Immigration Canada

Immigrant settlement money shuffled among provinces

By Louise Elliott and Laura Payton, CBC News

Posted: Nov 25, 2011 7:01 AM ET

Last Updated: Nov 25, 2011 1:14 PM ET

Immigrant settlement services are getting cut by $31.5 million in Ontario next year, CBC News has learned. But the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, led by Jason Kenney, is increasing money for every other province and territory. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The federal government will cut $31.5 million from immigrant settlement services in Ontario while boosting funds to every other province in 2012, the second year in a row Ontario's share of the money has declined.

The shuffle of funds means that, on balance, Ottawa will spend $6 million less on services to help immigrants find language-training, jobs and housing next year. That's despite the fact that the number of newcomers is now at an all-time high.

The government earmarked $583 million for settlement services across Canada for 2011-12, down from $622 million the year before.

For 2012-13, that total will fall to $577 million across Canada, according to ministry figures.

For the current year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada budgeted $346.5 million for Ontario, a decrease from $390 million the previous year. For 2012-13, it'll drop again to $314.9 million. A loss of $31.5 million.

The federal government argues it's adjusting its funding to fit changing migration patterns.

Marion Newrick, head of the Community Action Resource Centre, says she thinks everyone in the settlement community is worried. Newrick’s group helps immigrants learn English, get jobs, and integrate into Canadian society.

When Ottawa cut settlement funding to Ontario last year by more than $40 million, Newrick had to cut both staff and language services.

“The reality is that if you look at the numbers that are coming into Ontario, they're far greater than all the other provinces combined so it made no sense to suddenly without warning, without a plan, make these huge cuts on Ontario,” she said.

Senior government sources say they're simply adapting the funding to the fact that fewer immigrants are going to Ontario as a proportion of the national total.

Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland argues that the Ontario government is partly to blame, because it hasn't worked hard enough to bring in newcomers.

“Ontario has failed to select the number of immigrants provincially, relative to the size of the population of the province. How is it that smaller provinces than Ontario can select more immigrants provincially than Ontario?” he said.

Many immigrants going west

British Columbia is getting $109.8 million, a slight increase over $105.6 million for 2011-12.

Thomas Tam, head of a B.C. organization that helps immigrants integrate, says the federal government is making the right move by boosting funding to B.C. and other western provinces. Tam says migration patterns are changing dramatically.

"That's a very important additional resources for us. In the last couple of years, we've been seeing more and more immigrants into the province, particularly from Asia. There's a great demand for language training [and] labour market integration programs."

In fact, not only are immigrants increasingly going west, they're also going to smaller towns and cities. For example, Tam's organization is now expanding its services to the northern B.C. town of Fort St. John.

Kurland argues the funding is justified, as immigrants head to smaller communities in the west and the east, where settlement services are sparse.

"It's very good news for the recipients of settlement funding in Canada's hinterland, in western Canada, and of course the Maritimes, to include the idea of retaining immigration. The more settlement funding you can toss into the Maritimes the better chance you have of retaining immigrants in that region," he said.

Federal funds for immigrant settlement services, by province
	2011-12	2012-13
Nfld. & Labrador	$2,223,039	$2,512,975
P.E.I.	3,946,142	5,218,024
Nova Scotia	7,012,146	7,078,944
New Brunswick	5,179,369	5,664,069
Ontario	346,521,868	314,950,874
Manitoba	32,027,618	36,539,512
Saskatchewan	14,255,519	17,995,061
Alberta	64,071,989	74,978,539
B.C.	105,558,092	109,813,233
N.W.T.	672,976	723,998
Nunavut	463,377	469,800
Yukon	709,534	932,632

Canada Plans to Admit More Provincial Nominees in 2012

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Nov 07, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Government of Canada will continue to provide provinces and territories with a record amount of space in the country's immigration program in 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) plans to welcome 42,000 to 45,000 people under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2012, including the nominees themselves, their spouses and dependents. This represents an almost seven-fold increase since 2004.

In 2010, over 36,000 people entered Canada under the PNP. CIC is on track to welcome more provincial nominees this year, and 2012 has the potential to set another record high if the provinces submit enough nominations early on to fill their allotted space in the program.

