oct 17, 2010

The seminar series is being organized to showcase Ontario as part of the MEDT’s strategy to encourage greater participation by Indian businesses and to encourage Indian companies and entrepreneurs to set up global offices in the state.

The Government of Ontario, Canada, in association with FIEO is organizing business immigration seminars in Mumbai and New Delhi, Oct 18 and 21st October 2010 respectively. The Business Immigration Section of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT), Government of Ontario, Canada, provides a variety of services and support to business immigrants during the planning stages of immigration and after arriving in Ontario. The seminar series is being organized to showcase Ontario as part of the MEDT’s strategy to encourage greater participation by Indian businesses and to encourage Indian companies and entrepreneurs to set up global offices in the state.  Ontario has been ranked as the no. 1 province in Canada by Site Selection Magazine in their annual Canadian Competitiveness Rankings. By way of background, Site Selection is a U.S. based bi-monthly print magazine which provides CEOs, development planners and corporate executives’ news and information on all aspects of the business location/relocation process. There are about half a million people of Indian descent living in Ontario which makes the province an attractive destination for Indian Companies and entrepreneurs. Many Indian Companies like Essar, Piramal, ICICI Bank, Bombay Chamber of Commerce have operations in Ontario. Similarly, Ontario companies Sun Life, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Celestica have operations in India. The seminars aim to educate and help businesses understand the conducive policies and effective programs adopted by the government of Ontario to encourage business immigration. To be addressed by Immigration Specialist from the Business Immigration Unit at Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and by Royal Bank of Canada, which is a facilitator for the Federal Investor Program, the seminars will provide the attendees a complete picture of the advantages that are available to people seeking to immigrate under Ontario’s immigrations programs. Ontario has a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), an immigration program through which Ontario nominates individuals and their families for permanent resident status based on a pre-approved job offer in the province. Employers can attract individuals from abroad; individuals in Canada on a work permit or international student graduates from a publicly-funded Canadian college or university. It also has an Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) which allows prospective immigrants to make a passive investment in a government fund and become a landed immigrant.

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Immigrants help boost Canada’s innovation

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Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter

Guang Jun Liu arrived in Toronto in 1990 with a master’s degree in robotic control from China.Today, the Ryerson University professor is the Canada Research Chair in control systems and robotics, specializing in control systems in aircraft and mobile robots, and working with groups such as the Canadian Space Agency.
According to a new Conference Board of Canada study, Liu is living proof of how immigrants can help boost Canada’s stature in innovation, which ranks 14th out of 17 industrialized countries.
“Productivity and innovation are critical for economic development,” said the report, titled Immigrants as Innovators: Boosting Canada’s Global Competitiveness. “At every level of analysis, immigrants are shown to have an impact on innovation performance that is benefiting Canada.”
Examining the relationship between immigrants and innovation in areas such as research, culture, business and global commerce, the report found that:
 •  At least 35 per cent of an estimated 1,800 Canada Research Chairs are foreign-born, even though immigrants are just one-fifth of the Canadian population.
 •  Immigrants to Canada win proportionally more prestigious literary and performing arts awards, comprising 23 per cent of Giller Prize finalists and 29 per cent of winners; 23 per cent of Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards winners are immigrants;
 •  Immigration increases innovation by expanding Canada’s trade relations. A 1 per cent increase in the number of immigrants to Canada corresponds to an increase in imports of 0.21 per cent and exports by 0.11 per cent.
Yet, despite the enormous benefits that newcomers can bring to Canada, the report notes they still face “onerous and often unnecessary obstacles” that limit their potential.
These include inadequate recognition of international experience and qualifications, failure of employers to tap foreign language skills which could be employed in international markets, and lack of opportunities for newcomers to fully use their skills
Liu said he, too, had a tough time when he first came to Canada as a visiting scholar and later enrolled in the University of Toronto’s robot control PhD program.
“Language is a big obstacle. Technically, my English was good, but you need to be able to speak good English and communicate well to get published,” he said. “I was lucky to get my credentials recognized and have had some good employers.”
The report recommends employers hire immigrants at all levels of their organization, including in leadership roles; match the staff’s diversity to that of their markets; and encourage immigrant employees to share their diverse points of view, a key for innovation.
Innovative Immigrants in Canada
 •  K.Y. Ho came from China in 1984 and started the graphics company ATI with two other immigrants from Hong Kong. The company pulled in $10 million in revenue in its first year and was acquired for $5.4 billion by AMD in 2007.
 •  Mike Lazaridis came from Turkey in 1966 and founded Research in Motion (RIM), which created and manufactures the BlackBerry.
 •  Peter Munk came from Hungary in the 1940s and founded Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold-mining corporation.
 •  Stella Melo came from Brazil in 1996. An atmospheric physicist, she has developed equipment and models to study the conditions of the atmosphere. The data she collects are used for weather forecasting and to examine people’s long-term impacts on the planet.
Source: Immigrants as Innovators: Boosting Canada’s Global Competitiveness

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"Changes to application requirements under the Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Classes", focus on business immigration - September 2010

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• Canada
• September 28 2010
• 

Introduction   
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has the authority to issue instructions regarding the processing of immigration applications. Pursuant to Ministerial Instructions issued on June 26, 2010 (the “MI”), the Minister introduced the following changes:

1. an annual limit to the number of applications to be processed in the Federal Skilled Worker (“FSW”) class;
2. removal of the FSW category for temporary foreign workers and international students living in Canada for one year;
3. a revised list of NOC code occupations eligible for FSW priority processing; and
4. mandatory testing for language proficiency for FSW and Canadian Experience Class (“CEC”) applicants.  

