Author Archives: CICS Immigration Team

Canada On Verge of Expansion of Undersea Territory

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The brown line marks Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is an area of continental shelf 200 nautical miles (nm) from a country's coastline over which it has sovereign rights. The green line is an estimate, made in the mid-1990s, of the outer limit of Canada's extended continental shelf. Substantial data collected about the sea floor off of Canada's coasts as part of Canada's Extended Continental Shelf Program have largely confirmed the initial estimates. (Polar Commission of Canada)

The Canadian government is near completion on its application to a UN commission to claim its extended continental shelf, and it holds the potential to expand the country’s ownership over seabed territory by up to 1.75 million square kilometres.

The government must submit the application, which according to the geologist in charge of the project, Dr. Jacob Verhoef, is thousands of pages long and includes 25 scientific reports, before the December 2013 deadline.

The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), an expert body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), will evaluate Canada’s application and render its binding recommendation on the outer limits of Canada’s extended continental shelf.

Canada ratified the UNCLOS treaty in 2003, which grants signatory countries ten years to provide a scientifically defensible submission to the CLCS on the outer limits of their extended continental shelf.

Valuable energy and mineral resources under the seabed are expected to become available to Canada with the expansion of its undersea territory.

Immigration Canada to Double Working Holiday Visa Quota for Ireland

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Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore announcing the expansion of the Canada-Ireland International Experience Canada (IEC) program (Citizenship and Immigration Canada)

Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced yesterday that the working holiday visa quota for Irish youth will be nearly doubled, to 10,000 spaces by the beginning of 2014.

Yesterday’s announcement, made during Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s visit to Dublin, Ireland, comes just two days after news emerged that the length of working holiday visas for British citizens would be extended to two years from the current one.

Mr. Kenney is in Ireland to promote Canada as a destination for Irish talent, many of whom are seeking foreign employment opportunities in the midst of their country’s economic problems.

He is scheduled to visit Dublin’s Working Abroad Expo recruitment fair this weekend, where over 70 delegations from Australia, New Zealand Canada, and the Middle East are holding exhibitions to promote job opportunities for Irish people in their respective companies and countries.

Canada has a reciprocal working holiday agreement with Ireland which allows Canadian and Irish citizens to temporarily live in each other’s countries for a ‘working holiday’, during which they are permitted to work to fund their stay.

The Canadian working holiday visa is referred to as an International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit, and is available to Irish passport holders aged 18-35.

Currently, Irish youth can apply twice for the IEC work permit for 12 months each time. Kenney announced yesterday that at the beginning of 2013, Irish youth will be eligible to apply just once, but will be able to stay two years.

The change is intended to eliminate the inconvenience of Irish citizens who are working in Canada under the IEC program, being required to return to Ireland before the expiration of their first IEC work permit in order to apply for a second one.

Expert Roundtable Submits Report on Immigration to Ontario Government

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Julia Deans, chair of the 13-member roundtable on immigration strategy, presenting the panel's report to Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Charles Sousa (Government of Ontario)

A 13-member expert roundtable, appointed seven months ago by the government of Ontario to advise the province on the development of a provincial immigration strategy, submitted its report yesterday, and it includes 32 recommendations for the province.

The key recommendations of the report are:

    • Aiming to increase the proportion of economic class immigrants, meaning those who immigrate through skilled worker and business immigration programs, to 65-70 percent. The report notes that the percentage of economic class immigrants has fallen from over 64 percent in 2001, to 52 percent today, while the proportion of family and refugee class immigrants has increased. Immigrants in the latter categories are more likely to face problems integrating into Ontario’s labour market than economic class immigrants.
    • Increasing Ontario’s total immigration levels to 135,000 people a year, or one percent of Ontario’s population, to alleviate the decline in the province’s working-age population, which the roundtable expects will put pressure on the provincial government’s budget.
    • Shifting the focus of immigration selection to human capital and away from immediate labour needs, due to evidence showing that an immigrant’s level of human capital, meaning their skills, education and language proficiency, is the best predictor of earnings growth and employability.
    • Ontario continuing to rely on the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) as the main source of economic immigration to the province, and recommending that the federal government eliminate the Federal Skilled Worker Class’ priority occupations list.
    • Recommending that the federal government delegate immigration selection for the purposes of responding to specific occupational shortages to Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) run by provinces. In line with this recommendation, encouraging the federal government to increase the quota for Ontario’s PNP from current 1,000 to 5,000 people per year.
    • Reducing the amount of low-skilled temporary foreign workers that it allows in the province for extended periods, as it depresses wages by giving Canadian employers a below-market wage alternative to hiring Canadians.
    • Shifting the focus of the temporary foreign worker program to bringing in high skilled and skilled trades workers on a temporary basis to fill immediate skills and labour shortages, rather than to provide low-wage labour to businesses for extended periods.
    • The province working with the federal government in designing the Expression of Interest (EOI) model of immigration which the federal government has recently announced that it intends to implement. This model, which is currently in use in New Zealand, adds a preliminary application phase whereby those seeking to immigrate to Canada submit an EOI that contains their personal information to the Canadian government, and immigration authorities invite the most promising EOI applicants to submit a full application along with proof of qualifications.
    • To enable the government of Ontario to play a bigger role in immigration selection, codifying the province’s immigration strategy and regulations through legislation. The report suggests that a provincial governing framework for immigration might become a prerequisite for the the federal government agreeing to allow provinces to have a bigger role in the immigration selection process.

