Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced today that it is providing funding for the Home Instruction for Parents of Pre–School Youngsters program (HIPPY), a program that helps parents prepare their children for school and connect with services in their communities.

The program helps immigrant families become accustomed to Canadian language, life and culture from within their own homes, and helps them develop friendships and learn to access services in their new communities.

CIC, together with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, is providing HIPPY with $3.5-million to expand its family literacy program.  CIC said that this funding will allow HIPPY to create opportunities for more than 600 new immigrant families.

“With these additional investments, HIPPY will be able to expand its reach to more Canadian cities to help newcomer families improve their language and literacy skills,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

HIPPY is celebrating ten years of operation in Canada. The organization currently has eight locations across Canada, and has provided services more than 2,500 people since it was established in Canada.

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A detailed report on Canada’s immigration policies, and their impact on the Canadian economic and social landscape, was released on Wednesday by the Maytree Foundation, a Canadian policy research organization.

The report, authored by Naomi Alboim of the Maytree Foundation, details the findings of a year-long study by academics, governments and immigrant settlement workers, and presents 15 recommendations for adjusting Canadian immigration policy to accommodate Canada’s long-term economic needs.

“Canada’s economic immigration program has evolved – and should continue to evolve – in response to changing labour markets, immigration patterns, demographic imperatives and regional issues,” said Alboim.

The study was conducted to review the impact of Canadian Immigration programs on the Canadian economy and to propose improvements to immigration and settlement programs to ensure that Canada remains a leading destination for skilled immigrants.

“Immigration to Canada is fundamental to the nation’s social and economic well-being. Without it the economy will not thrive and the population will not grow,” Alboim said.

The recommendations set out in the report include making adjustments to the Federal Skilled Worker category that will allow more skilled immigrants to permanently settle in Canada, and create a national framework for Provincial Nominee Programs that will complement the Federal Skilled Worker program. Another recommendation is to facilitate links between applicants and Canadian employers.

In addition, the report recommends monitoring both the process of recruiting temporary foreign workers and their working conditions to ensure that their employment in Canada is successful.

As well as recommendations for changes to immigration policies, the report suggests continued focus on settlement and integration will ensure that newcomers can successfully integrate into the labour market. These include expanded information and services overseas, broader access for immigrants to labour market services, expanded eligibility for federally-funded settlement services and increased funding for creative labour market supports such as mentoring and enhanced language training.

“Experience has shown that early investments in training, mentoring and work internships can lead to higher earnings and help immigrants contribute to our society and our economy,” said Alboim.

“These investments are not insignificant. However, they pale in comparison to the contributions that immigrants and subsequent generations will make to Canada,” she said.

The Maytree Foundation is a privately-funded charitable foundation that studies policy issues with respect to immigration, diversity, integration and building civic communities. Naomi Alboim is a Senior Fellow at the Maytree Foundation as well as Adjunct Professor and Co-Chair, Policy Forum at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University.

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Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada Minister Jason Kenney announced on Friday that nine organizations that provide language training to newcomers in Calgary, Alberta are receiving almost $9.5-million in federal funding.

“Access to language training services is, for many newcomers, a first step in establishing networks and contacts so they are engaged and feel welcomed in their communities,” Kenney said.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) expects that more than 13,000 immigrants will benefit from this funding.

“I would like to recognize the organizations that provide crucial support to those who choose Canada as their new home, helping to ease the stress of moving to a new country,” said Kenney.

The nine organizations in Calgary that are receiving this funding are: the Calgary Immigrant Educational Society, the Agape Language Centre Society, Bow Valley College, the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association, Columbia Training Centre, Immigrant Services Calgary, Language Plus Inc. and the YMCA and YWCA of Calgary.

“Our new focus is on integration,” said Kenney. “We want people to be Canadians first and foremost—to be proud of and maintain their own tradition and heritage, but not at the price of developing their Canadian identity.

Kenney said that learning one of the two official languages of Canada is “a critical pathway to success in Canada.”

The CIC says that in 2009-2010, Alberta will receive almost $59-million in federal funding for settlement services, part of $1.4-billion that is being allocated to settlement and integration programs and services in all the provinces and territories (except Quebec, which has a separate agreement with the federal government) over a five-year-period.

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The number of Filipino caregivers being allowed to enter Canada to work has been slashed almost in half, a report said on Tuesday.

The Toronto Sun report cited data from Immigration Canada showing that the rejection rate at the Canadian visa office in Manila for Filipino caregivers rose from 35 percent in 2006 to 66 percent in 2008.

“This is very frustrating for the community. These people are well-trained and well-qualified to help Canadians,” said Yolanda Ladines, president of the non-governmental organization Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians, in the report.

