Goan Voice, Canada : Newsletter. Issue 2006-24. November 25, 2006

Newsline Canada

Ontario Government Expands Programs for Newcomers in York Region, GTA
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2006/21/c6979.html?view=print
Invests $1.75 Million to Link Employers to Newcomers

MARKHAM, ON, Nov. 21 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is investing
$1.75 million to expand programming to help employers tap into the wealth of talent and skills of newcomers, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle announced today."Businesses need a skilled workforce to keep up their amazing growth, and newcomers have the global education and experience that make a huge difference to the bottom line," said Colle. "We're expanding on proven models of success to connect employers to skilled newcomers. That's a win-win for everyone here in Markham, throughout York Region, and the GTA."

In the past three years, more than 32,000 newcomers have settled in York Region. More than half are internationally trained skilled workers.

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) will coordinate projects, which will help employers connect with skilled newcomers. The projects will include supporting companies with onsite assistance to make their recruitment and human resources practices more effective, a database of job postings, an information campaign, enhancing the web site www.hireimmigrants.ca and using job developers to steer employers to the appropriate resources. Participating employers will also be able to attend free workshops on assessing international credentials and work experience from the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.

"This funding from the Government of Ontario will help us reach small and medium sized businesses, where most new jobs are created," says Ratna Omidvar, Executive Director of TRIEC and The Maytree Foundation. "We will be able to provide the tools and resources to help small and medium sized employers better recruit and retain skilled immigrants." (quote provided by TRIEC)

ONTARIO IMMIGRATION FACTS

• The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement signed on November 21, 2005, will increase federal funding from about $800 per immigrant to about $3,400 per immigrant.

• Ontario spends $109 million a year on programs to help newcomers settle, get language training, and find jobs. This is more than any other Canadian province spends on immigration programs.

• More than 125,000 newcomers arrive in Ontario each year. That’s about the size of the population of Prince Edward Island.

• More than half of all new immigrants to Canada, settle in Ontario. Quebec receives just over
17 per cent, B.C almost 16 per cent, and the rest of Canada, 11 per cent.

• 84 per cent of Ontario’s new immigrants settle in the Greater Toronto Area, and about 50 per cent in the City of Toronto.

• There has been a 54 per cent increase in the number of newcomers to the 905 area. This is approx 13,000 new immigrants since 2002.

• Almost half of Ontario’s new immigrants are from five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Philippines and Iran.

• More than 40 per cent of these newcomers speak one of the following five languages: Mandarin (13 per cent), English (10 per cent), Urdu (8 per cent), Arabic (6 per cent), Punjabi (6 per cent).

• Over 70 per cent of Ontario’s adult newcomers have some post secondary education or training.

• Currently immigration accounts for an estimated 70 per cent of Ontario’s net labour force growth, and it will account for all of the net labour force growth within the next 6 years.

TORY RELEASES PLAN TO HELP INTEGRATE ONTARIO'S SKILLED IMMIGRANTS
November 20, 2006
http://www.ontariopc.com/news.asp?ID=550

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory today released a comprehensive plan to address the issues facing Ontario's skilled immigrants with a call for action to implement 14 recommendations.

"The status quo is unacceptable," said Tory. "The lack of a real strategy to help our skilled immigrants is a real problem requiring serious and immediate action. We need to take a comprehensive approach that involves speeding up the process, getting to work sooner while immigrants are overseas waiting to come to Canada, providing increased assistance to newcomers once they have arrived and assisting newcomers enter the workforce."

Tory released the report at a Queen's Park press conference accompanied by two of the many new Canadians who have faced challenges integrating themselves into our workforce. The report is a result of a yearlong process of consultation by John Tory, Frank Klees and the PC Caucus. Over the past year a PC task force has met with organizations of professional immigrants, associations providing assistance to skilled immigrants as well as members of the post-secondary education community.

Read More...

ENDING MANDATORY RETIREMENT IN ONTARIO
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/news/2005/05-71b1.html

The McGuinty government has introduced legislation that would, if passed, end mandatory retirement and give Ontario workers the right to choose when they want to retire. The government plan would achieve this objective without undermining early retirement rights or existing benefit and pension plans.

