Ontario is the latest province to begin a Provincial Nominee program. Ontario is looking to facilitate the immigration process for applicants who could work in jobs that are heavily in demand in Ontario. According to the Toronto Star, these include Pharmacists, general practitioners, certain construction workers, industrial electricians, and others. The project is in its initial stage and has two categories under which someone may fall into: The employer category and the investor category. Right now Ontario will allocate 450 spaces to the employer category and 50 to the investor category.
This program is not only designed for those outside of Canada. International Students who have graduated from an Ontario university will also be able to be part of the program. The government of Ontario hopes that their Provincial Nominee Program will help fill the need for skilled workers in the province of Ontario, especially outside the Greater Toronto Area.
Under the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program, an employer will submit a request to the government of Ontario for a potential employee. There are certain requirements for an employer to qualify under this program. If approved, the province will then send a request to CIC so that the person in question can be admitted into the country on a quicker basis.
EU-Canada Feud?
According to the Globe and Mail, a feud may be in the works between the EU and Canada. The European Union is upset that Canada has not eased visa requirements for eight of its new members. While persons who hold a passport from a country that is a member of the EU do not require a visa to come into Canada as visitors. However, passport-holders of Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic must have a valid visitors visa to enter Canada.
These EU members are upset that they are being denied entry into
Canada over immigration concerns. However, it should not be expected that this should lead to these countries requiring Canadian passport holders to require a visa to enter those European countries. An unnamed diplomat was quoted in the Globe and Mail as stating that any retaliatory measures would be “counterproductiveâ€.
Work Permits Extended:
The government of Canada is now allowing international students who attend private universities in Alberta to be able to work off-campus. This will only apply to students attending recognized universities and under certain programs. Normally, only international students who attend public universities and colleges are allowed to work off-campus.
Under the new law, it is hoped that the international students are able to contribute to the local economy and gain work experience, said Parliamentary Secretary Ed Komarnicki. An international student with Canadian work experience will find it easier to find work and possibly become permanent residents of
Canada.
Currently, the Government of Canada is hoping to open similar programs with other provinces. Right now, both the federal government and the provinces are in discussion to implement pilot projects.
Reasonable Accommodation
Quebec is experiencing an important debate concerning immigration. The debate concerns the principle of “reasonable accommodation†or the belief on how much society should bend in order to welcome new immigrants. On one side of this debate are those who believe Quebec should be open and be more willing to bend its beliefs in order to accept immigrants. The strongest support for this viewpoint is found within those between the ages of 18 and 24. Only 29% of people in this group believe that immigrants should be forced to assimilate to society.
On the other side are those who believe that these immigrants should learn to assimilate to society. The strongest support for this viewpoint is found among those in the baby-boom generation and older. Also included in this camp are those in the French nationalist movement. The head of the Parti Quebecois has declared that while she welcomes new immigrants, they should be aware that they are settling in a francophone nation.
Mario Dumont, leader of the Action Democratique du Quebec, has also stated that Quebec has reached its limit of immigrants. This move was quickly denounced by Quebec Premier Jean Charest. Quebec currently receives about 45,000 new immigrants (Canada intakes approximately 260,000 new immigrants each year). However, in a recent poll by Ipsos-Reid, a minority of Quebecers agreed that the province took in too many immigrants. In fact the belief that the country receives too many immigrants was lower in Quebec than in the rest of the country.
A commission has been set up to try and create a system to create ground rules on reasonable accommodation. The current system, some argue, is too vague and arbitrary.
