Canada assists graduates in securing quality jobs and gaining valuable work experience in their field of study

To facilitate the entry of post-secondary graduates in economy’s key sectors and help Canadian employers to capitalize on the skills and experience of these graduates, the federal government and the businesses in private sectors have jointly announced a total of $11.3 million in funding for the Sectoral Career Focus Program.

As a national initiative between the federal government, sector councils and cross-sectoral organizations, the Career Focus Program links highly skilled young Canadians with potential employers who can provide them with career-related work experiences. These experiences help young Canadians develop advanced skills and improve their employability.

In this Career Focus network, sector councils are well positioned to develop projects that assist graduates in finding quality employment. These councils are a national consensus-based partnership between business, labour and education stakeholders, in an economic sector (such as automotive, aviation, biotechnology), that identifies and addresses human resources and skills issues in a collective, collaborative and sustained manner.

As project managers and recipient sponsors, sector councils can not only assess potential employers and participants to ensure they meet program eligibility requirements but also assume responsibility for the overall financial management of projects. That is why the new funding announced for the Sectoral Career Focus Program will go to 13 sector councils, which will manage the program for their respective industries and provide at least 406 post-secondary graduates with the opportunity to acquire quality employment and gain valuable work experience in their chosen field of study.

In total of $11.3 million, the federal government will provide $4.2 million while $7.1 million will be contributed by the employers in cash.

Funding like this one shows Canada’s commitment to developing its human capital that is vital to maintaining country’s knowledge advantage, and ensuring Canada has the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.

Canadian immigration boosting up the proportion of university-educated people in the country

An analysis of 2006 census figures carried out by the Association for Canadian Studies proves that Canadian immigration policies are one of the key reasons that boosting the number of people in the country having a university degree.

According to the study, visible minorities such as Chinese, South Asians, Blacks, Arabs, Filipinos, Southeast Asians, Latin Americans, Japanese, Koreans etc. are far more likely to have a university education than white Canadians. At present, there is 20-point gap between visible minorities and white Canadians aged 35-44 years old when it comes to university education.

The group with the highest proportion of university-educated people was Korean Canadians, where 74.7 per cent of respondents in the age group analyzed had a university degree. Filipino and Chinese Canadians were in second and third place with about 58.6 and 58.4 per cent of their community holding university degrees. Arab Canadians weren't far behind with university graduates making up 51.6 per cent of the population. The study found 48.5 per cent of Japanese Canadians had graduated university followed by 47.8 per cent of West Asians and 47.4 per cent of South Asians.

The levels of university education were significantly lower for Latin Americans, 33 per cent of whom had a degree, and for the black community, where 30.1 per cent had completed university.

However, the groups that were the least likely to have a university degree were white Canadians – particularly white males – only 25.9 per cent of whom had graduated university, and those from Southeast Asia where only 22 per cent had a degree.

Study also found that the gap is getting larger due to a fact that existing immigration policies favor those new immigrants who have university degree. After their arrival, these people widely encourage their children to obtain a degree of university level. The result is that the overall level of university degree holders in Canada has risen.

According to Statistics Canada, 51 per cent of people who immigrated to Canada between 2001 and 2006 had university degrees - much higher than the proportion of 20 per cent of university degree holders among the Canadian-born population or the 28 per cent among immigrants who arrived prior to 2001.

Canada announces new funding to help newcomers settle in Ontario and improve language skills

To help newcomers settle, adapt and integrate into Canadian society, Canadian government, in partnership with provinces, territories and settlement providers, has been delivering programs and services to migrants, and providing stakeholders necessary funding to support these initiatives.

For this purpose, a new settlement funding of over $28 million has been announced to help fourteen partner agencies delivering settlement and integration services to new immigrants in Ontario. This funding, which is provided under the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), is expected to help more than 33,000 migrants who have settled in different parts of the province. The beneficiaries will include the following:

WoodGreen Community Services will receive $3.8 million for providing variety of services, including specialized language training and programs for youth, to more than 8,300 immigrants in Toronto. This is in addition to more than $1.9 million provided to this agency earlier this year to help establish a new language training facility.