Mandatory Retirement in Ontario
The Ontario Human Rights Code (code) prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age. For the purpose of employment, the code defines "age" as being 18 years and older, but less than 65. As a result, workplace policies can force workers aged 65 or older to retire.

Like many other countries, Canada has an aging population. People are living longer, staying healthier and remaining independent past age 65. Many want to continue to be active and productive in their individual pursuits, including paid employment and community involvement. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians aged 65 and over is expected to double from nearly four million in 2000 to almost eight million by 2028. In 2001, 11.8 per cent of the Canadian population aged 65 to 69 was employed. While there is a trend towards early retirement, more than 20 per cent of workers aged 45 and up plan to retire after age 65 or not at all.

As well, groups such as recent immigrants and women may be disadvantaged by the current mandatory retirement policies. Immigrants often enter the Ontario workforce later in their careers. As a result, they may have to work longer to ensure their financial security later in life.

Many women temporarily withdraw from the workforce for family or other reasons. As a result, they may lack adequate funds to retire and would like to continue in paid employment past age 65.

Ending mandatory retirement would allow workers to choose when they want to retire based on their lifestyles, circumstances and priorities, and allow those who wish to continue to work past age 65 to do so.

Commentary

Newcomers vote with their feet
Rudyard Griffiths thinks our immigration system is headed for crisis

Excerpt from Toronto Star
Nov. 19, 2006. 01:00 AM
RUDYARD GRIFFITHS

It is the quintessential Toronto experience. You get into a taxi and in the space of a few minutes your conversation with the driver goes from talking about the weather to sharing your life stories. One cabbie I recently met immigrated to Canada a decade ago. He took up taxi driving because his engineering degree was not recognized by Canadian employers. He and his wife had three children in Canada, but she decided to return to India to live with their extended family. With a bullish real estate market and good job prospects in Mumbai, his home country of India was starting to look more like the land of opportunity and Canada a dead-end.

My cab ride hit home for me the scale of the challenge we face in terms of attracting and retaining immigrants in a fast-changing global economy.

Let's face it, Canadians have a mile-wide blind spot when it comes to how we think potential and new immigrants perceive our country. We assume the world is clamouring to come to Canada. Longer-settled Canadians are also quick to believe that our "First World" status gives us the pick of skilled foreign workers. We know there are problems with the accreditation of skills learned and practised in other countries, but we think that our much vaunted health-care system and multiculturalism make Canada an irresistibly attractive place to settle and raise a family.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. Canada is the second choice for the majority of new immigrants. Of the 250,000 people who acquired Canadian citizenship last year, only a quarter were skilled or professional workers. Yes, everyone appreciates our health-care system and the diversity of our big cities; yet fully one in three immigrants eventually leaves.

It's hardly surprising that we are doing a lousy job retaining immigrants when you consider that a third of new citizens don't speak French or English, yet only 20 per cent of federal spending on immigration goes toward language training. It also doesn't help that, while Ontario receives almost half of all newcomers,the province receives only $1,500 per immigrant versus
more than $3,000 in Quebec. Behind these numbers lie the reality that the children of low-income immigrants aren't climbing up the economic ladder and, instead, find themselves stuck in the same dead-end jobs as their parents.

Our collective failure to provide new citizens with opportunities to succeed needs to be set against the new global reality.

We live in an era typified by cheap global communication and travel. New citizens, compared with previous waves of immigrants, use satellite television, cellphones and charter flights to maintain close, if not seamless, connection with family and friends in their country of origin.

With one quarter of all immigrants to Canada hailing from China or India - two booming economies where property values are soaring and middle-class jobs are being created hand over fist - many new Canadians, such as the taxi driver I met, are questioning why they should stay when they can't use their hard-won skills. Why not return home and benefit from a fast-growing economy, extended family networks, and familiar culture and language?

The free flow of information in our globalizing world has also created a two-way conversation. Potential immigrants, especially those with strong technical skills, are learning from contacts in Canada just how dysfunctional our immigration system is and the real hardships they could
face here.

