Posts Tagged ‘Jeffrey Abrams’

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A year later, Tamil migrants call Toronto home

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Tamil Immgrants

Tamil Immigrants

Back in October, the decision was made almost instantly.

Minutes after a rusty cargo ship named Ocean Lady docked at Victoria, B.C., dozens of border services agents streamed into the vessel and escorted the 76 illegal Sri Lankan migrants off it.

Immediately deemed a potential security threat, they were taken to detention centres in Vancouver.

Now, less than a year later, all 76 migrants have been released and have since applied for asylum.

Most of them are living in Toronto. “I really believed that when the war ended, there would be peace,” said a Tamil farmer from near Jaffna, a city on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. “But Tamils are still being persecuted. If I hadn’t left, I would have been killed.”

The 34-year-old, who didn’t want his name to be used, said he’s a Tamil, not a terrorist.But differentiating between refugees and Tamil Tigers has always been a thorny issue.

The Tigers are the military arm of the Tamil separatist movement, which fought a bloody 26-year civil war with the Sri Lankan government forces before being defeated in May 2009. The organization is considered a terrorist group by many countries, including Canada.

Over the past three decades, thousands of refugees have come to Canada where most live peacefully. Some have joined the Tigers and have worked for the movement.

When the Ocean Lady landed, there were fears some migrants were Tigers. But community leaders point out that the 76 men have been investigated and “it’s been proved they have no ties to terrorists,” said Periathamby Casinadhen, who volunteers with the Canadian Tamil Congress.

Three men, who were on board the Ocean Lady and are now living in the Toronto area, spoke to the Star about why and how they fled the tiny island country.

They didn’t want their names to be published for fear of retaliation against their families, who are still in Sri Lanka. “When my family is here safe, you can take my photograph too,” said one man, who is in his 30s. He is from the eastern province in Sri Lanka and his work constantly brought him in conflict with the government. “Sometimes when I left the house for work, I didn’t think I would ever return.” (The Star can’t mention his profession or where he lived in because it would easily identify him and put his family’s safety in jeopardy.)

He was wearing a grey check shirt, dark blue jeans and was sitting at the Scarborough offices of the Canadian Tamil Congress. He always carries a pink plastic photo album — it has about two dozen photos of his wife and young daughter.

“I don’t know when I’ll see then again but at least they don’t have to worry about me getting killed.”

The three men the Star spoke to recounted atrocities against the Tamils by government forces.

“I’m not surprised,” said Todd Ross, who is with the Canadian Human Rights Voice, a non-profit group trying to raise awareness of human rights concerns in Sri Lanka. “Things have gotten out of hand in that country.”

He pointed out that the Canadian government has said it would like to reunite families. “But the problem is our visa officers have no access to north Sri Lanka, where most Tamils live,” he said. “So people are doing whatever they can to escape.”

It’s not easy though. A 33-year-old farmer, who was thrown into a camp after the rebels were defeated, says thousands of Tamils live within the confines of barbed wire and are watched over by armed soldiers.

A few days after he arrived at the camp, he says he was photographed — a sign of danger. “Some men had been photographed and taken away. . . no one saw them again.”

That night, he claims he paid a soldier to get fake travel IDs; the same soldier helped him escape. In three days, the farmer was in Colombo and then flew to Malaysia.

Then he was introduced to a “travel agent” who told him that he could get him “thousands of kilometres” away from Sri Lanka if he paid $45,000 (Cdn.). The farmer says he did and one night he and a dozen other men were packed into a dingy trawler and taken to a ship.

It was the Ocean Lady. All the Tamil migrants live with Toronto families, who have posted their bonds. They report to the Immigration and Refugee Board officials every week.

Some of them have got work permits but most are on welfare. “They don’t want to be a burden on Canadians. . . they are learning English and as they get their work permits, we are helping them find work,” said David Poopalapillai of the Canadian Tamil Congress. “That’s sounds fair to me.”

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Illegal Migrant Ship Heading for British Columbia, Canada

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Ship carrying Tamil migrants

Ship carrying Tamil migrants

Canadian Immigration Officials are monitoring a ship that may be headed to British Columbia. According to a Sri Lanka newspaper the ship is carrying Tamil migrants. According to the newspaper, the Colombo Observer, the ship is carrying 200 migrants, some of them Tamil Tigers.

The Colombo Observer reported that the ship was last spotted in May in the Gulf of Thailand.MV Sun Sea earlier known as Harin Panich 19, is captained by an LTTE Sea Tiger leader Vinod and manned by a 24-member crew. The Colombo Sunday Observer reports that the ship was heading towards Australia two weeks ago and the Sri Lankan Government tipped off the Australians. It also says that Canada is likely to admit the ships entry, but deny citizenship to those identified as LTTE.Just last October a ship that had crossed the Pacific Ocean and was intercepted in Canadian waters.