"The Government of Canada recognizes the crucial role the Provincial Nominee Program plays in meeting local labour market needs," said Minister Kenney. "The PNP has made great strides in sharing the benefits of economic immigration across the country." Today, 26 percent of all economic immigrants are now destined for provinces other than Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, compared to 11 percent in 1997. The PNP has also become the second largest source of economic immigration to Canada.

All provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut, have Provincial Nominee agreements. The PNP gives provinces and territories an active role in immigrant selection as they may nominate for permanent residence individuals who meet specific local labour market needs. Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has the sole authority for selecting immigrants to its province. However, these candidates must still meet CIC's admissibility requirements.

CIC consults regularly with provincial and territorial governments to develop a balanced immigration plan, including the number of anticipated nominations per province. It is important to note that in order for CIC to reach annual admissions targets, provinces and territories must submit sufficient and timely nominations. The Provincial Nominee allotments for 2012 are still being finalized and will be released later on.

"CIC is working closely with provinces and territories to improve the program design, integrity and management of the Provincial Nominee Program," said Minister Kenney. CIC launched a national evaluation of the Provincial Nominee Program last year and expects to release the results in 2012. The federal, provincial and territorial governments are also moving towards a multi-year levels planning approach for 2013 and beyond.

A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Graph_CIC_1107.pdf

Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada's economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.

        
        Contacts:
        Candice Malcolm
        Minister's Office
        Citizenship and Immigration Canada
        
        Media Relations
        Communications Branch
        Citizenship and Immigration Canada
        613-952-1650
        CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

SOURCE: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Unlocking the Potential of Immigrants for Business Growth and Innovation

Immigration is essential to Canada’s economic growth. For Canada to remain globally competitive, employers must fully capitalize on the potential for innovation and growth that comes from hiring and integrating skilled immigrants, according to the Deloitte white paper Welcome To Canada. Now What? Unlocking the Potential of Immigrants for Business Growth and Innovation.

The white paper, the second in Deloitte’s “Dialogue on diversity” series, builds on the professional services firm’s roundtable discussions that examined why organizations aren’t fully and more effectively integrating skilled immigrants into Canadian workplaces.

The report brings together the perspectives of employers, community organizations, special interest groups, government agencies and ministries, and immigrants and found a consistent call to action: Canada needs to do a better job of integrating skilled, foreign-trained workers into our workforce by identifying the barriers to integration and breaking them down.

These barriers include:

credentials not being recognized
lack of professional networks
lack of Canadian experience
bias in recruitment

Proposed solutions include:

review HR policies and practices through a “diversity lens”
educate recruiters about different cultures and international credentials
offer internships to provide Canadian experience and “test drive” candidates
develop cultural connections and understanding of current employees
create employee resource groups
have employees mentor skilled immigrants

Read the full report: Welcome To Canada. Now What? Unlocking the Potential of Immigrants for Business Growth and Innovation

Town of Oakville Welcomes New Canadians

The Town of Oakville, in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, welcomed 50 new Canadian citizens at a citizenship ceremony at Town Hall on November 17, 2011.

Oakville’s newest Canadians come from 21 different countries, including Bangladesh, China, Colombia, England, India, Iraq, Kenya, South Korea, Macedonia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Venezuela.

“As an immigrant myself, I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this day— to witness the joy and enthusiasm of people from around the world who will now proudly call themselves Canadian,” Mayor Rob Burton said. “On behalf of the town and residents of Oakville, I encourage our newest citizens to get involved in our community and experience all the great things Oakville has to offer.”

A representative for MP Terence Young, along with MPP Kevin Flynn, Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, and Mayor Rob Burton welcomed the new citizens before Judge Kris Mohan presided over the official ceremony. This is the third citizenship ceremony hosted by the Town of Oakville.

“The town holds citizenship ceremonies at Town Hall and at the library to showcase our municipal government for new citizens,” Mayor Burton explained. “This Council is committed to making Oakville a more inclusive community – and to put us one step closer to our vision of becoming the most livable town in Canada.”

