Canada Immigration extends Canada – Ontario Immigration Agreement

Recently, Canada Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Dr Eric Hoskins the Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration signed an extension to the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA).
“In extending the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, we signal our commitment to continue to collaborate to attract, retain and integrate immigrants into communities in Ontario while exploring new ways to improve immigrant outcomes,” said Immigration Minister Kenney. “The extension of this agreement prolongs our support for immigrant settlement programs, including language training and programs for newcomer youth.”
“Ontario is pleased to sign this one-year extension as we negotiate a successor agreement, so that newcomers to the province can continue to receive the services they need to settle and succeed,” said Ontario Immigration Minister Hoskins.
In the period 2010-2011 three hundred and twenty million dollars in funding will be provided to Ontario for 2010–2011 on top of the annual settlement funding of $108 million.
The Canadian Government had to the following to say about the extension of the Canada- Ontario Agreement:
…”The Government of Canada will continue to work in partnership with the province of Ontario, settlement service provider organizations, local municipalities and other stakeholders to make a real difference in the lives of Ontario immigrants.”…
It is hoped that the agreement will result in increased immigration so helping Ontario meet its “…overall social, cultural and economic goals…”.

Canada: Must address worker shortfall

Canadian Construction Association head Wayne Morsky says more than 300,000 new construction employees will be needed within the next decade

By Kevin Doyle | Mon May 10, 2010

Regina businessman Wayne Morsky, now serving a one-year term as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Construction Association, is sounding the alarm for the need to address a growing shortfall in construction workers across Canada.

As a large number of workers approach retirement age, fewer are entering construction and the ancillary specialty trades. Construction Digital often speaks with companies that have implemented innovative in-house solutions such as mentoring programs designed to allow young workers to work with and be trained by one nearing retirement.

However, that won’t address the big picture as Morsky says Canada will need more than 300,000 new construction workers within seven years. He said the active recruitment of young people – particularly young aboriginal people – should be a big part of the solution to finding new workers to fill vacancies and to replace retirees.

"In Saskatchewan, we are looking at a (construction) worker shortfall of more than 6,200 employees," Morsky told the spring meeting of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association. "We must enhance the industry's efforts in promoting careers in construction to our youth, particularly to Canada's First Nations, where the median age is 27.”

"Aboriginal Canadians have been part of the strong and proud history of this industry and we must find a way to get them re-engaged in construction if we are to meet the future labour challenges," he said.

Immigration of skilled workers could be another part of the solution, Morsky said. However, he said Canada's immigration system "is no longer construction-friendly and does not appear to be headed for significant retooling in the near future."

To Immigrate or Not to Immigrate

By The Cynical Investor
http://www.thecynicalinvestor.net/
Published: April 29th, 2010

This post is part of Guest Posts series where Guest Bloggers write for this blog. Their opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Nexus Canada's Blog.

A disciple asked his Zen master: “Shall I get married or not?” “Whatever you choose you will regret it!” answered the Zen master.

So the answer to our question would be the same.

But I have read something else – that’s the problem of being an avid reader, it’s difficult to come with something original and whatever I think it is original I might have read it somewhere and I forgot that I read it, but I digress so I’ll just start with a new sentence for a better impact.

It is better to regret you have done something than to regret you have not done it. So simple and powerful, it would make a good article for one of the self-development blogs.

As you can already imagine the answer is to immigrate – as you’ve noticed I have not said ‘my answer’, I preferred something impersonal to deflect future ‘accusations’ of ‘you said so’, even if I am not a self-development guru and no-one should base her/his decisions in life on an article even this one :) .

The Canadian immigration points system has the advantage that is fair and whoever fulfills the criteria can immigrate in comparison with the American visa lottery, that is a … lottery. The issue is that people who fulfill the criteria more often than not are well off at home, so they leave what they’ve achieved so far for a dream (I wanted initially to write ‘the unknown’, but ‘dream’ better describes it, not to mention that some emigrants would already have relatives there so they would know what to expect not to mention the Internet with numerous Canadian immigration forums that would paint a picture very close to the reality).

At home the immigrant has as standard of life higher than the average and now they find themselves below the average. If they find a job and they do what they like (or not dislike) everything will be fine. The integration has already started and they are becoming part of the system. But if the job is well below their qualifications and more important expectations, problems will appear and the immigrant will start seriously thinking of going back home. Only the fact that they spent so much money coming here and somehow the shame of ‘not making it’ would make them postpone the return.

Of course if the immigrant was back home a manual worker, taxi driver, janitor, nurse, construction worker, tradesman, etc. it will better for them to come as the wages will be higher but – perhaps wrongly – the points system does not allow this.

