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Ontario expands EOI system to include Masters Graduate and Ph.D. Graduate streams

Ontario expands the EOI system to include Masters Graduate and Ph.D. Graduate streams
Ontario graduates with job offers in the province can now register for a chance to get a provincial nomination through two more immigration programs.
The Master’s Graduate and Ph.D. Graduate streams are the final addition to Ontario’s new Expression of Interest (EOI) system. The other three programs that use the EOI system include: In-Demand Skills, International Student, and Foreign Worker
Now that they are a part of the EOI system, Masters Graduate and Ph.D. Graduate candidates can register for Ontario immigration at any time. Through the EOI system, Ontario ranks candidates’ profiles based on a scoring matrix. Candidates get points for education, work experience, and intended destination in Ontario, among other factors. The purpose of ranking candidates in such a way is to identify which ones have the skills and experience to succeed in Ontario’s labor market
Registering for the EOI system does not guarantee that candidates will be invited to apply for a provincial nomination. Profiles are valid in Ontario’s EOI pool for 12 months. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) may contact registrants at any time to apply for a nomination.
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Why Canada is prioritizing immigration during the pandemic

Why Canada is prioritizing immigration during the pandemic

Population and labor force growth are important to keeping the Canadian economy strong.

Throughout its history, Canada has relied on newcomers to help stimulate economic growth.

“Immigration is becoming even more important to Canada’s economic success,” says Marc Desormeaux, senior Scotiabank economist. “Canada’s population is aging and its birth rate was among the lowest in the G7 before the pandemic. Over time, those factors are expected to limit the pool of workers available to contribute to the economy. Welcoming newcomers helps to offset the economic challenges caused by an aging population and a low birth rate.”

Canada’s commitment to immigration

Despite its population challenges, Canada was the only G7 country that saw an increase in population before the pandemic thanks to its openness to global talent.

In response to the pandemic, the government released a new plan in October 2020 to support economic recovery through immigration. To ensure that Canada has enough workers to fill gaps in the labor market and remain competitive on the world stage, the new plan increased the number of immigrants the country hopes to welcome. The new target for 2021 is 401,000; 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023.

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Canada’s measures for fully vaccinated travellers now begin earlier

Canada’s measures for fully vaccinated travellers now begin earlier
The previously-announced quarantine exemptions for fully vaccinated travellers now begins after midnight on July 5.
Fully vaccinated travellers will benefit from the reduced quarantine measure almost 24 hours earlier than expected.
Starting July 5 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time fully vaccinated travellers will not have to quarantine for 14 days or complete a day-eight test. Also, those arriving by air will not have to stay at a government-approved hotel to await their on-arrival test result.
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving before that time will not benefit from the new measures. The exemption was originally going to start at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on July 5.
The new measure applies to travellers who are eligible to enter Canada amid border restrictions. Also, to those who have had a full dose of one of the vaccines approved in Canada
airline staff
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Flying Smoothly: A Canadian Guide for International Airline Staff

airline staff
Flying Smoothly: A Canadian Guide for International Airline Staff
If you are considering a career in the international airline industry, it is important that you understand the factors that may affect your ability to enter Canada.
With vaccination campaigns ramping up, and pent-up travellers seeking an outlet, the international airline industry is poised to return to life.
Stock in Air Canada, for example, posted a 10.5% gain in May 2021. In early June, meanwhile, the company announced it was re-activating more than 2,600 jobs which it had to eliminate at the onset of the pandemic.
The Atlanta-based Delta Airlines, meanwhile, stated its intent to hire over 1,000 pilots by next summer. And, as of June 22, LinkedIn featured openings for no less than 25,000 jobs as flight attendants in the United States alone.
Canada is a major centre for global air travel. According to a 2019 report, Toronto’s Pearson Airport had the most international destinations (163) of any airport in North America, outpacing the second-place holder, New York’s JFK Airport, by over 30. That year, more than 50,000,000 passengers passed through Pearson. Approximately half that number came that year through Canada’s second busiest airport, Vancouver’s.
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What are the benefits of Canadian citizenship?