Considering that in five years all of Canada's net labour force growth will come from immigration, what can we do to improve the system?

We have to understand, deep down, that getting our immigration policy right is as important to our country's long-term well-being as addressing global warming, fighting terrorism or sustaining publicly funded health care.

To this end, we have to wake up from our narcissistic delusions about what Canada offers newcomers beyond multiculturalism. Immigrants have never had more choice as to where and how they live their lives. If we don't start building a settlement system that really works - the $307 million in new federal funding being a step in the right direction - immigrants will vote with their feet and trigger an exodus that Canada simply can't afford.

News Clips from Goa

Agnelo: An Indigenous Goan Saint
Printed from www.mangalorean.com
By- Fr Desmond de Sousa. CSSR, SAR NEWS

PANAJI, Nov 15-- Venerable Father Agnelo D'Souza spent his entire fifty-eight years of life in the Goa region. His 79th death anniversary celebration November 20 is an occasion to reflect on secret of his sanctity. He lived his ordinary everyday life in an extraordinary way.

Agnelo was born to a very pious Catholic couple, Minguel Mariano D'Souza and Maria Perpetua, January 24, 1869, in the village of Anjuna, north Goa. The ancestral house still stands, with his relatives living in it.

Anjuna parish is cared for by priests of the Missionary Society of St Francis Xavier (SFX), an indigenous Goan religious society based at the village of Pilar in central Goa, of which Father Agnelo was a member.


People Places and Things
November 25, is the feast day of St. Catherine, formerly the Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Goa Se Cathedral, Old Goa is the official seat of the Patriarch of Goa History Excerpt from: http://www.archgoadaman.org/Dioceses/index.htm By his Bull "Quoniam Archdioecesi", dated January 30 1978, Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Raul N. Gonsalves to the Archiepiscopal See of Goa and Daman, with the title of Patriarch "ad honorem" of the East Indies. Having taken canonical possession of the Archdiocese in the “Sé Catedral” at Old Goa, on the 5th of March of 1978, Most Rev Raul Nicolau Gonsalves became the 33rd Archbishop of Goa and Daman and the 6th Patriarch of the East Indies - the first Indian incumbent of that office. Read more...

Al Andrade receives Ontario Volunteer Service Award Congratulations to the President of TEGSA, Al Andrade, who recently received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award for Twenty-Five Years of voluntary service to the community. The G.O.A. Toronto nominated him for the award, for his ongoing honorary services.

TEGSA Comedy Night Over 200 patrons attended the ‘ All you can laugh’ Comedy Night held on 17 Nov, 2006. THAI dinner was served & music was provided by members Antu Saldanha & Jerry/Eva Luis. Our star performer, Mel Collie, " Banjo Man", kept us in stitches of laughter. Not only is he a talented musician, but he is also a resident comedian at Heron gate Theatre in Pickering. He entertained us for over an hour, interspersing his jokes with his Banjo playing. Two members, Victor D’Souza and Nemesio Joe Fernandez obliged the open floor with songs & jokes. Bingo and raffle followed, brand name prizes were awarded to offset part of our expenses. A big credit & thanks goes to Vicki D’Souza and her committee for staging this Comedy Night. TEGSA continues to excel . . . . . Out next event - ‘Yuletide Serenade’ December 1st 2006. Come rejoice and celebrate with us the Spirit of Christmas.

Mississauga Civic Elections - Ward 10 Election Results Councillor Results
Winner Sue McFadden 3,086 votes 32.4%	Patrick Mendes 512 votes 5.4%	Dale D'Souza 465 votes 4.9%
ENDING MANDATORY RETIREMENT IN ONTARIO HTTP://WWW.LABOUR.GOV.ON.CA/ENGLISH/NEWS/2005/05-71B1.HTML The McGuinty government has introduced legislation that would, if passed, end mandatory retirement and give Ontario workers the right to choose when they want to retire. The government plan would achieve this objective without undermining early retirement rights or existing benefit and pension plans. Mandatory Retirement in Ontario The Ontario Human Rights Code (code) prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age. For the purpose of employment, the code defines "age" as being 18 years and older, but less than 65. As a result, workplace policies can force workers aged 65 or older to retire. Read more...