I had initially landed to only get the PR card as I could not bring myself to make the big step. 10 years before it would have been a different story but my standard of living was higher and perhaps as important of the country as a whole (nobody wants to live in a country, where most people are getting poorer and poorer, and the country is falling apart, even if one is well off).

And as it happens as I really did not want to immigrate (I was reading too much of the ‘horror’ stories in forums with people who had to accept menial jobs in order to survive) I got a job offer too good to turn it down (quite a hefty lump amount of money as a relocation package, reimbursed air tickets and paid hotel). People were paying to go to Canada, I was paid to come. It was the first time and still the only time I did not spend countless hours trying to find the most affordable air fare to the place I wanted to travel to.

The relocation bonus was in fewer than 3 years lost in very bad stock investments. As they say: easy come, easy gone. I should have bought a car and furniture like others did but no, I thought I was smarter. You know the story that instead of buying an Apple Computer in 1997 one would have invested in stock, one would have had some $300k now. So why buy an ordinary car when I can wait a few more years and buy a Porsche or even longer and go for a Ferrari. However, that’s a different story and I digress too much and it is about time to cut a long post short.

I know people who could not accommodate and went back but also people from Western Europe that came here and I think more people from the developed world immigrate to Canada rather than the other way so perhaps there is something about Canada, perhaps it has something to do with the vast open spaces.

What if the world ends in 2012 according to the Mayan calendar (I can’t believe I am writing this, and it would not really end but go through calamities on a scale never seen before comparable only with the Flood). This might (will) not happen but some paint an apocalyptic future with the world falling apart because of climate change, world financial collapse, great 2nd recession, people rioting for food, wars started for access to resources (read water). If this happens it will be better to be in a country like Canada, as the government could take better care of its citizens than other countries could do and also, one perhaps would be in a better position to help their families back home.

Come for your children and/or experience if not something else and do not forget you can always go back (if you are not from a country like North Korea or Cuba where you would have not come out in the first place).

Again, it is better to regret you have done something than to regret you have not done it.

And more important Follow your Heart !

Boomer retirements to limit Canadian economic growth: Conference Board

By Derek Abma, Financial PostApril 28, 2010

OTTAWA — Labour shortages caused by the onslaught of baby-boomer retirements will be "the dominant economic trend" in Canada between 2015 and 2030, due to the limits it will place on the country's economic growth, says a Conference Board of Canada report released Wednesday.

Defining the boomer generation as those born between 1947 and 1966, the report says the oldest members of this cohort are turning 63 this year. With an average retirement age of 61, the Conference Board concludes that "the wave of baby-boomer retirements has now begun."

Because the biggest part of this generation is at the younger end, the pace of retirements will accelerate in future years, the think-tank says.

The implications of the shrinking labour pool will be less economic growth, said Pedro Antunes, the Conference Board's director of national and provincial outlooks and author of the report.

He said Canada can expect relatively strong economic growth of more than three per cent, on average, between now and 2015. That's anticipated to slow to about two per cent between 2015 and 2020, and dip below two per cent beyond that until around 2030.

"Why is that important? Why growth for the sake of growth?" Antunes asked rhetorically. "What's really important are two things.

"One is, are we growing richer? Is the average household getting more real income per capita?

"The other factor is . . . we need to be able to grow the economy enough so that we can afford to pay for health care, education and other programs."

The federal government's current deficit position is "manageable," the Conference Board said in its report. However, it sees provincial deficits as more difficult to deal with, largely as a result of the increasing demands that will come of the health-care system, which provinces are primarily responsible for.

Some of the things that might be done, Antunes said, is increasing productivity through investments in equipment and technology, developing more efficient delivery of health care and government cutbacks in areas of spending deemed less crucial.

James Chauvin, policy director for the Canadian Public Health Association, which calls itself "the independent voice for public health in Canada," said his group urges more preventive health measures — such as promoting better awareness of physical fitness, nutrition and cardiovascular health — to help bring down demand on hospitals and doctors.

He also said government health policy should be expanded to cover areas such as housing, income and food security, which can be social determinants of people's health conditions.

The Conference Board's outlook assumes an immigration rate of 350,000 people a year by 2030, up from the current rate of about 250,000, according to figures for 2008. Antunes said this expectation is "optimistic" and still isn't likely to create the kind of economic growth needed to support social programs at current standards.

"Strong immigration will not reverse Canada's aging trend, but it will help keep total population growth relatively stable throughout the forecast period. By 2030, Canada's population will reach 41.7 million, up from 33.6 million in 2009," Antunes said.

