Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is growing faster and aging more slowly than any other major Canadian city.
The latest population estimates released by Statistics Canada on February 3rd, 2011 show that the Saskatoon region was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Canada for the one-year period ending in July 2010, surpassing Alberta's major centres in growth for the first time in decades.
The Saskatoon region is also the youngest in the country, bucking the pan-Canadian trend of a rapidly aging population. Regina, Saskatchewan is Canada's third fastest growing city.
Saskatchewan is also the province that enjoys the fastest economic growth in Canada.
For more about this trend, go to Saskatoon's daily newspaper, the Star Phoenix.
For more information on the latest immigration trends in Canada, visit Statistics Canada.
The RCMP has arrested a Quebec immigration consultant accused of Canadian immigration and citizenship fraud.
National Post: Quebec immigration consultant arrested in fraud ring
The RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and other government agencies are also investigating the clients of a number of crooked consultants. Some clients may have been unwitting victims of fraud, others will have been complicit in the fraudulent acquisition of Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status. Either way, acquisition of immigration or citizenship status by misrepresentation and fraudulent means can have very serious consequences. The last thing a permanent resident or new citizen wants is to arrive at Canada's border one day with family in tow only to be directed to an immigration officer for ''secondary'' inspection and possible criminal charges. To minimize the risks of being charged themselves, holders of permanent residency or Canadian citizenship who had recourse to intermediaires who are under investigation, have been charged or have been convicted should seek professional advice about the possibility of relinquishing their status.
Canada is on the verge of passing new legislation to combat the growing problem of unqualified, incompetent consultants who gouge and rob clients through misrepresentation and fraud.
These official government statistics break down the movement of immigrants to Canada by country of origin.
Canada's top ten immigrant source countries are China, the Philippines, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Pakistan, Iran, Korea, and Morocco.
| Source country | Immigrants |
| China, People's Republic of | 29,049 |
| Philippines | 27,277 |
| India | 26,122 |
| United States | 9,723 |
| United Kingdom | 9,566 |
| France | 7,300 |
| Pakistan | 6,214 |
| Iran | 6,065 |
| Korea, Republic of | 5,864 |
| Morocco | 5,222 |
The Toronto Star conducted an unscientific experiment recently to see how well Canadians would do on Canada's new Citizenship Test. The results were surprising. See the full article here: Toronto Star Citizenship Experiment.
Try your hand at the Toronto Star test yourself.
Prepare for the Official Canadian Citizenship Test.
Sample Citizenship Test Questions.
Only permanent residents of Canada may take the Citizenship Test. There is no direct path to citizenship, unless one is born in Canada or born outside Canada of a Canadian citizen. Some restrictions apply.
International migration has fallen during the economic crisis, but as the recovery moves into gear migrants will once again be needed to fill labour and skill shortages, according to the latest OECD International Migration Outlook.
The number of designated occupations eligible for consideration under Canada's Federal Skilled Worker program was reduced from 38 to 20 occupations on Saturday, June 26, 2010. An annual cap of 20,000 applications (1,000 applications per occupation) was also imposed for those applying under a designated occupation. This means applicants will have to file their applications as soon as possible after each annual quota period begins to ensure they don't get knocked out of the running unless they qualify on the basis of an arranged offer of employment. Arranged employment offers are not limited to the designated occupations nor subject to a numerical cap.
Here is the list of designated occupational groups effective June 26, 2010 preceded by the corresponding National Occupational Classification (NOC) code:
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3142 Physiotherapists
3152 Registered Nurses
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
7242 Industrial Electricians
7251 Plumbers
7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371 Crane Operators
7372 Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service
Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who-instructions.asp
I appeared on CTV News in Montreal to comment on the Federal Government's initiative to introduce better protection of consumers and stronger penalties for ghost consultants -- that is unqualified and unaccredited immigration consultants. Ghost consultants are a major problem for would-be immigrants, often charging exhorbitant fees for bad advice, sometimes counselling applicants to lie and use fraudulent means in an attempt to obtain permanent residence status in Canada. Most applicants who misrepresent themselves are usually found out. Those who aren't found out are often discovered later on and risk losing everything several years down the road.
