Population of small communities in Canada is continuously decreasing as younger people decide to move into the city because of job opportunities and majority foreigners who have relocated to the country settle in cities.
A community of the North Bay, Ontario, has set up an agency which aims to encourage Canadian immigrants to move and settle down in the area. The agency has already received funding from the government.
The project will be used in two other cities in Ontario that are part of this trial programme.
Numbers from 2006 census show that 80 per cent of the Canadian population live in an urban area.
“The disappearance of some communities, particularly some of the smallest communities in rural and northern places, will slowly see their populations disappear”, says Mark Rosenberg, a professor of geography and community health and epidemiology at Queens University in Ontario.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the present Canadian immigration rules make it difficult to bring in enough foreigners in order to meet labour shortages.
Perrin Beatty, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, stated that “the well-being of every Canadian citizen depends on how quickly the new government addresses the current global economic turmoil”.
The Chamber of Commerce representatives argue that Canadian immigration policies bring solutions to short-term problems and are not concerned with country’s economic future security.
Senior economist with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Tina Kremmidas, said that it is very important to all foreigners who want to settle down and find work in Canada to use all help and services that are made available to them. The Canadian government spends millions of dollars each year to provide language training and other services to newcomers to help them to become part of a community.
The Chamber of Commerce has called the government to gather more information on occupation shortages in different Canadian regions. The experts said that Canadian immigration policy should be made in response to specific shortages in specific regions.
Jason Kenney, Canadian Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism minister, said that the department plans to invest CA$9.5 million in a new language training programme for immigrants.
The training programme is meant for foreigners coming to the Calgary area and aims at helping them to move and work in Canada. “Access to language training services is, for many newcomers, a first step in establishing networks and contacts so they are engaged and feel welcomed in their communities,” Kenney said.
The programme is set to help approximately 13,000 immigrants and will fund several organizations which will help newcomers to settle down in the new environment. The Calgary Immigrant Educational Society is among the organizations which are planning to offer 84 new language classes to immigrants with the funding from the government.
Canada’s banks reported an upturn in the housing market. It is said that the market has been boosted by immigrants building and buying their own properties.
Homebuilding starts numbers rose by 10.8% in May and 8% in June. TD Economics’ representative, Pascal Gauthier, said that June sees “the second consecutive monthly increase in starts after a long string of nearly uninterrupted slides that started last fall. This suggests that the market for home-building has ‘bottomed out’ and is now recovering.
“The Canadian economy has certainly passed the worst of what can be expected in terms of residential investment contraction,” he added.
According to Scotia Economics, people who decided to move to Canada to stay permanently started buying their own properties and that helped the industry to get back on feet.
Scotia’s senior economist, Adrienne Warren, sees Canada Immigration as essential in order to build the future of Canadian property market. “Given Canada’s aging population and relatively low fertility rates, longer-term household formation and housing needs will be largely determined by immigration,” she said.
The district of Alberta will be one of the key voices at a global climate change conference this autumn.
Immigration minister Jason Kenney made the announcement on Monday July 6 that the region would attend this autumn’s conference in Copenhagen, to hear and voice concerns and solutions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The minister’s statement comes after a day-long consultation on the issue with Premier Ed Stelmach and conservative ministers.
Mr Kenney commented: “We both underscored the importance that funds involved in the climate change issue stay as much as possible here in the province of Alberta to finance technological advancements that can reduce carbon emissions.”
Those looking to emigrate to Canada may be attracted particularly to living in Alberta, considering this commitment to environmental issues and assurance of resources to enable the area to be one of the most environmentally-friendly in the world.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) named Canada as most likely of the Western democratic countries to support immigrants.
The OECD’s director for employment, John Martin, said that most people move to the country with intention to stay permanently and become Canadian citizens.
In order to help immigrants to settle in the country and find employment, the Canada immigration department introduced new aid programmes. The OECD’s representatives said that such initiatives are crucial for immigrant communities to grow in times of economic downturn and contribute more to society.
It was said that in Canada one is less likely to experience hostility towards immigrants as they are not seen as temporary. “Canadians don’t see immigrants as hostile. They aren’t seen as ‘taking our jobs,’” said John Martin.
The Canada immigration minister, Jason Kenney, has criticized the media rhetoric which aims to turn Canadians against immigrants.
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