Immigration Canada

Canada:The Best Countries For Business

By Kurt Badenhausen
Forbes StaffSource: Forbes.comDuring the run-up to every U.S. presidential election, countless Americans threaten to move to Canada if their preferred candidate does not emerge victorious. Of course, few follow through with a move north. Maybe it is time to reconsider.

Canada ranks No. 1 in our annual look at the Best Countries for Business. While the U.S. is paralyzed by fears of a double-dip recession and Europe struggles with sovereign debt issues, Canada’s economy has held up better than most. The $1.6 trillion economy is the ninth biggest in the world and grew 3.1% last year. It is expected to expand 2.4% in 2011, according to the Royal Bank of Canada.

Canada skirted the banking meltdown that plagued the U.S. and Europe. Banks like Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal avoided bailouts and were profitable during the financial crises that started in 2007. Canadian banks emerged from the tumult among the strongest in the world thanks to their conservative lending practices.

Canada is the only country that ranks in the top 20 in 10 metrics that we considered to determine the Best Countries for Business (we factored in 11 overall). It ranks in the top five for both investor protection as well as lack of red tape, which measures how easy it is to start a business.

Full List: The Best Countries For Business

Canada moves up from No. 4 in last year’s ranking thanks to its improved tax standing. It ranks ninth overall for tax burden compared to No. 23 in 2010. Credit a reformed tax structure with a Harmonized Sales Tax introduced in Ontario and British Columbia in 2010. The goal is to make Canadian businesses more competitive. Canada’s tax status also improved thanks to reduced corporate and employee tax rates.

Canada leans on the U.S. economy heavily: it’s the biggest oil supplier to Uncle Sam and three-quarters of its exports end up in the U.S. each year. Yet while U.S. unemployment has stayed above 9%, it’s only 7.3% in Canada compared to the 25-year average of 8.5%. The eurozone unemployment rate is 10%.

We determined the Best Countries for Business by looking at 11 different factors for 134 countries. We considered property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

Forbes leaned on research and published reports from the Central Intelligence Agency, Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, Transparency International, the World Bank and World Economic Forum to compile the rankings.

Denmark dropped from the top spot in 2010 to No. 5 this year as its relative monetary freedom declined as measured by the Heritage Foundation. Denmark’s stock market also fell 14%, which was the worst performance of any of our top 10 countries. Four other European countries in last year’s top 20 also dropped in the rankings, with Finland sliding to No. 13, the Netherlands to No. 15 Netherlands, Germany to No. 21 and Iceland to No. 23.

The U.S. ranked No. 10, down from No. 9 in 2010. The world’s largest economy at $14.7 trillion continues to be one of the most innovative, ranking sixth in patents per capita among all countries (No.7 overall Sweden ranks tops for innovation).

What hurts the U.S. is its heavy tax burden. This year it surpassed Japan to have the highest corporate tax rate among developed countries. The U.S. also gets dinged for a poor showing on monetary freedom as measured by the Heritage Foundation. Heritage gauges price stability and price controls and the U.S. ranks No. 50 out of 134 countries.

Bringing up the rear are three countries where the economies are smaller than $10 billion. No. 132 Burundi, No. 133 Zimbabwe and No. 134 Chad all fare poorly when it comes to trade and monetary freedom as well as innovation and technology. Chad has the highest GDP per capita of the three at $1,600, but scores last among all countries on both corruption and red tape.

New refugee law unfair, experts say

The federal government is giving refugee claimants a maximum of 15 days to prepare an appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board, a change the Conservatives made after legislation to reform the system was passed and one that is drawing criticism.

The Balanced Refugee Reform Act, which included the promise of a new appeals division and was passed in June 2010, had two main goals: make the refugee system faster and fairer.

Some refugee advocates aren't happy with how the government is proceeding with implementing the legislation and say the 15-day timeframe for appeals is too short, CBC's Louise Elliott reports.

Legal experts are warning that the government has been playing with the fine print in the legislation – pushing it away from the goal of fairness in the process – and they also warn that a delay in the bill's implementation could mean the government is planning to change other aspects of the law as it's adopted.

The decision to give refugee claimants only 15 days to submit a complete appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board was made after the bill passed.

"That's definitely not enough time for counsel to properly prepare the case. So if you give an appeal on one hand but on the other you're making it close to impossible to be effective, you're really not achieving anything," said Mitchell Goldberg, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

Refugee claimants now have 45 days to submit and perfect an appeal to the federal court, a timeline most lawyers believe is already too tight.

Other experts believe the short time frame is part of a deliberate strategy by the government to keep refugee claimants from being successful. "So again, without the government actually just saying we have as our objective the rejection of refugee claimants, they just set impossible timelines. So people who don't make the timelines are out of luck and they will lose," said Audrey Macklin, a former refugee board member who now teaches law at the University of Toronto.