The report is likely to be influential because of Ontario’s importance to Canada, as the country’s most populous province and the destination of over 35 percent of Canada’s immigrants.

Canadian Immigration Minister Suggests Popular ‘Working Holiday Visa’ to be Extended to Two Years, to Visit London Next Week

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Graduates of British post-secondary institutions like University College London are struggling to find jobs in the UK's stagnant economy, and the Canadian immigration ministry wants them to consider immigrating to Canada to fill the country's labour shortages.

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will visit London next week in order to promote Canada as a destination for educated young Britons struggling in the UK’s job market.

In an interview with the British newspaper, the Telegraph, Kenney said that Canada wants to compete with Australia for young skilled British expats. He is scheduled to meet UK Immigration Minister Mark Harper during his London visit to market the economic opportunities that exist for young Britons in Canada.

In the interview, he said that to attract young expats, the length of time foreign workers need to work in Canada to qualify for permanent residence is being reduced from 24 months to one year, a reference to coming changes to the Canadian Experience Class immigration program.

Kenney also said that the length of time young foreign workers, aged 18-35, can stay in Canada on temporary work permits will be doubled to two years from the current one.

The International Experience Canada (IEC) program, under which 18-35 year non-Canadians from qualifying countries can receive one year Canadian work permits, or ‘working holiday visas’, is the only Canadian immigration program targeting the 18-35 demographic, so Kenney was apparently referring to the work permits issued under this program being extended to two years.

The purpose of the IEC program is to allow young visitors to Canada to work during their extended holiday, for the purpose of funding their stay in Canada. Canada has reciprocal working holiday agreements with most developed countries, including Australia, the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland and Japan.

Five Immigrants Receive Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards

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Five individuals received Ottawa Local Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards yesterday in the first annual Ottawa Immigration Forum, organized by the Ottawa Local Immigrant Partnership (Citizenship and Immigration Canada)

Five Canadian immigrants received awards for their entrepreneurship at the first annual Ottawa Immigration Forum yesterday.

The Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Award ceremomy is organized by the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) and given to individuals judged to have made valuable contributions to the local economy.

Yesterday’s recipients were:

Valery Tolstikhin, founder of OneChip Photonics Inc, who won in the Fast-growth enterprises category. OneChip Photonics manufactures high performance optical transceivers for broadband applications.

Dr. Dipak Roy, founder of D-TA Systems Inc, the winner of the award in the Innovation-oriented enterprises category. D-TA Systems provides sonar and radar signal processors for the defence, aerospace and wireless industries.

Vinod Rajasekaran, creator of HUB Ottawa, won in the Social enterprises category. HUB Ottawa is an innovation incubator that provides collaborative office space and networking events to members.

Dr. Supriya Mishra, founder of visionTech4u, the winner of the Women entrepreneurs category award. VisionTech4U provides IT consultancy in the Ottawa area.

Obaid Ahmed, founder of OAK Computing, won in the under 35 Youth business entrepreneurs category. OAK Computing is a software development company that manages several start-ups.

OLIP is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) as part of the federal government’s campaign to boost the integration of immigrants into the Canadian economy.

Data emerging over the last few years, showing a growing income gap between recent immigrants and other Canadians, has spurred the federal and several provincial governments to fund initiatives by local immigrant serving organizations like OLIP to reverse the situation.

Canada to Start Sharing Diplomatic Missions with UK

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The UK offered the Canadian government office space in its embassy in Myanmar, pictured above, during their meeting on September 24th (Google Maps)

The Canadian and British governments announced last week that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will have the two countries share diplomatic missions in order to cut costs and expand their diplomatic reach.

The agreement was signed during a visit by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to Ottawa, Canada on September 24th, and was accompanied by an exchange of offers of diplomatic office space between the countries, with the UK offering Canada space in the British embassy in Myanmar (Burma) and Canada offering the UK space in the Canadian embassy in Haiti.

Some in Canada have expressed concern that the joint missions would put Canadian diplomats at risk in countries with anti-British sentiment, while others have said it endangers Canada’s independence in foreign policy.

Promoters of the partnership cite the potential efficiency gains in sharing diplomatic resources and the cultural links between the countries as reasons to support the decision.

Before his meeting with Canadian political leaders last week, Mr. Hague described the closeness between the UK and Canada by quoting British Prime Minister David Cameron: “As the prime minister said when addressing the Canadian parliament last year: ‘We are two nations, but under one Queen and united by one set of values.'”

