Immigration consultants, lawyers, and other representatives: Who can represent you

Authorized immigration consultants, lawyers, Québec notaries, and paralegals regulated by a law society are people who can offer immigration advice to applicants. Some applicants may choose to use such a representative to act on their behalf with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Immigration and Refugee Board or the Canada Border Services Agency.

There are two types of immigration representatives: paid and unpaid.

Paid immigration representatives

Only the following people may charge a fee or receive any other type of consideration, to represent or advise you in connection with a Canadian immigration proceeding or application:

• 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

The Government of Canada will not deal with non-authorized immigration representatives who charge for their services.

NEW: Other people who offer paid immigration advice

With the coming into force of Bill C-35, anyone who provides paid advice prior to the filing of an application or the commencement of a proceeding will need to be an authorized representative. This means that some third parties who were not formerly required to be recognized to provide paid advice will now have to refer people to an authorized representative or become authorized themselves. Some examples of paid advice or representation that will now be captured through the implementation of Bill C-35 include:

• representing the applicant during an immigration proceeding by speaking on their behalf.
• providing guidance to a client on how to select the best immigration stream and complete the appropriate forms.

Unpaid immigration third parties

Unpaid third parties, such as family members, friends, non-governmental or religious organizations will still be allowed to act on your behalf.

To protect your privacy, CIC will not share any of your personal information with your consultant, lawyer, and other representative unless you provide your written consent using the Use of a Representative (IMM 5476)form.

Other people who offer immigration advice or assistance

People who provide immigration-related advice or assistance for a fee before the application is filed are not obliged to be authorized consultants. However, be aware that non-authorized consultants, lawyers, and other representatives or advisors are not regulated. This means that they may not have adequate knowledge or training. It also means that you cannot seek help from the professional bodies (that is, the law societies, ICCRC, etc.) if that person provides you with the wrong advice or behaves in an unprofessional way.

THE SEVEN TOP TIPS FOR GETTING HIRED LONG DISTANCE

Source: MuchmorCanada

By now you’ve read every bit of advice that explains how to make yourself more attractive to employers. You know to clean up your online profiles, update your résumé, practice your interview answers, and network. But what if you’re looking for a job in a different time zone?

Long-distance job hunts bring with them a special set of requirements that can seem daunting at first, but aren’t all that much worse than a regular job search. With a little planning, you can conduct a long-distance job search that will land you a job in any city you want.

Choose locations

Hunting for a job in a single city is difficult. Hunting for one in all 50 states is virtually impossible. Rather than approach your job search as a nationwide Easter egg hunt, decide what cities you want to focus on. Although you might be open to any location that will offer you a job, you should make a list of five or 10 cities where you can see yourself working. For example if you hate to drive and love cold winters, then you should probably cross Los Angeles off of your list.

Know the job market

When you’re looking at potential locations for your job search, do some research on the local economy. Not all cities offer the same opportunities. Although you know that local unemployment rates differ from city to city, remember that industry vitality is just as diverse. One city might have a low unemployment rate, but your industry isn’t necessarily enjoying the same boom. Look at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and peruse newspapers for localized information.

Use your network

The glory of social media is that networks aren’t confined by geography anymore. Look at your Facebook friends and you probably know people in dozens of states, if not countries. Use your contacts from all of your social media profiles to publicize your job search and ask for any information that could guide you toward the right opportunity. When it comes to job hunting, you can’t ever have too many people looking for jobs on your behalf.

Brush up on your phone skills

Phone interviews typically come before any in-person interview, but the likelihood of them increases greatly when you’re searching long distance. In most cases, employers won’t expect you to fly out for a first-round interview, so a phone interview is most common, and you shouldn’t take it lightly. Practice speaking at a calm pace, be certain your phone signal is strong and do a few dry runs with a friend.

Perhaps most importantly, job seekers are often afraid to appear impolite when interviewers call and say, “Sure, I can talk right now.” If you are caught off guard or if you are in the middle of feeding your children and doing laundry, you can be honest. Even if you ask for 15 minutes to go to a quieter room, you want to create the best setting for your interview.

Decide if you’ll travel for an interview

Sometimes you’ll get to a second or third round of interviews when the employer wants to meet you in person. Sometimes the company pays for travel, but other times they don’t. Set a few ground rules for yourself in order to determine what opportunities you consider worth your time and money. Also, if asked to travel, find out as much information as possible about so that you can make the arrangements that work best for you. See what dates are available (so you can book the most affordable flight) and how long the process takes (so you know if you can fly home that day and save hotel fare). You want to know as much as possible beforehand so you can make the most informed decision possible.

