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Immigration and Quality of Employment

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2009 showed key differences between many indicators of employment quality of immigrants and non-immigrants. Salaries received by immigrant employees were generally lower, while temporary and part-time employment was more common. However, employment quality indicators for immigrants who came to Canada over 10 years ago we close to those of employees born in Canada.

In 2009, compared to Canadian-born employees, working immigrants 25 to 54 years of age (especially those who immigrated later, were younger and had a higher level of education) were often employed by smaller companies and tended to be in a variety of professional groups.

Despite the differences between many employment quality indicators, the number of immigrants working more than one job was close to that of Canadian-born workers. Additionally, the indicators for flexible and part-time employment as well as employment training indicators were almost the same for immigrant and non-immigrant workers.

In 2009, 5.2% of both immigrant and non-immigrant workers held more than one job or worked night shifts. There were no known differences based on the period of immigration. 9.7% of immigrants were temporarily employed, while the percentage of temporarily employed Canadian-born workers was 8.3%. Only 7.2% of workers who immigrated over 10 years ago were employed temporarily; evidently, this number is lower than that of Canadian-born workers.

2010 Immigration Statistics

753722_214109361Tims International Ltd. monitors the changes in immigration statistics, legislation and regulations on a daily basis.

 

Every year the Canadian Ministry of Immigration presents a report for Parliamentary review; this report informs the authorities and the Canadian society about the current state of affairs in the field of immigration.

Governmental plans relating to immigration quotas for 2010 were announced in the 2009 report. The estimated number of new immigrants that will be accepted in 2010 is virtually the same as the numbers from previous years.

In 2010 Canada plans to admit from 240,000 to 265,000 new immigrants. The majority of immigration visas will be granted to candidates applying under the Economic class.

The breakdown for the Economic class of immigrants in 2010 is as follows:

-Federal Skilled Workers: 66,500 to 71,500

-Federal Business Immigration (Entrepreneurs, Investors, Self-Employed): 9,000 to 9,500

-Canadian Experience class: 2,500 to 2,800

-Immigration to Quebec: 30,300 to 31,600

-Provincial Immigration Programs: 37,000 to 40,000

-Family Immigration class quota is the second largest, after the Economic class. It is planned to grant from 57,000 to 63,000 immigration visas for sponsored applicants.

From 19,600 to 26,000 visas will be issued to refugees and persons in need of protection.

From 7,100 to 9,200 immigrants will take advantage of other immigration programs.

Immigration Reform

The Conservative Party has yet again secured the support of the Liberal opposition on an issue previously strongly disputed by the Liberals. This time the issue at hand is the immigration reform. In an attempt to avoid provoking an untimely election, the Liberal Party was forced to accept the propositions of the Harper government that it publicly rejected.

One of the provisions of the reform sanctions the Minister of Immigration to make decisions on adjusting immigration flow, establishing preferred categories of immigrants as well as resolving individual immigration and refugee claim cases. According to the opponents of the proposed bill, the drafted changes may lead to discriminatory practices in the immigration process. Remarkably, the opposition does not discuss the interests of the nation as part of this debate. Meanwhile, the main idea of the reform is to allow the Minister of Immigration to quickly respond to the needs of country by determining which categories of immigrants are in demand in Canada. Certainly, there are concerns that the Minister will have the opportunity to reduce the quotas on other immigration categories, those for instance, that will be deemed to be an unnecessary burden on the country but at the same time represent desirable electorate for one or another political party. The practical consequences of the reform will be evident in the not-so-distant future.

In the meantime, it is interesting to note the results of a recently published study conducted by Statistics Canada. The results of the study show that the success of immigrants, among other factors, is largely influenced by their background, more specifically their country of origin. However, this assertion is not supported by specific data that would allow to precisely determine the cultural background that warrants immigrants’ success in adapting to life in Canada or pinpoint the reasons for this success such as, language proficiency, business initiative, high demand for a given occupation or belonging to one or another group widely represented in the public sector.

Immigration Reform

 

The Conservative Party has yet again secured the support of the Liberal opposition on an issue previously strongly disputed by the Liberals. This time the issue at hand is the immigration reform. In an attempt to avoid provoking an untimely election, the Liberal Party was forced to accept the propositions of the Harper government that it publicly rejected.

 

One of the provisions of the reform sanctions the Minister of Immigration to make decisions on adjusting immigration flow, establishing preferred categories of immigrants as well as resolving individual immigration and refugee claim cases. According to the opponents of the proposed bill, the drafted changes may lead to discriminatory practices in the immigration process. Remarkably, the opposition does not discuss the interests of the nation as part of this debate. Meanwhile, the main idea of the reform is to allow the Minister of Immigration to quickly respond to the needs of country by determining which categories of immigrants are in demand in Canada. Certainly, there are concerns that the Minister will have the opportunity to reduce the quotas on other immigration categories, those for instance, that will be deemed to be an unnecessary burden on the country but at the same time represent desirable electorate for one or another political party. The practical consequences of the reform will be evident in the not-so-distant future.

 

In the meantime, it is interesting to note the results of a recently published study conducted by Statistics Canada. The results of the study show that the success of immigrants, among other factors, is largely influenced by their background, more specifically their country of origin. However, this assertion is not supported by specific data that would allow to precisely determine the cultural background that warrants immigrants’ success in adapting to life in Canada or pinpoint the reasons for this success such as, language proficiency, business initiative, high demand for a given occupation or belonging to one or another group widely represented in the public sector.

Dishonest consultants

Yet another case relating to fraudulent actions of dishonest consultants has come to the attention of law officials. This is the second case that deals with an immigration consultant being prosecuted for fraud and accepting payments for services that were not rendered.

A 45-year-old immigration consultant from Ontario was convicted of fraud in 11 cases, in which service fees charged ranged from 2 to 100 thousand dollars. All victims were prospective immigrants who had hoped to have paid the consultant for helping prepare the necessary documents and providing immigration services. Francesco Salvatore Burgio never filed any applications and was never registered with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, which is mandatory for those who provide paid services relating to immigration.

Immigration minister Jason Kenney remarks that the fraudsters “…pose a serious threat to the reputation of Canada's immigration system...”

Earlier it was reported that Fereydoun Hadad, was convicted of taking money in the amount of 50 thousand dollars from residents of Iran, who had counted on his help and services related to immigration. Both consultants, Francesco Salvatore and Fereydoun Hadad, worked without a license.

Canada welcomes a record high...

Canada welcomed an unprecedented number of permanent and temporary residents in 2008, according to preliminary data released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) today.

“While other countries are talking about taking fewer immigrants, today, I am pleased to announce that in 2008, we increased the number of new permanent residents to Canada,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

Canada welcomed 247,202 permanent residents in 2008, 70,000 more than in 1998, and well within the government’s planned range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for the year. An additional 193,061 temporary foreign workers and 79,459 foreign students resulted in a combined total of 519,722 newcomers for the year.

The higher number of temporary foreign workers reflects increased demand in the Canadian labour market last year. The hiring of temporary foreign workers is based on employers’ needs and labour market demand.

“Our government will not follow the advice of those who believe that Canada should take steps to reduce immigration levels. In fact, we are maintaining our planned immigration levels for 2009,” said Minister Kenney. “As minister responsible for multiculturalism, I am particularly concerned by short-sighted, divisive rhetoric that pits immigrants against Canadians in our economy.”

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