RSS Canadian Immigration News

Listed in the 2010 Edition of the Best Lawyers in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Robinson Sheppard Shapiro) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:04:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephane Duval, Partner and Chair of the Immigration Department of RSS, has been named to BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA.

Best Lawyers in Canada, the premier rating organization for attorneys in Canada, has just announced the names of the Canadian attorneys who will be listed in the 2010 Edition. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based solely on peer review. All lawyers listed in Best Lawyers are asked “if you are unable to handle a case, to whom would you refer it?” Once the results are tabulated, the selections are checked with provincial bar associations and others.

Congratulations to Stephane who has distinguished himself and RSS in Canadian Immigration Law.

Furthermore, we have been informed that no other Law firm in Quebec has as high a percentage of its lawyers listed as BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA.

Ten (10) other members of RSS have been named to BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA.

They are:
Louise Baillargeon (Transportation Law)
Yves Cousineau (Insurance Law)
Charles E. Flam (Corporate and Commercial Litigation)
Michel Green (D & O Liability, Insurance Law, Malpractice Law, P.I. Litigation, Product Liability Law)
Patrick Henry (Insurance Law, Malpractice Law, P.I. Litigation, Product Liabilty)
Lynne Kassie (Family Law)
Karen Kear-Jodoin (Family Law)
Nicholas J. Krnjevic (Insurance Law)
Martin Lord (Tax Law, Trusts and Estates)
Claude-Armand Sheppard (Corporate and Commercial Litigation)

Congratulations to these partners who have distinguished themselves and RSS!

Charles E. Flam
Managing Partner
Robinson Sheppard Shapiro, L.L.P.
800, Place Victoria – Suite 4600
Montréal (Québec) H4Z 1H6

New Canadian Visa Requirements

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Beginning on July 14, 2009, Czech and Mexican nationals require a passport visa to travel to Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced For the first 48 hours, such citizens may apply for entry on arrival in Canada. After 11:59 p.m. EDT July 15, 2009, a visa will be required. In the cases of both countries, citizens had previously been able to seek admission to Canada at a port of entry without first obtaining a visa.

Continuing to mount a strong defensive about imposing visa restrictions on visitors from the Czech Republic and Mexico, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says the reality is the system is being abused. Kenney says Ottawa doesn't enjoy pulling the visa exemption but its based on the number of asylum claimants - which are high from both countries.

Mexico's government on Thursday said it would require visas of Canadian diplomats in retaliation for the Harper government's announcement earlier this week that Mexican visitors to Canada will immediately need visas to enter the country. Mexican foreign secretary Patricia Espinosa made the announcement after meeting Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
Espinosa said Mexico would not require visas of Canadian tourists.

Canadian Immigration Officials Consider Czech Visa Reinstatement

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently removed the passport visa requirement for Czech nationals visiting Canada. This meant that such individuals became eligible to seek admission at a Canadian port of entry without first seeking a passport visa at a Canadian visa office. This expedited the ability of tourists and business persons to travel to Canada.

A recent wave of refugee claimants from the Czech Republic, number approximately 100 in the past few months, has caused Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to reconsider this move, however. The claimants, mainly of the Roma ethnicity, are generally considered by Human Rights agencies to be discriminated against by the Czech population. In 1997, as similar wave of refugee claims derived from the Czech Roma, which at that time caused a 10 year reinstatement of the passport visa requirement.

Canadian Government Promotes Recognition of Immigrants' Qualifications

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Canada's government has enacted a number of strategies in the past several years intended to specifically address its effort to improve the integration of immigrants into Canadian society. A large part of this overall effort is the improvement of the recognition of foreign credentials in Canada. By improving the recognition of such international credentials, the government seeks to improve the success of Canadian immigrants quickly finding work in the fields of their expertise.

As part of the effort to improve credential recognition, the government has recently introduced a new resource directed to Canadian employers. Integrated in to the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), the Employer's Roadmap is intended to aid employers in meeting their labour needs more effectively, while allowing skilled newcomers to apply their expertise to work in Canada more quickly.The Employer’s Roadmap derives from a partnership between the FCRO, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC).

