Feds announce $100 million in loans for technology companies
Small and medium-sized technology companies in Western Canada will be eligible for booster shots from the federal government, which today announced $100 million in interest-free loans over five years to help speed Western Canadian innovations to market.
But tech companies that want to apply for the first round of funding need to act soon. The first intake period starts November 9 and closes December 8.
Michelle Rempel, minister of state for Western Economic Diversification, said the funding will come in the form of repayable interest-free loans.
Many technology companies fail to cross the gulf between the validation of a new technology and getting it to market.
That is especially true in areas like clean technology, as underscored in Redefining Cleantech, a new report released this week by Kachan and Co.
Clean technology has seen a dramatic slump in venture capital investment over the last three years, the report states, making it harder for clean tech companies to bridge the gap between product verification and market penetration.
"We want to make sure our small companies are bridging that gap – the gap being between the development of a product and actually getting it into the market," Rempel said in a teleconference. "We're looking at projects that could come to market within three years."
Rempel said the upper loan size would be $3 million per project, and $7.5 million per recipient.
"So that means a company could apply for more than one project," she said.
Twenty per cent of the funding will be reserved for smaller companies, with loans averaging $250,000. The loans are repayable over five years, with a one-year grace period at the end.
The funding is for companies with fewer than 500 employees. Eligible sectors include health and life sciences, clean technology, energy, aerospace, defence, nanotechnology, and information and communications technology.
The funding covers expenses like research and development, technology purchases, market validation and demonstration projects.
Business that want to apply for funding can do so by visiting Western Diversifaction's website. http://www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/home.asp
Feds announce $100 million in loans for technology companies Small and medium-sized technology companies in Western Canada will be eligible for booster shots from the federal government, which today announced $100 million in interest-free loans over five years to help speed Western Canadian innovations to market. But tech companies that want to apply for the first round of funding need to act soon. The first intake period starts November 9 and closes December 8. Michelle Rempel, minister of state for Western Economic Diversification, said the funding will come in the form of repayable interest-free loans. Many technology companies fail to cross the gulf between the validation of a new technology and getting it to market. That is especially true in areas like clean technology, as underscored in Redefining Cleantech, a new report released this week by Kachan and Co. Clean technology has seen a dramatic slump in venture capital investment over the last three years, the report states, making it harder for clean tech companies to bridge the gap between product verification and market penetration. "We want to make sure our small companies are bridging that gap – the gap being between the development of a product and actually getting it into the market," Rempel said in a teleconference. "We're looking at projects that could come to market within three years." Rempel said the upper loan size would be $3 million per project, and $7.5 million per recipient. "So that means a company could apply for more than one project," she said. Twenty per cent of the funding will be reserved for smaller companies, with loans averaging $250,000. The loans are repayable over five years, with a one-year grace period at the end. The funding is for companies with fewer than 500 employees. Eligible sectors include health and life sciences, clean technology, energy, aerospace, defence, nanotechnology, and information and communications technology. The funding covers expenses like research and development, technology purchases, market validation and demonstration projects. Business that want to apply for funding can do so by visiting Western Diversifaction's website. http://www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/home.asp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @rayliu68 2401楼 2013-11-07 14:12:00 ----------------------------- @hnlywyc 2403楼 2013-11-09 19:57:00 你好，我42岁，儿子12岁，想去加拿大留学，请问可以吗？ ----------------------------- 要看情况。
Between November 9, 2013 to October 31, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will accept a maximum of 12,000 new applications under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
Because of an overrepresentation in the CEC applications received to date, the following six occupations will no longer be eligible for the CEC starting November 9, 2013: ?cooks (NOC code 6322); ?food service supervisors (NOC 6311); ?administrative officers (NOC 1221); ?administrative assistants (NOC 1241); ?accounting technicians and bookkeepers (NOC 1311); and ?retail sales supervisors (NOC 6211).
CIC already has a large inventory of applications in these occupations and will continue processing them to a final decision.
