Immigration Canada

Mobilité Francophone to bring more newcomers to Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec.

English: Stop sign in Quebec Français : Panneau arrêt au Québec (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

June 1, 2016—Ottawa, ON – Starting today, Canadian employers hiring skilled French-speaking temporary workers from abroad who want to work in Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec will be exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment. This will make it easier for employers to hire them.

Before launching Mobilité Francophone, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consulted and collaborated with Francophone minority communities and organizations across Canada to ensure that the new temporary work permit stream of the International Mobility Program aligns with the communities’ interests and needs.

“Immigration, both temporary and permanent, has a role to play in supporting vital, vibrant Francophone minority communities anywhere across Canada,” Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister John McCallum said. “Mobilité Francophone benefits the employers, the newcomers and the minority communities and it enhances our diverse nation.”

People working in Canada with a Mobilité Francophone temporary work permit will be able to stay in Canada long enough to acquire valuable Canadian work experience. This will help them qualify for permanent residency programs and increase the likelihood that they will be invited to apply for permanent residence in the Express Entry system.

“The implementation of Mobilité Francophone is very good news, since the specific objective is to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants settling in our communities. The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) and the Réseaux en immigration francophone (RIF) are proud to have helped develop this initiative,” said Ms. Sylviane Lanthier, president of the FCFA of Canada.

Mobilité Francophone is designed for foreign skilled workers who have been recruited through a Francophone immigration promotional event coordinated between the federal government and Francophone minority community stakeholders and who are destined to work in a province or territory outside of Quebec.

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Source: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1078419

Banking for Newcomers to Canada

Banking for Newcomers to Canada:

'via Blog this'

FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISOR (Restaurant)

- Supervise and schedule the activities of staff

- Order inventory and stock required for meal preparation, maintain records of stock

- Train staff in job assignments, prepare food summaries for chef

- Serve customers

- Take order and payments

Ensure quality control standards are met

Skills Minimum 3 years experience in Hospitality (Restaurant

Salary of 23,660/year before taxes plus gratuity

15 days per year paid holidays

All workers are eligible for Saskatchewan Health Insurance, which is paid from workers’ taxes so that there are no additional deductions for the insurance.

Female candidates are

preferable.

Cooks

Five cooks required

Congress Beer House is looking for experienced cooks.

Full-time or part-time year-round shift work and weekends in Saskatoon, SK

$12.50 to 14.00 per hour to start depending on experience.

Minimum three years experience cooking in restaurants, and some secondary school is required.

Duties and Responsibilities

- Sets up station according to restaurant guidelines

- Prepares all food items as directed in a sanitary and timely manner.

- Follows recipes, portion controls, and presentation specifications as set by the restaurant.

- Restocks all items as needed throughout shift.

- Cleans and maintains station in practicing good safety, sanitation, organizational skills.

FOOD COUNTER ATTENDANT

Languages

English

Education

Secondary (high) school graduation certificate

Counter Attendant and Food Preparer Skills

Use manual and electrical appliances to clean, peel, slice and trim foodstuffs; Take customers' orders; Stock refrigerators and salad bars; Serve customers at counters or buffet tables; Portion and wrap foods; Package take-out food; Keep records of the quantities of food used; Prepare, heat and finish simple food items

Credentials (certificates, licenses, memberships, courses, etc.)

Not required

Dishwashing Skills

Scour pots and pans; Sanitize and wash dishes and other items by hand; Clean and sanitize items such as dishwasher mats, carts, and waste disposal units; Operate dishwashers to wash dishes, glassware, and flatware; Place dishes in storage area

Equipment and Machinery Experience

Grill; Electronic cash register; Conventional oven; Food Dispensers

Experience

Experience an asset

Weight Handling

Up to 9 kg (20 lbs)

Transportation/Travel Information

Public transportation is available

Work Conditions and Physical Capabilities

Fast-paced environment; Work under pressure; Repetitive tasks; Standing for extended periods