"What one sees in this is the manipulation of seemingly neutral or benign bureaucratic techniques like tight timelines to accomplish a political objective of rejecting refugee claimants," she said.

The government maintains its reforms are designed to speed up the system and weed out so-called false claimants who could pose a threat to security.

Macklin points to the government's Human Smuggling bill as more evidence that it doesn't want even legitimate refugees to enter the Canadian system. That bill allows men, women and children to be detained for one year without a hearing after their arrival in Canada.

A recent decision by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to push back the Refugee Reform Act's implementation date to next June has at least one expert worried more changes are in the works.

Tight timeframe is 'ludicrous'

"No one knows the reason for the delay to June 29. However, the concern and the speculation and some of the rumours are that there have been comments from senior [Citizenship and Immigration Canada] officials that the minister felt too many concessions were made when the act was first passed," said Peter Showler, former chair of the IRB who teaches law at the University of Ottawa.

He also isn't satisfied with the shorter timeframe. "Limiting to fifteen days to not just file the appeal but also perfect or complete the appeal within 15 days is ludicrous," he said.

In one public comment, Kenney has not denied more changes could be underway and in an interview, his spokeswoman Ana Curic left the door open. "We're looking to implement this bill, but if we think that there are further actions that can be taken to improve the system, we will never close the door to further improvements to any system," she said.

Showler said it could be a challenge for the government to make more changes to the refugee system, especially if they require amendments to the law. "Even with a majority it takes time to introduce the bill, get it through committee, get it through the Senate. We've been anticipating something, but nothing's come forward, so at this point, we're waiting, fearing, and the longer it goes the less likely there will be changes," he said.

Source: CBC news

$5.5M helps immigrants learn English and secure jobs

VICTORIA – For the first time in B.C. immigrants will receive advanced workplace-specific, settlement-focused language training to help them find and keep jobs and settle into their communities.

The pilot project starting November 2011 is supported by $5.5 million in new funding, and is part of the government’s investment in free English language classes under the English Language Services for Adults (ELSA) program.

The new project delivers on the commitment made in Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan to support newcomers and enable them to fill some of the over one million jobs anticipated to open in B.C. over the next decade.

Around 19,000 students are expected to benefit from the complete suite of ELSA classes offered in more than 35 communities across the province in 2011. The workplace-specific curriculum, part of ELSA Levels 6 and 7, will be introduced this fall in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Southern Vancouver Island.

The ELSA program is offered through WelcomeBC – www.welcomebc.ca – the Province’s umbrella of services for immigrant settlement and integration services. An annual budget of $40 million is provided through federal and provincial funding.

Quotes:

Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism –

“The federal government continues to work in partnership with the Province of British Columbia to help newcomers transition and become productive members of Canadian society.”

“Language is an important component of success here in Canada; the sooner newcomers improve their language skills, the sooner they will integrate into the job market and produce value in our economy.”

Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation –

“Language training is a vital service for B.C. immigrants who want to play an active part in their local communities and workforce.”

“Better English language skills will ensure that our newcomers are able to continue making valuable contributions to the B.C. communities they now call home.”

Quick Facts:

· Since 2008, more than $160 million in federal and provincial funding has been invested in English language development services for immigrants under WelcomeBC.

· The ELSA program is funded through the Canada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement. This year over $100 million has been provided for immigration programs.

· In 2010-11, the Province spent approximately $37 million on ELSA Literacy to Level 5 programs throughout British Columbia.

· B.C. continues to be one of Canada’s most popular destinations for new immigrants, welcoming more than 40,000 newcomers each year.

· Services through WelcomeBC are provided to more than 100,000 newcomers in 66 communities across the province, by more than 100 service providers.

· WelcomeBC’s award-winning website recently served its one-millionth client, and is now accessible in several languages, making it easier for immigrants to access vital information.

· By 2019, it’s expected that there will be over a million job openings in the province, and skilled immigrants will play a vital role in filling many of those positions.

Learn More:

· For more information on ELSA programs, eligibility and locations, visit:http://www.welcomebc.ca/wbc/immigration/settle/learn/elsa.page

· For information about other WelcomeBC programs, visit: www.welcomebc.ca

· For information on ‘Canada Starts Here – The BC Jobs Plan’, visit:

http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CSH_BCJobsPlan_web.pdf

Immigration backlog keeping millionaires out of Canada

BY TOM GODFREY ,TORONTO SUN

FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2011 07:15 PM EDT

TORONTO - More than 22,500 foreign millionaires are waiting abroad to resettle in Canada, bringing with them more than $9 billion to help cash-strapped Ottawa, immigration officials say.