Moreover, Ladines said that it now takes 18 months to get a response from the Canadian visa office in Manila.

“There is a huge demand for these people in Canada. It is disappointing that only one of three is accepted to come here,” she said.

In addition, the Liberal Party of Canada said in the same report that their Scarborough-Agincourt office has been getting calls from Filipinos in Toronto, saying that their relatives couldn’t obtain visas in Manila to work as live-in caregivers in Canada even though they are reportedly qualified and in demand.

“The acceptance rate before was two out of three, and now it’s one out of three,” said Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis.

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The Government of Canada is working to help new Canadian immigrants integrate into the work force more quickly.  Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) Minister Diane Finley and Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism (CIMC) Minister Jason Kenney recently announced an investment of $50 million over the next two years to help newcomers have their internationally-obtained education and work experience assessed and recognized more quickly; so that they can work in their fields and contribute to the Canadian workforce more effectively.

“We compete in a global marketplace where the knowledge of our workforce is the key to our economy and our prosperity,” said Minister Finley.  “That’s why Canada’s Economic Action Plan will invest $50 million over two years to speed up the process of assessing and recognizing foreign qualifications.”

Through this investment, new principles will be developed to guide the recognition of foreign credentials and new standards for the timely treatment of qualification recognition will be implemented.  Additionally, a list of priority occupations will be created and the Government of Canada will develop programs to help people begin the accreditation process in their home countries, before landing in Canada.

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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.

Most newcomers and immigrants to Canada tend to settle in the three biggest cities which are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Many newcomers have also choosen to live in the medium-sized cities, which they feel have as much to offer as the larger cities with a better quality of life.

Of the 1.1 million immigrants who landed in Canada between 2001 and 2006, about 70 per cent settled in one of the “big three” cities and about 28 per cent headed for other urban areas. Only three per cent chose to settle in a rural area, the 2006 census found. The most cited reason for settling in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, according to a survey of immigrants, was to join the social support networks of family and friends.

According to reports by Statistics Canada, Among newcomers in Toronto, the second-most cited reason was the job prospects that Toronto could offer. Among newcomers in Montreal, it was language, and among those in Vancouver, it was climate.

Among the medium-sized cities are Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, London, Windsor, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria. All of the medium-sized cities have diverse, multi-ethnic populations ranging in size from approximately 100,000 to one million people, and all have the variety of public and private institutions and services found in the largest cities.

Some newcomers like the idea of living in smaller cities or towns like Moncton, Fredericton, Red Deer and Kelowna, or prefer to live in a rural area. Depending on your skills or professional qualifications, some regions may have better job opportunities than others.

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The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced $1.4 million in funding for mentorship programs to help immigrants in Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge.

The funding will expand the Host program, which matches newcomers with Canadian volunteers as mentors to practise language skills, get contacts in their field of work and adjust culturally to life in Canada.

Host programs at the YMCA of Kitchener-Waterloo include:

* The Mentorship/Partnership program matches newcomer professionals with experienced professionals from Canada. The objective of the mentoring relationship is to provide newcomers with as much information as possible to help them attain their personal and professional goals.
* The Newcomer Youth Support program organizes recreational and learning-based activities for newcomer youths, helping them through the process of settling and adjusting to Canadian society.
* The School Host program matches newcomer children with volunteers in local schools to help children adjust to the school system and to promote cultural sensitivity.
* The Senior Host program matches newcomer senior citizens with local seniors, allowing newcomers to socialize and become friends with volunteers in their appropriate age group.
The mentorship program aims to allow newcomers to get one-on-one assistance from volunteers who guide their efforts to find work in their chosen field. The program’s youth worker also plays an essential role by connecting newcomer youths to the people, places and things they should know to succeed and make good choices.

Through the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, the Government of Canada has increased funding for settlement and language training to Ontario by a total of $920 million over five years. Overall, the federal government is providing increased funding of $1.3 billion over five years to support newcomers as they seek to integrate into our society and economy.

> Contact a Licensed immigration consultant to visit, study, work or immigrate to Canada

Source: CIC

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A “certified copy” is a copy of a document or record signed and certified as a true copy by the officer who has custody of the original. Typically the officer in this case would be a licensed attorney or government official clerk.

The “notary public” who would notarize a document is defined as:

“A public officer whose function it is to administer oaths; to attest and certify, by his hand and official seal, certain classes of documents, in order to give them credit and authenticity in foreign jurisdictions; to take acknowledgements of deeds and other conveyances, and certify the same, and to perform certain official acts, chiefly in commercial matters, such as the protesting of notes and bills, the noting of foreign drafts, and marine protests in cases of loss or damage. One who is authorized by the state or federal government to administer oaths, and to attest to the authenticity of signatures.”