Voies vers la prospérité: Canada

Ottawa has cancelled applications that predated Feb. 27, 2008, telling applicants they are welcome to apply again and promising to refund the collective $130 million in fees they paid to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. […] A critically important area that still needs to be addressed is recognition of foreign credentials. Canada, like other developed nations, is anxious to admit as many professionals and highly skilled workers as it can. But when they get here, these workers must have their credentials accepted by the notoriously self-protective professional bodies of each province.

This article is no longer available online. Please contact the media source directly for more information. Original Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Toward+better+system+admitting+immigrants/6406883/story.html

The province continues to encourage immigrants to learn French but there are reports the Quebec government may soon offer immigrants “choice.” New arrivals to the province may soon be able to learn English. Quebec’s largest public-sector union argues that would contravene the law stipulating sessions can only be offered in French but the government says the move is in the interest of speedy integration.

http://www.globalmontreal.com/quebec+government+may+soon+give+immigrants+opportunity+to+learn+english/6442615161/story.html

Protesters occupied MP Laurie Hawn’s Edmonton office on Wednesday as part of a co-ordinated effort against Bill C-31, the Conservative government’s new refugee law. The sit-ins, staged at the offices of five Conservative members of Parliament in cities across Canada, were organized in opposition to Protecting Canada’s Immigration Act, introduced by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in February.

This article is no longer available online. Please contact the media source directly for more information. Original Source:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Refugee+bill+protesters+occupy+Edmonton+office/6412648/story.html

Canada annually receives about 250,000 immigrants – many of whom have advanced degrees and skills that are in demand – but only a small fraction of them manage to land jobs at SMBs [small and medium sized businesses], which represent 64 per cent of new private-sector positions. The issue is two-fold, the report concludes: Smaller employers are often unaware of the skills immigrants bring to the table or how to reach out to them, while newcomers tend to focus their job hunts on well-known corporations.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/human-resources/new-approach-proposed-for-immigrant-recruiting/article2389789/

A new study on immigrant housing warns that thousands of newcomers continue to live in “hidden homelessness” — in shared, overcrowded housing — an issue that has grown more acute, especially in Toronto, where affordable rental units are in short supply. The national study by Metropolis, an international network of researchers in immigration policy, found most newcomers reported spending more than 50 per cent of income on housing, with 15 per cent spending 75 per cent or more.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1155144–new-immigrants-are-the-hidden-homeless

Refugee claims should stand or fall on the merits of the case – not on the biases and whims of adjudicators. These decisions have enormous consequences: if a decision-maker at the Immigration and Refugee Board gets it wrong, the person will be sent back to a country where he or she could face persecution, torture or even death, or conversely they could be allowed in under an invented pretext.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/refugee-cases-should-be-decided-on-merit—-not-on-whim/article2387602/