Canada, as it is today, was built by immigration. It is a nation that has always welcomed newcomers as a means to build a solid population and an effective federal state. Now more than ever, immigration is at the heart of a strong and growing Canada.

The Alberta provincial government recently announced that residents of Alberta can now sponsor their close relatives for fast-tracked Permanent Residency under a new section of the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP). The expansion of the program seeks to stimulate population and labour force growth and to create more welcoming communities for newcomers.

After much deliberation on Parliament Hill, the Conservative’s amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) survived a final vote in the House of Commons and received support from Senate. The budget implementation bill, which included the immigration reforms, has been adopted and the new immigration laws will come into effect in the coming months. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Diane Finley has not yet announced what the specific implications will be on immigration to Canada.

The Agreement for Canada-Prince Edward Island Cooperation on Immigration will make it easier for the province to attract and welcome newcomers and to respond to its particular social, demographic, and economic needs. Limits have been removed from the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), allowing the province to nominate even more of the immigrants it needs for fast-track Permanent Residency.

Certain Canadian immigration applicants are required to take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), a standard test that is recognized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) as an indication of English language ability. New to Canadavisa are free IELTS practice tests where visitors can get an idea about to expect.

It’s easy, in this day and age, to be cynical. Examples of greed and selfishness abound in most parts of the world, including Canada. I certainly have no trouble pointing out inequities in the Canadian immigration selection system, as readers of my previous blogs can attest. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that if you look hard enough you will find people who set an example for the rest of us to aspire to. Regular people who lead extraordinary lives.

The province of Alberta, with its booming economy and expanding cities, has been working to make it as easy as possible to bring in foreign workers to contribute to the provincial labour force. The Strategic Recruitment Stream, a new pilot project by the Alberta Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) can fast-track the issuance of Canada Permanent Resident visas to people who are in the United States on temporary work visas. No job offer required.

Attorney David Cohen has been vocal about his opposition to the Conservative government’s proposed legislative changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. At the request of the House of Commons Finance Committee and the Citizenship and Immigration Committee, he delivered an address outlining his legal perspective on the implications of the amendments. Video highlights of his address are available.

British Columbia (BC) is making immigration work. The provincial government has been in immigration headlines quite often over the past few months, with new initiatives and solutions to help newcomers make BC their home. From credential recognition services, to refugee settlement, programs for international students, better access to employment information and job-finding services, the BC government has been exceeding program targets and delivering exceptional service to newcomers.

With a recent string of apologies to various Canadian communities, the Government of Canada is recognizing the past wrongs of Canada’s former immigration policies. The Conservative government’s Historical Recognition Program has allotted $29 million to commemorate several of these important yet shameful events in Canada’s history.

The Canadian government announced last week that it will create a 29 million dollar grant program as redress for various shameful incidents in Canada’s history, relating to the way Canada treated prospective and landed immigrants. For example, from 1885-1923 there was a Chinese head tax which was a fee charged for each person wishing to immigrate to Canada from China. There was also the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, when more than 350 prospective immigrants from India were held on a ship in Vancouver harbor because they would not be admitted to Canada. In addition, in 1939 more than 900 Jewish refugees trying to escape Nazi Germany on the steamship St. Louis were denied entry to Canada, among other countries, and were sent back to Nazi Germany, where it is estimated a third of the passengers were executed. Ten million dollars will go the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Schevchenko as compensation for discrimination and the internment of Ukrainians and other East European ethnic communities during the First World War.

Through recent changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, Canada has made it easier for graduating international students to obtain work permits and acquire Canadian work experience. Not only will the changes help Canada’s international student retention rate and ease current skills shortages, but they will also help these students on their way to becoming successful Permanent Residents - new immigrants who have already integrated into Canadian society thanks to the education and work experience they have obtained in Canada.

The minority Conservative government tabled a bill on March 14, 2008 that proposed amendments to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Since that time, there has been much debate over these controversial reforms. Over a month later, the Conservative’s budget implementation bill (which includes the immigration reforms) has passed second reading in the House of Commons but still has not become law. Grumblings from opposition parties and Canadian immigrant communities have called into question whether this bill will make it through, or whether it will be the ultimate trigger for a Canadian federal election.

The Family Connections category is the newest addition to the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nomination Program (NLPNP). Newfoundland and Labrador residents can now sponsor family members from abroad to relocate and work in the province.

The number of visible minorities in Canada has topped the five million mark for the first time in Canada’s history, now representing 16.2 per cent of the country’s population. Canadian employers are learning how to manage employees from different cultural backgrounds and are creating programs and training sessions to ensure that newcomers become comfortable in their new workplace culture so that they can perform to their full potential.

The Conservative led minority government has recently introduced a bill in Parliament that contains significant changes to Canada’s immigration law. If passed, the proposed amendments will empower the immigration minister to instruct visa officers to take certain candidates quickly, hold some applications for consideration at a later date, and return others without any consideration at all. No clue is given in advance as to which type of applicants will be favoured and which will be spurned.