There are about 16,400 millionaires alone in Hong Kong, Jim Versteegh, a federal immigration program manager at the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong, said about classified numbers released this week.

Versteegh said there are about 22,491 millionaire investors worldwide who’ve applied and are waiting to come to Canada.

They’ll bring about 77,800 family members with them.

“We still need a game plan for dealing with our inventory,” he said in a July 2010 memo obtained under an Access to Information request by lawyer Richard Kurland. “The total number of investor cases we now have on hand is 16,400.”

He said it’ll take about 12 years for visa officers to process the backlog of cases.

Only about 2,000 cases involving the federal investor program are processed yearly.

Kurland said investors are required to dish out $400,000 in cash each to Ottawa to obtain visas for their families, providing they pass medical and background checks.

He estimated the millionaires will hand over about $9 billion in cash to the federal government for use for the provinces.

“We are losing some of these people to other countries,” Kurland said. “Many of these people don’t want to wait for years and are going elsewhere.”

He said there’s stiff competition from the United States, Australia and some European countries for the well-heeled crowd.

“These people are paying hard cash for Canadian visas,” Kurland said. “That money will go a long way to create jobs and reduce our deficit.”

Federal immigration officials have said officers can only process 2,000 cases yearly because it takes a long time to determine the source of the funds or whether the money is linked to organized crime.

If I had 10 billion dollars: Here are Canada's wealthiest people

Toronto's Thomson family remains the wealthiest in Canada despite a tough year that saw their fortune significantly decline, according to a new list of this country's 100 richest people.

Despite a dip of 8.7 per cent from the previous year, the family behind Thomson Reuters and Woodbridge Co. Ltd. has a net worth of $21.34 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.

It is the 13th year in a row the Thomson family has been dubbed this country's richest by the magazine, which released its newest ranking Thursday.

In second place was Galen Weston, the businessman behind George Weston Ltd., grocery giant Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and clothing company Holt Renfrew.

Weston's fortune was still a whopping $8 billion, even after losing an estimated 5.8 per cent from 2010.

The highest climber on the Rich 100 is Chip Wilson, who jumped from No. 49 last year to No. 15 this year, thanks to investor interest in his Vancouver-based fitness clothing company, Lululemon. His worth rose this year by 128 per cent to $2.85 billion. In 2009, Wilson ranked in at No. 78.

Kapuskasing, Ont.'s Hollywood darling, producer James Cameron, debuted this year at No. 94, with $650 million.

Nova Scotia's Jodrey family — which has a hand in several industries, including nursing homes, real estate, transportation, pulp and paper mills and frozen foods — squeaked in at No. 100 with a $559-million bankroll.

Top 20 wealthiest Canadians (with percentage change from 2010)

1. Thomson family (Toronto) — $21.34 billion (-8.7)

2. Galen Weston (Toronto) — $8 billion (-5.8)

3. Irving Family (Saint John, N.B.) — $7.8 billion (+4.5)

4. Rogers family (Toronto) — $5.94 billion (-1.3)

5. James Pattison (Vancouver) — $5.73 billion (+3.7)

6. Saputo family (Montreal) — $4.34 billion (+23.5)

7. Paul Desmarais Sr. (Montreal) — $4.27 billion (-0.2)

8. Jeff Skoll (Palo Alto, California) — $3.75 billion (+5.3)

9. Fred and Ron Mannix (Calgary) — $3.44 billion (+8.3)

10. Bernard Sherman (Toronto) — $3.31 billion (-16)

11. Clay Riddell (Calgary) — $3.19 billion (+67.4)

12. Carlo Fidani (Toronto) — $3.18 billion (+10.2)

13. David Azrieli (Montreal) — $3.07 billion (+4.7)

14. Richardson family (Winnipeg) — $3.01 billion (+5.1)

15. Chip Wilson (Vancouver) —$2.85 billion (+128)

16. Harrison McCain family (Florenceville, N.B.) — $2.82 billion (+8.6)

17. Robert Friedland (Singapore) — $2.81 billion (+7.3)

18. Daryl Katz (Edmonton) — $2.8 billion (+8)

19. Frank Stronach (Austria) — $2.7 billion (+38.3)

20. Alan, Clayton and Barry Zekelman (Windsor, Ont.) — $2.62 billion (+1.4)

Source: Canadian Business magazine

Canada adds 61,000 jobs in September

The Canadian economy added a surprising 61,000 jobs in September, all of it in full-time employment, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The job growth helped push the country's unemployment rate down to 7.1 per cent, the lowest since December 2008.

Economists had been expecting 15,000 jobs to be added, and for the unemployment rate to remain steady at 7.3 per cent.

The country added 63,800 full-time jobs, but part-time employment slipped by 2,900.

But beyond the eye-popping headline number, the employment details "were much softer and more mixed in the report than the headline suggests on multiple counts," Scotiabank economist Derek Holt noted.

