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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For most students across Canada, this week marks the first week of classes in the 2009-2010 school year. Last week, a newcomer orientation program that helps young immigrants learn about what to expect on their first day at a Canadian school was held in the Kitchener-Waterloo region in Ontario.

The week-long orientation program is aimed at making immigrant students more comfortable with their new academic environment and familiarizing them with their schools. For example, students are taught about using lockers to store their belongings and shown where their classrooms are.

The new students are mentored by fellow students who were once newcomers to Kitchener-Waterloo themselves.
The program, which is already in its second year, is administered by Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA Cross Cultural and Immigrant Services and is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

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The Government has  made changes over the previous few years and some over the last couple of months to make it way easier, so that Canada is much more likely to keep those people that wish to stay. The issue with some of the earlier programs is they were fairly restrictive and unless you probably did it precisely the proper way, you did not qualify. What the government did just some months back, is change the program to grant post grad work authorization on a far more generous basis.

Formerly , the work-permits were 1 to two years depending on where you went to school and for how long. The foreign student who had just graduated went to a work interview and told the employer that he must sign up for approval before the student  could get a work permit.

The employer used to, really sponsor the graduate.

Now, the student  has an open work permit and can start working right away. That makes it far easier for the students and their companies. Also, the extension of the time period to up to 3 years, dependent on how long the student  was at college, should help many of these students getting permanent residence in the course of that work permit. They are not stuck in an opening where they need to go back home and wait for processing, or where they have to try and find another way to qualify for a work permit before they get qualified for permanent residence. If a student can get a skilled employee designation with organized job classification, they are going to be fast tracked in the immigration process, and they are much more likely to be successful and rather more likely to achieve success quicker.

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Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James has announced a new program that will facilitate the process of immigration to Quebec for international students and foreign workers.

In her announcement, Minister James cited the importance of attracting and retaining skilled workers and international students through immigration for Quebec’s economic growth.

Though specific details have yet to be released, the following information is known:

The program will actively select candidates who can best respond to Quebec’s labour market needs, as divided into three categories.

International Students: In order to retain international graduates in the province, the Minister intends to issue Certificats de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to international students who earn either a high school diploma in vocational training, a college or technical training diploma, or a university degree from an educational institution recognized by the Quebec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport.  Minister James highlighted the fact that these students have already settled into Quebec society and have Quebec educational certifications that Quebec employers are familiar with.  She also expects that the program will increase the number of international students who choose to study in Quebec.

Specialized temporary workers: Temporary workers who are currently working in Quebec in certain specialized sectors, such as information technology and scientific research, will also be given CSQ’s for immigration to Canada.

Immigration applicants with work experience in high-demand occupations: Quebec immigration applicants who have work experience in occupations that are considered in high-demand by the province of Quebec will have their immigration applications fast-tracked.  Quebec’s labour market is in need of applicants at all skills levels, from welders to laboratory technicians, to nurses, and aeronautical engineers.  Applicants with work experience in Quebec’s in-demand occupations have the best employment prospects and will therefore receive priority processing.

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Canadian universities have been increasing their marketing and recruitment efforts abroad to increase foreign student numbers and to give their campus a more international outlook.

A significant increase in recent years has come from American students, who are drawn to the significant cost savings in Canada over post-secondary education in the United States.

“Canadian universities are like hidden gems,” says one American student at Dalhousie University in Halifax.  “A lot of them are Ivy League-quality schools and they are just a lot less expensive.”

Approximately 9,000 Americans studied at Canadian colleges and universities this year, up from 2,300 only 12 years ago.  At McGill University in Montreal, the number of American students has risen by 22 per cent over the past five years.  At Dalhousie, applications from American students are up 14 per cent this year.

Though Canadian tuition fees for international students are far more expensive than they are for local students, they are still tens of thousands of dollars less than the cost of private American universities and are comparable to the fees charged by state colleges to local students.

A representative of the University of Toronto attributes the tripling of applications from American students to economic and political factors, along with the value of the Canadian dollar and outreach efforts in cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington.

To study in Canada, international students are required to obtain a Canada Study Permit.

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Canadian immigration is taking measures to attract Indian students with a new pilot project which will enable students who want to study in Canada to gain student visas within just seven to ten days.

