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Friday 1 March 2013

Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program


March 1, 2013 – With new criteria for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) set to take effect in May, many prospective immigrants may already be preparing to apply.
However, future FSWP applicants should be aware that CIC expects to announce three important elements of the FSWP in April that will have an impact on the application process, including:
  • a cap on the number of applications that will be accepted in the first year;
  • a new list of priority occupations; and
  • the organizations that will be designated to conduct educational assessments.
Applicants who prepare their application before this information is announced do so at their own risk. Applications that do not meet the criteria that will be announced in April will not be processed.
On December 19, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced significant changes to the FSWP. In addition, the Minister announced that the new FSWP would be opened up for applications on May 4, 2013. A pause on applications, except for those from certain PhD students and those supported by a qualifying job offer, has been in place sinceJuly 1, 2012.

Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program


March 1, 2013 – With new criteria for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) set to take effect in May, many prospective immigrants may already be preparing to apply.
However, future FSWP applicants should be aware that CIC expects to announce three important elements of the FSWP in April that will have an impact on the application process, including:
  • a cap on the number of applications that will be accepted in the first year;
  • a new list of priority occupations; and
  • the organizations that will be designated to conduct educational assessments.
Applicants who prepare their application before this information is announced do so at their own risk. Applications that do not meet the criteria that will be announced in April will not be processed.
On December 19, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced significant changes to the FSWP. In addition, the Minister announced that the new FSWP would be opened up for applications on May 4, 2013. A pause on applications, except for those from certain PhD students and those supported by a qualifying job offer, has been in place sinceJuly 1, 2012.

Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program


March 1, 2013 – With new criteria for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) set to take effect in May, many prospective immigrants may already be preparing to apply.
However, future FSWP applicants should be aware that CIC expects to announce three important elements of the FSWP in April that will have an impact on the application process, including:
  • a cap on the number of applications that will be accepted in the first year;
  • a new list of priority occupations; and
  • the organizations that will be designated to conduct educational assessments.
Applicants who prepare their application before this information is announced do so at their own risk. Applications that do not meet the criteria that will be announced in April will not be processed.
On December 19, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced significant changes to the FSWP. In addition, the Minister announced that the new FSWP would be opened up for applications on May 4, 2013. A pause on applications, except for those from certain PhD students and those supported by a qualifying job offer, has been in place sinceJuly 1, 2012.

Canada Welcomes Record Number of Immigrants through Canadian Experience Class


Retaining the Best and Brightest from Around the World

Ottawa, February 28, 2013 — Canada’s fastest-growing immigration stream welcomed a record 9,353 newcomers in 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) makes Canada more competitive in attracting and retaining the best and brightest individuals with the skills we need. These are people who have already demonstrated their ability to integrate into the Canadian labour market and society,” said Minister Kenney. “The CEC allows these skilled and educated individuals to bring their skills and talents, contribute to our economy and help renew our workforce so that Canada remains competitive on the world stage.
This is 34 percent more than the 2012 target of 7,000. Admissions in the CEC, which targets skilled immigrants, are up 55.2 percent from 2011.
Introduced in 2008, CEC is an immigration option for international student graduates and skilled foreign workers with professional, managerial and skilled work experience in Canada. Unlike other programs, CEC allows an applicant’s experience in Canada to be considered a key selection factor when immigrating to Canada.
Recently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada streamlined the CEC work experience requirement to make the program faster and more flexible for applicants. As of January 2, 2013, applicants require 12 months of full-time Canadian work experience and now have more time, up to 36 months, to earn it.

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Canada welcomes record number of international students in 2012


First time in Canadian history over 100,000 international students welcomed

Ottawa, February 26, 2013 — Canada welcomed a record number of international students in 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today. Last year was the first time in Canadian history that Canada has welcomed over 100,000 international students, an increase of 60% from 2004.
Attracting and retaining the best and brightest immigrants from around the world is part of the government’s commitment to grow Canada’s economy and ensure long-term prosperity,” said Minister Kenney. “The steady growth in numbers confirms that Canada remains a destination of choice for international students because of the remarkable educational opportunities that exist in our world class institutions.
According to a 2011 report by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) entitled International Education: A Key Driver of Canada’s Future Prosperity, international students contribute more than $8 billion every year to the Canadian economy. In addition to significant economic benefits, international students also enrich Canadian society with their ideas and different perspectives.
Canada’s universities are pleased to see increasing numbers of international students attracted by our reputation for excellence in education,” said Paul Davidson, President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. “In addition to making a significant contribution to our economy, international students bring new perspectives and cultures to our campuses, enriching the learning experience of all students.
International students are also a future source of skilled labour, as they may be eligible upon graduation for permanent residency through immigration programs, such as the Canadian Experience Class which the Government introduced in 2008. International students are well-prepared to immigrate to Canada as they have obtained Canadian credentials, are proficient in at least one of our official languages and often have relevant Canadian work experience.
Canadian colleges and institutes, with a focus on applied higher education and unparalleled placement rates, are magnets for international students,” said Association of Canadian Community Colleges President and CEO, James Knight. “Canadian college credentials are a passport to employment success not only in the students' country of origin, but also in Canada where their skills are in high demand.
Recently proposed changes to the International Student Program would streamline work permit access to international students attending designated institutions, and provide certain study permit holders with the authority to work part-time off-campus.
The proposed changes would also better protect international students as provinces and territories designate the institutions qualified to receive them and Citizenship and Immigration Canada eliminates abuse of the program by ensuring program participants are genuine students. These changes would safeguard the world-class reputation of Canada’s post-secondary education system, as it strives to become ever more competitive in the global search for talent.
Canada competes globally for the best and brightest minds, so we are continually working to make studying in Canada an attractive choice,” added Minister Kenney. “Through our proposed improvements to the International Student Program, we will further improve Canada’s already strong reputation.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Expression of Interest – Transforming Canada’s economic immigration programs