Mayor Burton during the Citizenship Ceremony

According to the 2006 census, almost one third of Oakville residents are immigrants to Canada, and almost one in five residents identifies themself as a visible minority. To assist residents who speak a language other than English, the town subscribes to Language Line, an over the phone interpretation service that provides interpreters in more than 150 languages. This service ensures that whether in person or by phone, residents will receive great customer service. The town is also in the midst of upgrading its website to improve access to information and services, and will include an online translation tool that will make town information available in the most commonly spoken languages in Oakville.

A number of town departments including the Oakville Public Library (OPL), Recreation and Culture, and Environmental Policy offer a variety of programs and participate in numerous outreach activities to help meet the needs of our diverse residents. These include recreational programs for residents with special needs, multicultural themed
family performances at Town Hall, library online resources to improve language skills, as well as workshops that assist children and teens with homework or help newcomers build a career in Canada. The OPL also offers a growing number of print, audio, and DVD materials in languages other than English for both children and adults.

To learn more about the diverse make up of our community, check out the If Oakville was a village of 100 people booklet available at Town Hall, town community centres, libraries, the Halton Multicultural Council, and the Newcomer Information Centre.

There are many initiatives underway that demonstrate the town’s commitment to diversity. For more information, read the Diversity Initiatives Update report that went to Council on November 7, 2011 on the town’s website at www.oakville.ca.

Vying for best of new talent

By CHERYL BRINK CBRINK@STANDARD-FREEHOLDER.COM

Updated 12 hours ago

CORNWALL — Leaders in business, politics and community agencies gathered on Wednesday to brainstorm new ways to attract immigrants to the region.

The Eastern Ontario Training Board hosted the event, which featured an official from the Conference Board of Canada who spoke about how to compete for the incoming workforce.

"Cornwall is among the communities in Canada that have this as a major priority," said Diana MacKay, director of education, health and immigration. "...Cornwall seems at the ready to get serious about a strategy for successful integration of newcomers."

She said she was impressed with the 50-plus attendees from various industries and organizations who came to hear "how to make Cornwall and region the most attractive."

MacKay said they face a challenge because the five counties —– networked in a Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) — are not well known beyond Ontario.

"They have to market the region and its goals," she said. "Everyone is competing for the best available talent."

During a question-and-answer session, MacKay noted Canada is currently accepting 250,000 new residents each year, which is not sustainable considering the low birth rate and aging population. She said the conference board's research shows 350,000 immigrants per year is necessary to maintain the country's workforce.

"We do tons of analysis on how things would be better if we had our act together," she said.

Because there aren't enough new labourers to go around — in part due to a seven-year queue for the federal government to process applications — communities have to be strategic in how they reach out to immigrants.

But MacKay added that aboriginals are a growing workforce that should be invited in as well, and more women and people with disabilities should be accommodated.

She said though Cornwall is already doing plenty to improve its workforce, agencies have to ensure immigrants don't feel isolated in the rural areas. Schools are also a major factor in attracting and retaining new residents.

Sharon McRae, LIP project manager for the training board, said the lack of local post-secondary education is what turns many potential residents away.

Because immigrant families are generally very close-knit, she said those who do settle here often move away later to be closer to universities for their children.

She said the Wednesday morning forum was the final step in the development of a region-wide strategy that will be reviewed by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration early next year. The community input will be incorporated into the document, in addition to already-completed surveys and focus groups with immigrants.

Statistics will be compiled along with the strategy, showing how many newcomers settle in the five counties, why they move here and how long they stay.

McRae said their current data shows about 350 immigrants arrive each year, and most are highly educated, buy homes and start businesses in the community.

"It really adds to the economy," she said.

McRae said the strategy will form phase two of the LIP project, and include next steps for business leaders and agencies in the coming months.

The partnership includes T.R. Leger Immigrant Services, social services in all five counties, employment services and the Eastern Ontario Training Board.

"We're not doing anything wrong," she said. "But we could be doing a lot more right."

"What we don't want to happen is for people to go sit in their office and think in isolation," said MacKay. "There has to be a shared strategy."

Ottawa faces legal challenge over backlogged immigrant visa applications

Nicholas KeungImmigration Reporter

More than 300 people around the world awaiting immigration visas have filed legal notices against the Canadian government, claiming they are being “warehoused” in a lengthy backlog.

