Canadian Immigration News

Earlier this week, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada Minister Jason Kenny announced that the Canadian government will be providing $112,000 in federal funding to the Société franco-manitobaine in Winnipeg, Manitoba to ensure improved access to settlement services for 50 government-sponsored francophone refugees.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) will be receiving federal funding to develop online content, tools, and services to promote the province as an immigration destination and to improve the immigrant settlement process. The funding was recently announced by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Diane Finley. It is part of $18.8 million funding package that was announced earlier this year to increase online immigration support in several provinces and territories.

The issue was raised on Tuesday, addressed on Wednesday, and the policy dropped by Thursday. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) reacted quickly after the World Sikh Organization raised the issue about a 10-year policy that required Canadian immigration applicants with the last name Singh or Kaur to change their names.

In their efforts to deal with the current backlog of immigration applications, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in the federal budget for 2008. At present, the IRPA states that Citizenship and Immigration Canada must process every application that enters the system.

Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently announced the allocation of $12.5 million for the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program. The funding will be distributed among seven partner agencies in Hamilton, Ontario – among them the Settlement and Integration Services Organization and the Circle of Friends for Newcomers. Increased language training funding was also announced for the region of Caledon, Ontario.

Attracting and Retaining Immigrants: A Tool Box of Ideas for Smaller Centres has recently been released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and provincial, municipal, and community partners. It is a comprehensive guide for smaller communities who want to create their own immigration strategies, to attract and encourage Canadian newcomers.

Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Canada (CIMC) Minister Jason Kenney recently commented on the Conservative government's plans for Canadian immigration while on a visit to the Ukraine. He stated that immigrants are needed to ensure economic growth.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) recently announce a pilot project that will centralize the receipt of new Federal Skilled Worker applications at the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that it is making it easier for Temporary Residents in Canada to extend their stays by enabling them to fill out their applications to extend their visas online.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Diane Finley has begun her cross-Canada tour through which CIC will develop the framework for the newamendments to Canadian immigration legislation. By way of meetings and video conferences, provincial and territorial governments, as well asrepresentatives from business, labour, and academic and non-government organizations will be consulted.