A major next step in building a fast and flexible immigration system will be the creation of a pool of skilled workers ready to begin employment in Canada, a commitment made in Economic Action Plan 2012.
Inspired by an approach developed by New Zealand – and now also being used in Australia – an Expression of Interest application system is the model the Government of Canada plans to use to create this pool of skilled workers.
Under an Expression of Interest system – or EOI – prospective immigrants fill in an online form indicating their “interest” in coming to a host country as permanent residents. The form can include information that relates to, for example, language proficiency, work experience and assessed education credentials.
Assigned a points score and ranked, these expressions of interest would then be entered into a pool from which candidates that best match a country’s national and regional skills needs can be drawn and invited to submit an immigration application, subject to priority processing.
In effect, the EOI form submitted by a prospective immigrant is not an application itself but only a first stage in the assessment of a potential candidate. Not all candidates who file an expression of interest are invited to apply for a permanent resident visa.
Consultations with provinces, territories and stakeholders on the development of an EOI system for Canada are underway. Of interest to CIC is the potential for a larger role for employers in the immigration program, leveraged through EOI.
As part of ongoing consultations, CIC has held roundtables with employers in a number of cities to discuss how such a system could help meet employer needs. A report on these recent discussions will be available on the consultations section of the CIC website soon.
With the elimination of the Federal Skilled Worker backlog, CIC anticipates being able to move to an EOI system that will: avoid the build-up of inventories and improve processing times; and make the immigration system more responsive to labour market needs and increase the likelihood of skilled immigrants’ success.

Monday 25 February 2013

The new Start-Up Visa Program: An Innovative Approach to Economic Immigration


Canada seeks innovative entrepreneurs who have the potential to build dynamic companies that can compete on a global scale. The Start-Up Visa Program will link immigrant entrepreneurs with experienced private sector organizations that have expertise in working with start-ups. 
The pilot will run for up to five years. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) expects that due to the narrow focus of the Program, initially, the number of applications will be limited. However, the focus of the Start-Up Visa will be on the quality of the applicants and on establishing a track record of success, so that the Program can be expanded quickly to fill what we hope will be a growing demand. If the Program proves successful during the five-year trial period, CIC may formally introduce it as a new economic class in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

Benefits of the Program 

  • The Start-up Visa Program will enable immigrant entrepreneurs to launch innovative companies that will create jobs in Canada, and eventually, compete globally.
  • The Program will provide entrepreneurs with valuable assistance in navigating the Canadian business environment which can sometimes prove challenging for newcomers.
  • The Program will provide private sector firms with access to a broader range of entrepreneurs, including the best and the brightest minds from around the world.

Program Partners

  • Initially, Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and the National Angel Capital Organization will be active partners in the Program.
  • CIC continues to work with the Canadian Association of Business Incubation to include the organization in the Program as soon as feasible.
  • These umbrella organizations—through agreements with CIC—will recommend which of their members should be designated as eligible to participate in the Start-Up Visa Program, establish expert peer review panels to assist CIC officers in case determinations and provide assurance that industry standards of due diligence were followed.
  • The process of designating which Canadian angel investor groups and venture capital funds will be eligible to participate in the Start-Up Visa will begin early this year.
  • The process of designating which Canadian business incubators will be eligible to participate in the Start-Up Visa will begin at a later date.  

Applications

  • Foreign entrepreneurs will require the support of a Canadian angel investor group, venture capital fund or a business incubator before they can apply to the Start-Up Visa Program.  
  • Foreign entrepreneurs will also have to meet certain criteria regarding language proficiency and educational qualifications. The full set of criteria will be published in the spring of 2013.
  • The Program will open for applications on April 1, 2013.

Consultations

  • CIC collaborated with industry associations representing organizations that work with entrepreneurs, such as Canadian business incubators, angel investor groups and venture capital funds. CIC also consulted with the provinces and territories throughout the Program development process.

Economic Action Plan 2012

  • Economic Action Plan 2012 highlighted Canada’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, innovators and world class research. It also announced the government’s intention to build a fast and flexible economic immigration system with a primary focus on meeting the new and emerging needs of the Canadian economy. The Start-Up Visa Program is an important part of this plan.

The Federal Entrepreneur Program

  • Launched in the 1970s, it became apparent in recent years that the Federal Entrepreneur Program no longer functioned effectively.
  • The Program’s criteria rested on basic factors, such as minimum net worth and business experience and granted permanent resident status conditionally upon the creation of a minimum of one job in three years—hardly a great demand. As such, the Program did not require the investors to invest in innovative enterprises but enabled them to limit investment to smaller, safer ones—the antithesis of entrepreneurship.  
  • On July 1, 2011, CIC implemented a temporary moratorium on new applications to the Federal Entrepreneur Program to limit the growth of the backlog while the Program is under review. There are no plans to lift the moratorium.  

Sunday 24 February 2013

Speaking notes for The Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P. Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism

At a Reception to Celebrate the Accomplishments of the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP) 2008 – 2013


