Possible Changes to Skilled Worker Category?
On March 16, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney launched consultations to identify how immigration can best respond to Canada’s new and emerging labour market needs. The Government of Canada is seeking the views of Canadians on how to help lead Canada to full economic recovery from the global recession. These consultations will look […]
Canada’s growth gears up from sub-par to ‘astonishing’
After struggling to achieve takeoff last summer, it turns out that Canada’s economy blasted ahead in the fourth quarter at a pace that defied all expectations. Its five-per-cent annualized growth rate was the strongest in nine years, said Statistics Canada Monday. This surge of growth, which eclipsed the 3.3 per cent advance expected by the […]
Canada’s prospects outshine realities challenging U.S.
Canadians have long tended to define themselves by what they are not: Americans. As Finance Minister Jim Flaherty prepares to deal with the fiscal cost of the recession, that distinction is taking on new meaning. Facing the biggest budget deficit since the Second World War and none of the spirit of political compromise necessary to […]
Downtown to become a fortress for G20 summit
In four months, Steve Bovair’s downtown neighbourhood will be transformed from cosmopolitan high life to a barricaded no-man’s land. On a normal day, the network engineer can look outside his 17th-floor window to find a typical urban scene. Cars drift through his intersection at Lower Simcoe St. and Bremner Blvd. Customers dash into take-out restaurants […]
Proof of Language Ability and Improved Processing Times
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced that, effective April 10, 2010, visa officers will only consider the evidence of language proficiency provided at the time of application. It used to be that applicants in the Federal Skilled Worker Class and Canadian Experience Class could file any kind of documentary proof to substantiate their language abilities […]
Luminato literary program focuses on Africa, Iran
Toronto arts festival Luminato will focus on Africa in its literary program this year, bringing influential African writers, including Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Ngugi, who was exiled from his native land in 1977, has advocated for Africans writing in native languages and suggested rejecting European styles of writing in favour of a fresh approach. In […]