Many of the jobs came from public sector job growth, while the private sector lost almost 15,000 jobs. Self-employment rose by 38,900, "and we always treat this category with skepticism," Holt said. "Many self-employed jobs are vital contributions to a small-business based economy, but the volatility in this component and its tendency to report a pickup in self-reporting during soft spots in the economy make us doubtful that such a heavy role in lifting the headline is with substance."

And despite the job growth, the actual number of hours worked declined by 0.3 per cent. That's a troubling sign for GDP, since it's calculated based on the number of hours worked times the productivity of the labour force, Holt noted.

Statistics Canada said job increases were notable in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The federal agency said job gains were spread across a number of industries, with educational services adding 38,000 positions with the start of the new school year.

The professional, scientific and technical services sector gained 36,000 jobs. Gains were also seen in accommodation and food services, natural resources, and public administration.

Employment fell by 35,000 in the finance, insurance, real estate and leasing sector, while manufacturing employment slipped by 24,000 for the month.

More immigration workers needed: union

There are thousands of people in Canada waiting for their citizenship applications to be completed, and the Canada Employment Immigration Union says more workers are needed to clear the backlog.

Citizenship and Immigration recently contracted 86 temporary workers to help clear a backlog in citizenship applications at the Sydney, N.S. office. All applications from across Canada are processed there.

The average minimum wait is currently 19 months, up from 15 months in May. CIC says it plans to continue using temporary workers to clear the backlog, if it can find the money.

But the union says it is clear there is a need for more permanent workers at the office. Union spokeswoman Theresa MacInnis told CBC News Wednesday this is the third temporary contract some of these workers have been on since being laid off from permanent work a year and a half ago.

"To me it looks like there is a need for additional workers in the workplace," said MacInnis.

"Stabilizing a workforce is always a benefit for continuing work flows and processing."

MacInnis said the uncertainty has some workers looking for other jobs. She isn't sure what the turnover has been, but she said any training of new employees or people new to this processing wastes time and resources.

The latest contract for the 86 additional staff will expire at the end of March.

CIC expects workers will have processed at least 5,000 citizenship applications by that time. It's not known how much of a dent in the backlog that will make.

Ottawa ramps up efforts to lure tourists to Canada

Bruce Campion-SmithOttawa Bureau chief

GATINEAU, QUE.—There’s no new marketing slogan, no new sales pitch to sell Canada to the world.

But tourism insiders say there was something just as important unveiled Thursday in Ottawa’s long-awaited strategy to woo the world — the promise of some coordination.

From setting airline policy to running national parks and writing the immigration rules, Ottawa has vast influence over an industry that pumps $73 billion a year into the economy and generates 594,500 jobs.

The new strategy sends the message that tourism is a priority for the 15 departments and agencies that have a hand in the industry, said Maxime Bernier, the minister of state for small business and tourism.

“It’s a new beginning for the federal government,” Bernier said Thursday after he unveiled the policy at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

“All the departments that have an influence on tourism, like transport department, Parks Canada . . . (will) now work together to ensure we are aligned with the same objectives,” Bernier said in an interview.

Industry executives applauded the move to put a spotlight on the tourism sector.

“It is an important announcement for us, not because it fits on a bumper sticker but because for the first time we have a thoughtful and deliberate roadmap,” said David Goldstein, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

He said few other industries can boost investment and employment across the nation.

“It’s just a great job driver. It’s one of the sectors where you can drive private sector jobs in every region of the country — urban centres, rural communities, even Canada’s North,” Goldstein said.

Some of the strategy’s goals seem modest — a new website, an annual report. It also highlights the need to enhance visa services and improve “border experiences” for arriving visitors.

But the promise to make tourism a focus across government departments was applauded as a good first step.

“It’s very important for us that we have a policy environment that is coordinated,” said Michele McKenzie, president of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

“We see countries that we compete against like Australia, New Zealand. They are world-class in terms of taking an all-of-government approach to tourism.”

Canada can have the “most brilliant marketers” but if would-be tourists have trouble getting a visa or a flight to be able to visit, “we’re going to lose those customers,” she said.

“We’re all competing against new and emerging and exotic destinations . . . This is a fiercely competitive world,” McKenzie said.

The move comes as Canada is trying to regain lost ground in the global battle for tourists. Part of the decline in international visitors is the drop-off in cross-border traffic by Americans deterred by a high Canadian dollar and the sagging economy in the United States.

That’s why Canada has set its sights on attracting more travellers from 11 key markets, including Australia, Brazil, India and Japan. An agreement signed with China last year giving Canada “approved destination status” has already boosted visitors by 24 per cent, Bernier said.

“That’s new visitors, new money, new jobs,” Bernier said.