The scheme follows problems involving false documentation, with many Indian students being rejected for Canadian student visas after being duped by bogus immigration agencies. In light of this, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi is piloting a scheme that will check for fraudulent documentation and boost the number of Indians going to study in Canada.

Jagdeep Singh, from International Educational & Career Consultants, says the Canadian High Commission is hoping to attract more Indians to move to Canada to study this year following a high rejection rate in 2008. He says the new scheme will be simplified and is intended to quickly ascertain an applicant’s “correct financial status.”

Singh says that Canada is now hoping more Indian students will choose Canada rather than going to study in the US or in Australia. He says that Canada has high quality universities and that it wants to generate more money for its economy by boosting the number of foreign students it welcomes.

Advice to students looking to obtain a Canadian student visa includes: [1] using a bona fide, reputable immigration agency with an excellent track record; [2] choosing the right course at the right educational establishment; [3] be truthful at all times and show genuine documentation. If the application is rejected because of fraudulent documentation, the chances of reversing a refused visa are very slim.

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Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has announced that Canada will substantially increase its foreign student targets in 2009.

Canada welcomed nearly 80,000 foreign students in 2008, the highest number seen in the past ten years.  However, it is not high enough for Minister Kenney, comparing Canada to Australia which brings in ten times more students from India.

“Canada is looking to Asia as well as India for potential students,” said Minister Kenney.

He has not yet elaborated on specific targets, but has been noting the advantages of foreign students and the reasons why the increase is justified.  They have the chance, while studying, to get familiar with Canada’s labour market and put themselves on a “much faster pathway to immigration” through the recently establish Canadian Experience Class.

“We like the Canadian Experience Class because [it attracts] young people who have done a degree in Canada, have improved their language skills, have already done most of the hard work towards economic integration, and don’t have any foreign credential hurdles to overcome,” stated Minister Kenney.  “These are perfect candidates for Permanent Residence and economic migrants to Canada.”

Increased promotional efforts overseas by Canadian academic institutions along with changes to immigration regulations over the past several years have made Canada a more attractive destination for individuals looking to study abroad.

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Since spring 2007, Ontario’s employers have been obtaining help in filling labour needs through a new pilot Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The pilot PNP will enable Ontario to match the skills of prospective immigrants to the needs of its labour market.
The pilot PNP is expected to benefit Ontario employers and multinational corporations investing in Ontario.

Ontario’s pilot Provincial Nominee Program has two categories:
Employer Category:

* Allows eligible Ontario employers to fill labour needs in 20 specific occupations in the health, education, manufacturing and construction sectors.
* Employers apply to the program.
* Employers can recruit qualified individuals currently outside Canada or inside the country, including international students who have completed college or university studies in Ontario related to one of the occupational fields.
* Applicants in this category will account for 90 percent of nominations.

Multinational Investor Category:

* For companies making significant investments in the province to bring in key employees who will contribute to the long-term success of the investment.
* Applicants in the multinational investment category will account for approximately 10 per cent of nominees.

For both categories, employers apply to the program to have positions approved.  Once positions have been approved, employers bring forward prospective nominee applicants.  Nominee applicants must have the relevant education, training and experience required for the pre-approved positions.
Successful nominees will receive permission to work in Ontario and they, along with their family members, will be nominated by the provincial government to have their application for permanent residency fast-tracked by the federal immigration department.

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Source: Government of Ontario

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The government announced the implementation of a pilot project that expands the Off-Campus Work Permit Program for international students to include private institutions in Alberta. Now, international students studying at select private institutions and enrolled in specific qualifying programs in Alberta are eligible to apply for off-campus work permits.

These institutions are Ambrose University College, Canadian University College, Concordia University College of Alberta, St. Mary’s University College, Taylor University College and Seminary, and The King’s University College. Previously, only international students at public universities and colleges were able to apply to the Program.
Parliamentary Secretary Ed Komarnicki said, “This pilot will allow more international students studying in Canada to work off-campus, to contribute to our economy, and to gain Canadian work experience.”

The pilot project is being implemented on a province-by-province basis. The Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta have agreed to implement the project for only those programs and institutions that offer degrees recognized or authorized by the Province of Alberta. The Government of Canada is currently discussing the implementation of pilots with other interested provinces.

Cource: CIC

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