There were 76 Tamils aboard, which are now in the refugee system. Their claim was that Tamils were still being persecuted by the Sri Lankan government. Canada’s Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, is trying to streamline the refugee process. Last year it announced VISA requirements for Mexicans and citizens of the Czech Republic due to bogus refugee claims. Refugee Claims are bogged down in bureaucracy with bogus claims, while real refugee claims are also held up. The governemnts new procedures are said to speed up those claims.

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MAJOR CANADIAN IMMIGRATION RULE CHANGES

Monday, June 28th, 2010

MAJOR CANADIAN IMMIGRATION RULE CHANGES

Major Canadian Immigration Rule Changes

Major Canadian Immigration Rule Changes

MAJOR CANADIAN IMMIGRATION RULE CHANGES

On Saturday, June 26, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced major changes to the Independent/Skilled Worker Class and to the Investor Category of the Business Class with no advance notice.

A.            INDEPENDENT/SKILLED WORKER CLASS

1.            Changes

a.            As of June 26, 2010, to be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada in the Independent/Skilled Worker Class, an applicant must:

  • include the results of his/her official language proficiency test, AND
  • have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
  • have one (1) year of continuous full-time paid work experience or two (2) years of continuous half-time paid work experience in at least one (1) of the following twenty-nine (29) occupations:

0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) – click on link for job description
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management – click on link for job description
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

b.            A maximum of twenty thousand (20,000) Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing until July of next year. Within the twenty thousand (20,000) cap, a maximum of one thousand (1,000) Federal Skilled Worker Applications per eligible occupation (any one (1) of the twenty-nine (29) occupations that appears on Canada’s General Occupations (Demand) List) will be considered for processing until July of next year.

2.            What does this mean?

a.            Existing Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i)            Application already filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada was filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE June 26, 2010, the changes to the eligibility requirements for the Independent/Skilled Worker Class do NOT apply to you.  Your Application will be processed in accordance with the eligibility requirements and General Occupations (Demand) List that existed from November 28, 2008 to June 25, 2010.

(ii)            Application not yet filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada was NOT filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE June 26, 2010, the changes to the eligibility requirements for the Independent/Skilled Worker Class DO apply to you.  Your Application will be processed in accordance with the new eligibility requirements and General Occupations (Demand) List that exist as of June 26, 2010.  Your eligibility MIGHT be affected.  If you ARE still eligible to apply, you should move to have your Application filed AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE before the quota for your particular occupation and/or the quota for the Independent/Skilled Worker Class is/are reached for the period of June 2010 to June 2011.  Please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com to ascertain your eligibility status and/or the current status of your Application.

b.            Non-Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i)            Eligibility already assessed

If you had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Independent/Skilled Worker Class already favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak and wish to have your eligibility re-assessed in accordance with the new eligibility requirements, please send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com with your request.  You will receive your reassessment within one (1) business day.

If you had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Independent/Skilled Worker Class already favourably reassessed by Abrams & Krochak OR you are certain that you meet the new eligibility requirements and you wish to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada as a Skilled Worker with our assistance, it is IMPERATIVE that you retain/engage our services AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE so that we can file your Application for Permanent Residence before the quota for your particular occupation and/or the quota for the Independent/Skilled Worker Class is/are reached.  Otherwise, you may have to wait until next year’s List is announced; however, should you do so, you run the risk that your particular occupation might no longer appear on that List, thereby rendering you ineligible to immigrate to Canada as a Skilled Worker.  If you no longer have instructions on how to retain/engage Abrams & Krochak’s services, please visit http://www.akcanada.com/resources/ind.cfm.

(ii)            Eligibility not yet assessed

If you are interested in immigrating to Canada as a skilled worker but you have not yet had your eligibility to do so assessed by Abrams & Krochak, we invite you to complete our Free Online Assessment Questionnaire at http://www.akcanada.com/assessment.cfm.  You will receive your assessment within one (1) business day.


B.            INVESTOR CATEGORY OF THE BUSINESS CLASS

1.            Changes

The Government of Canada is proposing new eligibility criteria for the Immigrant Investor Program. These proposed regulatory changes would require new investors to have a personal net worth of 1.6 million CAD, up from 800,000 CAD, and make an investment of 800,000 CAD, up from 400,000 CAD.  As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will temporarily stop accepting new Applications until the changes are finalized. Only Applications postmarked or received before June 26, 2010, will be accepted. This will prevent a flood of Applications before the new criteria take effect, which would stretch processing times even further.

