ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

  1. Immigration News
    •  Matrixvisa Article Published
    • Express Entry Points to Drop
    • Employers do not have to be in Business for 12 Months
    • Parliament is reviewing LMIAs and other Foreign Worker Policies
    • Jail for Employer of Foreign Worker* Skilled Worker Reading Important
  2. Forest Fires in Canadian Boreal Forest
  3. Warned of Speed and Texting
  4. Economic News
  5. Daily Living

IMMIGRATION NEWS

Matrixvisa Inc. published an article in Immigration Law Magazine of Canada. Once again Matrixvisa has taken the lead on a complex immigration legal issue in Canada. When an employer wants to employ a foreign skilled worker (doctor, engineer, banker or mechanic), the employer  must first choose the relevant National Occupation Classification (NOC) and then advertise that specific NOC position for 28 days before they can apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). There is currently a high refusal rate of LMIAs in some visa offices because federal visa officers claim that some requirements of the employers in the advertisements are too strict if the advertising requirements of the NOC position exceed the federal government’s Employment Requirements of the NOC itself. In our article, we argued that refusals by officers based on this reasoning are ultra vires (outside the scope of the law) and are actually unconstitutional. The article was published in 2 parts and it can be seen at Matrixvisa’s Efforts.

Express Entry Predicted to Drop.  An officer from Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada had a seminar about Express Entry in Edmonton. A video of the seminar was uploaded on 7 May 2016. It is 29 minutes in from start to finish. About 15 minutes into the video, the officer beings to discuss the Express Entry points.  At 16 min and 20 seconds into the clip, he made a prediction that that points will be lowered as inventories will drop.  He mentions that the “warehouses” of applications will be depleted, and in order to meet quota targets the points will come down by September or October 2016. He predicts that the draws will be just below 400 points.

Job Positions. This month we have been approached by a town to recruit four medical doctors. Matrixvisa will complete this assignment with our partner in South Africa, Medrec (see here).

We have assisted two bus mechanics to find their own employment and the employer has shown interest to proceed with a LMIA.

We are in discussion with different employers about an overhead crane manufacturing manager position, dairy farm positions and several others.

We are searching for a Volkswagen mechanic for a Volkswagen dealership and we are also searching for a agriculture mechanics.

If you are currently working in any of these occupations and desire to immigrate, please contact our office.

Employers do not have to be in Business for 12 months. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations do not require a businesses to be in existence for 12 months before being eligible to employ a foreign national with a LMIA. In contradiction, the government’s website indicates that employers do have to be in business for 12 months before being eligible to apply for a LMIA. We wrote to the Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada to express our concerns. The Director General of the Foreign Workers, Ms Janet Goulding, wrote to us last week and confirmed that the 12 month rule is not law and that it is a discretionary issue. The letter can be seen here with achievement number 29.

Parliament is reviewing LMIAs and other Foreign Worker Policies. The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) are having hearings this month regarding the foreign worker program. It is expected that the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and the Express Entry system might go through some changes. Matrixvisa Inc. will send its presentation to the committee this week.

Jail for Employer of Foreign Workers. An Alberta women (immigrant from the Philippines) was sentenced to 7 years in a federal prison for several immigration offences, one which consisted of not paying overtime to her employees. This demonstrates that the government is serious when it comes to protecting foreign workers.

Skilled Worker Reading Important. Foreign nationals that are considering immigration as skilled workers should read the information at the following links:

MEANWHILE IN CANADA

The well known forest fires that resulted in the mass evacuation of 80 000 people from Fort Mc Murray this month has taken place in the Canadian boreal forest.

The boreal forest is part of a circumpolar forest that exists in the Nordic Countries, Alaska and Russia (where it is called the “Taiga”).

The boreal forest is between the Arctic tundra and the more moderate south. It is dominated by coniferous forests, spruce in particular, with vast wet lands throughout. It contains 14% of Canada’s population and is home to many animals including the well known Caribou.

Canada actually has 8 forest regions, each with their own unique trees and animals:

Forest Region Location Predominant Tree Species
Acadian Maritimes red spruce, balsam fir, yellow birch
Boreal Northern Canada white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, white birch, trembling aspen, tamarack, willow
Carolinian (Deciduous) Southwestern Ontario beech, maple, black walnut, hickory, oak
Coast British Columbia western red cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, Douglas-fir
Columbia British Columbia western red cedar, western hemlock, Douglas-fir
Great Lakes–St Lawrence Central Canada red pine, eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, yellow birch, maple, oak
Montane British Columbia and Alberta Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, trembling aspen
Subalpine British Columbia and Alberta Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine

CALGARY POLICE SERVING COFFEE TO COMMUNITY AT LOCAL COFFEE SHOPS

The Calgary Police Service was serving our community at a local Tim Hortons Coffee Shop. Calgary Police Officers were lending a hand at a Tim Hortons Coffee shop on the start of Tim Hortons Camp Day for 2016. Every year, owners of Tim Hortons Coffee Shops donate 100% of this days earnings to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation (THCF). This foundation hosts camp experience programs to help children from disadvantaged homes develop lifelong skills. It is also part of the outreach of the local police to the community.