The notices, filed with the Federal Court of Canada, are asking Citizenship and Immigration Canada to process their applications within a reasonable time frame.

The litigants, some of whom applied as far back as 2004, accuse CIC of violating a pledge to assess and finalize decisions in a timely fashion.

“These people paid the application fees, but immigration has never even started processing their applications,” said Tim Leahy, one of the lawyers representing the litigants.

The legal notices — from Asia to Africa, Europe and the Middle East — are growing in numbers with the recent launch of an online appeal for litigants at unfaircic.com. It is not a class-action lawsuit, so a court ruling would apply only to those involved in the litigation.

Litigants include those who filed before February 2008, when new laws were brought in to fast-track new applications from skilled workers, and those who filed between 2008 and 2010, when further restrictions capped the number of skilled-worker applications.

Ottawa has argued restrictions are needed to reduce a backlog of 900,000 applications.

But some litigants claim the government has effectively ceased assessing applications filed before 2008.

Shrish Aithala, who has a master’s degree in computer integrated engineering from New York’s Rochester Institute of Technology, filed his application in 2006 in New Delhi.

“I cannot understand how the existing backlog can be bypassed. I’m sure there are skilled and educated people in the backlog ready to contribute to the economy,” Aithala, 36, told the Starfrom his current job in Dubai.

“Because of the uncertainly of my application status, I have missed out on many opportunities as commitment was required from my side with regards to these work assignments.”

Applicants who filed between 2008 and 2010 say they, too, are being unfairly treated since the application cap was brought in.

Rasoul Nikkhah, a 42-year-old computer network administrator from Tehran, Iran, was thrilled when Ottawa rolled out its fast-track federal skilled-worker program in 2008, anticipating a quick processing. The government promised to finalize cases within six to 12 months.

Immigration acknowledged receipt of Nikkhah’s application in April 2009 and 26 months later his file is still “in process,” he said.

“The reason I participated in this legal action is to bring justice to my case and similar cases, as I believe I have been treated unfairly by CIC.”

The immigration department confirmed receipt of the legal notices, but declined to comment on the allegations.

“The Federal Court has not yet even determined whether it will hear any of these cases, and as such, there has been no decision on the merits of the cases,” said immigration spokesperson Nancy Caron.

Caron said the skilled-worker backlog from before February 2008 has been reduced from 641,000 people to 314,000. About 140,000 applicants from the early phase of the fast-track program are still awaiting a decision, she said.

In 2002 and 2003, the federal government was confronted with a similar volley of court challenges to new regulations and the treatment of backlogged cases.

Ottawa offered a $2.9 million settlement to 105,000 backlogged applicants, agreeing to get rid of the new rule that affected pre-existing applications negatively, said Leahy, who led one of the lawsuits.

Source: Toronto News

Canada's visa system badly flawed: watchdog

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA | Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:06pm EST

(Reuters) - Canada could be admitting people who are security threats or carrying serious diseases because of a flawed visa system, a parliamentary watchdog warned on Tuesday.

The report by the auditor general is likely to bolster U.S. critics seeking much tighter controls on the U.S.-Canada border on the grounds that Ottawa is letting in terror suspects and militants who could one day attack the United States.

Interim Auditor General John Wiersema said visa and security officials "need to do a much better job of managing the health, safety and security risks" of applicants."

Wiersema said officials at the two main departments involved, Citizenship and Immigration and the Border Services Agency, were overworked, ill-trained, poorly supervised and were using outdated methods.

"Visa officers are responsible for deciding whether to grant or refuse a visa to enter Canada. The system lacks basic elements to ensure they get the right information to make those decisions," he said in a statement. "We've been reporting some of these problems with visas for 20 years, and I find it disturbing that fundamental weaknesses still exist."

In 2010, visa officers processed applications for 1.04 million people seeking temporary residence and 317,000 people seeking permanent residence. Canada, with a population of 34.5 million, is one of the few western nations actively encouraging immigration.

The report comes at a sensitive time. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet in Washington next month to sign an agreement on closer co-operation on border security.