The great champion of human dignity, Elie Wiesel, wrote that: “For us, forgetting was never an option. Remembering is a noble and necessary act. The call of memory, the call to memory reaches us from the very dawn of history. No commandment figures so frequently, so insistently, in the Bible. It is incumbent upon us to remember the good we have received and the evil we have suffered… An immoral society betrays humanity because it betrays the basis for humanity, which is memory… A moral society is committed to memory. I believe in memory.
And I do believe in memory. It is memory that gathers us here today because our society, Canada, is a moral society — not a perfect society, but a society animated by the highest ideals, a belief in the inviolable dignity of the human person, in a tradition of ordered liberty, in the idea that all men and women are created equal, and – in the words of the preamble of the Charter of Rights – living together in a country “founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.”
And yet it is true that we have not always lived up to the best of those ideals; that we have, throughout our history, sometimes fallen short. As a moral society, we have a choice to make. We can either seek to forget those moments of imperfection, of injustice, of discrimination, of persecution, of xenophobia, or we can seek to recognize them and to learn from them and to be impelled by them to do better now and in the future.
That is why the Government of Canada created the Community Historical Recognition Program – to create a platform, a basis, upon which to remember and to recognize these periods in our history when we fell short.
Prior to the Community Historical Recognition Program, we must acknowledge the groundbreaking initiative of the Right Honourable Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in his government’s redress to Canadians of Japanese origin for their dislocation during the Second World War, and indeed for his apology on behalf of the people and Government of Canada for the internment of Canadians of Italian origin during the Second World War.
And that created a framework to continue this very important work of identifying the reasons for these xenophobic ideas that certainly influenced the policies of previous governments. It is why this government, Prime Minister Harper’s government, decided to launch a project to work with the communities that were affected by the exclusion of immigrants or the internment of Canadians during the two world wars. And it is also why this project was announced.
This was not an easy or obvious thing to do. Previous governments, for whatever reasons, said – as did former Prime Minister Trudeau – that we cannot take responsibility for the sins of our fathers. And indeed, we cannot. Canadians today are not directly and personally culpable for mistakes that were made in the past. But that is not an excuse for collective amnesia. That is a reason to be very intentional about collective memory.
Some said that for us to launch a project like this would be to engage in what people call “black-arm-band history”, to dwell only on the negative and to allow stories of exclusion to become so central to our identity that we forget what an inclusive society we are. And I say I reject “black-arm-band history”. I do not agree with those in academia and elsewhere who believe that Canadian society is, and always has been, deeply tainted by racism or xenophobia.
But the best way to address that is by telling the truth about our history. If we want to celebrate what’s best about our history, if we want to propose Canada as a model for inclusion, and pluralism, and dignity of the human person, and respect for fundamental human rights, and inclusivity, then we must be honest with ourselves about those times in our past when we fell short.
And that is why we launched this project that has funded, through community engagement at the grassroots level, dozens of brilliant works of art, documentary research, films, plays, books, monuments, online resources, teaching and educational and curricular resources – so that we can be honest with ourselves, we can seek in some symbolic ways to heal scars from the past, but most importantly, so that we can learn from these experiences to prevent them in the future.
The first redress project on which I worked intensively – shortly after Prime Minister Harper’s government took office in 2006 – was redress to the Canadian-Chinese community for the injustice of the Head Tax and Exclusion Act. As you know, and as this short video clip reminds us, it was Canadians of Chinese origin who literally helped to unite this country with a ribbon of steel from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Canada would not exist as it does today were it not for their sacrifices; because many of them did the most difficult and dangerous work in creating the national dream in the construction of the CPR.
And yet, when the railway was completed in 1885, Canada said, “we have enough Chinese already, we don’t want any more,” and imposed the Head Tax – a discriminatory and prejudicial tax imposed on people of one particular ethnicity. The tax was raised over time to make it prohibitive, dividing families. And when that wasn’t adequate, when some still came, the government, on July the 1st, 1923, imposed the Exclusion Act, a statute specifically barring people of Chinese origin from immigrating to Canada, except in very limited circumstances.
So imagine a young Chinese labourer coming to Canada in 1922, with the hope and expectation of saving up and eventually inviting his wife and children, only to find the door closed and locked. And many terrible stories emerged from that experience. For example, families whose wives and children were in Manchuria, while the husband continued to work in Canada, when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded. There are wives and children of Canadian-Chinese who were killed during the Rape of Nanking because they could not immigrate to Canada.
And the Head Tax and Exclusion Act symbolized an entire framework of laws and practices at all levels of government, and in our civil society, that treated people of Chinese origin as second-class people.
While we want to avoid “black-arm-band history,” we also need to avoid a Pollyannaish gloss of our history. When we look at the United States, we’re often so critical — and rightly so — of the history of discrimination in post-Civil War Reconstruction of the United States, about the civil rights struggle for equality for Black Americans. But did you know that there was a time in many parts of Canada when people of Chinese origin could not go into certain public facilities and buildings?
Think of Douglas Jung, born in Victoria in 1921, son of Chinese immigrants, who grew up in a Canada where he could not vote. Based on municipal bylaws in Vancouver, he could not go into public swimming pools. Imagine – in Canada.
But the beauty of this country is that Douglas Jung, and others of his generation, did not give up on this place. They did not see that exclusion as a reason to opt out. They saw it as a compulsion to be even more Canadian than they were allowed to be by the laws. And that’s why, in 1939, when hostilities broke out, he sought to enlist with dozens of other brave young Canadians of Chinese origin to join His Majesty’s Canadian Forces to fight fascism in Europe and Asia. And because of prejudice, they weren’t allowed to do so. But as Wesley Lowe has documented in his beautiful film about Douglas Jung, they kept coming back, week after week, to the army enlistment office, kept being sent away and they kept coming back, and finally in 1944, when the Pacific theatre was heating up, Canada realized the British military said, “we need the talents of these Canadians of Chinese origin, enlist them.” And we finally did, sent them overseas behind enemy lines where they served with great distinction. Douglas Jung came back with hundreds of other brave Canadians of Chinese origin who had worn our country’s uniform, and thanks to their patriotism, their willingness to die for a country in which they did not have citizenship, in which they could not vote, they won those rights. And only ten years later, he was elected the first Member of Parliament of non-European origin.
