Government Expands Temporary Foreign Worker Services in Ontario and Atlantic Canada to Help Employers Meet Labour Market Needs

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 11, 2008) - The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced an expansion of services to help employers in Ontario and Atlantic Canada meet their labour market needs with temporary foreign workers.

Two units are being established in Toronto and Moncton to serve as main points of contact for companies wishing to hire foreign workers in the two regions. These are in addition to three already established in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.

"The addition of these two new temporary foreign worker units means that employers across Canada now have a dedicated point of service where they can get help getting the workers they need," said Minister Finley. "The units will help make the process easier for employers, and will help strengthen local and regional economies."

Like the units in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal, the units in Toronto and Moncton will, among other things:

- provide advice to employers who plan to hire temporary foreign workers;

- facilitate the entry of workers in certain professions who do not require a visa and verification that there are no Canadians available;

- make the entry process smoother and more efficient by providing employers with accurate and up-to-date information;

- pre-screen supporting documents from employers to streamline the application process for such workers; and

- work with provinces to better meet regional needs.

Requests for temporary foreign workers for whom visas are required or who are in other professions would still be directed to Service Canada.

"Temporary foreign workers help support Canada's economic growth and prosperity, and I'm pleased that all regions of Canada will benefit from the exceptional service the units provide," added Minister Finley.

Canada Not Affected By US Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis
However, Housing Starts To Cool In 2008: CMHC
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/02/04/real-estate.html  

Excerpts
Housing starts nationwide are expected to dip to 211,700 units in 2008, owing to high mortgage carrying costs, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday.

In 2007, housing starts reached 228,343 units, an increase of 0.4 per cent over the previous year, the federal agency said.

Ontario had 68,123 starts in 2007 with 69,150 forecasted for 2007 and 67,150 for 2009

"Despite some global financial instability with regards to the U.S. housing market, Canada continues to experience robust employment levels, ongoing income gains and low mortgage rates," said Bob Dugan, chief economist for the CMHC, in a release.

"This has strongly supported Canada's housing markets. However, housing starts are expected to decrease in 2008 mainly due to recent increases in house prices, which will push mortgage carrying costs higher for home buyers."

The CMHC also said sales of existing homes, which reached 520,000 units in 2007, were expected to fall 3.9 per cent in 2008 to 499,650. A further decrease to 488,300 units in 2009 is projected as growth in the resale market becomes more balanced.

A drop in net migrants in Alberta is expected to cause a decrease in housing starts from 48,336 units in 2007 to 39,500 in 2008. Multiple Listing Service prices, which increased 24.4 per cent in 2007, are expected to increase by 3.9 per cent in 2008 and 5.4 per cent in 2009.

Calgary Will Need Almost A Quarter Million New Workers In Next Decade: Forecast
Bill Graveland, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Published Tuesday January 29th, 2008

http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/197080

Excerpts
CALGARY - Alberta's booming economy and a continuing shortage of skilled workers across the country will strain the existing workforce and increase the reliance on foreign workers, according to a 10-year job forecast released by Calgary Economic Development on Tuesday.

The study found the areas of professional services, health care, retail and construction need the most attention.

The Calgary region will require an additional 244,000 skilled workers over the next decade. Included on the list of jobs in demand are retail salespeople, nurses, financial auditors, petroleum engineers, carpenters, electricians, teachers and computer programmers.

"The labour shortage is not an issue that only Calgary, Alberta or Canada is experiencing. Basically every balanced economy is experiencing a labour shortage and we're all competing for that labour," noted Adam Legge, chief economist for Calgary Economic Development.

Although some of the jobs will be filled through increased access to education for young people, about half will probably have to come from skilled immigrant labour, he said, and that is where Canada is lagging behind.

Canada has so far done a poor job of adding qualified immigrants to the workforce, says Concordia University professor Eric Shragge, who has studied the issue.

"You see a general tendency of bringing in people, often with high levels of university and other education and then over the long term they end up being at the bottom of the labour market both in terms of wages and the types of jobs they get," Shragge said. "Partly that has a lot to do with recognition of their training and skills."

Shragge said the federal government seems more interested in expanding the temporary worker program, where employees are brought in for up to eight months and then return home.

"It's bringing in workers for the short term, and when people come like that, they aren't covered by programs or have rights. Wages are lower and conditions are worse."

Canada Top Retirement Destination For British: Survey
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/02/01/canada-retirement.html

British citizens have selected Canada — ahead of New Zealand and Portugal — as the top country in which to retire, according to a survey measuring perceptions of quality of life.

The survey of British expatriates living around the globe was commissioned by NatWest International Personal Banking. Respondents gave Canada a mean score of 63.95 out of 80, with high marks given for housing, natural environment and availability of consumer goods.

"There are a number of different reasons why people relocate abroad, to be nearer to family and friends, to start a new job, or as the study demonstrates, to increase their quality of life," said David Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking, in a release issued Friday.

"This is only likely to increase in the future, with many more taking the decision to spend their twilight years sipping sangria in Spain, Chianti in Italy or eating maple syrup and pancakes in Canada."

Nine in ten respondents said they were enjoying a higher quality of life abroad and six out of ten said they had no plans to return to the U.K. Ninety per cent of expatriates who completed the survey said leaving home put them in a stronger financial position, and 81 per cent said that since moving, they enjoyed a greater sense of well-being.