New Language Requirements For Canadian Citizenship Coming into Effect November 1st

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The UBC English Language Institute is one of thousands of locations where individuals can take an IELTS exam. Citizenship applicants will be required to submit the results from CIC-approved third-party tests like the IELTS or provide evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French to be have their application processed.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced today that the majority of citizenship applicants will be required to demonstrate language proficiency in English or French when they apply, effective November 1st, 2012.

Currently, CIC assesses applicants’ language proficiency through the interaction their staff have with the applicant, and from the applicant’s citizenship knowledge test results.

Under coming changes, citizenship applicants will be required to submit the results of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, and score at least 4.0 and 4.5 on the speaking and listening portions, respectively.

In order for applicants to demonstrate French language proficiency, they will be required to submit the results of the Test d’évaluation de français (TEF), and score at least 181 and 145 on the speaking and listening portions.

Applicants can have the language test requirement waived if they can show evidence of having completed secondary or post-secondary education in English or French.

The new language requirements will only apply to applicants aged 18-54.

Canada Has Fastest Population Growth in G8, Driven By Immigration and Led by Prairies

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The Prairie provinces, prospering from their abundance of natural resources, led Canada in population growth in the year ending June 30th, 2012. Two thirds of the world's potash reserves are near Saskatoon, pictured above, the largest city in Saskatchewan.

A Statistics Canada report released today estimates that Canada’s population grew by 1.1 percent in the year ending June 30 2012, giving it the fastest population growth among the G8 countries.

In comparison, the second fastest growing population in the G8 was that of the United States, which grew by 0.7 percent over the same period. Japan, with its shrinking population, had the lowest population growth rate, at negative 0.3 percent.

The largest source for Canada’s population growth was immigration, as the country has continued to sustain the highest immigration levels in the world as a percentage of its population.

Among Canadian provinces, Alberta saw the fastest population growth, at 2.5 percent, as the province, which has the highest per capita GDP in Canada, continued to lead the country in inter-provincial and international immigration and natural population growth.

The economy of Alberta has benefited in recent years from a booming oil sector as production in the Athabasca oil sands, which is one of the largest oil deposits in the world, continues to ramp up.

Other Prairie provinces also saw rapid population growth, with Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s populations growing by 2.1 and 1.2 percent respectively.

A recent Fraser Institute study found that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have the best labour markets in Canada, with the lowest unemployment rates and fastest employment growth in the country, thanks to strong performance from their resource sectors.

Canadian Government Considering Electronic Bracelets For Refugee Claimants

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CBSA and RCMP officers in Vancouver, Canada. The Standing Committee on Public Safety was told by a CBSA director that 80 percent of the 44,000 outstanding arrest warrants in Canada are for individuals who have had their refugee claim rejected and are evading deportation (2010 Legal Observers)

The federal government is considering requiring asylum seekers who are in Canada and awaiting a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) on their refugee claim to wear electronic tracking bracelets as a condition of being released from detention.

On Tuesday, parliament was presented with the findings of a study conducted by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to determine the effectiveness, cost efficiency, and feasibility of electronic supervision in the correctional and immigration setting.

The study recommended further consideration of the extra security measure for asylum seekers in part due to testimony it received from a senior official at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The Director General of the CBSA’s Post-Border Programs, Peter Hill, noted that a staggering 80 percent of the approximately 44,000 outstanding arrest warrants in Canada are for asylum seekers who had their refugee claim rejected and did not appear at their deportation hearing to comply with their removal order.

Hill testified that he believed electronic monitoring would be effective in improving enforcement of removal orders based on positive results the CBSA has had in the limited number of cases where it has used it, and proposed more analysis be done as a preliminary step to broader application of the supervision tool.

The Committee on Public Safety was persuaded by the testimony of Hill and other witnesses and recommended in its report that the CBSA review the cost-effectiveness of electronic monitoring.

Canada Most Tax Competitive For Corporations Among Developed Countries

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The KPMG Competitive Alternatives report rates Canada as the most tax competitive developed country in a survey of 14 major economies

Canada’s corporate taxes are the second lowest overall, and lowest of any developed country, among 14 large economies included in a KPMG survey of international tax competitiveness.

At the other end of the scale, Italy and France had the least competitive corporate tax rates in the survey, while the US was in the middle of the pack, at eighth most competitive.

Four of the five developing countries included in the survey: India, China, Mexico and Russia, ranked in the top of five in tax competitiveness, at first, second, fourth and fifth, respectively. Brazil was the only developing country with a tax competitive rating in the bottom half, ranking eleventh.

The survey only looked at corporate taxes and did not factor in taxes paid by individuals directly like the personal income tax and sales tax.

KPMG’s Canadian managing tax partner, Elio Luongo, lauded Canada’s standing in the survey in an interview with the Globe and Mail: “This helps our attractiveness around the world and helps us compete .. We need this to compensate for other costs.”