That’s the story that we’re seeking to tell with the Community Historical Recognition Program: Yes, the prejudice that Douglas Jung encountered in the first 20 years of his life, but also the redemption of Canada so beautifully personified in his act of patriotism. And indeed, Wesley’s introduction to me of this story is part of what motivated our Government to create this program.
I worked very closely on this issue with a wide range of people in the Canadian-Chinese community. One common story I hear from all of these different communities and experiences is that those who were most directly affected wanted to put it behind them. They didn’t want to be burdened. They felt shame about what had happened. And they just wanted to move forward, and in so many cases, buried the memories. And yet their children and their children’s children believed it was important, when they began to find out about these stories, to reclaim this memory.
That is what we did working with the Chinese community. I see my friend Susan Eng. I spent many late-hour phone calls with her and others in the community trying to sort out, calibrate, how do you do this redress? This work of redress is not easy and it is not obvious. Every experience is different. You cannot go back and heal people who are no longer with us. You can’t undo the wrongs that were done. And every one of the communal experiences is different. And we had to sort out how do you do this without becoming completely submerged in a kind of irredeemably negative view of Canadian history? How do you do this in a way that is uplifting, while at the same time honest?
We worked our way through all of these issues. I have to tell you one of the most remarkable privileges of my life was to sit down with many of those directly affected in the consultations for what we did in each of these projects. So for example, in working toward the redress of the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act, I had a chance to sit down with pioneers of the community of over 90 or 100 years of age. I remember meeting with one lady in Vancouver who was 103 years old — lively as could be, razor sharp wit. And she described for me the stories of discrimination and adversity that her generation went through.
I think of all everything that I’ve learned from James Pon, who is with us here. James and his wife Vera have joined us. James is one of the last surviving actual Canadians who paid the Chinese Head Tax. And James, like Douglas Jung, did not carry on with the rest of his Canadian life with a chip on his shoulder. Instead, he wanted to teach young Canadians of all backgrounds about the experience of the railway workers, and simply wanted some dignified recognition of what happened. James, please stand up and let us acknowledge you for your great work.
And so we had the Prime Minister’s apology in the House of Commons for the injustice of the Chinese Head Tax, and the ex gratia payments for the surviving Head Tax payers and their surviving spouses, and several million dollars of funding for fantastic projects, some of which we have heard about here today.
One of the most complex issues I had to work on was the internment of Canadians who had arrived in this country as subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the First World War. Speaking of unknown stories, this one is still too little known. In fact, it was so unknown that even the children and grandchildren of those who had been interned knew nothing about it. It wasn’t until about 20 years ago that Lubomyr Luciuk and others started to run into archival material about this, and started to unpack the fact that over 8,000 Canadians were interned, some for as long as five years, during the First World War. Some were kept in the internment camps until 18 months after the end of hostilities. And they came from different backgrounds, because the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of course, incorporated dozens of ethnicities. But I have to acknowledge the Ukrainian community took the lead in recognizing this. We worked with the community to ensure that the Croatian, Serbian, Austrian and other communities affected were included in an advisory committee that now advises the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko and the administration of an endowment that we provided through the CHRP, so that the memory of those who were affected can be consecrated for the future.
And I can tell you some of the projects we are doing are phenomenal. I was in Northern Quebec and went to a museum that’s been created next to one of the largest camps of First World War internment. And this is an endowment that will be able to fund projects, in principle, in perpetuity. And so we thank the communities involved for their partnership.
The Komagata Maru – you saw the brief clip of one of the documentaries that we funded – is another little known moment that just symbolizes a broader policy adopted in 1905, the Continuous Journey Policy, which was analogous to the Chinese Head Tax. It was a little more ingenious, though. The Dominion government wanted to prevent a wave of South Asian immigration to Canada, but in the context of the British Empire, there was an expectation that Canada would receive the British subjects of India as though they were Canadians, that we were all subjects of the same Crown. So the Dominion government couldn’t adopt a law explicitly excluding migrants who were British subjects in India. And so what they did was to say you can only come to Canada from South Asia in one continuous journey, which was technically impossible at the time.
And so these people from Punjab – who were Muslim, Sikh and Hindu altogether in the same boat – hired a vessel to go to Japan, where they then boarded a Japanese vessel, the Komagata Maru. It arrived in Burrard Inlet in the spring of 1914, and for two months, they were stuck in the harbour, not permitted to disembark. Finally, the Dominion government allowed those who had previously been resident in Canada to disembark but the others were told they could not — in clear violation of the understanding of what a British subject was.
This was the beginning of the institutional civil society within the Indo-Canadian community, particularly the Sikh community, through which the Khalsa Diwan Society was created around 1914 specifically to bring supplies — fresh water and food — to the passengers aboard the Komagata Maru, and to advocate for them. But the response from the Dominion government was an absolute no. And as you see, in May of 1914, the vessel was forced out of the Burrard Inlet, returned back to India, and tragically, when it returned in the Port of Calcutta, a riot ensued and many people were killed.
This is a very complex issue and story, but I want to pay a special homage to the pioneers in the Indo-Canadian community who have kept hold of this memory and, again, the longer history of discrimination that it represents, for all that they’ve done – particularly Mr. Jack Uppal, who was on our Indo-Canadian Komagata Maru Advisory Committee. He can’t be with us tonight — his health is not well — but he is a man of great dignity. And indeed, again, to reflect the kind of pluralism of that whole Komagata Maru project – with Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims all together in the boat – we ensured that the Advisory Committee included a Canadian Sikh, a Canadian Hindu and a Canadian Muslim, all of Indian origin.
