Canadian Immigration News

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published its annual Better Life Index report. For 2012, it ranked Canada as one of the ten best countries in the world in terms of the quality of life that its citizens enjoy.

On May 14, Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and American Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that their countries would begin consultations to facilitate cross-border business interactions.

These consultations will build on the framework outlined in December 2011 by the United States-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan, which was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President Barack Obama. The consultations are being conducted with two goals in mind: to get feedback regarding the Action Plan, and to identify new ways in which cross-border business can be facilitated for short- and mid-term goals.

Consultations will be held in Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Ontario. Comments will be accepted by private businesses and other stakeholders until June 15, 2012. Minister Kenney believes talks will be productive, stating that `Billions of dollars worth of goods and hundreds of thousands of people cross our shared border every day. We want to hear directly brom businesses on both sides of the border about how cross-border business travel could improve. We especially want to hear fresh ideas`.

Beginning April 20, 2012, most permanent residents who require permanent resident (PR) cards will no longer have to pick up these cards at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada office. Instead, through a new pilot project, they will be able to receive their cards by mail.

The Government of Canada has partnered with two leading private Canadian businesses to develop and expand the Federal Internship for Newcomers Program (FIN).

Businesses in Saskatchewan have hired over 280 skilled workers from Ireland. This is a direct result of a March 2012 recruitment mission, in which provincial officials and representatives from 27 Saskatchewan employers traveled to Ireland in search of employees.