Throughout the month of March approximately 33,700 people from 199 different countries were sworn in as citizens at 312 different citizenship ceremonies across the country. This number has doubled compared to March 2013….
Continue ReadingMario D. Bellissimo Chair of the National Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association was featured in the March 2014 issue of Lawyers Weekly. The article focuses on a pilot project,…
Continue ReadingPro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO) is a pediatric medical-legal partnership program at Toronto’s Kids Hospital. With its recent expansion to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa, Pro Bono Law…
Continue ReadingCanada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander officially brought an end to his trip to China to promote Canada on 24 March 2014. During the visit, the Minister traveled to both Hong…
Continue ReadingCanada understands that as new immigrants it can be an exciting but challenging experience. To make this transition effortless for newcomers, the Government of Canada in partnership with the Association of Canadian…
Continue ReadingToday French speakers in 77 countries celebrate International Francophone Day (Journée internationale de la Francophonie). The date marks the signing of the Niamey Convention in Niger on the 20th of March 1970 and the establishment of the Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique, of which Canada was a founding member. Now known as L’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the group of 77 member nations gathers each year in a celebration of French language and culture.
Continue ReadingToday is the first day of spring and the United Nations International Day of Happiness. What are you and your family doing to celebrate these two occasions?
Continue ReadingCanada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander is taking off for China, on a trip to promote Canada as a destination for business people, students and investors. This diplomatic travel comes right on the heels of the Minister’s February announcement to eliminate Canada’s Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program, both exceptionally popular among Chinese investors looking to gain permanent residence in Canada. The Minister will travel to Hong Kong and Shanghai to promote the new focus of his immigration policy on Canada’s economic and labour market needs. He plans to outline visa options available to businesses, students, and families looking to settle in Canada.
Continue ReadingA group of 95 Chinese millionaires have been granted leave to seek a Judicial Review in the matter of their dropped applications under Canada’s Federal Immigrant Investor Program. Citizenship and Immigration Canada closed this program to new applications in 2012, and in February 2014 announced the intent to terminate the program along with the existing backlog of 65,000 pending applications.
Continue ReadingAccording to Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Coteau, Ontario wants what Québec has – a special agreement with the Government of Canada on immigration. Like Québec, Ontario too would like more power to choose its own immigrants and to set its own targets for attracting skilled workers to the province.
This past month the Ontario government introduced legislation proposing an expansion of the Provincial Nominee Program.
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