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Interesting article in the Star's "Your City, My City" column regarding landed immigrants and voting rights. While the article makes it clear that non-citizens make a huge contribution to the city (including paying taxes), they are not recognized in the same way and with the same rights that citizens have.

The author, a landed immigrant since 2004, writes, "In an upcoming election where the same old tired complaints of voter apathy, disconnected wards and the lack of new faces among the political elites are loud and true, I can’t help but wonder if that would be mitigated by allowing the strong and active immigrant population to vote for changes that they deserve in the Toronto that they call home."

I can see his point on one hand - but on the other, "citizenship" with its hard-won commitment to the nation, is a reasonable requirement in my mind to instill voting rights. Yes- it's a long process. You have to spend three out of four years resident in Canada. but if you want to impact the nation, then you need to be part of it. A permanent resident has made one level of commitment to the country. A citizen's commitment is a whole other level.

Read the editorial here. - http://thestar.blogs.com/yourcitymycity/2010/03/your-city-my-city-not-so-much-if-youre-just-a-landed-immigrant.html

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Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced that it is issuing new Permanent Resident Cards as of this week.

The new cards have more enhanced security features, and Canada's Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, says that this will help prevent the fraudulent use of Canada's immigration documents and protect the integrity of the immigration system.

New Permanent Residents are being issued this card starting August 24, 2009, but people who have the old card won't be issued the new card unless their current card expires and they apply for a new one.

Before you come to Canada, it is very crutial to have your academic documents such as diplomas, transcripts and certificates evaluated. As an immigrant, you may need to evaluate your credentials for the following purposes:

1- Immigration, for skilled or Economic categories.

2- Employment.

3- Licensing with Professional Association.

4- Entry to Apprenticeship training programs.

5- Higher Education and/or Continuing Education.

The process for getting your credential evaluated will depend on whether you want to enter a regulated or not regulated occupation., or pursue continuing education. As a general rule, if your chosen occupation is regulated, the recognition of qualifications will be determined by the appropriate provincial or territorial regulatory body, while for a non-regulated occupation, recognition is normally at the discretion of the employer.

You can find out more about the specific requirements for recognition of your qualifications in your profession/trade by doing the following:

1. Contact the professional association governing your occupation in your own country to find out if there are any links with similar associations in Canada. Consult the publication entitled National Occupational Classification at the closest Canadian diplomatic mission to find out more about employment requirements for your occupation.
2. Find out the name and address of the professional regulatory body governing your profession/trade in the province or territory where you intend to settle by enquiring with CICIC.
3. Write to the regulatory body and ask about the specific requirements and costs for licensing, certification, or registration, as well as the recommended procedure for an assessment. The regulatory body will advise you concerning the required documentation and the fees for assessment.

You should be aware that the recognition process is different in each province and territory and for each profession/trade. It can be a costly and time-consuming process; so it is important that you obtain all the information you need to know about the process and specific requirements before undertaking an assessment.

There are several evaluation services that can help you in assesssing your credentials in comparison with the canadian educational standards.Some of the organizations that perform credential evaluations in Canada are:



Alberta

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesInternational Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry

9th Floor, 108th Street Building

9942 - 108 Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5 Canada

Tel.: +1 780 427-2655

Toll-free in Alberta: 310-0000 ask for 427-2655

Fax: +1 780 422-9734

Web site: http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/4512.html



British Columbia

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesInternational Credential Evaluation Service (ICES)

3700, avenue Willingdon

Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 3H2 Canada

Tel.: +1 604 432-8800

Toll-Free within North America: +1-866-434-9197

Fax: +1 604 435-7033

Email: icesinfo@bcit.ca

Web site: http://www.bcit.ca/ices/



Manitoba

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesAcademic Credentials Assessment Service - Manitoba (ACAS)

Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Settlement & Labour Market Services Branch

5th Floor, 213 Notre Dame Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1N3 Canada

Tel.: +1 204 945-6300

Toll-Free within North America: +1-800-665-8332

Fax: +1 204 948-2148

Web site: http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/immigrate/work/recognition/acas.html



Ontario

Comparative Education Service (CES)

University of Toronto

315 Bloor Street West

Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A3 Canada

Tel.: +1 416 978-2190

Fax: +1 416 978-7022

Costs for service

Site Web : http://www.adm.utoronto.ca/ces/



International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS)

Ontario AgriCentre

100 Stone Road West, Suite 303

Guelph, Ontario N1G 5L3 Canada

Tel: +1 519 763-7282

Toll-free: +1 800 321-6021

Fax: +1 519 763-6964

Email: info@icascanada.ca

Fees and Services

Web site: http://www.icascanada.ca/



Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesWorld Education Services-Canada (WES Canada)

45 Charles Street East, Suite 700

Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S2 Canada

Tel.: +1 416 972-0070

Fax: +1 416 972-9004

Toll-free: +1 866 343-0070 (from outside the 416 area code)

Email: ontario@wes.org

Web site: http://www.wes.org/ca/



Québec

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesCentre d'expertise sur les formations acquises hors du Québec (CEFAHQ)

Ministère de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles

255, boulevard Crémazie Est, 8e étage

Montréal (Québec) H2M 1M2 Canada

Tel.: +1 514 864-9191

Elsewhere in Quebec (toll free): +1 877 264-6164

Fax: +1 514 873-8701

Email: renseignements@micc.gouv.qc.ca

Web site: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/education/comparative-evaluation/index.html



Saskatchewan

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesInternational Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry

9th Floor, 108th Street Building

9942 - 108 Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5 Canada

Tel.: +1 780 427-2655

Toll-free in Alberta: 310-0000 ask for 427-2655

Fax: +1 780 422-9734

Web site: http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/4512.html

* The Government of Saskatchewan provides this service through an interprovincial agreement with the Government of Alberta.