The Ethiopian Association will receive more than $2.2 million for providing settlement services, including help finding a job, to an estimated 7,232 newcomers, language training to 156 students and child-minding spaces to 16 parents, of particularly Ethiopian origin, in the Greater Toronto Area and the surrounding regions.

Lebanese and Arab Social Services Agency (LASSA) will receive a total of $1.2 million for delivering settlement services, including orientation, interpretation, referrals to community resources, advice, guidance and employment-related assistance to an estimated 3,300 newcomers, mostly from Arabic-speaking community, in the capital city of Ottawa.

A funding of more than $11 million will be provided to Settlement and Integration Services Organization ($9,105,346), Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology ($848,295), Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board ($103,315) and AAT School ($1,404,323) to help an estimated 5,000 newcomers to Hamilton access settlement services such as language training, referrals to community resources and help finding a job. Some of the language training offered by these organizations will focus on occupation-specific language needs. This training will be complemented by job-bridging, mentoring and job-shadowing opportunities.

Another funding of more than $10.4 million will be provided to COSTI Immigrant Services ($1,340,691), Welcome Centre Immigrant Services in Vaughan ($936,431), Catholic Community Services of York Region ($5,792,479), Centre for Information and Community Services of Ontario ($947,641), Jewish Immigrant Aid Services ($35,874), Job Skills ($625,607), The Cross-Cultural Community Services Association ($426,737) and York Region Education/Industry Foundation and Career Centre ($387,177) to help an estimated 9,700 newcomers to the York region access settlement services. The services will include helping migrants find jobs (such as job-search workshops) and assisting them in getting general orientation, translation and interpretation services. The funding will also help migrants with referrals to community resources and counseling services.

These funding for settlement and language training to Ontario are provided under the $920 million COIA over five years and are part of $1.4 billion package over five years to provinces and territories other than Quebec, which was committed by the Canadian federal government in budget 2006.

Canada eliminates a difficult security measure from the application process of permanent resident card

Canadian department of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) has recently announced another significant change to the process of applying for a new or a replacement of permanent resident card (or PR card) that will eliminate the need of providing a guarantor.

Effective June 16, 2008, applicants for a new or replacement PR card are no longer required to obtain the signature of a guarantor or sign a statutory declaration in lieu of a guarantor. The removal of the guarantor requirement, a security measure meant to establish the applicant's identity and residence, was dropped in favor of using a person's existing passport, driver's license, or employment and educational information.

Few weeks earlier, CIC has provided flexibility to applicants applying to renew their PR card by allowing them to hold on their still-valid cards and return them to a CIC officer at time of collecting the new card. However, if the card has already expired, then it was made necessary to return the expired card with the application for renewal. In all cases, a replacement card will not be issued until the previous card is returned or otherwise accounted for.

In past, applicants applying to renew their PR card were required to submit their soon-to expire card along with their renewal application, which prohibit them to leave Canada for the waiting period of approximately ten weeks. Similarly, applicants especially newcomers were required to find and provide a guarantor who has known them for at least two years or sign a statutory declaration in lieu of a guarantor.

Both of the recent changes will definitely improve the process of applying for a new or a replacement of PR card and help reduce wait times.

The PR card is a status document that provides secure proof of permanent resident status to landed immigrants. To be eligible for a PR Card, an individual must be a permanent resident of Canada and be physically present in Canada. A permanent resident who is under an effective removal order may not be found eligible for the card. Permanent residents who are outside Canada and do not have a valid PR Card must apply for a travel document from a Canadian visa office in order to return to Canada.

Alberta introduces new immigration stream to help meet its workforce needs

The provincial government of Alberta has recently added a new immigration stream to its Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), which would allow immigrant families living in the province for the past two years to sponsor their overseas family members wishing to relocate and work in the province.