What are the benefits of Canadian citizenship?
More than 80 per cent of Canadian permanent residents apply for citizenship when they become eligible. So, what are the factors that make Canadian citizenship so desirable?
Every person’s situation will vary. There are external factors to consider, such as other countries’ laws about dual citizenship and taxes. But, there are several important reasons why so many people go for Canadian citizenship.
1.Certainty:-
Once a person obtains Canadian citizenship, they do not have to actively do anything to retain it. In fact, it is very difficult, particularly following 2017 reforms by the Trudeau government, for a person to lose their Canadian citizenship. Currently, the only way the government can revoke Canadian citizenship is by demonstrating the holder committed misrepresentation or fraud.
2.Travel Rights:-
Canada enjoys an excellent global reputation. Canadian citizens are thus able to visit most countries in the world without a visa, or to receive one on arrival. This category includes countries such as the USA, UK, and the Schengen Countries — the vast majority of European Union members.
A Canadian passport also gives its holder the constitutionally-protected right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada.
3.Benefits for Children:-
A Canadian citizen can transmit their citizenship to their descendants. In general, anyone born in Canada has Canadian citizenship. Only a citizen, however, can automatically transmit their citizenship to children born outside Canada.
4.Job Opportunities:-
Some jobs, particularly sensitive positions in the government or security, may give preferential or exclusive consideration to people who are Canadian citizens.
5.Dual Citizenship:-
Canada permits dual citizenship. This fact means that Canada will allow a person to become a Canadian citizen, while retaining their other citizenship.
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An overview of Canada’s PNP immigration results for June 2021

An overview of Canada’s PNP immigration results for June 2021
The following is CIC News’ monthly summary of PNP activity across Canada.
Alexandra Miekus On June 29, 2021, 9:00 am
At the lake in Canada
Provinces are looking for skilled workers to help drive economic development.
Over the past month, Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) maintained a steady pace in issuing invitations to apply for provincial nomination.
Canadian provinces and territories, except Quebec and Nunavut, operate their own Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). Each province adopts its own criteria for selecting foreign workers eligible for Canadian permanent residence under its respective PNP. Having their own immigration programs allows provincial governments to select individuals who are best suited to meet their local labour market needs.
The PNP program is a primary route to permanent residence in Canada. These programs alone are expected to result in over 80,000 immigrants per year becoming permanent residents between now and 2023.
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When will Canada lift its travel ban on India?

Last week, Canada extended the travel ban for all direct passenger and business flights from India until July 21, 2021.

Canada first introduced the travel ban on both India and Pakistan on April 22 amid concerns about rising cases of COVID-19 variants.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer had said that the variant in India shows increased transmissibility.

The initial travel ban was due to end on May 22, but was extended another 30 days until June 21. The travel ban was not extended for Pakistan.

“Given the number of COVID-19 cases continue to be very high in India, we have extended our flight restrictions for this country,” Omar Alghabra, Canada’s transport minister said, “We will continue to assess the evolving situation and determine appropriate action going forward.

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Express Entry: 1,002 PNP candidates invited in new draw

Express Entry: 1,002 PNP candidates invited in new draw

Canada invited 1,002 immigration candidates to apply for permanent residence in the latest Express Entry draw.

All invited candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). This is why the score cut-off was relatively high at 742, because all PNP candidates in the Express Entry pool automatically get 600 points added to their score.

As per administrative requirements, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published a cut off time for the tie-break rule, whether or not there was any actual tie. In the new draw, candidates who had the minimum score were only invited if they submitted their Express Entry profile before February 18, 2021 at 04:04:56 UTC.

In the previous PNP-only draw, Canada invited 940 PNP candidates to apply for permanent residence, and the score requirement was 711 points. It was the biggest draw of its kind, ever.