Asked if higher immigration targets should be considered, Antunes said: "It's possible . . . Part of the analysis is to generate some discussion."

But even if Canada decided to open the doors wider to immigrants, Antunes said the country would face challenges with increasing competition from other industrialized nations to attract newcomers, and in making sure the people that come are qualified to do the jobs for which they're needed.

Kelli Fraser, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said the government is targeting between 240,000 and 265,000 immigrants this year, which she said is among the highest relative rates for industrialized countries.

She said there were no long-term immigration targets available, but that "the immigration program is constantly evolving to respond to Canada's changing economic goals."

Antunes said the coming demographic trends provide some upside for those who remain in the workforce in the form of higher pay and more choice. But this is unlikely to apply to low-skill jobs, for which companies will continue to look to countries where people work for less pay. In Canada, it's those working in higher-skill, value-added professions that will benefit from boomer retirements, he said.

"It has to be a win-win situation for everyone, otherwise investment goes elsewhere," Antunes said. "In the long run, we have to make sure that we're competitive. We have to make sure that we can afford those higher wages. And part of the answer is a more productive economy, more educated workforce, because we can't compete . . . in low-wage, high-labour-intensive manufacturing."
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Boomer+retirements+limit+Canadian+economic+growth+Conference+Board/2962641/story.html#ixzz0mXrsU3Od

Canadian government proposes changes to Canada's immigration regulations relating to temporary foreign workers.

Source: Lexology.com
March 16 2010

In light of the recent rise in the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada, together with increased concerns for the fair treatment of foreign workers, the Government of Canada has proposed certain changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) to address the treatment and hiring of temporary foreign workers. Specifically, the Government is proposing the following:

1. Placing a limit on the number of years a foreign national may hold a work permit

2. Imposing a ban on the ability to hire a foreign worker for any company or third-party agent who has failed to comply with Canada’s immigration rules and regulations

3. Establishing a set of factors to assess the genuineness of an offer of employment

4. Requiring all Labour Market Opinions to have time-specified and limited validity.

Four-Year Cap on Canadian Work Permits

Under the proposed regulations, foreign nationals will only be permitted to hold a temporary work permit for a cumulative 4 years. After 4 years, the foreign national will be required to wait for at least 6 years before he or she may reapply for a work permit. Some exceptions to this rule will apply, including work permits that have been granted pursuant to the NAFTA or other international agreement. While CIC recognizes that there is a continued need to hire foreign workers in Canada, this change is proposed to emphasize to both workers and employers alike that temporary work permits are designed to be just that – temporary. By placing a limit on the number of years a foreign worker may hold a temporary work permit, CIC seeks to encourage the use of other programs and pathways (such as the Canadian Experience Class) to permanent residence, when available.

Two-Year Ban for Non-Compliant Employers

In an effort to protect the rights of foreign workers in Canada, the Canadian Government proposes the imposition of a 2-year ban on the hiring of any temporary foreign workers for employers who have failed to provide the wages, working conditions, or occupation offered to any work permit holder in the past two years. Currently, employers may be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 or up to 2 years’ imprisonment for hiring a foreign national in a capacity in which he/she is not authorized to work. The proposed regulations will not only implement a ban on hiring future foreign nationals, but Immigration will also create a list to be published with the names, addresses and period of ineligibility of employers who are subject to this ban.

Assessing the Genuineness of an Offer of Employment

These new regulations additionally propose a number of factors to be considered by officers in assessing the genuineness of employment offers before approving both Labour Market Opinions and LMO-exempt work permits. Specifically, the officer will look to the nature of the employer’s business, the level of activity of the company’s operations, the terms of the offer of employment, and the employer’s ability to meet those terms (including payment of wages offered).

Limited Validity of Labour Market Opinions

Following HRSDC’s announcement in May 2009 that all Labour Market Opinions would be issued with a limited validity of 6 months, the Canadian Government’s proposed changes will make it required by law for all Labour Market Opinions to have an expiry date. If the foreign national does not apply for a work permit within that timeframe, a new Labour Market Opinion will need to be obtained by the employee.

These changes have been proposed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, in collaboration with Canada Border and Services Agency and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. While they have not come into force yet, they provide an accurate insight of what we may expect in the near future.

This document has been created for informational purposes only and does not contain a full analysis of the law, nor does it constitute a legal opinion of the Bomza Law Group.

Leave us a message

Check our online courses now

Check our online courses now
Click Here now!!!!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Vcita