Travel

Relocating for a job is a big move that can pay off for your career, but it can also require sacrifices. Leaving behind your friends, paying for the move, and spending the time on the move itself all require a lot of energy. You want to be certain the city you’re moving to is worth it, so if you haven’t visited in a while or ever, find a way to visit before you move. Not only will you find out if the culture is right for you, but you will also get a better idea of the layout. You could realize that you should extend your job search to nearby suburbs or towns, which can open up a new set of possibilities.

Know your own relocation plan

The most important part of your long-distance job search is having a flexible game plan. Without a job offer, you might not have a definitive move date, but you should have an idea of what is possible in case you get an offer. Employers know you’re not a local candidate, so they will want to know how soon you can start and when you plan to be in the city.

If you get an offer and then say you need time to put your house on the market, find a good school for your children, and decide where you want to live, you’ll probably lose out on the opportunity. Most employers understand the complexity of a long-distance job search, but they don’t have six months to wait for you, either. A flexible plan allows you and the employer to negotiate a mutually agreeable start date while also showing that you’re serious about relocating.

Writers Bio: Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

Related articles

• Best Way to Find a Job - Job Search Networking 101 (CPACareerCoach.com)
• Common Job Interview Questions (jobinterviews.attorneyfountainhills.com)
• How to Plan For the 3 Phases of Your Job Search (news.dice.com)
• How to Use Linkedin Effectively in Your Job Search (CPACareerCoach.com)
• Seven Reasons to Keep Searching Even Though It's Summer (news.dice.com)

Quebec growth slows, but the outlook is brightening

BY JAY BRYAN, THE GAZETTE JULY 7, 2011

 

 

Quebec's economic growth will slow this year, but it's expected to remain healthy enough to keep unemployment edging down and to lay the foundation for more robust expansion next year.

That's the latest forecast from Scotia Capital, where economist Alex Koustas sees a number of strengths that will help to soften the negative impact of tax increases, slowing consumer spending and the province's long-standing difficulty in attracting skilled immigrants.

The rising tax burden, however, is "really going to cause a bit of a drag" on growth, Koustas said yesterday. New taxes will pull $2.7 billion out of Quebecers' pockets this year in the form of health levies and increases in the provincial sales tax and gasoline tax.

All these will rise again next year, boosting the total cost to taxpayers in 2012 to $4.2 billion, according to provincial finance department estimates.

The dampening impact of these tax hikes on consumer spending, combined with a slowdown in Quebec's important U.S. export market, will leave the province with growth of just 2.3 per cent this year, the country's slowest outside Atlantic Canada.

Ontario, where the big auto-manufacturing sector is still rebounding from a disastrous slump during the recession, will do a little better than Quebec this year, growing by 2.5 per cent.

But the growth champions will be in Western Canada, where rising values for oil, potash and other resource products will help Alberta to expand by 4.2 per cent, Saskatchewan by 3.7 per cent and British Columbia by 2.9 per cent.

However, Quebec's performance still has a number of bright spots. A key one is the unemployment rate, which dipped below Ontario's in the recession year of 2009 for the first time in 30 years.

Back then, this looked as if it might be a temporary blip caused as much by the nearcollapse of Ontario's automakers as by Quebec's job creation.

on provincial economy

But the Quebec advantage has persisted, reinforced by the province's heavy spending on roads and power projects.

Unemployment in Quebec will fall to an average of 7.7 per cent this year from 8.0 per cent in 2010. This year's jobless rate will be higher than the national average of 7.5 per cent, but it remains below Ontario's forecast 8.1 per cent.

And now, a number of big Quebec industries are showing signs of strong expansion, suggesting that growth in the province will strengthen in 2012.

A key example is information technology, which accounts for more than five per cent of the provincial economy.

After hiring in this sector had stagnated during most of the past decade, it's been ramping up this year, Koustas said.

The prospects for further expansion are helped by a growing flow of venture capital, where Koustas said Quebec ranks among the top five or six destinations in North America.

Another keystone industry is aerospace manufacturing, whose turnaround is finally gaining momentum.

Orders for everything from business jets to components like flight simulators and landing gear have been rising.

This should be translated into actual shipments by late this year, bringing a positive contribution to economic growth in 2012.