Work Location Information

Rural area

Personal Suitability

Effective interpersonal skills; Team player; Client focus; Reliability

Kitchen Helpers Skills

Wash, peel and cut vegetables and fruit; Remove kitchen garbage and trash; Handle and store cleaning products; Clean and sanitize kitchen including work surfaces, cupboards, storage areas, appliances, and equipment; Receive, unpack and store supplies in refrigerators, freezers, cupboards and other storage areas; Sweep, mop, wash and polish floors

Food Service Helpers Specific Skills

Replenish condiments and other supplies at tables and serving areas; Load bus pans and trays; Clear and clean tables, trays, and chairs; Bring clean dishes, flatware and other items to serving areas and set tables

Employment Conditions

Weekend, Shift, Flexible Hours

Salary:

$11.00 hourly for 30 to 40 hours per week

Apply with resume via mail at nexuscanadavisa@gmail.com

Want to Move to Canada If Trump Wins? Not So Fast

The threats to move to Canada if Donald Trump becomes president started appearing long ago, but they've increased in volume and intensity over the past few months. After Trump's big wins on Super Tuesday, thousands took to Twitter in panic and outrage. Canada's immigration website experienced delays, presumably from a surge in traffic. Cape Breton, a Canadian island with an aging population, responded by welcoming Americans and received thousands of inquiries, many of them serious. Moving to Canada became easy fodder for comedians and late-night hosts.

Now that Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, more celebrities are likely to follow in Lena Dunham's footsteps with vows to emigrate north if he wins in November. Already, companies have begun to capitalize on liberal Americans' anxieties: Spotify's "Moving to Canada" playlist, which includes The Weeknd and Justin Bieber (but, oddly, not Drake), is being advertised in the New York City subway, and a Canadian advertising firm has set up a webpage called Trump Clause that includes legal clauses for people or businesses choosing to migrate north. Meanwhile, for the image-minded would-be expat, a roundup of "Canadian Clothing Brands to Familiarize Yourself With Before You Move to Canada" is just a click away. Let liberal America's colonization of Canada begin!

But wardrobe questions aside, what would it actually require for an American to move north? According to Peter Edelmann of Vancouver immigration law firm Edelmann & Co., the process is relatively easy if you're an American doctor, lawyer or architect looking to relocate temporarily and you have a Canadian job offer in hand. (This is thanks to a NAFTA visa for certain types of professionals.) However, for other Americans, permanently settling in Canada is a little more difficult: Most would need sponsorship by an immediate family member — like a spouse, parent or dependent child — or to be a skilled worker in a category that's in short supply in Canada. In other words, maybe it's time to make amends with that Canadian ex-boyfriend, or to consider changing careers to ice-road trucker. But even then, waiting times for permanent residency average about two years through family sponsorship, and many years longer for live-in caregivers applying as workers, while competition among applicants remains steep — the backlog for live-in caregivers alone is currently 38,000-people deep.

This should come as little surprise to Americans, given how difficult it is to immigrate to the United States. In fact, the Brussels-based Migrant Integration Policy index ranks Canada higher than the U.S. in its treatment of immigrants, based on criteria like the ease with which families can reunify, migrants can attain permanent resident status, and workers can switch jobs or maintain their immigration status if they become unemployed. Relatively speaking, educated Americans who want to immigrate to Canada don't have it so bad, especially compared with low-wage Central American or Chinese workers. If anything, it's telling that American citizens living in Canada are usually considered "expats" instead of "migrants" — expats occupy a position of social and economic class privilege within their new country.

Nevertheless, the threat to move to Canada surfaces so predictably among liberal Americans every four years that the two countries' heads of state joked about it on Justin Trudeau's last visit to America.