Last summer, I had the great honour of unveiling a monument to the passengers of the Komagata Maru right there on Burrard Inlet. And now we have a museum at the Khalsa Diwan Society, which was created to help the passengers of that vessel, and many other marvellous projects.
And then, of course, there was 1938 and the St. Louis. I will – I think next week – be attending the anniversary of the publication of the seminal historical work by Irving Abella and Harold Troper, None Is Too Many, which, through archival research, uncovered evidence that the refusal to allow the MS St. Louis to disembark at Halifax was part of a very deliberate policy of exclusion of European Jewish refugees before and during the Second World War.
And, you know, one of the things in reading that book that you learn is that politicians like Mackenzie King told representatives from the Jewish community that if we allow Jewish refugees to come to Canada, it may only inflame popular anti-Semitic sentiment, which is just below the surface, they said. And so basically, they said for us to help the Jews in Canada, we can’t accept the Jews from Europe. So the more than 800 passengers of the St. Louis were refused. After having gone to Cuba and then Miami, and been refused, they were also refused permission to dock at Pier 21 in Halifax. Had they done so, those are 800-and-some people who would have had amazing lives, and would have had descendants here in Canada. One cannot even begin to calculate the contributions that they would have made. They were returned to Europe, some of them to perish in the Shoah.
And so we consecrated part of the CHRP resources to learning about, researching, and remembering wartime immigration restriction measures on the Jewish community.
Did you know that Canada, shamefully, during the entire course of the War, received only a few hundred Jewish refugees, when much smaller jurisdictions like the Dominican Republic received tens of thousands?
But again, this is a story of injustice followed by redemption, because after the War, Canada opened its doors of hospitality and protection. And we ended up receiving, after the United States and Israel, the largest number of Holocaust survivors, who found new homes here in Canada, many of them within a few blocks of us here in Toronto. Indeed, we will be honouring them here in November when Toronto hosts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance conference.
Through this project, we have funded some remarkable work. Thank you very much to Sara for that lovely children’s book. And thank you for your presentation. Thank you, Toni, to you and members of the Advisory Committee for your great work. We funded important academic work at the University of Toronto through B’nai Brith, an international conference on Jewish wartime immigration restrictions, and a permanent memorial designed by the world-famous architect Daniel Libeskind – organized through the good work of the Canadian Jewish Congress – to remember the experience of the MS St. Louis at what is now, by the way, our new National Museum of Immigration History at Pier 21, where the passengers would have disembarked. And I think I see Bernie Farber in the back – Bernie, thank you for your leadership at the Canadian Jewish Congress at that time. And thanks to anyone from the community here who facilitated those important projects.
The Italian community’s Second World War internment experience was also a difficult piece to work on, because proposals of redress had begun under the Mulroney government, circa 1989 and 1990, but not entirely completed. And there were different views. My goodness, I have to tell you folks, this whole project has been both the most difficult and most rewarding thing that I have done in government — and I’ve done a lot of difficult things — because we wanted in each case to work with the communities to develop a consensus on the best form of redress. And I’ll tell you, when you’re working with Canada’s wonderful ethno-cultural communities, you may be able to find consensus, after a lot of hard work, but you’ll never find unanimity. There will always be differences – let a thousand flowers bloom. But in each community, there are different views about how these things should be done, and that was the case in the Italian, as in the other, communities.
But I think we worked together. We demonstrated good faith — thank you, Con, for your help on this, and to all the leaders of the Canadian-Italian community — that with some patience and perseverance and flexibility on the part of me and my department, we were able to fund several million dollars worth of marvellous, marvellous projects. I’ve been to the wonderful new museum up in Ottawa. I saw the projects, the documentary and the play that we staged, and the exhibition out in Vancouver with the community. There’s a monument that’s being erected with the Winnipeg Italian community. And I was blown away a couple of weeks ago to visit Casa Italia in Montreal, and to see what they have done in what was really the symbolic heart of the Italian community in Canada for so long.
And I met there children of internees, who were deeply emotional about how the CHRP project had allowed their parents to finally tell their stories to someone.
And really, maybe that’s where I want to close, by saying that this program is the best investment of public funds that I’ve been involved with, because in the grand scheme of things it was a relatively modest amount of money — certainly compared to the magnitude of these historical experiences. But these investments were like a key that unlocked memories and gave people permission to tell us about their experiences, to tell them to videographers, and to documentary makers, and to researchers, and to playwrights, and to children’s books authors, and to take those memories and to transmit them forever into the future. What could possibly constitute a better investment?
So let me thank my officials at CIC — don’t do that often enough — for their great patience. Let me thank and acknowledge the Prime Minister for taking the risk to do this. It would have been much easier, politically, to do what his predecessors had done and to say, “That’s the past. We’re not going to get stuck into a quagmire of retrospection on the past. It’s too difficult, it’s too dangerous, we will avoid it.” His predecessors did that. And I want to thank him for the courage to give me the license to work with the communities to seek a way forward on redress and remembrance.
Thank you to everyone involved, including Immigration Canada employees, members of the committees that gave advice to my department, the leaders and members of all the communities involved, and the artists, researchers and academics – everyone who helped to make this program a success.
And while these memories will be transmitted in perpetuity for the future, ultimately of course the greatest way of recognizing what has happened is to rededicate ourselves as a society never to repeat these mistakes. And in that respect I can say that maintaining the world’s highest sustained level of immigration, highest per capita level of immigration in the developed world, receiving more resettled refugees per capita than any other country in the world, and being a champion, although imperfect, of human rights and human dignity, is the single most important monument that we can leave.
To again close where I began – with Elie Wiesel: “Forgetting was never an option. Remembering is a noble and necessary act… An immoral society betrays humanity because it betrays the basis for humanity, which is memory… A moral society is committed to memory. I believe in memory.”
We believe in memory.
Thank you.

