Monthly Archives: May 2012

Regina Chamber and Federal Immigration Minister Back Stricter Saskatchewan Immigration Laws

The Leader Post, Saskatchewan’s largest newspaper, reports that the influential Regina Chamber of Commerce has backed tighter rules recently introduced for the family sponsorship category of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP): The Regina & District Chamber of Commerce said it “empathizes” with individuals and families affected by changes in the program, but added that federal immigration rule changes permitting […]

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New Canadian EI Rules Could Affect Number of Work Permits Issued to Foreign Workers

The Harper government is planning to change the federal Employment Insurance program to encourage the long-time unemployed to take available Canadian jobs, which could reduce the demand for foreign workers in Canada’s resource and service industries. Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney had earlier noted the anomaly of regions of Canada with high unemployment rates being forced to bring in foreigners […]

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Census Data Shows Canadian Retiree Population to Rapidly Increase in Coming Years

Results from the 2011 census show that Canada’s population has reached its peak in terms of productivity, and that the population of retirees will explode in coming years as the main bulk of baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. The census shows that Canada’s population has increased by 5.9 percent, to over 33.46 million, since 2006, the last time the census […]

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Judge Denies Injunction to Prevent Applications in Backlog From Being Closed

A federal court judge has rejected a request by over 800 applicants for immigration to Canada whose applications will be closed as part of the wipe-out of the 280,000 Federal Skilled Worker program application backlog, and who are suing the federal government for its delay in processing their files, for an injunction to force the federal government to keep their […]

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Canadian Visa Office in Buffalo to Close

The Canadian consulate in Buffalo, which handles visa applications for international students, temporary workers and visitors in Canada, and permanent resident applications for residents and citizens of the US, will be closing. About 75 consulate staff will be relocated to the Canadian consulate in New York, and many of the visa processing services will be transferred to CIC offices in Canada, eliminating […]

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Visible Minority Population of Canada Increasing

A Toronto Star story reports that the visible minority population in Canada is growing, and at a rate faster than the general population: StatsCan projects that the visible minority population in this country will continue to be bolstered by sustained immigration and slightly higher fertility rates in the next 15 years or so. By 2031, Canada could be home to 14.4 […]

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BBC Article asks “What does it mean to be Canadian?”

An article published last Thursday in the BBC asks what it means to be Canadian, and explores the role immigration plays in it: Canada is anything but a homogenous Commonwealth state; nearly one million indigenous people rub shoulders with immigrants from around the world, including many from Asia. What does it mean to be Canadian now? What are the traits […]

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Immigration Applicants Sue Canadian Government for Wipe-out of 280,000 Application Backlog

A group of former applicants for immigration to Canada are suing the Canadian government for its decision to wipe-out the backlog of approximately 280,000 applications filed under the Federal Skilled Worker program before February 27th 2008. Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman is representing at least 40 people from China and Hong Kong who had their applications closed in the wipe-out. The […]

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Private Companies to join Federal Internship for Newcomers Program

The FIN (Federal Internship for Newcomers) program is a Citizenship and Immigration Canada-led initiative that seeks to place new Canadian immigrants in internship positions in Canadian organizations. On Friday, CIC announced that private companies would be joining the program as employers for the first time. CIBC, one of Canada’s largest banks, and the CGI Group Inc, a technology and business services […]

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Globe and Mail Argues Canada Needs Millions of Immigrants

An article published on Sunday in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national newspaper, argues that Canada needs millions more immigrants, and that the federal government should go even further in the changes it is making to the country’s immigration program and increase the number admitted into Canada each year. The piece, by Joe Friesen, summarizes the argument for immigration as: Between now […]

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