Immigration Canada

International students needed to boost economy

Shortly after Nova Scotia received a historic shipbuilding contract, the federal government is presenting the province with another opportunity to build our economic future. It’s up to us to mobilize and take action.

Recently, Canada’s minister of immigration announced a program that would assist up to 1,000 international PhD students to become permanent residents. With most of Nova Scotia’s research capacity housed within the university sector, it is imperative that Nova Scotia act now to retain this talent pool, which in turn will contribute to innovation and growth within local industries. We must not stand by and watch our most talented students move to other Canadian cities to establish careers and families.

Nova Scotia has a serious demographic challenge. Outmigration, an aging population and low birth rates are contributing to a shrinking labour force. EduNova, a non-profit alliance of education and training providers in Nova Scotia, believes that our skilled-labour shortage can be addressed in part by having more international students put down roots in the province.

According to the Atlantic Association of Universities, Nova Scotia international student enrolments have increased again this year by more than 17 per cent. With international students also studying in K-12 schools, private-language schools, career colleges and the Nova Scotia Community College, Nova Scotia punches above its weight with a total enrolment of about 8,500 international students.

Consider the impact on our communities if only 10 per cent of this talent pool chooses to remain in Nova Scotia for further studies and for work. Would 850 educated young people, many of whom speak several languages, change Nova Scotia’s economic outlook? Would PhD students, many working on research that would benefit Nova Scotia-based enterprises, contribute to growing our economy?

Özlem Özgun, a Turkish-born graduate of Saint Mary’s University and owner of House of Moda, is an international student who has made Nova Scotia her home. Having positioned herself as one of Atlantic Canada’s top jewelry designers, Özgun speaks highly about the business climate in Nova Scotia. However, she’s also seen many friends leave for larger cities due to an inability to secure work here.

When asked if many of her international counterparts are staying in Nova Scotia, she responds that it’s 50-50. "A lot of my friends first looked for a job here in Nova Scotia. Once they can’t find one, they leave," says Özgun. "My husband and I get pressured by friends to move to Toronto. I don’t see why I would. I was able to build my business because of the supportive Halifax community."

Many students believe that Nova Scotia could do more to help them stay here. A big attraction for international students is the opportunity to study in co-op programs which combine academic studies with work experience. Enabling all international students to work, regardless of program, would help them integrate more quickly. The International Student Connector Program at Greater Halifax Partnership is on the right track, but is so far only for MBA and master of finance students.

We need more programs that specifically connect international students with employers. And not just for the benefit of students. Employers need to know what a great resource we have and open their doors, and minds, to hiring students from other countries.

Bernard Boudreau, dean of the faculty of graduate studies at Dalhousie University, is encouraged that the federal government is recognizing the potential international students bring to Canada: "International graduate students represent not only some of the best and brightest minds from their countries of origin, these are adventurous and highly motivated individuals who are willing to come to a culturally and often linguistically different country in pursuit of their educational goals.

"They consequently possess the qualities that Canada states it wants in its immigrants: self-motivation, independence, a desire to succeed, and high-order skills and education."

The immigration minister has given us a platform on which to retain the most highly skilled of these students. We need to take advantage of it by collectively extending a welcoming hand to international students and giving them reasons to stay here.

Ava Czapalay is president and CEO, EduNova ( www.edunova.ca).

About the Author

By AVA CZAPALAY

If you are interested in Immigration to Canada, contact Nexus Canada for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Canada.

New polymer $100 bill goes into circulation

By Fabiola Carletti, CBC News

Posted: Oct 3, 2011 5:15 PM ET

Last Updated: Nov 16, 2011 10:24 AM ET

The new $100 bill has a plastic feel and two clear windows. The new currency design was unveiled in Toronto and other cities, June 20. (Fabiola Carletti/CBC)

Many businesses are already leery about accepting large-denomination bills because of the number of counterfeits out there, so they'll likely be even more wary when people start trying to pay with the unfamiliar new banknotes that will start circulating through ATMs and bank tellers in November.

While the new bills may cause some awkward moments in the checkout line in the short term, the government says they have a number of high-tech features that should actually help reduce the counterfeit problem in the long run.

The new $100 bills went into circulation Nov. 14. They have two portraits of prime minister Robert Borden, as well as an image of a researcher using a microscope and a depiction of a strand of DNA.