Friday 22 February 2013

Canada’s new asylum system a success


Total savings to taxpayers now estimated at $2 billion

Canada’s new asylum system is already a success after just over two months in operation, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.
Overall, the number of asylum claims received each week is down by 70 percent compared to similar timeframes over the past six years.
If this trend continues, provinces and territories are expected to save an additional $420 million over five years in social assistance, education costs and health-care costs, pushing the total savings from asylum system reform to over $2 billion.
Canada is a fair and generous country, but the message has been received loud and clear that we will not tolerate continued abuse of Canada’s asylum system,” said Minister Kenney. “The recent reforms are a clear success as we have already seen a dramatic drop in claims from countries that historically have had a high number of unfounded claims.
For example, asylum claims from Hungary, Canada’s top source country for claimants in 2011 and 2012, have dropped 98 percent compared to the average between 2009 and 2012.
The new system, which came into force on December 15, 2012, continues to ensure that all eligible claimants, regardless of where they come from, are given a full fact-based hearing on the merits of their individual case before the independent Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). All claimants also continue to be able to seek a review of a negative decision from the Federal Court.
The new system also introduced, for the first time, an intermediate appeal to the newly created Refugee Appeal Division for claimants from countries that historically have produced significant numbers of refugees.  In order to discourage unfounded claims, however, failed claimants from designated countries do not have access to the newly-created Refugee Appeal Division, and are removed much more quickly.
As a result, their ability to draw on taxpayer-funded health and social services are significantly reduced.
Following the announcement on December 14, 2012, that 27 countries had become designated countries of origin (DCO), claims from these countries alone decreased by nearly 80 percent when compared to the same period over the past six years.
There are currently 35 designated countries of origin. A designated country of origin is a country that offers state protection, respects human rights, has effective civil society organizations, and does not normally produce refugees. Asylum claimants from a DCO will have their claim processed in 30-45 days as opposed to 60 days for all other claimants. In comparison, under the old system, it took 18-19 months before an asylum claimant had a hearing.
Another factor that may have contributed to the large decline in asylum claims from designated countries of origin is the improvements made in June 2012 to the Interim Federal Health program.  In order to prevent abuse of Canadian health-care services, failed asylum claimants no longer receive taxpayer-funded health care unless it is necessary to protect public health and safety.
The massive decline in claims coming from countries not normally known to produce refugees means that genuine refugees in need will received Canada’s protection more quickly,” said Minister Kenney. “At the same time, unfounded claimants are being removed from the country faster, resulting in significant savings to Canadian taxpayers.

Thursday 21 February 2013

Canada Issues Record Number of Visitor Visas in 2012


Close to 1 million Visitor Visas Approved

Ottawa, February 20, 2013 — Canada issued a record number of visitor visas in 2012 with almost 1 million visas approved, Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and Maxime Bernier, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, announced today.
The Government is committed to attracting an increasing number of visitors to Canada as part of our plan to grow the Canadian economy and create jobs,” said Minister Kenney. “We strive to issue visas as quickly as possible to facilitate travel for genuine visitors – to welcome tourists, to reunite families – and benefit from the economic spinoff they bring to Canada.
The number of visas issued in 2012 represents an increase of almost 40% since 2004. This steady increase over the last few years reaffirms the fact that Canada continues to be a destination of choice for visitors.
Welcoming more international travelers to Canada creates jobs and growth in our country,” added Minister of State Maxime Bernier. “Receiving a visa in a timely and efficient manner is important to our visitors, and helps position Canada competitively as a destination of choice in the world.
The Government has employed several new tools to attract visitors to Canada and facilitate their travel. For example, in July 2011, the duration of multiple-entry visas was extended from five years to 10 years. This allows visitors to enter and exit Canada for up to six months at a time over 10 years. In addition, parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible to apply for the new Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, which is also valid for up to 10 years and allows parents and grandparents to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Government of Canada Supports Diversity in the Okanagan


The City of Kelowna will host three events to promote multiculturalism and celebrate cultural diversity in the Okanagan. Ron Cannan, Member of Parliament for Kelowna –Lake Country, today attended the first event entitled Global Children’s Villages, on behalf of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
To support these events, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has contributed $12,000 from the Inter-Action program to the Intercultural Society of the Central Okanagan.
“The Inter-Action program aims to create opportunities for different cultural and faith communities in order to build bridges and promote intercultural understanding,” said Cannan. “We hope that these events will create conversations about diversity, help diminish stereotypes and racism, and be a great opportunity to celebrate Canada’s rich multicultural society.”
Global Children’s Villages undertakes activities such as educational booths and craft stations to teach children about multiculturalism and diversity. Canadians are also invited to participate in the Taste of Home event on February 23, where there will be ethnic cooking demonstrations and sample tastings, and in the Global Music Fest on March 1, 2 and 3, featuring ethnic musical performances.
The Intercultural Society of the Central Okanagan worked in partnership with Global Citizen Kelowna to organize these events.

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Minister Kenney marks achievements of the Canadian Historical Recognition Program (CHRP)


Toronto, February 18, 2013 – Members of the Chinese, Italian, South Asian, Jewish, Ukrainian and other communities joined Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today to celebrate the success of the Community Historical Recognition Program.
The Government of Canada is committed to recognizing and educating Canadians about the experiences of those pioneers who overcame such heavy burdens,” said Minister Kenney. “Their experiences mark an unfortunate period in our nation’s history. We must ensure that they are never forgotten.
The Community Historical Recognition Program was established in 2008 to acknowledge and to educate all Canadians about how certain ethno-cultural communities were affected by wartime discriminatory measures and immigration restrictions applied in Canada.
The program has made available $13.5 million to support 68 community projects.
The program has funded a wide variety of prestigious projects across Canada, such as commemorative monuments, documentaries, books, exhibits and plays.
Among them, the documentary Lost Years: The Chinese Canadian Struggle for Justice created by the Chinese Graduates Association of Alberta, which received two nominations for the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards; the Komagata Maru Monument, built prominently on Vancouver’s Harbour Green Park by the Khalsa Diwan Society; the travelling exhibit Italian Canadians During World War II: From Memory to Legacy, produced by the Columbus Center of Toronto, which is set to travel Canada-wide over the next three years; and None is too Many: Memorializing the MS St. Louis, which comprises a historical monument at Pier 21 in Halifax harbour; teaching materials, and a national youth essay-writing contest.
I am confident that the memorials and the stories shared will not only serve as effective reminders of a difficult time in our history, but also recognize the enormous contributions these communities have made to build Canada,” said Minister Kenney.
For each community, an Advisory Committee was mandated to advise on eligible and meaningful projects to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.
In addition to the Community Historical Recognition Program, the Government of Canada also established the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund to support projects that commemorate the experiences of all affected communities during that period. This fund has been managed by the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko.