The new Family stream has been designed to meet the needs of Alberta employers who are unable to fill skilled and select semi-skilled positions either with Canadian citizens/permanent residents of Canada or with overseas individuals who already have an employer. By expanding its nominee program outside of its existing employer-driven model, Alberta would be able to focus on individuals most likely to be successful in the workforce and help build a larger pool of talent in the province employer can draw from. According to the Ministry of Employment and Immigration, Alberta is now short 30,000 to 40,000 workers, and will be short more than 110,000 workers in the next decade.

Under the new Family stream, eligible Albertans would now be able to sponsor their overseas family members including mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, son or daughter.

To be eligible, an overseas family member (the candidate) and his/her accompanying spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) both must have to fulfill few conditions in terms of age, language skills and education/training while at least one individual (either the candidate or his/her spouse or common-law partner, if applicable) must meet the criteria set out both for the education and work experience. Similarly, at least one individual must have to meet the settlement funds requirement. The candidate should only be required to provide guarantee of settlement assistance from their sponsor. However, the candidate would not require a job offer from an Alberta employer before they apply.

It is important to note that candidates who are currently in Canada either on study permit (and currently enrolled in a program of study in Canada) or live-in-caregivers or refugee claimants would not be considered eligible to apply under the Family stream.

For the sponsors, it would be necessary that they must be living in Alberta for at least two consecutive years, must be Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least two years, and must be self-supporting by demonstrating a regular source of income for the past 12 months or a minimum of CAD $15,000 in unencumbered, transferable and available assets (over and above any income received from government transfer payments).

Sponsor would also be required to fulfill their sponsorship commitment prior to sponsoring another family member. The sponsorship commitment is defined as two years from the date that the Candidate became a permanent resident of Canada. So, there can only be one ongoing sponsorship commitment per household at a time.

With limited number of visas initially, the provincial government has started to accept applications for this stream immediately.

Canada reaffirms its humanitarian concern and international obligations on World Refugee Day

To bring attention to the plight of world’s refugees and to offer support, encouragement and respect, June 20 is celebrated as World Refugee Day around the globe. The theme for this year was “Protecting Refugees: Rebuilding Lives in Safety and Dignity”.

As a leading advocate for the protection of refugees around the world, Canada is particularly committed to working with the international community to find lasting solutions for refugees who have been living in exile for decades. Canada resettles refugees from abroad and takes part in international actions to help prevent refugee situations from developing. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) also works at home to provide protection to those who make asylum claims in Canada.

Canada accepts more than 30,000 refugees every year. This includes those who come to Canada and successfully claim refugee status and refugees living overseas that Canada agrees to resettle. In fact, through its Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), Canada selects 10,000 to 12,000 refugees annually from around the world, making it a global leader in resettlement efforts. These refugees represent 10 per cent of the 100,000 refugees who are resettled every year worldwide.

Canada is also a strong supporter of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) to support relief efforts, who provides protection and promotes durable solutions. Last year, Canadian funding helped the UNHCR to support the voluntary return of more than 365,000 individuals from Pakistan and Iran to their homes in Afghanistan.

In 2008, Canada will select 7,300 to 7,500 government-assisted refugees through its RAP and 3,300 to 4,500 through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. To reach this target, Canada has announced the resettlement of an additional 1,300 Karen refugees from Myanmar and up to 2,000 Iraqi refugees in addition to up to 5,000 Bhutanese refugees that would be resettled over the next three to five years.

To help refugees settle and integrate into their new communities, CIC works closely with provinces, settlement service providers and private sponsors across Canada except Quebec, which deals these issues itself under the Canada-Quebec Accord. To support these initiatives, CIC also provides stakeholders necessary funding through its assistance program.

As part of this Day’s celebrations, Canada has announced enormous fundings for its partner agencies across the country to assist thousands of refugees in their resettlement. These fundings are part of more than $49 million package that has been set aside for 2008-09 under the RAPs. The major beneficiaries of this funding would be the provinces of Ontario ($18.5 million), Alberta ($7.0521 million), British Columbia ($6.5 million) and Saskatchewan ($3.3483 million).