The Bank of Canada's new $50 bills are scheduled to be released in March 2012. New $20 notes will be issued before the end of 2012, according to the BOC, followed by new $10 and $5 notes in 2013.

Redesign

The Bank of Canada periodically redesigns Canada's banknotes, aiming to make them easier to check and harder to copy. It says the rate of fake bills was at an all-time high of 470 per million before a redesign done 2004, when Canadians were introduced to holographic stripes and other security features. The rate has since fallen to 35 bad bills per million today.

The BOC says the new polymer bills have a radical new look and enhanced security features that are designed to reduce the rate of counterfeits even more.

New look, feel, security

The difference between the old and new bank notes is in the details:

The film that coats the new bills, each made from a single piece of polymer, has a smooth, plastic feel and two clear panels.
The clear panels feature metallic images as well as hidden numbers, visible when the bill is held up against a light source.
The BOC advises people to "feel, look, and flip" the new bills to experience the new security features. This interactive graphic has the details of what the new bill design includes.
Sir Robert Borden is still featured on the $100 note, and William Lyon Mackenzie King remains on the $50 note. But now both former prime ministers look you straight in the eye.
You'll no longer see the tribute to the "famous five" of women's suffrage on the $50 bill, nor the discovery-themed miscellany on the back of the old $100. The new theme is "frontiers," with the back of the $100 bill showcasing medical innovations by depicting a scene connected with the discovery of insulin, and the $50 paying tribute to Arctic research with the CCGS Amundsen.
The other denominations will take us from battle frontiers like Vimy Ridge to space frontiers with the Canadarm.
The BOC states that the polymer in the new notes has a lighter environmental footprint. The bills are 2.5 times more durable than their cotton-based counterparts and can be recycled after they are taken out of circulation.
Security features now include more sophisticated holograms and raised ink on the prime ministers' shoulders, on the biggest number and on the words "Bank of Canada."

Immigrants healthier than Canadian-born citizens

The healthy immigrant effect persists, according to a Statistics Canada study released Wednesday that found immigrants are generally healthier than Canadian-born citizens.

Some healthy people who immigrate to Canada find their health deteriorating after their arrival, but little is known about why the edge in health declines for immigrants the longer they live in Canada.

The mortality rate for newcomers continued to be lower than for Canadian-born residents, even after immigrants have lived here more than 20 years, the new study suggested.

The study does not examine the reasons immigrants tend to have better health, but those are likely to include the screening that selects an inherently healthier group of people who arrive in Canada, and also those who have a healthier diet and are more physically active in their native countries.

The longer the immigrants live in Canada, the more closely they adopt the patterns and behaviours common here.

The relationship between immigration and health has become more difficult to determine, however, as the origins and demographics of immigrants to Canada have changed.

New Canadians take the oath of citizenship during a ceremony as part of Canada Day celebrations in Vancouver. Most new Canadians arrive in better health and stay healthier than the rest of the population. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Statistics Canada's current analysis relies on the 1991-2001 Canadian mortality followup study, which examined 2.7 million people, of which 552,300, or 20 per cent, were immigrants.

Immigrants had significantly lower mortality rates than Canadian-born people: 1,006 versus 1,305 for men, and 610 versus 731 for women.

In 2006, immigrants made up 19.8 per cent of Canada’s population, a proportion that is expected to increase to at least 25 per cent by 2031, Statistics Canada says.

Mortality rates differ according to the origins of immigrants, and the study suggests there is a need for more in-depth analysis of health by country of origin.

Source: CBC news

Give provinces more control over immigration, Clark

BY JONATHAN FOWLIE, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 14, 2011

VICTORIA — Provincial governments should have more control over Canadian immigration policy, and over who gets approved to live and work in the country, Premier Christy Clark said Monday.

“Immigration is one of the most important economic levers government has. The fact that responsibility and control for it resides almost solely in the hands of the central government doesn’t work very well,” Clark told The Vancouver Sun in an interview from Bangalore, India.

“We [the provinces] are closer to the ground. We know the needs of the economy better and I think Canada will do a better job of shaping immigration policy if the provinces have a greater ability to impact that,” she added.

Clark’s comments came just one week after the federal government announced an expansion of the Provincial Nominee Program, under which immigrants with skill sets that provinces deem to be desirable — or those most likely to invest and create jobs — are able to have their permanent-resident applications fast-tracked.