A mass migration north would not be unprecedented: Roughly 100,000 American loyalists left because of the American Revolution; thousands of black Americans headed north fleeing slavery; 300,000 American pioneers settled in the Canadian prairies in the early 20th century; and some 240,000 American draft-dodgers and war resisters arrived during the Vietnam War. Carolyn Egan, a firebrand with a mane of white hair, is one such Vietnam War resister who arrived with her draft-dodging boyfriend in 1970; she applied for permanent resident status at the border crossing and was granted status within months. A member of Toronto's War Resisters Campaign, Egan is now engaged in efforts to support her contemporary counterparts: U.S. soldiers protesting the Iraq War. An estimated 200 Iraq War resisters have taken refuge north since the war began in 2004, 45 of whom sought refugee status, but 12 years later, those who have not returned to the U.S. or been deported are still maneuvering the legal system; the group estimates there are 20 or so in such a predicament. One of them, a quiet man in his 30s who enlisted after 9/11, fled the U.S. in 2006 after his enlistment term ended and he was stop-lossed — the practice, which John Kerry described as a "backdoor draft," by which the army unilaterally extends a soldier's term. (He requested anonymity because he is now fighting a deportation order.) Since then, he's been vocal in his opposition to the war and sought permanent resident status on humanitarian grounds — the other main option for immigrants to Canada — but remains in limbo. "Sure, I miss home. I've missed a lot of things," he says. "But I still know I made the right choice."

Could a Trump presidency transform society so drastically that other Americans could also qualify for Canadian permanent residency on humanitarian grounds? "Things would have to change significantly," says Peter Edelmann, noting that most people applying for Canadian refugee status today hail from Syria and Iraq. (Incidentally, their migrations are the direct result of the war that the War Resisters are protesting.) Edelmann says refugee claims need to have specific bases, such as the threat of being tortured in Guantanamo, or being punished for speaking out — just what the war resister is afraid could land him a harsher sentence by a court martial, in the event of his deportation. "Canada considers the U.S. to be a safe country," says Edelmann. "American citizens don't seem to be the target."

However, the vast majority of Canada's growing number of immigrants aren't refugees. Most have arrived in recent decades, as skilled workers or through family ties, after race-based immigration criteria were finally abolished in the Sixties, ending preferential treatment for white, European immigrants. Many of today's immigrants hail from global South countries like China and India, where a growing and increasingly educated middle-class is now producing workers just as qualified to work in Canada as many Canadians. And they're also just as qualified to perform jobs that Americans once held, which has stoked fears among many poor, white Americans of being left behind in the global race to prosperity.

These are precisely the fears Trump has capitalized on to propel himself into the Republican nomination, outsourcing blame for high unemployment onto poor Chinese and Bangladeshi workers, who get all the jobs because their employers — the contractors manufacturing H&M and Apple products for Americans — are less hemmed-in by pesky labor and environmental regulations overseas. But American liberals moving to Canada won't change this reality. They would simply be leaving the hard work of political change to those with fewer economic resources, social capital and mobility. Maybe, instead, they should stay home and get their own house in order.

Low Quebec birthrate spurs some calls for increased immigration

MONTREAL — An ever-declining birthrate in Quebec as well as an aging population are putting the spotlight on the province's immigration levels against the backdrop of issues such as the economy, identity, culture and language.

The province's statistics bureau said the 2015 rate was 1.6 children per woman, down one per cent from 2014 and marking the sixth consecutive year it had edged lower.

While that figure may not appear abnormally low, the province also has a rapidly aging population and a growing shortage of skilled workers.

Quebec estimates 1.1 million people will retire between 2013 and 2022 and a recent document published for the Immigration Department said "this situation underscores the need to reassert immigration’s role and its contribution to Quebec."

Immigrants, however, are not spread out evenly across the province, and Statistics Canada estimates visible minority groups will represent 31 per cent of Montreal's population by 2031 — but no more than five per cent everywhere else in Quebec.

Universite de Montreal demographer Marc Termote said he's "very, very worried" about the growing cultural and linguistic divisions between Montreal and other cities.

"What's happening is a profound break between Montreal and the rest of Quebec," he said.

