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GTA new home sales up 24 per cent in 2009

•
January 20, 2010

New home sales in the Greater Toronto area were up by 24 per cent in 2009 compared to a year earlier, according to figures released today.

The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) stated 33,165 new homes and condos were sold in the GTA, compared to 27,153 in 2008.

Most of those sales were in the second half of the year when consumer confidence, sparked by low interest rates, returned to the market.

The solid figures were helped by a strong December, with 3,148 home sold, representing a more than five-fold increase over December of 2008.

The recovery was “kick started by builders slashing costs and margins on inventory and new product to the bone,” said the association.

“It was propelled by an improving economy, increased consumer confidence and overall housing affordability.”

That strength has continued into 2010. Sales in the first two weeks of January were almost double those of the same period last year – 1,749 so far this year up from 888 at the same time in 2009, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board on Monday.

The average price of a home in January was also up, at $395,307, compared with $332,495 in the same month in 2009.

The board expects the strength in sales and pricing will continue for the next few months.

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Canada to speed up immigration requests from Haiti

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January 19, 2010

TORONTO — The Canadian government says it will expedite immigration applications from Haitians with family in Canada and give immigration priority to Haitians adversely affected by the devastating earthquake.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Saturday that Haitians currently in Canada temporarily will also be allowed to extend their stay. Canada will also prioritize pending adoption cases with the visa office in Port-au-Prince.

Canada will open a satellite immigration office in Dominican Republic to help facilitate the immigration process.

About 6,000 Canadians live in Haiti.

Canada has more than 100,000 people of Haitian descent, most of whom live in Montreal.

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Canada considers fast-tracking Haitian immigration

•
January 15, 2010

The Canadian government says it is looking into a plan to help fast-track immigration from Haiti in the wake of the earthquake that has crippled the Caribbean country.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday he and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney have been discussing ways to ease immigration and refugee rules to allow more Haitians into Canada quickly.

Opening up the process “will be something the government will be addressing in the next couple of days,” he said while stopping at the Ottawa Red Cross office to make a donation.

The first three military air transports arrived in Montreal from Haiti early Friday morning, carrying 272 evacuees who had been selected by staff at the Canadian Embassy for transport, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Friday.

The latest Canadian consular information has confirmed four Canadians have died, 13 are reported injured and an additional 550 have been located, Cannon said. About 1,415 Canadians living in the affected area are still missing, he said.

About 6,000 Canadian citizens live in Haiti, but only 700 were registered with the embassy in Port-au-Prince, said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

The Canadian Embassy has continued to be a refuge for citizens, however, and many are being sent to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for transport back to Canada.

But as the situation for people in Haiti worsens, the government is expected to look at a plan that would allow Haitians with Canadian relatives to also come to Canada.

Chantal Barratteau, a Haitian community organizer in Montreal, says deciding who can come and who can stay will be a difficult task.

“How can you choose who to bring here?” she asks. “I mean if I could choose, I would bring my family if they are hurt, and then my neighbours, and then my family’s friends and so on.”

Thousands of Haitians spent another night outside following the 7.0- magnitude quake that hit the country this week. Many won’t return to their homes, fearing that continuing aftershocks will knock down already weakened structures.

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First wave of evacuees from Haiti headed to Canada

•
January 14, 2010

OTTAWA — The federal government is evacuating Canadians from Haiti and may institute a humanitarian immigration program to allow hundreds or thousands of Haitians into Canada.
The first 100 Canadians evacuated from Haiti by this country’s military are en route to Montreal via the Dominican Republic and are scheduled to arrive at 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday at Trudeau airport.
“Over the next few days, we hope to evacuate as many Canadians as possible,” Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Thursday.
The evacuations were announced at a news conference along with the government’s program to match individual Canadian donations to registered charities providing relief to earthquake victims in Haiti. Funds, which will be allocated to Canadian and international relief organizations already established in Haiti, will be matched up to a total of $50-million, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda announced.
“Many Canadians are deeply concerned about the suffering and loss of life as a result of this catastrophe in Haiti,” Ms. Oda said in a written announcement. “Canadian citizens have shown time and again their generosity with countries in urgent need, and our government is prepared to match their contributions dollar for dollar.”
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was examining the possibility of easing immigration rules to allow Haitians into Canada, where more than 100,000 Haitians live, many in Montreal.
Mr. Cannon said Quebec is looking into what it can do under its immigration program, suggesting the two governments would work together. No decision had been made as of Thursday morning.
The first group of what could be hundreds of Canadians air lifted out by Canadian Forces in coming days were travelling via the Dominican Republic.
About 6,000 Canadians live in Haiti, about 700 are registered at the embassy in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and more than 100 have taken shelter in tents at the embassy compound. They have food, water and power supplied by generators.
Mr. Cannon said the evacuations, in which injured and children are given priority, will continue “as long as there is a requirement to be able to do it.”
The situation would ease when commercial flights are operating again after the U.S. military restores full service at the airport at Port-au-Prince.
“The first wave of evacuees has arrived in the Dominican Republic with approximately 100 Canadians on-board, and will continue on to Montreal to arrive late this evening,” Mr. Cannon said. “They will be arriving on the Hercules aircraft that travelled to Haiti yesterday. Over the next few days, we hope to evacuate as many Canadians as possible as we continue our operations in Haiti.”
The new initiatives were announced as the first component of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), the Canadian military disaster operation, was en route to Haiti, carrying water purification equipment and other vital assistance.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay said two ships, HMCS Halifax and HMCS Athabascan carrying a Sea King helicopter, were expected to leave Halifax on Thursday and would take four to five days to arrive with relief supplies. A C-17 transport aircraft, carrying a Griffon helicopter, was scheduled to head out from Trenton, Ont., Thursday.
Mr. MacKay said Canada is creating a “substantial footprint” in Haiti with its quick relief efforts.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2441263#ixzz0ccKgYjqa
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