News Briefs – Shortage of skilled labour amid housing boom draws international workers

The CREWS program helps employers find skilled workers and bring them to Canada legally. But the program is up for renewal next month and is currently under discussion. ‘We’re back at the table discussing this because we all thought there was merit to the memorandum of understanding,’ says John McVean, a program director with Human […]

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Ottawa eyes amnesty plan for 10,000 illegal workers

An internal government document, obtained under the Access to Information Act, shows that Ottawa has contemplated an amnesty program to grant legal status to at least 10,000 undocumented immigrants living and working in Canada’s vast underground economy. The program, known as ‘special measures,’ was proposed in 2001 but not included in the new Immigration and […]

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Minister’s Permit

Q. I am a British citizen living in the UK and have a PR application in process. However my company have now offered me a position in Canada through the intra-company transferee scheme enabling me to get a work visa. What I’m unsure about though is, will this create any problems for my PR application […]

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News Briefs – Most Immigrants Settled in Cities in Past Decade

Nearly all the immigrants who came to Canada in the 1990s settled in the country’s largest cities, a report says – a large jump over the number who settled in urban centres in the previous decade. About 1.8 million people settled in Canada’s 27 metropolitan areas in the 1990s, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. Toronto, Vancouver […]

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Struggling pupils to get boost from reading and math funds

Karen Grose knows exactly what her downtown Toronto school will do with its share of the $65-million in additional funds announced by the provincial government yesterday to help improve reading and math skills for students from low-income and single-parent families. The former principal of Parkdale Public School said the elementary school will use the money […]

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Minister’s Permit

Q. I wish to have my spouse come to Canada to visit me. I would like to apply for a Minister’s permit for her. How do I go about that? Answer: The Minister’s Permit does not exist since the implementation of the new laws and regulations in June of 2003. These provisions have been replaced […]

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News Briefs – Foreign-born influx affects election

Going into election day, many people anticipated a fierce two-way fight with the Conservative Party in this newly created riding, Mississauga-Brampton South. But as in other ridings across the 905 region, that did not happen. Once again, this vote-rich suburban area that sweeps around Toronto proved almost impenetrable to the Conservative Party, despite it being […]

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Immigrants important to economy, survey finds

While skilled immigrants face great difficulties finding jobs in the Greater Toronto Area, they play an important role in keeping the economy growing, according to a survey of attitudes toward immigration. The Environics survey, commissioned by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and to be released today, sought to discover what people living in the […]

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Effect of unemployment

Q. I became unemployed soon after submitting my skilled worker application. How is this going to effect my PR application. Anybody with same situation? Answer: Your application is based on the qualifications that you possessed at the time of the submission of your application. Although unemployment would not necessarily have a negative impact on an […]

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