For example, he explained, there are more immigrants in one of Montreal's suburbs, Brossard, than in all of Quebec City, the capital and second-largest city in the province.

Furthermore, Termote said it's a widely publicized myth that increasing immigration will help labour shortages or the economy.

"All the studies show immigration creates a neutral benefit to the economy," he said. "And we will need to welcome many, many more people than we do now for it to affect our aging population figures or fix labour shortages."

Montreal is having trouble integrating the immigrants it already has, with unemployment rates for those born outside Canada at 11 per cent in the city compared to seven per cent for non-immigrants.

Quebec has more control over its immigration policy than other provinces and selects newcomers largely based on language; between 2010 and 2014, 61.3 per cent of immigrants were francophone.

The policy helps preserve Quebec's linguistic distinctiveness, but it also creates tensions, Termote said.

"The pool of French immigrants is not France or Belgium or Switzerland," he said. "It's French Africa, the Maghreb and sub-Saharan, and there are cultural and economic implications to this."

There are also political implications, explains Daniel Weinstock, director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy.

Weinstock said Quebec is witnessing a "hollowing out" of the moderate, nationalist position on immigration and diversity that has characterized politics in the province since the 1960s and the time of Rene Levesque, said Weinstock.

Debate is being polarized between the Liberal government, which wants to increase immigration to 60,000 people a year and welcome them based on their economic potential, and an opposition wary of the province's ability to properly integrate them.

"There was a kind of consensus, largely the idea that Quebec is an immigrant society and a francophone society and being a full-fledged Quebec citizen means accepting that social contract," Weinstock said.

That is changing, he said, as many in the province are beginning to think it's not just about protecting the French language "but protecting all other aspects of Quebec culture which certain immigrants, even when they do speak French, may not share."

An example of the new thinking was the values charter the Parti Quebecois government introduced in 2013 that would have prohibited public-sector workers from wearing conspicuous religious symbols on the job. The charter was never adopted as the PQ was defeated in the 2014 election.

The Liberal government quickly backtracked on its proposal to welcome more immigrants after receiving criticism, stating it was planning on keeping immigration levels constant — at 50,000 people a year — for the time being.

When the Coalition for Quebec's Future, a right-of-centre party that is the third largest political party in the province, questioned the merits of increasing the number of immigrants, Couillard accused its leader, Francois Legault, of "fanning the flames of intolerance."

"With 50,000-60,000 immigrants a year we are going to change the cultural face of Quebec and the challenges of a francophone society that is culturally distinct will increase," Weinstock said.

"How that will play out politically is anyone's guess."

Giuseppe Valiante, The Canadian Press

Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/1362994-low-quebec-birthrate-spurs-some-calls-for-increased-immigration

Canadian government signals renewed openness to international students

International graduates of Canadian universities are “the perfect candidates” for citizenship, says immigration minister

By MOIRA MACDONALD | May 10, 2016

Canadian-educated international students are exactly the sort of would-be immigrants this country should be courting; the federal government has said as it moves on election promises to make immigration policy friendlier to international graduates of Canadian postsecondary institutions.

The government’s first step came in late February when it introduced legislation repealing changes made under the previous Conservative government’s controversial Bill C-24 of 2015. Although the Conservatives had made adjustments over time that generally made immigration policy more favorable to international students, Bill C-24, enforced in their last year in office, made it harder for international graduates of Canadian postsecondary programs to qualify for citizenship.

The federal Liberal government announced that it would reverse sections in C-24 that increased a residency requirement from three years to four and eliminated applicants’ ability to count half of their Canadian study time, up to one year, towards their residency, which was specifically mentioned in the Liberals’ fall election platform.

“International students are the perfect candidates to become Canadian citizens, and we are seeking them out, as are other countries around the world,” immigration minister John McCallum told a news conference before the introduction of the new legislation, called Bill C-6. “It makes no sense for Canada to punch them in the nose by taking away their 50 percent [residency] credit.”