Kenney told CTV's "Question Period" Sunday the legislation, which has been more than a year in the making, will "make it a very serious offence to be operating without proper authority."
Read the CTV piece here.
Immigration fraud and human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar global industy. Consulting qualified and accredited immigration professional like Canadian Certified Immigration Consultants (CCICs) affords immigrant and visa applicants consumer protection under Canada's laws. The regulation of consultants is only one tool in tackling the extremely complex problem of migration fraud and trafficking.
There are over 2500 occupations in the 38 designated occupational groups currently eligible to apply for immigration to Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker category, in effect since February 2008. The list of occupational groups is expected to change soon, but an applications received by Immigration Canada before any changes take effect are considered locked-in.
Officially, Canada has designated 38 occupations under this program. What is not commonly known, is that the 38 occupations refer in fact to 38 occupational groups. All tolled, these groups include over 2500 occupational titles.
Applicants with at least one year of full-time experience in one of these occupational groups may be eligible for immigration to Canada.
It is important to note that it is not the occupational title that is assessed but the experience. Experience must correspond to the description found in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) lead statement and main duties for the respective occupational group (which corresponds to a four digit NOC Code). The NOC code appears to the left of each group on the list below.
To find out whether your experience makes you eligible to apply under the federal skilled worker category, identify the occupational group that most closely matches your professional experience, note the four-digit NOC code and then go to the NOC website and type in the the code. Read the lead statement (first paragraph) and the main duties for that group. It is incumbent on applicants to prove that they have performed the actions described in the lead statement and a substantial number of the main duties. Immigration officers will refuse applications where it is not clear that this experience requirement has been met.0111: Financial Managers
0213: Computer and Information Systems Managers
0311: anagers in Health Care
0631: Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0632: Accommodation Service Managers
0711: Construction Managers
1111: Financial Auditors and Accountants
2113: Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists
2143: Mining Engineers
2144: Geological Engineers
2145: Petroleum Engineers
3111: Specialist Physicians
3112: General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3141: Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
3142: Physiotherapists
3143: Occupational Therapists
3151: Head Nurses and Supervisors
3152: Registered Nurses
3215: Medical Radiation Technologists
3233: Licensed Practical Nurses
4121: University Professors
4131: College and Other Vocational Instructors
6241: Chefs
6242: Cooks
7213: Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
7215: Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7217: Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews
7241: Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System)
7242: Industrial Electricians
7251: Plumbers
7252: Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers
7265: Welders and Related Machine Operators
7312: Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371: Crane Operators
7372: Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction
8221: Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying
8222: Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service
9212: Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities
A reader contacted me on the AllExperts.com immigration forum to ask for advice about a problem Immigration Canada had in processing his credit card payment:
''CIC received my application on March 16 and on May 12 they tried to debit my card but the transaction failed because of blockage of my card. I have got this information from my credit card company and [the Centralized Intake Office] has not sent me anything regarding this. What can I do?''
First, the reader is lucky he caught this on his own and did not have to wait for Immigration Canada to contact him weeks or months later. By paying fees with a credit card, there are risks that an application could be simply returned to the applicant for non-payment of fees. In the meantime, the federal skilled worker category rules could change which would exclude the applicant from the program for good.
I suggested he re-apply right away with all forms signed and dated to avoid any further delay or risk of being cut off from the federal skilled worker category altogether, especially because the list of designated occupations under this category is expected to change soon.
To avoid these kinds of risks, applicants should consider paying immigration fees by international bank draft drawn on a Canadian bank and payable to the Receiver General for Canada. This allows for better control of the process. Otherwise, part of the control is left to the credit card company. Would you want that?