British Columbia has yet to receive details of its new allotment under the program, but the federal government has said the number of spaces available nationally will increase to between 42,000 and 45,000 next year from a projected 40,000 this year.

On Monday, Clark said she and other premiers asked the federal government in July to have the caps removed from the program.

“It is ridiculous that our investor-immigrant allowance fills up in a couple of hours — literally overnight,” she said.

“So we have all these investors that want to come and create jobs in British Columbia and we say, ‘No, sorry. You can’t come in.’ To me, that’s just not smart.”

Clark added that her government is also contemplating more significant proposals on immigration as well, but that it is too early to disclose exactly what she has in mind.

She raised the issue of the provincial role in immigration on her Asian trade mission Monday, while speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Mumbai.

The panel included three provincial leaders from India, and Clark said the discussion centred on what role states and provinces should play in a national government.

“What we were looking at was the role of the state vis-a-vis the national government, and the appropriate areas of jurisdiction for each in order to drive the economy,” she said Monday, after travelling to Bangalore from Mumbai.

Clark said that during the panel session she highlighted the success, in Canada, of processes such as environmental review, but also raised the issue of immigration, where she believes Canada can do better.

Clark’s comments on immigration come close to two months after a speech by federal Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, in which he rejected the idea of more provincial control.

“We do maintain that there is an important ongoing role for the national government in immigration and we’re not just going to contract out all of the immigration selection to the provinces,” he said Sept. 16, speaking to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. “That would not be responsible.”

Kenney was not available for comment Monday, but his spokeswoman touted the success of the Provincial Nominee Program.

“This program allows provinces to play an active role in immigrant selection by authorizing them to nominate individuals who meet local labour-market demands,” Candice Malcolm said in an emailed statement.

“Since the Conservative government took office, the number of individuals British Columbia has been permitted to sponsor into Canada has grown by 500 per cent, from less than 1,000 per year in 2005 up to 5,000 today.”

jfowlie@vancouversun.com

Canada-China trade diversifying beyond commodities

By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun November 14, 2011 3:20 PM

Trade between British Columbia and China is moving to a new level, outgoing Chinese Consul-general Liang Shugen said in an interview on the changes in relations that have taken place during his three-year tenure in Vancouver.

The emphasis is no longer on investing in China and importing Chinese-made goods, he said. Now, trade has broadened into two-way business relationships and Chinese companies are seeking stronger relationships with companies here. As more Chinese business investment comes into this province, it is opening up new opportunities for trade beyond the traditional commodities.

In a wide-ranging interview at the Granville Street consulate before returning home Nov. 10, Liang offered his thoughts on the changes he has witnessed and his opinions on everything from trade to local concerns over foreign investment in real estate.

On the trade front, he urged British Columbians to look west across the Pacific and forge stronger trade relations with Asia.

"It's not only minerals, it's not only coal and LNG [liquefied natural gas]," he said. "It's B.C.'s lumber, B.C.'s seafood, B.C.'s Okanagan wines. There are lots of opportunities.

"This is two-way trade and two-way investment."

On calls for restrictions on foreign investment in Vancouver's high-priced real estate, he said he would like to see the housing market remain open.

"This [real estate] is a commercial activity and I don't think people should link it to politics."

"It's a free market," he said. "But I also have sympathy for Vancouverites who say, 'I have saved my money and would like to buy a house or buy a flat.' "

Characteristics that attract Chinese immigrants, he said, are business opportunities, Vancouver's educational facilities and the beauty of the city.

Liang put some numbers on the size and growth of Chinese trade, saying that during the last 10 years, imports to China have totalled $8 trillion US. China expects to import that much again - $8 trillion US - within the next five years, he said. The growth will be in the variety of products imported as well as the volumes, he said.

"There will be at least $1 trillion US in imports every year. You cannot just import iron ore, you cannot just import oil. You have to import some of the seafood, salmon, crab, geoduck, lobsters."

An aid in stimulating the growth of the export and import of food and perishable products, he said, is the recently opened air cargo route between Vancouver and Shanghai by China Southern Airlines.

China Southern's route, which is flown four times a week, is the first dedicated cargo service from Canada to China.

Liang said BC-China trade now totals $12 billion a year, accounting for one third of all bilateral trade between Canada and China.

"You can see how close the relationship is between B.C. and China."

He singled out education, science and technology as future areas of trade growth. There are an estimated 30,000 students from China now studying in B.C., he said.