Territoires du Nord-Ouest

Alliance canadienne des services d'évaluation de diplômesInternational Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry

9th Floor, 108th Street Building

9942 - 108 Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5 Canada

Tel.: +1 780 427-2655

Toll-free in Alberta: 310-0000 ask for 427-2655

Fax: +1 780 422-9734

Web site: http://employment.alberta.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/4512.html

* The Government of the Northwest Territories provides this service through an interprovincial agreement with the Government of Alberta.





The government’s Foreign Credentials Referral Office website (www.credentials.gc.ca) features a useful search engine called” Working in Canada”. You can type in your occupation and the search engine will bring up a comprehensive report that tells you whether this occupation is regulated in Canada and whether you need to be licensed by a regulatory body. Then it will tell you where in your region of choice you can get licensed.

Interesting article that came across in my Connect2Canada email newsletter (unfortunately archived now, so you'll have to pay for it if you want the whole thing). Seems that immigrants (defined as all foreign born Canadians) are saying "show me the money" and the West is responding. What I found most interesting about this article was the additional information at the end from SHIFTING PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION IN CANADA'S URBAN CENTRES BY JACK JEDWAB.

Here's the trends for immigration growth and decline in the following cities.

Growing:
Charlottetown: +50.2%
Halifax: +44.8%
Moncton: +74%
Edmonton: +52%
Calgary: +32%
Montreal: +36%

Declining
Toronto: -20.8%
Vancouver: -1%

It's also interesting to note that the report states the average immigrant family income in Canada prior to 2001 was in the $90K range. After 2001? Try just $45-60K per family. Have opportunities for immigrants in major Canadian cities really dried up this much?

I'm going to be cautious and take it as simply one data point - not the whole story.

Follow The Expatriate Mind at http://expatriatemind.blogspot.com/

To begin with, let's review the Canadian immigration system.

The immigration system is divided into two separate parts: Permanent Immigration and Temporary Visa Status.

The temporary visa status has three subsections: Visitor, Student and Work permit.

The permanent immigration class is also divided into three subsections: The Family Class, The Refugee Class and The Economic Class that is further divided into two programs: The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) - which deals with skilled workers and businesses, and the Federal Program - which deals with skilled workers, investors, entrepreneurs and self employed individuals.

The Canadian Experience Class presents several positive aspects such as:

1- CIC's goal for 2008 is to admit between 10,000 and 12,000 under the new CEC category of immigration. According to the Canadian Bureau of international Education, Canada's current international student talent pool has the potencial to add up to 30,000 skilled immigrants every year.

2-Foreign students and Temporary Foreign workers with Canadian work experience are well positioned to make a rapid transition to the Canadian labour force. There is also less need for the government to provide setllement and integration services to these individuals.

3-Applicants will have the choice to receive Permanent Residence status at either a port of entry or a CIC local office. Thus, they do not have to leave the country to apply and come back in.

4- The CEC represents a shift from Canada's point-based system which attempts to predict the employability of an intending immigrant, to a system that relies on actual Canadian employability.

Note: Information published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The CEC will facilitate the transition from temporary status to permanent residence for:

1-International students with a t least two years of canadian post secondary education and who have attained one year of recent (within two years preceding the application for CEC) full-time Canadian Skilled work experience in management, professional, and skilled and technical occupations as defined by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) levels 0, A, B; and

2-Temporary foreign workers who hold a secondary school diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship and have a least two years of recent full-time Canadian Skilled work experience at NOC.

Selection will be based on a pass/fail system. Applicants will be selected if they meet the parameters noted above, have legally come to Canada to work or study, have valid temporary status in Canada at the time of the application and have a moderate official language proficiency.

It is tough to imagine someone who has a degree, can speak English and/or French, and generates enough income to be self-sufficient would want to leave their country and possibly start again in a new country. These people do exist and in large numbers. There are many people who wish to leave their homelands so that they can have an opportunity for a better life for themselves or their children. Someone with these credentials should seriously consider immigrating to Canada.

In June 2002, the Canadian government introduced a law to assess skilled worker applicants. Skilled workers are now assed on a point system based on a series of criteria. The criteria is based on, but not limited to, one's level of education and work experience, ability to communicate in French and/or English, and ability to adapt to life in Canada. Points are awarded according to the skill of the applicant in each category. One needs to obtain a total of 67 points in order to qualify as a skilled worker.

Of course, one of the big questions is why someone with high qualifications would want to move to Canada? Many could indeed be doing well but they are not necessarily looking for better employment. They immigrate to Canada in order to have a higher quality of life. Because Canada offers high quality services in education, transportation, health, and security, many have decided to move here. With vast work opportunities to meet the skills of many people, Canada is clearly an attractive destination. Moreover, skilled workers are the most in demand by the Canadian government. Now is a perfect time for anyone considering immigrating to Canada to do so.