In Ontario, at least six partner agencies in London, Hamilton, Kitchener-Walterloo, Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor-Essex will receive more than $5.1 million to assist up to 2,300 refugees with temporary accommodations, food and incidentals, orientation sessions and counselling and referral services. This is in addition to more than $138 million settlement funding that has been provided to these six areas directly (under the $920 million Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA) over five years) to design and deliver basic settlement support services to all newcomers including refugees.

In Alberta, one CIC partner agency in Edmonton will receive over $790,000 to assist up to 378 refugees with temporary accommodation, finding a permanent home, help with such items as banking and managing a household, and other everyday tasks, as well as referrals to federal and provincial programs. This is in addition to more than $47 million settlement funding that is being provided to the Province directly for 2008-09 to design and deliver basic settlement support services to all newcomers including refugees.

In British Columbia, one CIC partner agency in Vancouver will receive more than $1.3 million to assist up to 800 refugees. This is in addition to $109 million settlement funding that is being provided to the Province directly for 2008-09 to design and deliver settlement support services to all newcomers including refugees.

In Saskatchewan, two CIC partner agencies in Saskatoon will receive over $325,000 to assist up to 200 refugees. This is in addition to $5.5 million settlement funding that is being provided to the Province directly for 2008-09 to design and deliver settlement support services to all newcomers including refugees.

Through their generous support for those who are in legitimate need of protection, the Canadian government and the people have shown not only their humanitarian concern but also a recognition of the enormous contributions that refugees can make to their new communities. Canadians can be proud of helping so many to rebuild their lives in safety.

Proposed amendments in Canada’s immigration laws pass by Canadian parliament

Just after receiving its final approval from the House of Commons a week earlier by a vote of 120:90, the proposed amendments in Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) have also been adopted by the Canadian Senate on June 17.

These new legislative amendments have now become part of existing immigration laws, which only require formal assent from Governor General as a last phase of law-making process in Canada.

After becoming the part of IRPA, the new measures will apply to (“new”) applications received on or after February 27, 2008. These new applications could now be scrutinized by visa officers on the basis of demand of an applicant’s skills in the Canadian labor market at time of application, and then selected either for priority processing, retaining until next quarter/year or returning to applicant with full refund. The criteria to scrutinize and select applications will be developed by the Immigration Minister in consultation with provincial and territorial governments and other stakeholders, including the department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), the Bank of Canada, concerned employer and labor organizations. These finalized “set of instructions” would, then, be delivered to CIC visa officers worldwide to guide them in establishing the processing priorities and making fair and transparent decisions.

Those who applied prior to February 27, 2008, will not be subject to the new measures and will be dealt with fairly under the existing rules.

These new measures are also provided few supra-parliament powers to Immigration Minister. For example, the Immigration Minister would now be authorized to set limits on the type of applications (skilled worker or family class, for example) to be processed in a given year.

In addition to being subject to consultations, government will make sure that (a) the ministerial set of instructions will support the fundamental objectives of IRPA; (b) comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect prospective immigrants against discrimination; (c) complement the government’s annual levels plan; and (d) publish not only in Canada Gazette after the Cabinet approval but also in CIC’s annual report to parliament and on CIC’s website.

These set of instruction would not apply to prioritize and process applications of convention refugees outside of Canada, family members under federal family class, permanent and temporary residence application filed in-Canada and cases filed outside of Canada on Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations.

After the implementation of IRPA in June 2002, this significant legislative change in Canadian immigration laws will ultimately impact the economy and Canadian family system in coming days. It will entirely replace the current application processing pattern and provide extraordinary powers to Immigration Minister, which in short-term will help Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in regulating the massive backlog of immigration applications.