This is the second time Liang has been posted to Vancouver, arriving in 2008 for his threeyear tenure as consul-general. His first posting was in 1988 for four years, when Vancouver was just emerging on the world stage after Expo 86.

Much has changed since then, he said. Vancouver was not as focused on Asia, and China was still in the midst of economic reform. The consulate was much smaller. Now it is one of the largest, if not the largest, consulates in Vancouver with a staff of 27 at the modern brick, wood, and glass consulate that sits behind a high wall at 16th and Granville.

Despite the growth of trade in food and education, commodities, particularly natural gas, will remain in high demand in China, Liang said.

And the sooner Canadians build the liquid natural gas terminals planned for Kitimat, the sooner B.C. can participate in the Asian natural gas boom, he said.

The window is open now for Canadian natural gas, he said, but the longer it takes for B.C. to enter the market, the more competition it will face.

Already Australia is exporting LNG to southern China after signing a $20-billion deal several years ago. Further, China has built a gas pipeline from Western Asia to China and is planning one from Russia.

"Hurry up," he said. "Don't only look south of the border. Look across the Pacific. You are rich in natural resources and natural gas.

"I hope that this [Kitimat LNG] facility can be finished at an early date to export to China or other Asian countries as soon as possible for the benefit of Canada, for the benefit of China or the benefit of any country that would import from Canada."

Natural gas may be more expensive than coal for China to import, Liang said, "but the government is determined to reduce pollution and to help the country attain sustainable economic development."

ghamilton@vancouversun.com

Skilled workers

THE WINDSOR STAR NOVEMBER 14, 2011

With baby boomers aging and the birthrate dropping, Canada has no choice but to entice more immigrants to come to this country. It's the only way to fill the growing labour void and keep the economy stable.

But the government has to be judicious when it comes to accepting applicants, and that's why a plan to allow an additional 10,000 skilled workers into the country next year is a good one.

These are the people who already have the tools and training to get to work, which means they'll quickly fill the gap and start contributing to the economy, instead of requiring several years of schooling and public assistance.

"The government's No. 1 priority remains the economy," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said when he made the announcement. "We recognize the importance of immigration to our labour market and we value the contributions of skilled immigrants who add to our international competitiveness.

"We are committed to facilitating the arrival of the best and brightest to our country."

Even those who grumble about Canada's immigration target - many people think it's too high - have to admit that the Federal Skilled Worker Program is a success. About 47,000 people have been accepted so far, and 95 per cent of employers asked for feedback said those workers were meeting or exceeding expectations.

This isn't the only change Kenney is making. While immigration levels are expected to range from 240,000 to 265,000 for the sixth straight year, doctoral students will now be able to seek permanent residency through the skilled worker program.

Surprisingly, the government says the live-in caregiver program, which allows immigrants to come to Canada to work as nannies or provide home care support for seniors, will not meet expectations this year. The number of applicants seeking to take on that kind of work is dropping, even though the demand is growing.

Given the need, Kenney should seriously consider offering incentives to encourage more live-in caregivers to move to to Canada.

The aging population means this type of employment could potentially triple in the next few years.

The day after the announcement, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think-tank, came out with its own take on what's needed to right the country and solve its economic woes.

One suggestion - to increase the fertility rate - is a non-starter. Canadians just aren't having large families anymore. In 1950, the average live crude birthrate in this country was 3.73 per 1,000 population. By 2000, it had dropped to 1.58. Last year it was at 1.5. With people living almost 10 years longer than they did 60 years ago - and with the "replacement" birthrate pegged at 2.1 - it doesn't take a skilled mathematician to figure out we're short on young, able-bodied individuals to keep the markets moving forward.

Canada's immigration system has been plagued by backlogs so severe it can take anywhere from seven to 10 years for some immigrants to get here. In 2008 the government capped the skilled workers quota and successfully whittled down the wait list.

Now it's time to open the doors again and bring in those immigrants who can become productive members of Canadian society.

Quebec to be awash in surplus electricity

MONTREAL — Quebec will have a bumper crop of surplus electricity over the next decade, according to a revised supply forecast by Hydro-Quebec.

In a report filed with Quebec’s energy board, the utility said that it anticipates accumulating about 20 terawatt hours of surplus electricity in its domestic market by 2020.