In mid-March, Mr. McCallum also told reporters that his department would be setting up talks between the federal government and provincial officials to look at how to reform Canada’s Express Entry system. That system, in place since June 2015, is often the first step to permanent residency for international students who have completed their Canadian postsecondary programs and who wish to live and work in Canada long-term.

Express Entry has been criticized for putting those graduates in direct competition with other skilled foreign workers, rather than assessing them as a separate category as they used to be, and not valuing their Canadian education as highly as before. Mr. McCallum said foreign students had been “shortchanged” by Express Entry and that more needed to be done to attract them to Canada and encourage them to become permanent residents. The federal-provincial review of the system was just getting underway as of early May.

The changes to citizenship requirements and the plan to review the path to permanent residency are “positive signals,” said Amit Chakma, president of Western University and chair of the federal government’s Advisory Panel on Canada’s International Education Strategy. The panel’s 2012 final report recommended that Canada doubles the 239,000 international students it receives within a decade to build the country’s future prosperity. As of 2014, Canada had 336,000 international students, nearly 80 percent of them at the postsecondary level.

When it comes to Express Entry, Dr. Chakma supports returning to a separate assessment category for international student graduates. “It all depends on what they [the government] come up with, but I certainly welcome their willingness to look at some of the challenges we are facing.”

Steffi Hamman, a Ph.D. candidate from Germany, said the government’s announcements make her “feel really good” about her decision to continue her academic career in this country. Ms. Hamman came to the University of Guelph in 2012 on an Ontario Trillium Scholarship designed to attract the best and brightest foreign Ph.D. candidates.

Now in her last year of a doctorate in political science and international development studies, looking at food security, Ms. Hamman hopes to avoid the Express Entry competition to permanent residency by applying through Ontario’s Immigrant Nominee Program. It has a specific stream just for Ph.D. graduates (most provinces and territories can nominate a certain number of permanent residency applicants that they feel best to meet the province’s needs). That stream also eliminates the need for her to already have a year’s worth of full-time Canadian skilled work experience, generally required under Express Entry.

Still, while she says Canada is more welcoming than many countries, she said there was panic and disappointment last year when international students learned they would no longer be assessed in their separate category for permanent residency, especially since many pay higher tuition fees that can reach beyond $40,000 a year for some programs. “There’s a sense … that we made this investment and [we’ve] clearly indicated that we value being educated in this particular country, so it was a bit of a slap in the face,” she said.

Slow processing times for study visas can also be a sore spot for international students. “There’s always complaints about that,” said Navneet Khinda, president of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, adding that clarifying and simplifying all the immigration processes international students face would help too. The Canadian Bureau for International Education reported a 30 percent increase in study permit processing times in 2015. However, Citizenship and Immigration Canada says processing times have improved, with an average of 38 days in 2015 compared to 48 days in 2013 and even fewer days for students from Canada’s top source countries, such as China and India.

The CBIE “hopes that the government will make it easier for international students to get study and work permits in a timely manner, as well as create clear pathways to permanent residency for those international students who choose to stay and contribute to Canada’s future,” said the organization’s president Karen McBride in an emailed statement.

International graduates of Canadian postsecondary programs reported having a harder time under Express Entry initially because they usually lacked a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) filed by an employer to show whether a foreign worker is needed to fill a job. While not required to apply for permanent residency, having an LMIA automatically gave a substantial boost to the number of points the applicant received under the Express Entry system. The immigration department has acknowledged that almost all those successful in the early rounds of the new system had LMIAs, but that has since changed. Some 22 percent of those invited to apply for permanent residency out of the Express Entry system in 2015 had previously held a Canadian study permit.

The CBIE commented that while the system initially seemed unfavorable to international students, the immigration department does seem open to making adjustments and that in the long run it may end up being even more beneficial to international students due to its faster processing time. It also said that it is too early to verify what the overall effect of immigration policy changes over the last year has been on international student choices vis-à-vis Canada.