Friday 15 February 2013

Making Canada’s asylum system faster and fairer


Second list of Designated Countries of Origin announced

Ottawa, February 14, 2013 — The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, announced today that the list of Designated Countries of Origin is expanding to include an additional eight countries.
As part of the improvements to Canada’s new asylum system that came into effect on December 15, 2012, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act included the authority to designate countries of origin—democratic countries that offer state protection, have active human rights and civil society organizations, and do not normally produce refugees.
“Faster processing of asylum claims from generally safe countries is an essential feature of Canada’s new faster and fairer refugee system,” said Minister Kenney. “Our new system provides protection more quickly to genuine refugees, while removing individuals whose claims are rejected from the country faster.”
The second list of designated countries includes:
  • Mexico
  • Israel (which excludes Gaza and the West Bank)
  • Japan
  • Norway
  • Iceland
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
  • Switzerland
Including the designation of these eight countries, effective February 15, 2013, 35 countries appear on the designated countries list, which already includes most countries in the European Union (EU), Croatia and the United States.
Under the new refugee system, all eligible asylum claimants from designated countries continue to receive a full and fair hearing on the individual merits of their claims at the independent, quasi-judicial Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) within 30-45 days. Claimants from non-designated countries receive a hearing within 60 days. Failed claimants from designated countries may still appeal to the Federal Court to review a negative decision; however, they do not have access to the newly-created Refugee Appeal Division at the IRB.
To be considered for designation, a country must meet objective criteria related to the number of finalized asylum claims that Canada receives from that country.  For countries with 30 or more claims in any consecutive 12-month period during the three years preceding designation, quantitative criteria are used.  At least 60 percent of claimants from the country must have withdrawn and abandoned their own claims, or at least 75 percent of claims from a country have been withdrawn, abandoned, and rejected by the IRB.
In the case of countries with low numbers of asylum claims (namely, no consecutive 12-month period with 30 or more finalized claims during the three years prior to designation), objective qualitative criteria are used, including the existence of an independent judicial system, recognition of basic democratic rights and freedoms, and the existence of civil society organizations.
Many developed democracies use a similar authority to accelerate asylum procedures for the nationals of countries not normally known to produce refugees. These states include the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland, among others. Most EU states also have accelerated procedures for the nationals of other member states.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has recognized that “there are indeed Safe Countries of Origin and there are indeed countries in which there is a presumption that refugee claims will probably be not as strong as in other countries.”  He has also recognized the legitimacy of providing expedited processing for asylum claimants from those generally safe countries.
The Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act is expected to save provinces and territories at least $1.6 billion over five years in social assistance and education costs.

Thursday 14 February 2013

Minister Kenney pays tribute to black Canadians in law enforcement


As part of Black History Month, all Canadians are invited to take part in recognizing the achievements of black Canadians who work in law enforcement, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.
Black Canadians have made significant contributions to all areas of Canadian life, and this year we are focusing our celebration on the contributions of past black pioneers and present leaders who have done so much to serve and protect our communities,” said Minister Kenney, at the Canadian War Museum for the launch of Black History Month.
Among the participants at the event, Minister Kenney celebrated the attendance of Devon Clunis, who last year became Canada’s first black Chief of Police. The Minister also recognized Lori Seale-Irving, who was the first black woman to become a commissioned officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 
The launch event also provided an opportunity to honour the courage of one black Canadian hero who this past year went beyond the call of duty and heroically saved three lives in Ottawa. For his brave actions, Minister Kenney presented Abdulkadar Mohamed Dualeh with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
These inspirational stories remind us of the significant contributions that black Canadians have made throughout our shared history,” said Minister Kenney. “I encourage Canadians to celebrate Black History Month by participating in the many events that will take place across the country and by learning more about the law enforcement pioneers that we are honouring today.
Newly appointed Citizenship Judge and Guyana native, John Dennison, led the audience in a reaffirmation ceremony. The Canadian citizens in attendance got the chance to repeat the oath of citizenship and express their continued commitment to our great country.
Since 1995, Canada has celebrated the legacy of black Canadians every February as part of Black History Month.
To discover more stories and learn about the black community, visit the Black History Virtual Museum.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Overseas Orientation Program Celebrates 20,000 Graduates


Ottawa, February 12, 2013 — More than 20,000 people are arriving in Canada better prepared for the labour market, thanks to the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney announced today.
Our Government is committed to helping newcomers succeed” said Minister Kenney at an event celebrating the graduates today. “By giving immigrants a better understanding of what to expect before they arrive in Canada, we can help ensure they can more quickly contribute fully to Canada’s economic growth and long-term prosperity.
The Canadian Immigrant Integration Program, which has been funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) since 2010 is managed by the Association of Community Colleges (ACCC). CIIP serves newcomers in up to 25 countries through offices located in the Philippines, China, India, and the UK.  It prepares Federal Skilled Workers and Provincial Nominees for the Canadian labour market while they are still in their home country.
A recent evaluation found that 91 per cent of participants strongly agreed that CIIP services were useful and 99 per cent agreed that the services had improved their understanding of how to find suitable work in Canada.
This program eliminates the guess work for new immigrants by equipping them with essential information and tools needed to live, find work and establish ties in Canada,” said ACCC President James Knight. “Employers who are trying to address increasing demand for skilled workers also benefit.
The orientation session focuses on credential recognition, the labour market and basic settlement information and provides one-on-one counseling sessions so that participants develop a personal action plan.
“Coming to CIIP was the best decision I have ever made,” said Patricia Soyao, a 28-year old nurse from the Philippines and the 20,000th graduate of the program. “Though I totally believed in my choice to go to Canada, getting there and knowing what to do was better laid out to me by CIIP,” added Ms Soyao who will arrive in Canada in April.
Immigrants receive referrals to colleges or organizations serving newcomers in the province of destination, as well as information on labour market and settlement support while still in their home countries. They also receive referrals to employers and regulatory bodies in their field.
A couple who attended CIIP sessions in Shanghai joined the Minister today at the announcement. Yeubin Ding and Weizhi Huang also said that what they learned in the program helped them to settle in Canada.
Since 2010, CIC has invested $15 million in the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program.