Speaking about this new resource, Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism states that “The Government of Canada is committed to improving the labour market integration of internationally trained workers – this is essential to building a strong Canada: socially, culturally and economically. Employers are key partners in helping internationally trained workers find jobs in their areas of training, and this resource makes it easier for employers to assess their qualifications.”

Facilitation of Admission of VANOC Workers

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:33:00 +0000

As the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games approach, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is seeking to facilitate the admission of approximately 7000 foreign national through Regulatory amendments. VANOC, or the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, has been given the authority to register and accredit foreign nationals who are performing a specific role or function within the organization, which will allow for the admission of such nationals through deemed multiple-entry temporary resident visas, which are not subject to the normal cost-recovery fees.

These Regulatory amendments to Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations allow such admission between the dates of December 12th 2009 through March 28th 2010. They are automatically repealed on April 22nd 2010. These amendments were developed though consultations with VANOC and various Canadian government bodies, including Human Resources and Skills Development Canada; The Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Canada Border Services Agency; and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Given the international significance of Olympic and Paralympic Games, these amendments by Citizenship and Immigration Canada are intended to streamline and facilitate the immigration process of VANOC registered members. The consultation of the various organizations ensures that such chagnes do not have a negative impact on Canada's immigration programs or the health safety of Canadians.

B.C. Employers Recognize Benefits of Canadian Immigration

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Industry leaders in the province of British Columbia are stating that the employment of skilled Canadian immigrants is a practice which is beneficial to all parties and which should be encouraged within local businesses. Heads of commerce such as the CEO of BC Hydro and the Vice President of Spectra Energy feel that their companies experience numerous benefits through the employment of new Canadians, and that such new arrivals benefit from the experience they receive within Canadian industry.

Bohdan Bodnar, vice president of human resources for Spectra Energy's Canada operations, feels that Canada is able to attract the best and brightest from abroad. He feels that improving the recognition of their credentials once they arrive in Canada should be a primary focus of the Canadian government in order to ensure that they quickly find work in the fields of their expertise. He states that his company seeks to help Canadian immigrants with this challenge by paying for skilled workers to attend cultural and linguistic workplace-preparation programs.

Bob Elton, CEO of BC Hydro, says that his company seeks to aid the integration process by hiring Canadian immigrants to work with more established employees who are accredited. The result of this is that new immigrants gain the work experience required by some accreditation processes and his company may be able to to secure a loyal employee.

Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has stated that his government recognizes the needs for improved integration, for which substantial funding has been devoted. However, looking to the efforts of Canada's industry leaders may yield some strategies on effective means of achieving this effort.

Researcher Commends Integration of Canadian Immigrants

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:29:00 +0000

Will Kymlicka is the Queen's University Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy and author of several books on the topic of multiculturalism. In a recent interview Canada's Globe and Mail news organization, he suggested that Canada has demonstrated and unprecedented level of integration of new immigrants into its society.

Some of the facts that Kymlicka points to in asserting Canada's success with immigration include:

that, unlike many nations promoting immigration, most Canadian immigrants move on to become citizens;
that the children of immigrant families tend to outperform those of non-immigrant families in regard to education - an anomaly in any Western democracy;
Canadian immigrants comprising visible minorities tend to demonstrate very high levels of pride in Canada.

Kymlicka does identify some areas in which Canada can improve its immigration integration. He suggests that facilitating the recognition of academic credentials and employment experience will help economic integration.

Canadian Immigrant Agency Receives $1.9 million

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:10:00 +0000

An Ottawa organization has received a CAD$1.9 million provincial grant that will assist it in expending its services to Canadian employers. The organization works with local employers in order to assist them in removing barriers to hiring and retaining skilled workers who immigrate to Canada. Part of the near-term plan of the organization is to create a new working group which concentrates on the biotechnology sector; current programs currently focus on health-care, IT, finance, and public sectors.

The agency presently predicts that local labour requirements will exceed the supply of workers by 2014. It predicts that Canadian immigration will be responsible for all labour market growth in the region by the year 2011.

The Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration states that "Programs like United Way Ottawa's Hire Immigrants Ottawa have proven effective in getting newcomers jobs that match their skills, expertise and qualifications."