"Why is the prime minister heading such a disorganized government?" opposition Liberal Party legislator John McCallum asked in the House of Commons.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said he shared Wiersema's concerns and the government had made "made significant investments in improving security screening".

Ottawa was embarrassed in 1999 when U.S. officials arrested Algerian-born Ahmed Ressam as he crossed from Canada on a mission to blow up Los Angeles airport. Ressam had ignored a deportation order and used a faked birth certificate to gain a Canadian passport.

Wiersema said two of the Border Services' manuals used to help officers screen for security risks had not been updated for several years and one was last revised in 1999.

"There has been no analysis to determine whether the current risk indicators to help identify potentially inadmissible applicants are appropriate or properly applied," he said.

Almost two-thirds of foreign-based visa officers interviewed by Wiersema's team reported problems validating information provided by applicants.

Wiersema also found potential immigrants were not being properly assessed to see if they were medically admissible. Officials focus on syphilis and tuberculosis even though the federal Public Health Agency has identified 56 diseases that need monitoring.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson and Janet Guttsman)

Super visas will make immigrants' lives easier

BY MANPREET GREWAL, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 23, 2011

Although the jury is out on the Canadian government's moratorium on new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents for immigration, few would argue the wisdom of the new parent and grandparent super visa. In principle and on paper, it is a nice piece of policy work rooted in the reality of many immigrants' family lives.

The super visa is a multiple entry visa valid for up to 10 years, which will allow family members to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time. According to a Citizenship and Immigration Canada news release, this super visa will come into effect on Dec. 1 and should be issued within eight weeks of the application on aver-age. This means that instead of eight years, which is the usual processing time for permanent resident applications, parents and grandparents will be able to join their families here within two months.

Currently, more than 165,000 parents and grandparents who have applied to become permanent residents of Canada are still waiting for a decision. Each year out of the 38,000 applicants, many parents and grand-parents apply for a permanent resident status because that is their only option for visiting their children in their Canadian homes and spending any quality time with their families. Many of them were denied a visitor's visa on the grounds that their attachment to their children in Canada would prevent them from returning to their home country. In fact, many of them were rerouted to apply for permanent residency.

For those who just wanted to visit their children and grandchildren, the permanent resident status complicated their lives. They got caught up in the cycle of travelling back and forth from their home country to Canada to maintain their permanent resident status. It also caused undue duress on families when the different generations used to independent lifestyles became locked into living in extended family situations for lengthy periods. The relationship dynamics can change quickly between grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren when the joy of timely temporary visits is converted into a permanent living situation.

What was meant as a noble goal of family reunification many times created unbearable family conflict and sadness. Many seniors have regretted leaving their homeland behind and moving to Canada only to lead a life of dependency and isolation within their children's homes. Many immigrant children have been embarrassed by the family breakups caused by the intervention of seniors. The super visa will allow parents and grandparents to follow a natural flow between Canada and other countries without creating an unnecessary burden on the Canadian taxpayer or spinning families into unnecessary stress.

The visa might add a financial bur-den on the sponsoring family, how-ever, because parents and grandparents applying for a super visa will be required to obtain private health care insurance for their stay in Canada - but that will be a small price to pay.

What remains to be seen is the translation of the policy into practice. Parents and grandparents usually want to come here for family occasions like significant birthdays, weddings, deaths and births. Sometimes, immigration officials have been brutal in denying people entry to attend funerals of even close relatives. Following the moratorium on sponsorship applications for parents and grandchildren, any effective strategy has to take into consideration the volumes of people who will apply for the super visa and how effective Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be in processing them and allowing people to travel here in a timely manner. This will lead to pressure on visa offices over-seas and will require more resources to address the increased volumes to meet the required timelines.

Nor will the super visa solve the problem of parents and grandparents who want to spend their waning years living closer to their children in Canada and also to bring their dependent children here to live closer to their siblings. This moratorium will hurt them because their children could be excluded by age by the time they can apply. It is also not clear if the super visa will allow dependent children to visit with their families. Not being able to bring them along will effectively limit the parents and grandparents in their enjoyment of their own tourist visas.

Manpreet Grewal is an Abbotsford-based writer.