Handog Ng Pilipino Para sa mga Pilipino saan panig ka man ng Mundo: September 2014

Canada Welcomes 150,000th New Citizen of 2014

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander, announced that Canada has welcomed its 150,000 new citizen of 2014. This is around double the number compared with the same period last year.

The relative increase compared with 2013 can be attributed to a couple of factors. First, the government has made efforts to reduce backlogs and improve processing times. Second, many permanent residents anticipating the government’s changes to the Citizenship Act, which would extend the length of time a resident must reside in Canada before making his or her citizenship application, rushed to file their citizenship applications before the changes took effect.
"Our government is proud to welcome more new citizens to the Canadian family,” said Minister Alexander at a citizenship ceremony in Scarborough, ON, on August 18. “The increased number of new Canadians in 2014 is an indication that our government's changes to the citizenship system are working. With our recent changes to the Citizenship Act, we will see improved processing times and high numbers of new Canadians taking on the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship."

Most Canadians Don’t Know How Many Immigrants Enter Canada

An annual tracking survey by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has found that the majority of adult Canadians don’t know how many landed immigrants are admitted by Canada every year.

Canada admits around 250,000 landed immigrants per year, but only nine per cent of responders to the survey gave a number remotely close to that figure. One-third of responders thought the figure was below 100,000.

Despite a general lack of awareness among Canadians of the overall number of newcomers given permanent status each year, responders were still prepared to offer an opinion on whether there were too many, too few, or about the right number of immigrants coming to Canada. Of the 3,016 responders, 26 per cent said there were too many, 10 per cent said too few, and 52 per cent stated that the present number is about right.

The poll, conducted by Harris/Decima between Feb. 7 and Feb. 20, 2014, has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.78 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Alberta Pilot Program For Specific Occupations Not Renewed By Federal Government

The Government of Canada has allowed the Alberta Pilot Program for occupation-specific work permits, which allowed employers in certain to hire from overseas without the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), to lapse.

The program, part of the wider Temporary Foreign Worker Program, allowed Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to issue work permits for certain skilled jobs in high demand in Alberta. These positions included steamfitters, pipefitters, estimators, welders, heavy duty equipment mechanics, iron workers, millwrights and industrial mechanics.

The program had been under scrutiny since the Alberta Federation of Labour made it known publicly that it was against its continuation, alledging that it led to workplace communication problems and unsafe conditions.

It is not known presently whether the program, or one similar to it, will be reintroduced in the future. Alberta has provided the largest number of jobs in Canada in recent years, and labour shortages in certain industries are expected in the coming years.

Temporary Foreign Worker Applications Fall By 74%

The month of August, 2014 saw a drop by nearly three quarters on the same month in 2012 in the number of applications made to hire temporary foreign workers.

Speaking during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Employment Minister Jason Kenney stated that "We announced a fundamental sweep of reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program earlier this year to ensure that it is used as a last and limited resort and that Canadians always come first in the workforce.

"Since those reforms were announced we've seen a 75-per-cent reduction in the number of applications in temporary foreign workers on the part of employers,” added Mr. Kenney, who used to hold the Citizenship and Immigration portfolio within the Government of Canada.

New rules for hiring temporary foreign workers introduced in June make it more difficult for employers to hire internationally, requiring them to meet strict criteria to ensure Canadians are first in line for jobs.