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Why Canada made the surprise decision to extend its travel restrictions again

Why Canada made the surprise decision to extend its travel restrictions again

The Canadian government provided another coronavirus pandemic surprise.
It announced it will keep its international and United States travel restrictions in place for at least one more month, until July 21. On the bright side, approved immigrants are now able to enter Canada. In addition, Canada will be lifting its quarantine requirements on fully vaccinated travelers. Canada’s travel restrictions have been in place since March 2020 and have long worn out their welcome among foreign nationals looking to enter the country. For the most part, the Canadian public has been generally supportive of keeping the borders closed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

In recent weeks, however, the Canadian business community and Canadian and U.S. politicians have been placing greater pressure on the Canadian government to lift some of the restrictions by July.

Canada’s business community has a prominent voice that is taken seriously by the three levels of government. Just days before the Canadian government announced the extension of the restrictions, some of Canada’s top business groups held a press conference calling on the federal government to create a reopening plan. Among the arguments they made were that extending the restrictions would further hurt Canada’s economy and given Canada’s COVID-19 situation is significantly better, it is now possible for Canada to safely welcome more foreign travellers. Politicians in the U.S. and Canada are making similar arguments. They are namely those in U.S. states that depend on Canadian tourists, as well as the mayors of Canadian border cities and towns that depend on U.S. tourists.

The second reason the announcement is a surprise is due Canada’s ongoing success with COVID-19. Case levels have decreased significantly across the country. Canada now leads the world in percentage of its population that has received at least one vaccine dose. COVID-19 vaccines are readily available to much of the Canadian population and more people are now also receiving their second shots. New cases are some ten times lower than what they were during the worst days of the crisis in Canada.

Hence, there was some belief that the science backed up a reopening of the border. Given the two positive indicators of fewer people getting COVID and more people getting COVID vaccines, perhaps a reduction in border restrictions is justified. The decision to extend the restrictions likely comes down to two factors: policy and politics.

First, the Canadian government has made the policy decision to be extra cautious in its efforts to defeat COVID. It does not want to take additional risks given how close Canada is to ending the pandemic at home. Based on current trends, it appears realistic that Canada could be back to “normal” by the end of the summer. This means very few new COVID cases and the vast majority of its eligible population fully vaccinated. Thus, the government does not want any setbacks by opening the border two soon.

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Trudeau: Canada to lift more travel restrictions in coming weeks

Trudeau: Canada to lift more travel restrictions in coming weeks
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that Canada will likely further ease travel restrictions this summer.
In a press conference on June 22, Trudeau said Canada is prepared to lift travel restrictions once more people become fully vaccinated.
“We’re talking about weeks and not months anymore,” Trudeau said in French. “We certainly hope… that we will have more good news about re-openings in the coming weeks but, of course, it depends on the vaccination rate, the COVID situation in general, the variants of concern and what’s happening elsewhere.”
As per the announcement on June 21, fully vaccinated exempt travellers may come to Canada without needing to go into quarantine for 14 days. While people who have recovered from COVID and received one dose of the vaccine are considered fully vaccinated in some jurisdictions, such as Quebec, they are not covered under the new measure.
Trudeau said the government was not ready to make that call on Monday, but added that experts are looking into it and he hopes to have more answers in the coming weeks.
So far, the federal government has not said what metrics Canada must hit before the border will be opened for tourism. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told that the federal government wants to see 75 per cent of Canadians fully vaccinated before fully reopening the border. In a previous meeting with Ontario border-town mayors, Blair suggested that could happen by July 21, the date when the current border restrictions expire.
Trudeau did not provide any exact date of when border restrictions would be further scaled back. Rather, he expressed concern about reopening the border too quickly. Cautioning that being fully vaccinated may prevent illness but does not necessarily prevent transmission.
Trudeau said, “Nobody wants to see new restrictions brought in the summer because the volumes were too high because we were a little too rushed,”