There has been a “significant decline” in the energy needs of most of the utility’s industrial clients since the utility filed its 2011-2020 forecast with the energy board in 2010, utility spokesperson Patrice Lavoie said Friday.

A terawatt is a unit of power equal to one trillion watts.

To put the surplus gap in perspective, Hydro-Quebec now estimates that its industrial clients will require 60 TWh of energy in 2015.

In its 2011-2020 planning document, it had forecast 64.5 TWh would be consumed by industry.

The surplus doesn’t surprise Pierre-Olivier Pineau, an energy specialist at the HEC Montreal business school.

“If there is an energy shortage everyone is really upset,” he noted.

“What could be criticized is the very aggressive development of wind power, small hydro and large hydro — all at the same time.”

Hydro-Quebec’s domestic supply forecast is only part of Quebec’s energy picture, a complex tableau that is often obscure and further complicated by the fact that Hydro-Quebec’s production and distribution divisions are under one roof.

To calculate domestic supply, Hydro-Quebec Distribution factors in electricity that will come online this decade via wind farms but not electricity that will come from new dam complexes such as Eastmain-1-A or the highly controversial Romaine Complex which is to add 8 TWh to the grid.

The wind farms “were forced on Hydro-Quebec” by the provincial government, which wanted to promote regional development and market sustainable development rather than meet energy needs, Pineau said.

Energy from new dam complexes will be valuable in the long term but in this economic downturn and with energy markets awash with low-cost natural gas, Hydro-Quebec faces some difficult years, he said.

Included in the domestic supply update by Hydro-Quebec are recently-announced energy deals with two of Quebec’s aluminum producers, Lavoie said.

Earlier this month, the provincial government announced that Aluminerie Alouette, which is planning a $2 billion expansion, will be provided a 500-megawatt block of low-cost power. Alcoa Inc. was promised a block of 325 MW.

And as a consequence of the anticipated energy surplus, Hydro-Quebec will extend the time that the Trans-Canada Energy natural-gas powered facility at Becancour will be mothballed.

Instead of coming online in 2015, it will be used during peak winter periods beginning in 2016, the report filed with the Regie de l’energie said.

lmoore@montrealgazette.com

Montreal Gazette

China's Wealthy Consider Immigrating To US, Canada

Kay Chinn | November 11, 2011
Staff Reporte

Nearly 60 percent of China’s wealthy reported they are considering immigration, according to a recent study by Bank of China and Hurun Research Institute.

The report classified Chinese citizens with more than 10 million yuan in investible assets, a little over 1.5 million USD, as “rich” to track the trend. Roughly one-third of those labeled as such have overseas investments amounting to 19 percent total assets.

The figure is low compared to findings of a recent survey by the Institute of Private Investors, which reported U.S. families holding $30 million or more in investible assets keep one third of their assets overseas.

But the two countries differ in their preferred asset products. Most American wealthy families buy stocks overseas while also buying into hedge funds and private equity with exposure abroad. According to analysis by the Wall Street Journal, the trending pursuit of higher profits in emerging economies is a result of globalization.

China’s rich, however, reportedly invested 51 percent of overseas assets into real estate and nearly 30 percent into foreign exchange deposits. Their investments were typically directed toward more developed countries like Canada and the U.S.

The report’s findings suggest profit is not necessarily a priority in the decision to invest overseas, taking a backseat to immigration and education for China’s wealthier families.

Among those who have foreign assets, about half reported investing overseas for the sake of their children’s education. Thirty-two percent said the decision was in preparation to immigrate.

Fourteen percent of them have already begun the immigration process, and another 46 percent said they are considering it, again eyeing the U.S. and Canada as destinations.

Attorney Jerry Zhang, partner of Zhang & Associates, said the firm’s core focus is in Chinese immigration cases. In recent years he’s seen a sharp increase in clients looking to invest.

“There are four main reasons for the Chinese who do the investment immigration: first, their children’s education and future development; second, safe and better lives in the U.S., such as clean environments, stable political and judicial systems, and protection of private property; third, transfer of their funds to the U.S.; and personal freedom and safety from government controls.”

Rocco Shen, an attorney at Li & Associates, said despite the increase in investor immigrant cases from China, the annual quota has not yet been met.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, China ranked first among all countries with 722 investor immigrant cases in 2010. It would seem their position at the top is fairly well protected; Korea came in second, with a mere 295 cases.

Reach staff reporter Kay Chinn here.