On March 14, 2008 Canada’s Conservative government tabled a bill that proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Under the current law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is required to assess every Permanent Resident application received at a visa office, in a particular immigration category, on a “first come, first served” basis. The proposed legislative change provides the Immigration Minister with the authority to regulate the backlog of applicants. It allows CIC to select among the new applications received and choose those that it determines are best suited for Canada’s labour market needs.

Young, educated, and attuned to life in Canada, foreign students are Canadian immigrants of choice, with no settlement-integration cost and strong potential to contribute to the Canadian labour force. In December 2006 there were 157,000 foreign students in Canada - many from China, Korea, and the United States. The Canadian Bureau for International Education reports that the pool of international students in Canada could add as many as 30,000 skilled immigrants annually. They have called on the Canadian government to create a national strategy for international students.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has been working with new EU countries in an effort to establish visa-exempt status for all EU member states. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Lithuania, are the most recent countries for which citizens traveling to Canada are no longer required to obtain Temporary Resident (Visitor) Visas.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been pumping funds into the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, supporting English and French language training providers across Canada as they help newcomers transition into life in Canada. Additionally, the Quebec government has recently introduced new measures to improve and extend French language classes to immigrants. But is it enough? The latest Statistics Canada census figures show that a large number of Canada’s new immigrants are working in a native tongue that is neither of the country’s official languages.

Since it’s inception in 2002, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) has stood for the principle that anyone is entitled to apply for permission to live in Canada and to have his or her admissibility considered fairly, according to purely objective criteria. This core value is now threatened.

How long will it take to process a Canadian Permanent Resident Visa application? Well, that depends on several factors. One of the most important factors is the planned number of visas to be given out at a visa office (target numbers) for the year. The assignment of these target numbers to each Canadian visa office around the world is among the most significant annual decisions undertaken by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2008 targets have just come out.

Nearly three quarters of Canadian immigrants settle in Canada’s three largest metropolitan areas, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. However, a recent Statistics Canada report suggests that those who go against the grain and start their new lives in smaller Canadian centres will likely experience an even more successful integration into Canadian society. In response to this report, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has created a program for these smaller communities to help them with the attraction and retention of Canadian newcomers.

The Canadian economy is growing at a much faster rate than the Canadian population. The Canadian population would not be growing if it were not for immigration. To maintain economic growth, Canadian businesses are reliant on the large pool of new skilled immigrants, who by 2011 will account for all net labour force growth in Canada. The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) has recently launched an awareness campaign to educate labour-tight Canadian corporations about the benefits of hiring Canada’s skilled newcomers.

The Philippines is one of the most important source countries for Canadian immigration. Recent government reports have shown that Filipinos integrate well into the Canadian workforce and Canadian society. Provincial governments have taken notice and have established agreements with the Philippines that provide employment opportunities for Filipino skilled workers, in turn addressing provincial labour shortages.

If you are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, and want to sponsor your dependent child who resides, say, in China or Turkey, you will likely wait about four months to be reunited. On the other hand, if your child happens to reside in Egypt, the same process will take 34 months. Why should that […]

An important issue for future Canadian immigrants: Where do I want to live when I get to Canada? Which Canadian city will best suit my needs? Recent studies rate the attractiveness of a selection of Canadian cities, weighing the advantages and disadvantages that people consider before choosing where to live.

With a pressing need for skilled workers, Canada’s Western provinces continue to implement new initiatives to help foreign workers get to Canada and start contributing to the labour force quickly. Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) is rolling out the welcome mat to temporary foreign workers, making the transition into the workforce easier, faster and with more protection.

Canada’s Northern Territories are not common destinations for immigrants. Many potential immigrants perceive that the smaller communities and harsh climate will make integration more difficult. The reality, however, is that many immigrants to the Northwest Territories, Yukon, or Nunavut have adjusted well and thrived in their new communities. The Yukon, the only Territory with a Nominee Program, is working to bring in immigrants quickly, to fill labour shortages and sustain the growing economy.

Large funding allocations have been made over the past month by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) at the national, provincial, and regional levels. An important focus is on newcomer integration; easing the transition of immigrants into Canadian society and the Canadian workforce. CIC and regional service groups provide services and guidance to help newcomers become engaged in their new communities.

In immigration law, we come across many situations where the decision taken greatly impacts the welfare of children. In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on a case (Baker v. Canada) which brought the interests of children to the forefront in immigration matters. In that case, a woman with 4 Canadian-born children was ordered deported from Canada despite the concerns for her own medical treatment in her country of origin and the effect her removal would have on her children. In the ruling, the Court specified that in making decisions on humanitarian and compassionate grounds for immigration, officials are required to pay “close attention to the interests and needs of children, since children’s rights and attention to their interests are central humanitarian and compassionate values in Canadian society”. The Baker decision is now nearly 10 years old and not nearly enough has been done to put its recommendations into practice.