Province of Quebec Funds Employment Resource

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:37:00 +0000

The province of Quebec has announced CAD$6 million in funding for programs intended to assist new Canadians to successfully settle in Canada. The money will go to local community groups that provide services and guidance to immigrants to aid them in getting their credentials and training recognized or upgraded so they can find work related to those skills.

The province has announced that the first CAD$900,000 of the available funds will be contributed to a group of nine community grounds in the municipalities of Villeray, St. Michel, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and the east of Montreal Island. Some of the services that these groups provide include improving language skills, assisting in the preparation of resumés, preparation for employment interviews, and more.

Canadian Immigration Officials Launch Campaign Against Unscrupulous Representatives

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:32:00 +0000

As part of ongoing efforts to protect the public from unethical and dishonest immigration representatives, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is launching a campaign to teach Canadians and potential immigrants how to protect themselves. “I’ve heard a lot of unsettling stories of how people have been taken in by dishonest immigration consultants or unethical representatives, such as labour, student or live-in care-giver recruiters,” says the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

The government is presently in the process of meeting with victims and their families and conducting surveys in order to better understand the problem. The information collected will give the government a broad view of the scope of the problem and aid in their goals of preventing this kind of fraud.

Note: As members of federal and provincial Bar Associations, the legal staff of Robinson Sheppard Shapiro are subject to strict ethical oversight and review.

Canadian Visa Office in Mexico Reduces Services Temporarily

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Due to the out break of the Swine Flu in Mexico, the Canadian visa office in Mexico City has reduced services to candidates seeking visas and has halted in-person interviews related to temporary and permanent immigration applications. A drop box is present to allow for submission of documents and applications.

These steps mirror actions by other nations' embassies in the country, such as the USA and UK. A Citizenship and Immigration spokesman sent an e-mail stating, 'Like many other organizations operating in Mexico City, we've taken steps to protect the safety and health of our employees and applicants by cancelling some meetings and appointments.'

There is no present estimate as to when normal service will resume.

CIC: "Need for immigration to Canada remains strong"

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials were quoted yesterday as saying "Minister Kenney has determined that the need for immigration to Canada remains strong. Immigration numbers for 2009 will therefore remain at 250,000." The department projects long term labour shortages following consultations on Canada's economy, which has led to the decision to maintain current levels. The government does, however, maintain the flexibility to work with these numbers if needed.

Canadian Citizenship Rules Change

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Proposed changes to the rules governing Canadian citizenship have changed. These changes make it more difficult to live abroad with no connections to Canada and still retain Canadian citizenship and a passport. The modifications to Canada's Citizenship Act were made last year, and became law as of April 17 2009.

"If both the mom and the dad were born outside of Canada," says Canada's Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism, "and they go outside of Canada to have kids, (the kids) don't automatically become citizens." This is becoming referred to as the "two generation rule."

As part of the modification to the laws, there will also be good news for thousands of "lost Canadians" who did not receive automatic Canadian citizenship. 'If they left the country without notifying us, for instance, as kids of Canadians born abroad, they didn't automatically become citizens.'

The changes will ensure that an estimated 95 per cent of those people will now receive citizenship. "This will give back citizenship to thousands of Canadians who lost it through no fault of their own," the Minister said. "We'll make exceptional grants of citizenship for those, the balance who fall through the cracks, and are deserving."

Immigration Driving Growth According to Statistics Canada

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:27:00 +0000

Statistics Canada has released a new report showing that immigration to Canada is driving growth in Canada's population, especially in the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The news release suggests that the population increase of 0.19 percent, the fastest fourth-quarter growth since 1992, can be traced to international immigration. This brings Canada's opulation to 33,504,700, an increase of 63,400 since October 1st of 2008.

Canada's western provinces experienced population growth above the national average, with Alberta demonstrating the largest increase at 0.6 percent. Ontario and New Brunswick, conversely, experienced growth below national levels, at 0.08 and 0.07 percent respectively. The province of Quebec demonstrated the most significant increase in births, with a 3.9 percent rise.

Economists frequently point to population growth as a significant component of the economic growth of Canada. Some economists have suggested that the ideal level of growth is presently one percent of the population annually.