WARNED OF SPEEDING & TEXTING

In Alberta, towns and cities do not have to post the speed limit of 50 km/h as the Alberta Traffic Act stipulates the speed limit is 50 km/h in all towns and cities. Therefore if you do need see a speed limit, it can be assumed that the speed limit is 50 km/h.

Ever heard about getting the first 10 km/h free when speeding? Be warned! In Canada, that is not the case! Even if you speed 1 km/h over the speed limited, expect a ticket. In the City of Calgary for example, speeding is a source of revenue as the city annually collects CAD 21 million in traffic fines.

In British Columbia the fine for distracted driving (texting or talking on the phone) is CAD543 for the first offence, CAD800 for a second and CAD1600 for a 3rd infraction.

It was reported by the Canada Broadcasting Corporation that the Royal Canadian Mounted Policy (RCMP or Mounties) are now taking photos of drivers at a distance of 1.2 km with a 24 MP camera. If anyone is caught texting or speaking on a cellphone, it will likely be a high fine!


ECONOMY NEWS

Last week the oil price reached CAD50 a barrel, which was the highest in 8 months. Shortly afterwards, the price once again dipped down, however the trend seems to be slowly going upwards.

In North Eastern British Columbia (BC), a new oil discovery is making news. ARC resources from Calgary has discovered a 100 000 barrel-a-day source in the Tower Region (40 km South West of Fort St John). ARC is now producing half of BC’s 26 000 barrels a day crude oil and is hoping that it will increase to 100 000 barrels a day. The break even point is CAD30 per barrel, which means it is already profitable.

The world price is silver is increasing, and a Canadian mining company with operations in Mexico, First Majestic Silver is doing extremely well in the industry as the industrial demand for silver might increase ninefold in price.

Tourism remains in the economic spotlight as more Americans visit Canada. During a recent interview with American tourists, one of the reason they enjoy visiting Canada is as a result of the friendly people and the peacefulness that they experience in Canada.

A new trend in Tourism is ”glamping”,  which is the combination of “glamour” and “camping”. Local service providers can be found here.

A search for Canadian glamping sites will reveal 107 providers. The popularity is growing with locals and foreign tourists. Whether one prefers a tip, a yurt or a luxury Airstream trailer, it is all possible.

  • At Rock Water Secret Cove located in British Columbia (BC) Sunshine Coast there are luxury tents, see here.
  • At the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario yurts can be rented, see here.
  • Tipis can be rented at Goldenwood Lodge in Golden BC, see here.
  • Air Stream trailers can be rented on Pender Island, BC, see here.

Canada has about 22 % of the world’s uranium. In northern Saskatchewan, the world’s largest and highest grade can be found. Although an uranium mine closed due to the current low uranium price, the price is expected to increase in the coming years. As a result, Fission Uranium is busy planning a very large uranium mine.

DAILY LIVING

One of the negatives side-effect of uranium in our soil is the effect of radon poisoning in homes that are not well maintained. The natural decay of uranium results in the release of an odourless and colourless gas called Radon, which easily seeps through cracks in basements. Forty-four percent of tested homes had radon levels above the maximum limits for human safety. The following was reported in an article from the Calgary Herald on 22 January 2016: “New homes are also being looked at in terms of legislation. Since December 2014, the B.C. Building Code provisions for the rough-in of a subfloor depressurization system now require installation of a radon vent pipe which extends through, and terminates outside, the building. The Alberta Building Code was also updated as of Nov. 1, 2015, to include radon mitigation”. The good news for existing home owners is that radon seepage can be eliminated for the reasonable cost of about CAD2500 . The full article can be seen here. It is reported that radon poisoning is the 2nd largest cause of lung cancer in Canada.

Other helpful sites are: Randon West, Randon Controls, Health Canada, CBC.

True to the Canadian culture of inclusiveness the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Parks is teaching new immigrants the skill of camping, as reported by the Canada Broadcasting Corporation.

With the camping season comes a popular activity –  backyard fires in small fire pit. Sadly, not all municipal bylaws allow backyard fire pits (for example Mississauga and Calgary allow fire pits in backyards but Maple Ridge and Abbotsford in BC do not). For those who enjoy a backyard fire from time to time, buying wood can be very expensive due to the high costs in labor.

A good alternative is to make friends with a local arborist (cuts down trees). Home owners may request that trees on their property be removed for safety or building reasons and your new arborist acquaintance may just  give the wood to you free for your removal efforts.

Once one has the wood, the next challenge is to get the chunks of tree chopped into fire pit sized pieces. A splitter axe could take weeks but a more effective recourse is a hydraulic wood splitter which can be rented from Home Deport for CAD70 for 4 hours (depending on area).

See below a picture of Walter Kriek splitting wood (Walter immigrated to Canada at the age of 6).

SINCERELY,
THE MATRIXVISA TEAM

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