Less visibly to those of us in Montreal, mining is becoming "one of the pacesetters for growth" in Quebec, said Koustas in his forecast:

"Multibillion-dollar investments are in play in the northern regions of the province, with gold and ironore mining set to make significant contributions to the economy. Mining investment and exploration have nearly doubled since 2005."

And finally, the cross-Canada cooling in home construction is being more than offset in Quebec by new projects in the industrial, mining and utility sectors, leaving the overall construction sector enjoying robust health.

Indeed, says the report, "the construction industry in Quebec finds itself in its best position since the 1970s, having grown by over 50 per cent since 2000," or faster than most of the province's other industries.

Over the longer run, though, Koustas noted that it remains "kind of worrisome" that Quebec still fails to attract many immigrants, leaving it vulnerable to stagnating growth as its workforce ages and begins drawing public pensions.

By far the largest chunk of Canada's international immigrants settle in Ontario, while in Quebec "the influx of talented workers is not exactly what you'd want it to be."

jbryan@ montrealgazette.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more:http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Quebec+growth+slows+outlook+brightening/5062246/story.html#ixzz1RSG4OafT

Near 50 per cent increase to online Sask. jobs

Global Saskatoon: Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Saskatchewan employers continue to create job opportunities in huge numbers, even on the web.

Photo Credit: -, Global Saskatoon

SaskJobs.ca website experiences its second straight month of over 13-thousand job posts. The website saw an approximate 50 per cent increase over June, 2010.

Rob Norris, Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister, said “employers in every corner of the province continue to open the doors of opportunity for Saskatchewan people.”

Employers from 327 Saskatchewan communities posted over 67-thousand job opportunities on the Saskatchewan website between January and June. This shows an increase of over 13-thousand over the same period last year.

“We already have the lowest unemployment rate in the country, and with a growing number of job prospects, people from across Canada and around the world are looking at Saskatchewan as a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

The trades and primary industry categories accounted for more than a third of the overall total for June.

SaskJobs.ca is Saskatchewan’s largest job-matching website. The site provides job posting services free of charge for employers across the province and free resume posting for job seekers from around the world.

© Copyright (c) Shaw Media Inc.

Newcomer program proves popular

SUMMERSIDE - Immigration numbers to Summerside appear to be on the rise and the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada is working with the city to integrate and retain these people.

The city is prepared to launch its new economic development strategy that will set the direction Summerside will take over the next five years. One of the major components of that strategy is immigration.

Getting skilled immigrants to the community is one thing. Keeping them here is another.

The city has partnered with the P.E.I Association for Newcomers to Canada's Retention Integration Committee for Health (RICH) and the provincial Health Department for a pilot project to attract health professionals to the area.

Belinda Wood is the integration and retention officer for the Summerside program. She said it has already expanded to more that just the health field.

"It's growing amazingly," Wood said. "My main mandate was to work with health professionals, but it's more immigration and citizenship and getting their sponsorships for bringing family members over. That's really taking off. That's taking up a lot of the time right now. We're getting more immigrants coming into Summerside and I guess they expect there's going to be a lot more coming."

Wood said she still works with the health professions, too. She said if they come here and have a job to go they don't really need a lot.

"It's mostly working with their families to help them get settled because if the families aren't happy the doctors aren't going to stay," she said. "One of the challenges is they're so polite and they agree to everything and then you find out that they didn't have this and they didn't have that. Its just basic things like where do I get my hydro? Where do I get my cable, phone, all of those kinds of things. Then there are activities, schools."

She said through the Charlottetown office of the P.E.I. Association of Newcomers to Canada, staff travel to Summerside to put on presentations to help with diversity and to educate the people who are here now to assist and understand.

"A lot of times there are misconceptions with what people think they know and what they find out when they actually talk to people from other countries. There are lots of judgments made sometimes so once they've had opportunities to talk with different people they have a different outlook. That's kind of what our job is - to bring that education (immigrants have) here as well as help them out."

Wood said there is a misconception out there that immigrants are coming to this country to take jobs away from Canadians.

"That's not true," she said. "They're bringing talents that are not here. They're also filling jobs that we don't want. So, they're filling the void and they wouldn't be able to come here if they couldn't do that."

She said government requires that immigrants who are coming to Canada have a job or will be able to fill an existing need in the labour market.

Wood has only been on the job for two months and it's a part-time two-day-a-week position at the present time. Federal funding is being sought to make it full time. But already she has 30 cases on the go in the Summerside area.

"Every week my calendar is filled with appointments to meet with people. Sometimes I'm three weeks ahead booking people