Voies vers la prospérité: Canada

Less than 50 per cent of the temporary foreign workers expected on Quebec farms have arrived, putting the agriculture industry in a state of uncertainty. As of Wednesday, 2,900 of the 5,900 workers expected from Guatemala and 5,000 of the 12,000 expected from Mexico for the summer had come in. Temporary foreign workers make up the bulk of the workforce of Quebec’s “maraîchers,” or market gardeners.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/only-50-per-cent-of-temporary-foreign-workers-have-arrived-on-quebec-farms/

This week was supposed to be filled with thousands of people taking an oath to become Canadian citizens. But due to COVID-19, Canada’s Citizenship Week, scheduled for May 18 to 24, has been put on hold “until further notice, to keep everyone safe,” the federal government says on its website. Along with the ceremonies, people are waiting longer for permanent residency cards and citizenship tests, which some people had been booked more than a year ago, are also on hold.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kwcovid19-immigration-citizenship-canada-1.5578596

New Brunswick farming groups are warning of serious shortfalls because of the government’s refusal to admit temporary foreign workers. A survey of 18 farms suggests that 2,000 acres on those properties will go unplanted this season, the National Farmers Union and other groups say at a joint press conference the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick, Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick, and Really Local Harvest said at a joint news conference. They claim this would result in the loss of $7 million for those 18 farms.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/food-supply-collapse-workers-1.5578534

Anti-racism should be part of Canada’s response to COVID-19 in light of the surge of hate crimes across the country during the pandemic, says an opposition MP. NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan is calling on the Liberal government to show leadership by hosting a federal-provincial-territorial meeting to discuss the rise in hate incidents and come up with ways to flatten that curve.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/05/21/make-anti-racism-part-of-covid-19-response-opposition-mp-tells-ottawa.html

There is scant local interest in farmwork, so Canada’s agriculture sector relies on nearly 60,000 foreign workers to make the journey north each year from countries like Mexico, Jamaica and Guatemala. This year, however, some migrant labourers are deciding to stay home to protect themselves from the coronavirus, resulting in a dearth in essential foreign labour. That leaves Canadian farmers desperate to fill a shortage of workers, despite facing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/05/21/canada-struggling-to-attract-migrant-farm-staff-due-to-coronavirus-limitations.html

Déjà à l’arrêt depuis l’automne passé, la réception des demandes visant le programme d’immigration réservé aux immigrants investisseurs, connu sous le nom de PIIQ, sera encore suspendue jusqu’au 1er avril 2021. Cette décision a été annoncée dans un arrêté ministériel, publié mercredi matin. Ce programme, destiné aux millionnaires étrangers, est une voie rapide vers l’immigration permanente au Canada. Ces riches candidats peuvent obtenir un certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), en fonction de leurs moyens financiers.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1704483/immigration-piiq-legault-investisseurs-suspension