More Immigration Changes Ahead?

From the Canada Immigration Newsletter of canadavisa.com:

"If you have been contemplating immigration to Canada, you would be wise to submit your application as soon as possible. Citing economic uncertainty and rising unemployment numbers in the country, Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced that Canada is considering reducing its immigration targets for 2009.

At the present time, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada (CIMC) plans to maintain its 2009 immigration numbers of between 240,000 to 265,000 new Permanent Residents. This makes it one of the only developed nations that has not contracted its immigration plans in the face of current global economic turmoil.

However, that may change by the end of March, once Minister Kenney meets with federal, provincial, and territorial officials to review economic data and to determine if modifications to immigration levels are needed.

“We don’t want people coming to Canada and facing unemployment. We need to be sensitive to the changing labour market, and if we need to make modifications, we will,” stated Minister Kenney.

Taking a longer-term perspective, he has expressed his preference to maintain current levels, noting that immigrants will be greatly needed to help fuel Canada’s economic growth once the economy turns around.

“We need to be flexible, prudent and ensure that our response to short-term conditions does not counter out long-term goals, in which immigration will play a significant role,” he said. “We don’t want to turn off the tap of the future growth that is represented by immigration.”

The Immigration Minister has the authority to make changes to the immigration selection system without any advance warning. In this case, he has signaled that an imminent reduction of immigration targets is a real possibility.

If you would like to immigrate to Canada, you should take the Immigration Minister’s words seriously. Now is the time to submit your Canadian immigration application. After the Immigration Minister’s meeting at the end of March, it may become more difficult for you to qualify or it may take you longer to realize your plans to come live and work in Canada."

Snow Day

1. They're predicting anywhere from 20-40 cm/8-16" of snow for us by the end of the day.

2. The universities and K-12 schools are closed.

3. The wind is amazing - and that means that in some spots it looks like 40 cm already.

4. Sean Penn is nothing short of wonderful. I'm sooo glad he won.

5. I'm glad we went grocery shopping yesterday.

6. We watched The Trouble with Angels (1966) the other day - and 8YO loved it! We love that we can now watch more than Disney/Pixar, etc. as a family.

7. I heard from another person who is in a protracted battle with our builder.

8. If all goes well, P will be in school for two more years. By "well" I mean that she'll be admitted and, with successful completion, will also have a Canadian law degree.

9. I should start playing the lottery.

10. I want to visit Ottawa, PEI, Cape Breton, Alaska, and Churchill, Manitoba - not necessarily in that order.

11. I'll never be able to afford to make it to Churchill.

12. I want to go back to Montreal, Vancouver Island, the Netherlands, and France - not necessarily in that order.

13. Today - we probably won't make it to the end of the driveway.

14. I've read three somewhat trashy suspense novels in the past week. I started a fourth last night. Yea for me. That's actually quite an accomplishment.

15. We hope to do raised bed square foot gardening this year.

16. I am so glad that I have my blog friends to keep me up to speed on things in the world.

That's it for now - off to have some hot cereal!

Quickie

We just got back from an overnight in Bangor, Maine. We ordered two bookcases and six chairs from a terrific place in Brewer. I wish there were more furniture options here, but not so. Hard to believe that in a province like New Brunswick there wouldn't be an unfinished furniture place. Meaning, a place that is largely trees. But, I looked high and low, to no avail.

Heading back home we had rain until we hit the border. Then, snow, snow, snow and it got dark right away. The border agent said that part of the highway to Fredericton had been closed earlier in the day - due to accidents and ice. Yikes! We didn't drive more than 60 km/h on the Trans Canada. But, we made it back safely so I don't care who might have thought we were going too slowly!

I've got a lot to do before class tomorrow, but I wanted to post a quick note, primarily, to alert you to a new blog, My Life in Exile de Facto. I've only had a moment to take a glance, but I look forward to reading. Welcome, MJB!

In other news, we're looking forward to hosting our friends from Wolfville, NS this weekend. Also expats from Minnesota. Should be fun! I hope the weather doesn't prevent them from making the trip.

More as it happens...!

Obama seeks assessment on gays in military...

Obama seeks assessment on gays in military

[Boston Globe]

And why, why, why am I not surprised?

Newcomers

Not a whole lot happening - no movement on the house nightmare. But, we're hanging in. Last night we actually went out. Yes, it's true. We got a babysitter and went to the Fredericton Newcomers' Pub Night. And, I actually had a beer. Guess that's it for 2009. Ha, ha. We got to see friends, A and D, and meet some new folks. One woman, who lives on our side of town, is from France. Her husband is British. They have three small children, a cat, and some chickens. I think there was another animal mentioned, but I don't recall what. Another woman we met has lived all over Canada. Her parents came to Canada from Sweden about 35 years ago. A lot of the folks in the group are from the UK, but not all. Though going out to a pub isn't anywhere near our top 10 list of things to do, I'm glad we went. We met some nice people.

But, let's back up. We were showing the new sitter "the ropes" - i.e., the TV, the Wii, etc. and 7YO pointed out that he has all of the Harry Potter movies and P said, "I'm sure K knows all about Harry Potter," pause, to which she replied, "I'm not allowed to read [or watch] Harry Potter." P - who is a certified Harry Potter addict, reads fan fiction, etc. - said something about the Twilight series. "I'm not allowed to read that either." Whoa. We came upstairs and P said, only somewhat in jest, "We can't go." Obviously we did. We knew that they were "really Christian," but clearly our family isn't an issue for them so it's [their Christianity] a non-issue. But, I don't think we've ever known - up close and personal - any of the Christians who forbid exposure to Harry Potter. Wow.

This afternoon, A and D, and their son A, came over for an afternoon of snacks and chatting. We sat and chatted for almost three hours - while the boys played. That was delightful. They moved her from Toronto a little less than two years ago. It was so nice just to sit and visit. Although we live on opposite sides of town I hope we can see more of them.

Tomorrow begins another week. I don't know that I should expect to hear from our lawyer, but I hope I do. Next week 7YO becomes 8YO, so we've got some planning to do in that regard. I can't believe that when I began this blog he was 5YO! As I often say, stay tuned.