Canadian Immigration Applications in Lebanon

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Effective March 31 2009, Canadian immigrant applicants from Lebanon are eligible to process their applications at the visa office in Beirut. This follows last year's change that allowed interviews in Beirut, although applications were still being processed in Syria. Prior to March 31, the Beirut visa office only accepted temporary resident applications such as visitor, study, and work visas.

Dur to recent changes to that system, however, Federal Skilled Worker applicants must submit such applications to the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Similarly, Canadians sponsoring Family Class members will continue to send their applications to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. However, they will be able to select the office in Beirut as their primary point of service on the application form from this point forward.

Canada Removes Passport Visa Requirement for Croations

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:00:00 +0000

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism has announced that the requirement of a passport visa has been removed for citizens of Croatia. This means that Croatians may now seek temporary resident status as a visitor to Canada for a period of up to six months by applying at a Canadian port of entry. A port of entry includes international airports and the majority of land based border crossings.

In making this decision, the Canadian government first conducted a review of Croatia's profile, including socio-economic factors, immigration issues, travel documents, safety and security issues, border management, human rights, and bilateral relations.

Canadian Immigrant Settlement Services Receive Funding

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:28:00 +0000

As part of its ongoing effort to improve the integration of new Canadians, federal and provincial governments have been funding programs which provide settlement services. Some recent programs which have received funding include the Library Settlement Partnerships Program (LSP) in Brampton, Ontario and the Abbotsford Community Services (ACS) project in British Columbia.

The LSP is a 3-way partnership with the Canadian government, the Brampton Multicultural Centre, and the Brampton Public Library. Its goal is to assist immigrants with everyday situations, such as searching for a new home, transportation and finding employment locally. Canadian immigrants can access its resources through the LSP employees at Brampton Public Library locations.

The ACS is an effort to help immigrant youth and young adults who are encountering language and settlement barriers following arrival in Canada. ACS will use its funding to develop programs for immigrant youth that connect them to education, training and employment locally. Its participants will benefit from support services; develop plans to achieve goals; language training and short-term employment programs.

Canadian Immigrants Receive Integration Support

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Canada's Mnister of Immigration today announced a new resource which will help Canadian immigrants more quickly integrate into the labour force. Part of the Foreign Credential Referral Office (www.credentials.gc.ca) initiative, this new online resource is expected to help put the skills of new Canadians to work faster.

“Each year, thousands of skilled newcomers arrive in Canada. It is in their interest, and in Canada’s interest, to do everything we can to help them put their skills to work here as soon as possible once they arrive,” said the Minister. “This is one more tool to help them obtain the greatest benefit from their experience and education.”

Available online, the resource, entitled “Planning to work in Canada? An essential workbook for newcomers,” will be available to anyone who wishes to access it, within Canada or abroad. It includes general information about life in Canada, resources available to immigrants, language information, details about finding work, and more. This resource reflects the commitment that the government has made in the form of a $50 million investment to improve credential recognition.

Canada's Immigration Department Seeks to Facilitate Certain Business Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:10:00 +0000

The Edmonton Sun reports that meetings among immigration officials are taking place in an effort to find ways to fast-track the admission of certain business-persons to Canada.

"As we recognize that business is important to the economy of Canada, we're looking at streamlining the process for business visitors, where we can use the key links between companies that we know exist and are already well-known to the mission, to streamline those processes," assistant deputy minister Claudette Deschenes told members of Parliament's immigration committee last week.

These provisions are expected to affect employees of companies that have divisions in both Canada and abroad. Ordinarily, for those who are not passport visa exempt, the application process to gain temporary resident status in Canada may take several weeks. The current effort is expected to reduce this to as little as a few days in order to facilitate international business.

Canada Reports Record Immigration in 2008

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Canada welcomed an unprecedented number of immigrants in 2008, according to a recent announcement by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The total figure of 519,722 included approximately 247,000 permanent residents, 143,000 temporary foreign workers, and 79,000 foreign students. The Minister made this announcement while speaking at the Progress Career Planning Institute's Internationally Educated Professionals conference.

The Minister highlighted efforts that the government is making to ease the transition of professionals and skilled workers when migrating to Canada. The prime minister's recently announced plans to build a national framework for foreign credential recognition was referenced as one effort to ease the red tape and provide more clarity for skilled immigrants.

