Survey of Immigrants to Canada
From Stats Canada

Most new immigrants are pleased to be living here and have positive views of Canada's social and political environment. However, after four years in the country, their biggest difficulties are still finding an adequate job, and dealing with the language barrier, according to two new reports from the third wave of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC).
The first report, "Immigrants' perspectives on their first four years in Canada", examines immigrants' assessments of life in Canada and the difficulties they face here.
Four years after arriving in Canada, the majority of new immigrants (84%) were positive about their decision to come here.
When asked about the single-most important reason for settling permanently in Canada, the most prevalent responses were the quality of life here (32%), the desire to be close to family and friends (20%), the future prospects for their family in Canada (18%) and the peaceful nature of the country (9%).
The report found that two-thirds of new immigrants said that life in Canada has lived up to their expectations.
These new immigrants were also asked what had been their biggest difficulties since arrival. The difficulty mentioned by the most immigrants was finding an adequate job (46%), followed by learning English or French (26%).
The second report, Knowledge of Official Languages among New Immigrants: How Important is it in the Labour Market? examines these two difficulties in detail. It analyzes the relationship between new immigrants' knowledge of the two official languages and their chances of finding an "appropriate" job.
It shows that the employment rate of immigrants increased with their ability to speak English.
Moreover, the ability to speak English is linked with the kind of job that new immigrants find, as those who reported speaking English well or very well were more likely to have an "appropriate" job than those who reported speaking it less well. However, the relationship between the self-reported ability to speak French and the chances of having an "appropriate" job was not as clear.
Two-thirds said Canada lived up to their expectations

For full report see:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/89-611-XIE/

Message of Congratulations
From: "r.barreto" <goanint@yahoo.co.uk>
Posted on: goans_tanzanite@yahoogroups.com

Excerpt:

CONGRATULATIONS - Oscar Furtado , for being re-elected as the President of
GOA Toronto , he is now in his 9th Year as President.

He is also a great supporter of a broader Goan community - The Alliance of Goan Associations world wide of which he has accepted to be its chairman.

GOA Toronto celebrated its 37th Anniversary on Saturday 28th April, 2007.

The GOA Toronto news letter The Pulse -
http://www.goatoronto.com/pulse/March07.pdf
carries a message from Oscar Furtado. A very positive message.

Update on Internation Goan Organization Meeting

Message From: "Al Mathias" <almathias@rogers.com>
Report on Meeting of the IGO held on Sunday April 29, 2007

Hello All,
As you all know, in March 2006 the Government of Goa appointed Hon. Eduardo Faleiro as Commissioner for NRI Affairs in Goa, with cabinet rank. Following this appointment, the International Goan Organization of Ontario, Canada (IGO) took the initiative to invite Goans living in the Toronto area to attend workshops to identify and discuss critical issues and problems in Goa, faced by Non Resident Goans (NRGs). Approximately 70 people attended workshops in September - November 2006. The output of these meetings was presented by the IGO delegate, Mrs. Cellie Gonsalves at the Global Goans Convention on January 4, 2007. The detailed report titled "Best of Both Worlds" was reviewed with Hon. Eduardo Faleiro and the Chief Minister of Goa, Hon. Pratapsingh Rane by Mrs. Zulema de Souza, President of IGO and Mrs. Cellie Gonsalves.
 
The IGO held a meeting on April 29th, 2007 to brief participants on Mrs. Gonsalves's presentation at the Global Goans Convention and the actions taken to date on the seven major issues identified in the workshops, namely: Land & Property Disputes; Property Management; Buying, Selling, Leasing Real Estate, Estate & Taxation; Investing in India; Discrimination against Canadian citizens of Goan origin born in Pakistan; and Canadian Liaison officer, Welcome House and Information Centre.

A copy of the presentation is attached.** Please distribute this widely to those who may be interested. We welcome your feedback;  please contact Mr. Al Mathias at almathias@rogers.com

ASIAN HERIAGE MONTH IN CANADA
http://www.asian-heritage-month.org/Page01.html

Asian Heritage Month festivities and events take place from May 1st to the 30th, 2007.

WHAT IS ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH?
A motion to recognize May as Asian Heritage Month was moved by The Honorable Vivienne Poy and unanimously adopted by the Senate in 2001, then duly signed in 2002. This is an important initiative which acknowledges the diversity of Canadian communities.

WHY SHOULD CANADIANS CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH?
The resolution at the Senate of Canada aptly explains its significance: "Be it resolved that May be recognized as Asian Heritage Month, given the important contributions of Asian Canadians to the settlement, growth and development of Canada, the diversity of the Asian Community, and its present significance to this country."

WHO IS OF ASIAN DESCENT?
The definition of "Asian" may be inclusive and broad, and applies to people who come from or whose ancestors come from: East Asia - China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan.
South Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Central Asia - Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Southeast Asia - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

WHY SHOULD CANADIANS CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH?
The resolution at the Senate of Canada aptly explains its significance: "Be it resolved that May be recognized as Asian Heritage Month, given the important contributions of Asian Canadians to the settlement, growth and development of Canada, the diversity of the Asian Community, and its present significance to this country."

WHO IS OF ASIAN DESCENT?
The definition of "Asian" may be inclusive and broad, and applies to people who come from or whose ancestors come from: East Asia - China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan.
South Asia - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Central Asia - Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Southeast Asia - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
Population by Ethnic Origin
Of the 2.6 million Asian Canadians residing in metropolitan areas across Canada, 38.4% are ethnic Chinese and almost a quarter are of East Indian origin. Ethnic Chinese are the largest Asian-Canadian group in all metropolitan areas with the exception of Winnipeg, where Filipinos account for nearly half the Asian Canadian population. Of notable interest is the large number of Chinese Canadians living in Toronto - they make up close to 20% of all Asian Canadians in Canada. East Indians are the second largest group in all major Canadian cities with the exception of Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Quebec.
 

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