Monday 11 February 2013

Working in Canada ? Subscribe to Job Alerts

Job Alerts is a free email service that notifies you of new job postings twice a day (Note: Job Alerts will only be sent when new job opportunities are available). You can update or cancel your job alerts at any time. You will be reminded to renew or cancel your subscription after 90 days – keeping the service relevant to your job search. Job Alerts will continue to be refined and improved over time to ensure it works effectively and efficiently for users.

To subscribe, simply provide your e-mail address and select the job titles and locations that interest you. Once saved, you will receive an email asking to confirm your selections. 

http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/job_alert.do

Sunday 10 February 2013

Resettlement to Canada is not for sale


The Government of Canada (GOC) has been made aware of false information directed to displaced Syrians wanting to be resettled to Canada.
Canada does not charge application fees for refugees to be resettled nor does the government collect fees from refugees in advance of arrival to Canada. 
Notices asking you to deposit money, which will later be refunded, are false and do not come from the GOC.
You should also know that to be resettled to Canada, a person must be referred to the Government by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or from recognized and approved sponsorship groups in Canada. Neither the UNHCR nor private sponsors charge refugees for the application.
Syrians in Lebanon who feel they are in need of international protection should register with the UNHCR. Syrians in Turkey should register with the Government of Turkey. Registration with the proper authorities is the first step in receiving protection.
Don’t be a victim of fraud.

Saturday 9 February 2013

Statement — Minister Kenney issues statement recognizing Losar


Ottawa, February 8, 2013 — The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, issued the following statement recognizing Losar, the Tibetan New Year:
“Losar is the first day of the Tibetan lunar calendar. This holiday is the most important festival on the Tibetan calendar, a time of renewal, celebration and joyful gatherings with family and community.
“For all Canadians, Losar provides an opportunity to reflect on the tremendous contributions that members of the Tibetan community have made to this country’s rich and diverse heritage.
“As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I offer my Losar greetings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is an honorary citizen of Canada, and to all others who are celebrating the Tibetan New Year over the next few days. I hope the Year of the Water Snake will bring peace, happiness and prosperity for all.”

Statement — Minister Kenney issues statement recognizing Korean New Year


Ottawa, February 8, 2013 — The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, issued the following statement recognizing the celebration of Korean New Year:
“Korean New Year, also known as Seollal, is a time to reflect on the past, look optimistically to the future, and recognize good fortune. People of Korean origin observe this holiday – the most important of the traditional Korean holidays – by paying their respects to elders and ancestors, visiting family and friends, and playing traditional folk games.
“This year we enter the Year of the Snake, which is a symbol of wisdom, intelligence and gracefulness.
“For Korean Canadians, 2013 is a particularly special year as it has been designated the Year of Korea in Canada. A number of events will take place across the country throughout this year to mark Canada’s 50 years of bilateral relations with the Republic of Korea, to highlight Korean culture, and to celebrate the contributions of the Korean community to Canadian society.
“As Prime Minister Harper has said, the Year of Korea in Canada ‘will showcase Korea’s remarkable culture and traditions and highlight the vibrant relationship our two countries enjoy.’
“As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I extend my best wishes to those celebrating Korean New Year and encourage all Canadians to take part in Year of Korea in Canada activities this year. I hope that the Year of the Snake will be a year of health, wealth and good fortune for everyone.”

Friday 8 February 2013

Minister Kenney Announces Citizenship Judge Reappointment


Ottawa, February 8, 2013 — Citizenship Judge Sharon Robertson of Kitchener, Ont. has been reappointed, Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, announced today.
First appointed in January 2010, Judge Robertson has been reappointed for a three‑year, part-time term.
Prior to her appointment, Judge Robertson, who is of Japanese-Canadian ancestry, was an educator, having worked as an educational consultant with the Learning Ways and Integrated Centre for Optimal Learning, and as a principal and teacher in the Waterloo Region. She has also presented internationally on learning strategies in New York, Hong Kong and Nottingham, England.
Judge Robertson sat on the University of Waterloo Senate from 2006 to 2009 and has received several awards, including the Waterloo Region Women of Distinction Award, the Kitchener-Waterloo Woman of the Year Award and the Dr. Floyd White Award for her outstanding contribution to the teaching profession. She has a Master’s in Education from Brock University.
Citizenship judges are responsible for making decisions on citizenship applications, presiding over citizenship ceremonies and administering the oath of citizenship to new citizens.

Thursday 7 February 2013

Transit through Canada without a visa


Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency have established the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) program and the China Transit Program (CTP). The programs allow certain foreign nationals to transit through Canada on their way to and from the United States (U.S.) without a Canadian transit visa, if they meet these requirements:
  • For TWOV: they are from Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan or Philippines; OR
  • For CTP: they are from China and leave from one of the following cities (as last point of embarkation) before arriving in Canada:
    • Beijing
    • Guangzhou
    • Shanghai
    • Hong Kong
    • Manila
    • Taipei
AND they must also:
  • hold a valid U.S. visa;
  • travel on an approved airline; and
  • transit through a participating Canadian international airport.
The main goals of the programs are:
  • To facilitate legitimate travellers who are transiting Canada on their way to and from the U.S.; and
  • To support economic development by making Canadian international airports more attractive to both airlines and passengers travelling to and from the U.S.