Canadian Immigration Minister Seeks more International Students

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has announced plans to dramatically increase the number of foreign students that the country admits annually. Although no specific numbers have been quoted as yet, it was pointed out that Australia admits as many as 10 times as many foreign students from nations such as India than does Canada.

Canadian Immigrant Investor Program Attracts Indian Applicants

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Recent statistics suggest that the number of Immigrant Investor Program applications deriving from citizens of India have increased 500% in the past 12 months. The immigrant investor program allows applicants to seek Canadian permanent resident status on the basis of a secured investment into a Canadian government approved fund. The investment is used to support Canadian business for a five year term, and applicants are granted immigration approval prior to disbursement of the funds. Contributing to this rise is a change to Indian regulations increasing the amount that its nationals could invest outside of the country.

In recent years, as India has built its economic infrastructure, an increase in its trade with Canada has taken place. For example, reciprocal trade between Canada and India grew four per cent, to $3.8 billion in 2007. This increase in commerce is expected to continue to increase the appeal of Canada as a destination for Indian business persons, who in turn are likely to increase trade with India once established in this country.

Canadian Banks Cater to Immigration

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:23:00 +0000

For years, a common complaint of new immigrants to Canada was that it was difficult to get a solid financial foothold in the first years after arriving. The lack of a Canadian credit history, for example, would prove to be a bar to obtaining credit, which - of course - prevents establishing a credit history. More recently, Canadian banks are specifically catering services to new immigrants, a population that grows by approximately 250,000 annually.

Recognizing the need to address the immigrant community, most of the large Canadian banks appoint a Director of Multicultural Markets in order to ensure that the needs of new Canadians are met. Canadian banks now seek to help a new Canadian with everything from opening bank accounts and applying for insurance and credit cards to giving advice on how to get a driver's licence, preparing taxes, even deciding where to live or send their kids to school. The Royal Bank of Canada's communitycorner.ca web site provides details on the demographic and cultural makeup of most communities in Canada. This helps prospective immigrants can check out neighbourhoods, including home values, and find cultural communities they want to be close to.

Changes to Canadian Citizenship Rules Draw Criticism

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Complexities in Canada's new Citizenship Act are drawing concerns and complaints from adoptive parents, to a large extent due to the complexity of certain elements. As is currently the case, the new rules permit Canadians who give birth abroad or adopt from another country to pass along their citizenship to such children. However, new federal legislation that will take effect this April can exclude those foreign-born children of Canadians from bestowing that same citizenship on their own children in the case that they adopt or give birth in a country other than Canada.

Canada's government explains that these changes are intended to correct a problematic loophole in the system. Closing this loophole will prevent foreign-born nationals from obtaining citizenship, then returning to their home country and being able to pass along Canadian citizenship to generations of family members who have never set foot in Canada.

Complaints suggest that these amendments to the Citizenship Act along with subsequent regulations that were released late last year do not consider the impact on internationally adopted children and children born to Canadians overseas. Contrary to these concerns, however, children born outside Canada who apply to become citizens after their Canadian parents sponsor them to come to this country as permanent residents are entitled to the same rights as children who are born here. In fact, the new rules will only have an impact on children whose Canadian parents choose to have them declared citizens of Canada while resident outside of Canada.

Immigrant Entrepreneur Loan Program

noreply@blogger.com (RSS) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Credit unions in Nova Scotia have developed a program that is intended to provide funding to new immigrants who have an interest in starting, expanding, or buying a small business in the province. The program, which makes loans of up to CAD$150,000 available to Canadian immigrants, facilitates the opportunity to own and operate small businesses, to establish roots in the province, and to contribute to Nova Scotia's prosperous economy.

The program is intended to aid new immigrants by helping to bypass ordinary barriers in establishing a credit history in a new country. The Department of Economic and Rural Development will contribute CAD$2 million in loan guarantees, while the office of immigration will contribute CAD$100,000 a year for operating expenses.

The program also aids the province in retaining valuable new immigrants. "Immigrants who are able to establish businesses here are more likely to stay in Nova Scotia, thereby contributing to Nova Scotia's economic, social and cultural growth," says the Nova Scotia Immigration Minister.