2.            What does this mean?

a.            Existing Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i)            Application already filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada was filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE June 26, 2010, any changes to the eligibility requirements for the Investor Category of the Business Class will NOT apply to you.  Your Application will be processed in accordance with the eligibility requirements that existed from November 28, 2008 to June 25, 2010.

(ii)            Application not yet filed

If you are already a client of Abrams & Krochak and your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada was NOT filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE June 26, 2010, any changes to the eligibility requirements for the Investor Category of the Business Class MIGHT apply to you.  Furthermore, you will be unable to file your Application with Citizenship and Immigration Canada until such time as the moratorium on new Investor Applications is lifted.  Current speculation is that the moratorium will not be lifted until the fall of 2010.

In the circumstances, you have one (1) of two (2) options:

1. You can wait until the moratorium is lifted and, if new eligibility requirements are enacted, see whether you meet them and then decide what to do.

OR

2. You can consider migrating to Canada NOW in the Entrepreneur Category of the Business Class, assuming you meet the eligibility criteria (click on the word “Entrepreneur” to learn about the eligibility criteria for this category).

Please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com to ascertain your eligibility status and/or the current status of your Application.

b.            Non-Clients of Abrams & Krochak

(i)            Eligibility already assessed

If you already had your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Investor Category of the Business Class favourably assessed by Abrams & Krochak and wish to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada as an Investor with our assistance, you have one (1) of three (3) options:

1. If you wish to formally retain/engage our services (i.e. because you believe that you will meet the new eligibility criteria should they be enacted), you can do so; however, we would not be able to file your Application until such time as Citizenship and Immigration Canada lifts the moratorium on new Applications.  Current speculation is that this will occur in the fall of 2010.

2. You can contact our office, again, in the fall of 2010 for a reassessment of your eligibility to immigrate to Canada in the Investor Category of the Business Class in accordance with the eligibility criteria in existence at that time.

3. You can consider migrating to Canada NOW in the Entrepreneur Category of the Business Class, assuming you meet the eligibility criteria (click on the word “Entrepreneur” to learn about the eligibility criteria for this category).

If you no longer have instructions on how to retain/engage Abrams & Krochak’s services, please visit http://www.akcanada.com/resources/bus_inv.cfm.

(ii)            Eligibility not yet assessed

If you are interested in immigrating to Canada as an Investor but you have not yet had your eligibility to do so assessed by Abrams & Krochak, we invite you to revisit our website in the fall of 2010 (when there is more certainty as to the eligibility requirements for the Investor Category of the Business Class)  and complete our Free Online Assessment Questionnaire at http://www.akcanada.com/assessment.cfm.  You will receive your assessment within one (1) business day.

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Toronto, Canada is proud to welcome all members of the G20 Summit June 26 & 27

Friday, June 25th, 2010

The Canadian economy grew an astounding amount in 2009 and that pace of growth is the strongest in more than a decade and twice the 3% growth reported by the U.S. With so much uncertainty in the air in the U.S., President Obama would be smart take a long moment during his Toronto visit to learn some lessons from the Canadian way of growing an economy. While the U.S. economy has stabilized, its prospects for a strong recovery remain in doubt. The Obama administration continues to propose stimulus efforts to spur job growth, but so far the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high. Even worse, many economists are now predicting another dip in the housing market and more trouble ahead for the banking sector.

Canada is expected to lead the G7 in economic growth for at least the next two years. How did our northern neighbor become the economic star of the exclusive G7 club of developed nations, which includes Britain, France and Japan?

1) A lack of bankers gone wild: A key reason is that its banks sailed through the worst downturn since The Great Depression without getting knocked to the ground by subprime mortgages. Canadian banks remain as solid and well-capitalized as ever. And despite a reputation for bleeding retail customers and small businesses dry with service charges and fees, they continue to underpin Canada’s economy.

2) Innovative manufacturers: Exporters used to have a historic cost advantage. That’s no longer true: the Canadian dollar trades at near parity with the US Dollar. Instead of asking for protection: “Manufacturers have been forced to look for new customers and do business differently,” says Jayson Myers, president of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, the country’s largest trade and industry association. Companies that have survived the global downturn are investing in new product design and engineering for new customers in Mexico, China and India.

3) Fiscally restrained government: Finally, Canada is on an economic tear because Ottawa has managed to get its fiscal house in order over the last 15 years, with the federal deficit now at a mere 3.5% of GDP. This compares to 11.3% in the U.S. and 10.4% in Britain.