Events

Goan Events in Canada - 2006
Date	Organization	Event
Saturday November 25th, 2006 5pm to 1 am	Hamilton Goan Association	25th Anniversary Christmas Dinner Dance	Click for flier
Christmas & New Year Events
December 1, 2006	TEGSA	Carol Singing at Commander Park Arena	Click for Flier
Saturday, December 2, 2006 @ 10.00.a.m.	Friends of St. Francis Xavier	Celebration of the 500th Anniversary Feast of St. Francis Xavier At St. Francis Xavier Church 5650 Mavis Road (Mavis & Matheson) Toronto	Click for Flier
December 3rd 2005 To December 3rd 2006.	St Francis Xavier Jubilee Year Celebrations	Greater Toronto Area Events	Click for Details
December 12, 2006	55PGA - Monthly meet at Malta Band Club	Whist – Line Dancing – Tambola & Games	Click for Flier
Friday December 15, 2006	55PGA	Mark your Calendar for Grand Christmas Dance	Click for Flier
Saturday December 16, 2006	TEGSA	Grand Christmas Dance	Click for Flier
Tuesday, 26th December 2006	The Canorient Christian Association	Christmas Dinner & Dance Gala Night at St. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Community Centre	Click for Details
Events of 2007
February 10th, 2007	Goa Amigos (www.goaamigos.com)	Goa Amigos Presents the Red & Black Carnaval Xtravaganza The time of the year to treat your Valentine to a Carnival blast of Fun and Entertainment at Sagan Convention Centre and Banquel Halls, Mississauga.	Click for Details
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007	Aldona Association Toronto	The Feast of St. Thomas - 32nd Annual Aldona Social Location: Payal Banquet Hall, 3410 Semenyk Court, Mississauga	Details to Follow Watch www.goanvoice.ca
Saturday, September 15th, 2007	Calangute Association, Canada	Annual Calangute Social. Holy Mass at 5:00 pm followed by Social	Click for Flier

Announcements

Toronto East Goan Seniors Association (TEGSA) has a busy program of events and activities for 2006
Click to View Our Summer Events
Come join us – become a member.
Click to Download Membership form

55 Plus Goan Association - West GTA 2006 Fall Events & Trips
Click to View Our Fall Events & Trips
Click to join the many trips being organized this fall
Grand Xmas Dance, Friday December 15, 2006 - click to view flier
Come join us - become a member
Click to Download Membership Form

Goa Sudharop: Seniors E-Book

A series of essays as a tribute to Goan Seniors in celebrating 2006 as the YEAR OF THE SENIOR.

Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc., a USA-based non-profit, volunteer NGO working for the betterment of Goa and Goans worldwide, is celebrating 2006 as the YEAR OF THE SENIOR. We intend to honor Goan seniors by publishing a Seniors E-Book for which Goa Sudharop invites essays or poems from Goans on any of the following topics:

1. "Reminiscences of my Goan Youth" (essay/poem to be written by Goan Seniors, ages 60+).
2. "Giving back to Goa and Goans" (essay/poem to be written by Goan Seniors, ages 60+).
3. "Tribute to Goan Seniors" (essay/poem to be written by Goans, any age).
4. Other topics related to Seniors (essay/poem to be written by Goans, any age).

In accordance with these themes, Goa Sudharop invites essays from Goans based anywhere in the world. Seniors can share their knowledge about their Goan youth spent in any part of the world for the "Reminiscences of my Goan Youth" topic. If you choose to write on the "Giving back to Goa and Goans" topic, please write about your experience or about any Senior (living or deceased) known to you, who has done something for the betterment of Goa and Goans. If you choose to write on the "Tribute to Goan Seniors" topic, please write about a Senior or Senior Group who you wish to pay tribute for something they accomplished. Entries can be written as a tribute to any Senior of Goan origin (living or deceased) who has done something significant or who has made a difference to your life.