Voies vers la prospérité: Canada

Many immigrants will arrive in Canada better prepared to integrate into their new communities as a result of expanded pre-arrival services. Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Chris Alexander, today announced that $24 million will be committed toward providing newcomers with greater access to information and services before they leave their countries of origin. This funding will be accessed through partner organizations to help immigrants and refugees arrive better prepared to settle across Canada. Orientation sessions overseas will enable newcomers to gain a better understanding of life in Canada, how to use their skills in the Canadian labour market and make connections earlier with service provider organizations, professional associations, regulators, educational institutions and employers. The organizations that will be funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to deliver pre-arrival services will also be working closely with domestic settlement provider organizations to ensure seamless program delivery.

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?crtr.sj1D=&crtr.mnthndVl=12&mthd=advSrch&crtr.dpt1D=6664&nid=962349&crtr.lc1D=&crtr.tp1D=1&crtr.yrStrtVl=2014&crtr.kw=&crtr.dyStrtVl=1&crtr.aud1D=&crtr.mnthStrtVl=1&crtr.page=1&crtr.yrndVl=2015&crtr.dyndVl=31

Changes to a federal program to help Canadians hire foreign workers as nannies means families are now dealing with unexplained delays and poor communication, according to applicants. “Nothing has been approved.  We’re in limbo,” said Gregory Simon, an Sherwood Park father of three who applied to the program last year. Simon and his wife have been waiting since October for the federal government to allow them to hire a temporary foreign worker to care for the couple’s three young children. […] But a couple of months after they started the process, the federal government made changes to the rules and renamed it the Caregiver Program. It changed how workers could apply for permanent resident status and dropped the requirement that the caregiver live in the home. At the time, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said the changes were designed to encourage more Canadian applicants for the job, while onetime Immigration Minister Jason Kenney argued the old program had “mutated” into a family-reunification scheme. However, Simon says all the changes seemed to do is create confusion and delays.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/caregiver-program-delays-frustrate-families-searching-for-foreign-nannies-1.3030362

The Whistler Multicultural Network (WMN) launches its Immigrant Peer Educator Program this week to introduce participants to the services that are available in Whistler by working with mentors who have been through the program in the past. The organization plays a key role in helping immigrant families settle into their new lives in Canada by providing support, improving opportunities for immigrants and helping them connect to the community. “This program brings all the resources and information in one spot,” said Ghazal Tohidi, a consultant for the WMN who helped design the Immigrant Peer Educator Program. “It makes WMN the place to go with any questions. Anybody new to Whistler can go meet (people), make friends and learn about (community) resources and the resources of the library. After the program, every graduate becomes an ambassador in the Whistler the community.” […] Guest speakers from the community will be presenting throughout the course, with a focus on health and wellness, education, self-advocacy, legal matters as well as workplace rights and responsibilities.

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/news/local-news/immigrant-peer-educator-program-returns-to-help-whistler-newcomers-1.1822523

Des milliers d’immigrants ont du mal à régulariser leur situation au pays même après avoir épousé un citoyen canadien. Les délais de traitement des dossiers d’immigration par parrainage de conjoint ont doublé, voire triplé depuis quelques années, laissant ces personnes dans un vide légal qui les empêche de travailler. Mariée au Québec à un résident de la province, Anne Schumacher, d’origine belge, vit sans statut depuis près de deux ans. Elle n’a pas droit aux services de santé, ni même de conduire une voiture. « Je n’ai pas le droit de travailler et je n’ai pas le droit d’étudier. Je suis dans un no man’s land qui m’a enlevé à 43 ans toute la dignité humaine que j’avais bâtie de par mon ancienne carrière », déplore Anne Schumacher. « J’ai travaillé 20 ans comme consultante en procédés industriels. J’aurais aimé pouvoir faire profiter le Canada de cette expérience », dit-elle. Anne Schumacher est pourtant passée par le programme de parrainage intérieur du gouvernement fédéral. Une procédure qui permet d’obtenir une résidence lors d’un mariage avec un résident canadien. Mais en quelques années, les délais de cette procédure sont passés de 6 mois à plus de 27 mois.

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/societe/2015/04/11/002-immigration-longueurs-manif.shtml

The St. Thomas-Elgin Local Immigration Partnership is joining Canadian Film Day, a national celebration of Canadian cinema and identity later this month. STELIP coordinator Fabiana Estrela calls it “a celebration of Canadian heritage and diversity in St. Thomas-Elgin.” With other community partners, STELIP is sponsoring free screenings of a program of five Canadian films ranging from an Arctic drama based on a short story by Farley Mowat, to Sarah Polley’s personal documentary about her family’s secrets. All have been critically acclaimed. Several have been nominated for, and have won, a number of awards. Canadian Film Day is organized by Reel Canada, a non-proft which says stories Canadians tell about themselves open the door to conversations about what it means to be Canadian. Honourary national patron is former governor general Adrienne Clarkson. The organization’s initiatives include screenings targeted at audiences of new Canadians. It says multicultural Canadian films welcome them as full members of their chosen country.

http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/2015/04/11/st-thomas-elgin-local-immigration-partnership-is-joining-canadian-film-day-to-sponsor-free-screenings

Les porte-paroles de la Maison d’Haïti du Grand Toronto ont prévu une rencontre vendredi avec le ministre fédéral de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration, Chris Alexander, pour exprimer leurs inquiétudes concernant les répercussions de la levée de la suspension temporaire des renvois vers Haïti. Le moratoire, levé en décembre dernier était en vigueur depuis 2004 en raison de l’instabilité et de la violence sur l’île, et ensuite à cause du séisme de 2010. « [Une situation] qui n’était pas très stable et qui n’est pas encore stable, parce qu’il y a des cas d’enlèvements, il y a des cas d’insécurité réellement et c’est réellement notre inquiétude au niveau de la communauté haïtienne », a affirmé le président de la Maison d’Haïti, Adolphe Fougère, sur les ondes d’Ici Radio-Canada Première vendredi matin. Le moratoire permettait d’empêcher les expulsions des ressortissants haïtiens en situation irrégulière au Canada. Après sa levée, une période supplémentaire de six mois a été accordée aux personnes touchées pour présenter une demande de résidence permanente. Celle-ci prend fin le 31 mai.

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/ontario/2015/04/10/012-haiti-moratoire-inquietudes.shtml