As of April 10, 2008, CIC has to process more than 925,000 immigration applications, which include 693,816 applications in Economic Class alone. The New Delhi, Islamabad and London visa posts comprise of more than 41 per cent of total backlog in Economic Class applications. Due to this backlog, the wait times has risen up to 4 to 6 years averagely for an in-process application and more than 6 years for a new application. If no action is taken, CIC has projected that the backlog would grow up to 1.5 million by 2012 with corresponding wait times of 10 years.

As expected, if new measures work as a way to stop the backlog from growing, CIC will then invest additional $109 million in its immigration system by providing additional resources and improving service through administrative measures.

It is in fact not possible to estimate at this time that after becoming the part of immigration laws, how much time this new mechanism would take to deliver the desired results. So, it should be absolutely wrong to suppose that simply after the implementation of new measures, the immigration to Canada would become possible in 12 to 14 or even 24 months. CIC and the Immigration Minister has also not provided any such timeframe.

Finally, the new measures are not meant to change the current pass mark for most of the categories of Economic Class, such as 67 for skilled workers.

Canada and PEI announce new agreement to encourage immigration in the province

To establish a collaborative approach encouraging immigration to the Prince Edward Island (PEI), federal government and the provincial government of PEI have decided to strengthen their existing partnership by announcing a new agreement on immigration.

The ‘Canada-PEI Cooperation on Immigration’ agreement will provide a framework to the governments at both level in discharging their shared responsibility on immigration. Build upon the original agreement signed between the two governments in 2001, the new agreement introduced various new provisions aimed to help PEI’s businesses and economy continue to grow.

For example, new agreement includes a provision that will enhance cooperation between Canada and PEI in overseas promotion and recruitment activities to help attract skilled immigrants, temporary workers and students to PEI. Similarly, another provision will not only remove the limit on annual nominations made by Province under its Provincial Nominee Program (PEI-PNP) but also encourage the recruitment and retention of Francophone immigrants through the targetted use of this Nominee Program. This initiative, in particular, will give the Province authority in selecting required number of immigrants to fill labor market gaps as well as in addressing particular social and demographic needs to boost its declining population.

To address the settlement and integration needs of immigrants and refugees, both governments will promote better working relationship to secure recognition of foreign qualifications and faster integration of immigrants into the labor market.

The new agreement also ensures that federal government will continue to invest in basic settlement services delivered in the Province through community stakeholders, including service providers, municipalities and the private sector. After an increase of $239,475 over the previous year, the ongoing settlement funding to the Province has reached to around $1.4 million for 2008-09.

Recently, the federal government has provided more than $2.6 milion, over a three year period, to four partner agencies across the Province. This funding will not only use for the delivery of programs and services to newcomer refugees such as language training, translation and interpretation, job search support and resettlement assistance, but also for improving anti-racism programs and culture-bridging activities.

The agreement also recognizes the Province’s interest in enhancing the vitality of French linguistic minority communities in its jurisdiction.

Located at the Atlantic coast, the Prince Edward Island is the smallest province of Canada having total population of 135,851 as of May 16, 2006 Census. In 2005, PEI welcomed 586 newcomers: 330 permanent residents and 256 temporary residents.

Proposed amendments in Canada’s immigration laws: Bill C-50 receives third and final reading in the House

The Canadian House of Commons has finally approved controversial immigration reforms in Canada’s immigrations laws by a vote of 120:90.

The proposed legislative amendments, which were embedded in 2008 Budget Implementation Bill or Bill C-50, received its third and final reading in the House of Commons on Monday night and finally approved by 120 to 90 votes.

Now to become the part of immigration laws, these amendments need Senate approval and royal assent that is expected within two weeks.

As described earlier, the amendments will give the immigration minister greater selection powers to limit the number of new immigration applicants. It will also allow the government to fast-track applications from the types of immigrants it wants, such as skilled workers, and freeze applications from others.

Because Bill C-50 was a confidence matter and, had the government lost the vote, Prime Minister Stephen Harper would have been obliged to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call a general election.