The MI affects all applications received by the Centralized Intake Office (“CIO”) in Sydney, Nova Scotia on or after June 26, 2010. All applications received by the CIO prior to that date will be processed according to the Minister’s instructions issued on November 28, 2010. (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Operational Bulletin 218 – June 28, 2010 [“OB”], online at Operational Bulletin 218).
Category Cut
The MI eliminates the FSW class of applications for temporary foreign workers and international students living in Canada for one year. As such, skilled workers are limited to applying under the FSW class categories for applicants with arranged employment offers (“AEO”), and applicants with experience in the last ten years under one or more of the list of eligible NOC code occupations (“NOC List”). Applications received by the CIO on or after of June 26, 2010 must meet the criteria of either of these two categories to be placed into processing (OB).
Cap on Processing
Exclusive of AEO applications, a maximum of 20,000 FSW applications will be considered for processing each year. Within that 20,000, an annual maximum of 1,000 applications per NOC Code will be considered for processing. Applications will be considered in order, by the date of receipt, with applications received on the same day being considered in accordance with routine office procedures. The first year of cap calculations runs from June 26, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Subsequent years will be calculated from July 1 to June 30 unless otherwise indicated in future MIs (OB).
Revised NOC List
The MI reduced the number of occupations eligible for the FSW program from 38 to 29. The occupations removed from the list include managers in finance, health care and construction, computer and information systems, university professors and vocational instructors. Occupations added to the list include: psychologists; social workers; dental hygienists; pharmacists; dentists; architects; biologists; insurance adjusters; claims examiners; primary industry production managers (except agriculture); and professions in business, services and management. Applicants must have one year of continuous full‐time or equivalent paid work experience in at least one of the listed NOC codes, and not combine partial year experience in multiple NOCs on the List (Canada Gazette Part 1, June 26, 2010, n. 3 at 1670 [“Gazette”]).
The complete list is as follows (Gazette at 1670‐ 1671):

• 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
• 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)  
• 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management  
• 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners  
• 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists  
• 2151 Architects  
• 3111 Specialist Physicians  
• 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians  
• 3113 Dentists  
• 3131 Pharmacists
• 3142 Physiotherapists
• 3152 Registered Nurses
• 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
• 3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
• 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
• 4151 Psychologists
• 4152 Social Workers
• 6241 Chefs
• 6242 Cooks
• 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades  
• 7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades  
• 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)  
• 7242 Industrial Electricians  
• 7251 Plumbers  
• 7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators  
• 7312 Heavy‐Duty Equipment Mechanics
• 7371 Crane Operators  
• 7372 Drillers & Blasters ‐ Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction  
• 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service  

Applications on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds
FSW applications accompanied by a request for processing on humanitarian and compassionate grounds must be identified for processing under the MI in order to be processed (i.e. the application must meet the AEO or NOC List category requirements to be eligible for processing) (Gazette at 1671).
Language Proficiency
As of June 26, 2010, all FSW and CEC applications must be accompanied by the results of the principal applicant’s English or French Language Proficiency Assessment in order to be considered for processing. Only test results from a designated third party language testing agency will be accepted (Gazette, n. 2 at 1670). Currently, there is a two‐month waiting list for examinations in Alberta, so applicants are advised to book well in advance of submitting their application.
Summary of Application Requirements
Applicants must submit the completed application forms, together with all supporting documents (i.e. those listed on both the CIO and visa office specific document checklists). The CIO will review the application for completeness. If the application is incomplete, the entire package will be returned to the applicant.
To be eligible for processing, FSW applications received by the CIO on or after June 26, 2010 must:

1. meet the criteria of either the AEO or NOC List categories;
2. be accompanied by the results of the principal applicant’s language proficiency assessment; and
3. not exceed the identified caps.

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Canadian immigration visa processing times have been cut in half since 2005

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From 2005 and 2009, the average overall processing time for Canadian immigration applications decreased to 26 months from 50 months. A recent analysis has found this improvement is linked to legislation introduced in 2008 which fast-tracked applications by skilled-workers such as registered nurses, crane operators, financial auditors, construction managers and 34 other qualifying occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker Category. The approximate processing time now for a skilled worker application is seven months, which represents a drastic reduction since previously the overall processing time could take up to five years.
The Canadian immigration system has been streamlined and improved. According to this recent analysis by immigration consultant Richard Kurland, there is evidence that skilled workers are getting high-quality service from Immigration Canada. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said the findings in this analysis on wait times proves the Canadian government is heading in the right direction in implementing policies that make Canada more attractive to the world’s “best and brightest” people.
In 2009, Canada issued 14,917 visas to foreign workers who met the federal skilled worker criteria and their families. If an applicant does not meet the criteria for the Federal Skilled WorkerCategories, the application enters a different queue where processing times may be longer.

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