Bengaluru
Canada welcomed 49,175 family class immigrants in 2020
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released the final figures about immigration to Canada in 2020. Canada admitted 49,175 immigrants in the family class. This number includes 36,025 sponsored spouses, 10,440 sponsored parents and grandparents, 2,470 sponsored children, and 215 other relatives. The total number of the family class newcomers has dropped by almost a half compared to 2019 when IRCC granted permanent residence to 91,300 immigrants. The biggest decrease is for sponsored spouses and parents. According to the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC hopes to admit 80,000 sponsored spouses and 23,500 sponsored parents and grandparents this year.
#PR_admissions, #IRCC, #family_sponsorship, #family_immigration, #parents_sponsorship, #PGP, #Parental_sponsorship #Parents_and_Grandparents_sponsorship, #spousal_sponsorship
New Brunswick will increase the minimum wage
On February 23, 2021, the New Brunswick government reminded about the increase of the minimum wage by 5 cents to $11.75 per hour that will be in effect on April 1, 2021. The current minimum wage in the province is $11.70 per hour. The official statement of the provincial government noted that the minimum wage rate is indexed to the province’s consumer price index, rounded to the nearest five cents. The New Brunswick consumer price index grew by 0.22% in 2020. The province estimates that about 20,000 residents of New Brunswick or 6% of the total payroll employees earn a minimum wage.
#New_Brunswick, #minimum_wages
Online passport applications and concerns of personal information
The Canadian government’s project to apply for a passport online has raised many questions about the security of personal information. In December 2020, the government signed a contract worth $1.5 million with IBM, to develop an online application that Canadians can use on their cell phone, tablets, or computers. The application will allow citizens to submit an application, pay the passport fees and upload their photo. Since July 2013, the Canadian passport program has been the responsibility of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC gave IBM Canada a three-month deadline to develop the application to be used for the Canadian passport application. Due to pandemic, IRCC issued only 897,401 passports last year, compared to 2.6 million passports in 2019. In addition, due to the delay in processing applications, the government was forced to extend the deadline for an expired passport for an additional two years. IRCC also confirmed that it is in charge of managing the personal information of applicants. At the same time, it is unclear how the government will verify the applicant’s photo. Neither the government nor IBM has indicated where the Canadian electronic data will be stored.
#passports, #IRCC, #Citizenship, #cybersecurity
Statistics Canada January data on unemployment of immigrants
January data released by Statistics Canada showed that the unemployment rate of black and Southeast Asian immigrants was far above the average. This makes some immigrant rights groups worry that the pandemic will increase the economic gap between these ethnic groups and the mainstream society and that this gap will remain even after the pandemic is over. From December 2020 to January 2021, Canada’s national average unemployment rate rose by only 0.6%. But during the same period, the unemployment rate of Southeast Asian immigrants rose by 7.6%, blacks 5.5%, and Hispanic immigrants 4.5%. According to the analysis of Statistics Canada, these groups mainly live in Ontario and Quebec, and these two provinces have adopted pandemic prevention measures to close non-essential businesses. The report says that immigrants, mothers of young children, and low-paid employees are most vulnerable to the pandemic and likely to lose their jobs.
#newcomers, #unemployment, #COVID_19, #Statistics_Canada