Two mainstream opposition parties NDP and Bloc Québécois wanted to force an election on the issue, so voted against the bill but the Liberals does not find itself election ready, so they abstained. Nearly 80 Liberal MPs were absent from the House during the vote, enabling the minority Conservative government to get the bill approved easily.

Proposed amendments in Canada’s immigration laws: Commons approve Bill C-50, reject NDP amendments; final vote time approaching

Controversial amendments to Canada’s immigration laws that were proposed with Budget 2008-09 Implementation Bill, or Bill C-50, are going to become part of law in just few days!

After completing its clause-by-clause study of Bill C-50, Finance Committee has returned it to House of Commons for a trust vote, where it has been approved by a vote of 114:83 on Monday night. Because the controversial immigration amendments were embedded in Bill C-50, these have also been approved.

The Conservative led government has also survived two other trust votes on these controversial proposals moved by the New Democratic Party (NDP) to amend the bill.

However, the Bill C-50, including the controversial immigration amendments, would not become law until it survives a final vote in the House of Commons, and then adopted by the Senate.

The House of Common will sit till June 6 for this purpose, but the government could extend the sitting time to June 20.

Once passed, the new measures will apply to applications received on or after February 27, 2008. Those who applied prior to February 27, 2008, will not be subject to the new measures and will be dealt with fairly under the existing rules.

Meanwhile, a country-wide poll conducted by Nanos Research for Policy Options magazine suggests majority of Canadians think the government's immigration policy should focus on pumping up the national workforce and reuniting families.

The poll, which was conducted in an anticipation of proposed Conservative bill, suggests 84.9 per cent of Canadians thought it is important to select immigrants whose skills meet the needs of Canada's starved workforce, and about 81.1 per cent thought family reunification is just as important. A total of 72.6 per cent of Canadians feel immigration is “important” or “somewhat important” for the future of the country.

Canada announces new funding for enhanced training in both official languages

Language training is one of several settlement services funded by the federal government to help immigrants integrate into their new communities. To recognize the importance of language skills in successful settlement of a newcomer, government is investing millions of dollars in two key language training programs: the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada program (LINC) and the Enhanced Language Training program (ELT).

To promote the objectives of ELT, federal government has recently invested in various programs and services that will offer their participants an opportunity to learn real life options within a Canadian context, outline clear pathways to employment and build the social capital within Canadian cities.

Under the $920 million Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning will receive over $5.5 million to build English language training, mentorship and career development programs for newcomers. Designed specifically for internationally trained professionals, these services will help approximately 800 individuals preparing to enter the Canadian labor market.

These services will be offered at Sheidan’s campuses in Oakville and Brampton, and participants will be allowed access to the library, career centres and computer labs.

Yukon College is also receiving $129,000 to deliver job-specific language training to help prepare newcomers for jobs in Canada that match their skills and qualifications. This also makes it easier for immigrants to integrate into the community. Funding for enhanced language training is provided on a yearly basis and renewed every school year.

And under the $2.7 million in basic settlement funding to New Brunswick for 2008-09, the Multicultural Association of Fredericton will receive about $2.7 million to deliver services that will help newcomers become established in Fredericton and surrounding areas. These services include language training, translation and interpretation, and referrals to community resources. The Association will also provide youth settlement workers who will work with newcomer youth in the community.

Under Canadian government’s five-year Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities and Canada’s Official Languages Action Plan, the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB) will receive $104,000 to develop tools, activities and partnerships aimed at attracting and integrating French-speaking immigrants to Francophone minority communities outside Quebec. In 2006, more than 1,553 French-speaking newcomers settled in British Columbia.

The Association Franco-Yukonnaise (AFY) will also receive over $212,000 to deliver services in both official languages to newcomers in Yukon. The AFY also provides services for Francophones in minority communities, welcomes all newcomers, and encourages their participation in their new communities.

Government of Canada’s Strategic Plan to Foster Immigration to Francophone Minority Communities is a five-year plan to improve capacity building and developing the broad, long-term partnerships within the community required to integrate Francophone immigrants into Canadian society. This action plan was started in September 2006.