The study projects that by 2025, 1.8 million Britons may retire abroad. By 2050, this proportion could increase to 3.3 million.

Rich-Poor "Digital Divide" Still Broad, Says UNCTAD
Wed Feb 6, 2008 2:10pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - The digital divide between rich and poor countries is narrowing as mobile phones and Internet use become more available, but the developing world still lags far behind, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said mobile phone subscribers have almost tripled in developing countries over the last five years, and now make up some 58 percent of mobile subscribers worldwide.

"In Africa, where the increase in terms of the number of mobile phone subscribers and penetration has been greatest, this technology can improve the economic life of the population as a whole," it said.

The report said mobile phones were the main communication tool for small businesses in developing countries, reducing costs and increasing the speed of transactions. "Mobile telephony provides market information for, and improves the earnings of, various communities, such as the fishermen of Kerala, the farmers of Rajasthan, the rural communities in Uganda, and the small vendors in South Africa, Senegal and Kenya," it said.

Internet use and penetration continue to increase worldwide but developed countries still account for the majority of Internet users and have the highest penetration. "In 2002, Internet availability in developed countries was 10 times higher than in developing countries; in 2006, it was 6 times higher," the report said.

Developed countries also continue to lead Internet subscriptions worldwide, and the gap in terms of Internet broadband penetration has widened since 2002, it said. UNCTAD said the revolution in information and communication technology was spreading to the developing world but said more had to be done to make sure poorer countries reaped its opportunities in growth and development.

Among its recommendations were that countries invest more in human capital and infrastructure and better regulation of cyber laws.

Vatican Cardinal Defends Jewish Conversion Prayer
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0788456120080207?sp=true
By Philip Pullella

Excerpt
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The top Vatican cardinal in charge of relations with Jews on Thursday denied a new prayer for their conversion was offensive and said Catholics had the right to pray as they wished. Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke in an interview in a leading Italian newspaper a day after world Jewish leaders said the new prayer could set back inter-religious dialogue by decades.

"I must say that I don't understand why Jews cannot accept that we can make use of our freedom to formulate our prayers," Kasper, a German, told the Corriere della Sera. The Vatican on Tuesday revised a contested Latin prayer used by a traditionalist minority on Good Friday, removing a reference to Jewish "blindness" over Christ and deleting a phrase asking God to "remove the veil from their hearts".

Jews criticized the new version because it still says they should recognize Jesus Christ as the savior of all men. It asks that "all Israel may be saved" and keeps an underlying call to conversion that Jewish leaders had wanted omitted.

"We think that reasonably this prayer cannot be an obstacle to dialogue because it reflects the faith of the Church and, furthermore, Jews have prayers in their liturgical texts that we Catholics don't like," Kasper said.

In a separate interview with Vatican Radio, Kasper said: "The Holy Father wanted to say 'yes, Jesus Christ is the savior of all men, including the Jews'."

He added: "But this does not mean we are embarking on a mission (to covert Jews). We are giving witness to our faith."

Sharia Law In Britain Unavoidable: Archbishop
By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) - Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, said on Thursday the introduction of some aspects of Islamic Sharia law in Britain was unavoidable.

Other religions enjoyed tolerance of their laws in Britain, he said, and he called for a "constructive accommodation" with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes. Asked in a BBC interview if the adoption of Sharia law was necessary for community cohesion, Williams said: "It seems unavoidable.

"Certain conditions of Sharia are already recognized in our society and under our law, so it is not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system." The issue of integrating Britain's 1.8 million Muslims has been widely debated since July 2005 when four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on London's transport network, killing 52 people.

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law based on the Koran, the words and actions of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, and rulings of Islamic scholars. It covers issues including worship, commercial dealings, marriage and penal laws.

It is implemented in varying degrees in Muslim countries. Williams said he was not endorsing the harsh punishments issued in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where murderers and drug traffickers are beheaded.

"Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that has sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states, the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women."

Any use of Sharia in Britain should not take precedence over "the rights that are guaranteed to... citizens in general".

Muslims should have a choice in legal disputes over marriage and financial matters, Williams said. "There are ways of looking at marital dispute, for example, which provide an alternative to the divorce courts as we understand them. In some cultural and religious settings they would seem more appropriate."

Catholic Bishops Inaugurate Lenten Website.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
http://www.speroforum.com/site

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced that it is offering Catholics a variety of resources for Lenten reflection and spiritual growth.

The resource website, located at www.usccb.org/lent , includes several versions of the Stations of the Cross, including an audio version, and a new series of “radio retreats” led by bishops in English and Spanish.

Information on fasting and abstinence, examinations of conscience to help prepare for the Sacrament of Penance, and a section on Holy Week observances are also featured on the website. Site resources are arranged around the four pillars of belief outlined in the “United States Catholic Catechism for Adults”: what we believe, what we celebrate, how we live, and how we pray.

The radio retreats, which focus on the scripture readings for each Sunday in Lent, were produced in association with Franciscan Radio. Retreat host Elia Castillo opens each retreat with a greeting, followed by a singing of the Lord’s Prayer. The bishop leading the retreat will give a homily, which is followed by a meditative song and a question-and-answer segment with the bishop. The program concludes with a summary from the host and a blessing from the bishop.

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