Immigration Canada

Le château Frontenac –Vieux-Québec / Old Quebec, ville de Québec / Quebec city(Québec, Canada) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Written By: Amy Whittam

According to Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Coteau, Ontario wants what Québec has – a special agreement with the Government of Canada on immigration. Like Québec, Ontario too would like more power to choose its own immigrants and to set its own targets for attracting skilled workers to the province.

This past month the Ontario government introduced legislation proposing an expansion of the Provincial Nominee Program. The program would grow from 1,300 economic immigrants to 5,000 accepted per year. Similar to Québec, under this new legislation Ontario would have the discretion to develop its own specific selection strategy.

Québec currently has its own set criteria for choosing new immigrants who will adapt well to life in Quebec. A skilled worker first applies to the Québec Government for a Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ) and then later can apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada programs to gain Permanent Residency.

Notwithstanding the very different historical relationship Québec and Ontario have vis-à-vis the Canadian Government, Ontario also has cause to seek a province-specific approach to immigration. Ontario is looking to grow its immigration program beyond the existing 100,000 new residents per year. Ontario also seeks to court a far grater number of skilled professionals in fields like Information Technology, which are in high demand in the province. Annual caps to the Federal Skilled Worker Program introduced earlier this year by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, may obstruct the Province’s designs on attracting more skilled workers and their families to Ontario.

The Provincial Nominee Program allows employers to fill skilled positions when there is a shortage of qualified candidates to be found within Ontario. Under the proposed new legislation, new immigrants would apply first to an expanded Ontario Provincial Nominee Program. The role of Citizenship and Immigration Canada would then be to clear these applicants on the basis of security and medical admissibility.

source: http://www.bellissimolawgroup.com/2014/03/ontario-proposes-a-quebec-style-provincial-nominee-program.html

Immigration Debate at The Weissberg Forum For Discourse (Photo credit: MDGovpics)

Posted by: Claudia Cheung

March is Fraud Prevention Month, and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander is encouraging newcomers to seek authorized immigration representatives to avoid being a victim of fraud. “Fraud is a very serious issue in our immigration system. Our government is taking action to combat fraud by introducing specific measures in the Strengthening Citizenship Act that will address misrepresentation in the citizenship system.”

Newcomers should be aware that under Canadian law, only authorized immigration representatives are allowed to charge a fee to assist an individual to apply for a Canadian visa. Hiring an unauthorized representative weaken Canada’s immigration system, cost taxpayers money, and can often lead to the refusal of the application. On the other hand, authorized immigration representatives are vastly trained and effectively regulated and will provide newcomers with accurate advice and the best service.

Authorized immigration representatives include:

- Lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society;

- Notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec; and

- Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.

Make the right decision, don’t be a victim of immigration fraud

Source: http://www.bellissimolawgroup.com/2014/03/choose-the-right-representative-dont-be-a-victim-of-immigration-fraud.html