Toronto immigration lawyer Guidy Mamann also had initial concerns about Express Entry but said it is shaping up to be a good system that will favor the Canadian experience international students already have. “Provided they apply properly and are properly advised, they are almost a shoe-in for Canadian permanent residency,” said Mr. Mamann, who has acted for thousands of international students over the years.

Regardless of the details, though, sending out a clear, positive message of welcome to international students will make more of a difference to their choices than a process that may ultimately favor them but is too cumbersome to understand easily, said Dr. Chakma. “When they have other opportunities, anything that can be perceived to be a barrier becomes negative,” he said. “Signals matter.”

How to move from an international driver’s licence to a Canadian one

How long can I keep using my international driver’s license after immigrating?” is the first question most newcomers have about driving in Canada.

The answer is “Yes, but not for long.” And the rules vary from province to province.

New residents who have a valid driver’s license from another country, province or state can use their existing license, but for no longer than 60 to 90 days (depending on which Canadian province you reside in).

If you want to continue driving after this set period expires, you will need to obtain a valid Canadian driver’s license. Again, the specific rules on how to get your license vary from province to province, which also depend on your country of origin!

No matter where you live, to obtain your new license and start driving, your first step is to go down to your local driving test center with proof of your international license, driving experience and personal identification — plus pay the applicable fees!.

Driving in B.C.

In British Columbia, newcomers who wish to drive a motor vehicle in the province and have a valid driver’s license from another country can use their license for 90 days, after which you will be required to apply for a B.C. license.

Newcomers with a valid driver’s license from the United States, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea can apply to have a foreign license transferred to a B.C license after taking a required vision test and paying applicable license fees.

Immigrants relocating from the countries not listed above must complete a written knowledge test on the rules of the road and accompany road test. Signing up for driving lessons can also be a big help as the rules of the road will likely differ in Canada compared to your country of origin.

Alberta Rules

In Alberta, newcomers are required to exchange their original driver’s license for an Alberta license after 90 days.

Newcomers from Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Scotland, Switzerland, the United States or Wales can exchange it for an Alberta license after taking a required vision test and paying the applicable license fees.

Newcomers from a country not listed above will be required to take a written knowledge test and driving test.

Licensing in Manitoba

Newcomers can use a foreign license for only three months in Manitoba before it becomes invalid. They must then apply for a provincial driver’s license.

Newcomers with a valid driver’s license from the United States, Austria, France, Germany, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Republic of South Korea, Switzerland or the United Kingdom (including its territories) may exchange it for a Manitoba driver’s license after taking a required vision test.

Newcomers from other countries may use their foreign license for three months and then must pass a vision test, complete a written knowledge test on the rules of the road and successfully complete a driving test.

On the road in Ontario

Newcomers with a license from outside of Canada can use their existing license for up to 60 days while in Ontario.

Immigrants from the United States, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Northern Ireland, Korea, Australia, the Isle of Man, Great Britain, France and Belgium can exchange their license for an Ontario license after taking a required vision test and paying the applicable license fees.

Newcomers from countries not listed above will be required to complete a written knowledge test on the rules of the road and accompany road test.

Taking the test

So, if you’re from China, India or any other non-exempt country, you will have to take a written knowledge test and a road test to get a Canadian driver’s license.

In many provinces, there is a graduated testing system, which means you may not have full driving privileges immediately. In Ontario, for example, individuals can take a G2 road test eight months after passing the written test, which enables drivers to operate a vehicle at any time, but maintain a zero blood alcohol limit. Individuals can take an upgraded road test 12 months after to get their full G license.

Since this type of graduated licensing system was designed for novice drivers, a newcomer with substantial driving experience may be able to bypass some of this waiting period. Check with your local driving test center in your province to find out.

Source: http://canadianimmigrant.ca/drive-in-canada/how-to-move-from-an-international-drivers-licence-to-a-canadian-one