Canada has one of the lowest unemployment rates, and it continues to fall. I would highly recommend that you apply now for permanent residency of Canada, as the jobs in demand for Canada immigration by CCIC are subject to change at anytime, and you may no longer be eligible to immigrate. You may view a list of the jobs in demand at

http://www.akcanada.com/immigrate.cfm

To begin your first step towards your new life in Canada simply complete our free Canadian immigration eligibility assessment at

http://www.akcanada.com/assessment.cfm

The firm of Abrams and Krochak have helped tens of thousands of people begin a new life in Canada with their families. We know everyone has a story to tell, and that story deserves a happy ending. Abrams & Krochak would like to make your happily ever after come true in Canada.

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Canada is out of recession in better shape than any in G7

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Recession

Recession


We have recorded the two strongest consecutive trimesters in the last decade
The Canadian economy grew by 6.1 per cent in the first quarter, on top of 4.9-per-cent growth in the fourth quarter, the two strongest consecutive trimesters in the last decade.

That news on Monday pretty well locked in the Bank of Canada’s announcement yesterday morning that it was raising the bank rate by 25 basis points to 0.5 per cent, from the rock-bottom stimulative rate of 0.25 per cent where it has been for more than a year.

This is a transactional move by the bank and its governor, Mark Carney, about the least the markets expected but less than a 50-basis-point increase that might have been justified by the strong economic data.

The modest increase is explained by the cautionary language of the central bank’s guidance, noting “the economic recovery is proceeding but is increasingly uneven across some countries,” while acknowledging “the possibility of renewed weakness in Europe.”

The euro worries that have roiled markets for the last month are obviously the main point of concern. The Greek sovereign debt crisis, and the domino effect on neighbours like Spain and Italy, triggered a nearly $1-trillion rescue package that might or might not stabilize the euro, but have thus far failed to calm volatility in global markets. The month of May was anything but merry – in Canada the TSX declined four per cent, while in New York the Dow was down eight per cent, its worst month of May since 1940.

Leaving the market churn aside, the fundamentals of the Canadian economy are remarkably solid across the board.

For example, while the 6.1-per-cent growth rate in the first quarter might be cause for concern about the economy overheating, the inflation rate of 1.8 per cent is still within the central bank’s target rate of two per cent.

The quarterly growth rates were led by housing and consumer spending, and the housing market will continue to benefit from cheap money. In spite of the bank rate increase, BMO later yesterday lowered its 25-year mortgage rate by 10 basis points to 4.25 per cent.

Such strong economic growth means jobs, jobs, jobs. In April, the economy grew by 109,000 jobs, the strongest month on record. When the May job numbers come out at week’s end, there’s every reason to expect another solid month.

A look inside the April unemployment numbers of 8.1 per cent shows Quebec, at 7.9 per cent, below the national average, and nearly a full point below Ontario’s 8.8 per cent. You don’t see that every day. In fact Quebec added 35,000 jobs in April and 91,000 since last July. When the May numbers come in, Quebec will likely have created more than 100,000 jobs in less than a year. (You’d think Jean Charest would be able to sell those numbers. Robert Bourassa sure would have, having once run on a slogan of 100,000 jobs over four years, not one.)

The other thing about the growth numbers is their positive impact on the federal deficit. The unofficial number for the last fiscal year ending March 31 came in last week, and at $47 billion, that’s $6 billion below the budget forecast of $53 billion, and it’s right on three per cent of GDP. This, among other Canadian good- news stories, is the best budget narrative in the G7, not by a little but by a lot. Try the British deficit of $400 billion, or 13 per cent of GDP, or the U.S. current deficit of $1.6 trillion, 10 per cent of GDP, equivalent to our entire economy.

For the current fiscal year, the deficit is forecast at $49 billion, but the whisper number is in the low 40s. This means that over two years, the debt will be $16 billion lower than forecast, and with luck the books might be balanced even before 2015. And this should end the argument that this is a structural as opposed to a cyclical deficit. A deficit that’s three per cent of GDP, on its way to zero, coming out of the scary downturn we’ve just lived through, is cyclical. End of discussion.

Carney has even benefitted from the euro crisis, with investors taking safe haven in the U.S. dollar, taking some of the upward pressure off the loonie. From exchange rate parity only a month ago, the loonie has backed off to 95 cents, which will make life a little easier for our exporters.

But the loonie should remain strong, not only as a petro currency, but because of the sound fundamentals of our economy and our fiscal framework.

There is no doubt that we have come out of the recession in better shape than any of our G7 partners.

“I would say unambiguously so,” says BMO economist Doug Porter. “Slowly but surely, Canada’s advantages are coming to the fore.”

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