In addition, CIC will establish sub-caps of 200 applications each for National Occupational Classification (NOC) B occupations. These are mostly technical and administrative jobs or those in the skilled trades. NOC 0 and A (managerial and professional) occupations will not be sub-capped, but they will be subject to the overall cap of 12,000 applications.
Finally, CIC will maintain the same language criteria for applicants but will verify them upfront as of November 9, 2013. The current language requirements are Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 and A occupations, and CLB 5 for NOC B occupations. This new measure will ensure that applicants who do not meet the minimum language requirements are screened out earlier and processing resources can be concentrated on those who are more likely to qualify.
At the same time, this is more client-friendly, as applicants who do not have the required language proficiency will have their applications returned to them along with the processing fee.
The Government of Saskatchewan has announced that, in response to feedback from immigration stakeholders, the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) will be overhauled and streamlined in the New Year.
The SINP is Saskatchewan’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Most Canadian provinces have dedicated PNPs, which allow them to nominate foreign nationals to the Federal government for Canadian Permanent Residency.
Changes to the SINP will become effective January 2, 2014. The program, which currently consists of nine immigration sub-categories, will see these sub-categories combined into three overarching categories. They will be as follows: International Skilled Worker; Saskatchewan Experience; and Entrepreneur and Farm
In addition to changing the structure and content of the program, beginning in January all SINP applications will be submitted and processed electronically. By using an exclusively online system, the overall process will be made easier and more efficient for both applicants and visa officers.
A number of significant changes will be made to each of the three new immigration categories. Below is a brief summary of these changes, as well as a commentary on what applicants can expect from the new system. International Skilled Worker Category This category has been created for workers who wish to live and work in the Province of Saskatchewan. Applicants can be nominated by the SINP for immigration if they successfully demonstrate that they have the necessary experience, education, language and adaptability to thrive in the province. The program will include the following criteria: -A points system that assesses employment offers, education, work experience, language skills, family connections, and other factors. Family connection points have been increased and can now account for up to 20% of total points; -Applicants must have language skills equivalent to or higher than Canadian Level Benchmark 4. These skills must be proven by submitting scores from an SINP-approved language exam; -Applicants with work experience in a regulated profession (such as nursing or engineering) must obtain necessary provincial certification; and -Applicants without a skilled job offer must submit a settlement plan and proof of settlement funds.
For 2014, a total of 250 applications will be accepted from applicants who do not have a job offer in Saskatchewan. Applicants’ occupations must be included on a designated list of occupations. This list, as well as more detailed guidelines on the points system and application procedures, will be made available in December 2013.
Saskatchewan Experience Category This category is geared towards individuals who are currently living and working in the province. It will consist of the following five sub-categories: -Existing Work Permit -Health Professionals -Hospitality Sector Pilot Project -Long Haul Truck Drivers -Students (see changes below)
These programs currently exist as part of the SINP. No changes will be made to the first four sub-categories. However, changes have been made to the Students sub-category. These changes include: -The Post-Graduation Work Permit and Master’s and PhD Graduate sub-categories, which are currently operating under the SINP, will be combined to create one general Students sub-category; -Graduates from a Saskatchewan school must have a skilled job offer in the province that is relevant to their education, or a job offer requiring a post-secondary education. They must work in the province for 6 months before applying; and -Graduates from a school outside of Saskatchewan must have a skilled job offer in the province that is relevant to their education, and must work in Saskatchewan for two years before applying.
Until December 31, 2013, applications from an additional 250 out-of-province graduates and an additional 150 Saskatchewan graduates will be accepted for review.
Entrepreneur and Farm This third category will consist of the following sub-categories, all of which already exist in the current SINP framework: -Entrepreneur -Farm Owners/Operators -Young Farmers
2013年10月9日，美国证券交易委员会投资者教育和拥护办公室（The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy）和美 国移民局联合发布了一则投资者警示，提醒EB-5的投资者们要警惕EB-5区域中心投资可能存在的诈骗问题。此前在2月份，这两家机构就叫停并查处了在芝加哥一家涉嫌诈骗的区域中心，在10月初，他们又查处了另一家在德克萨斯州涉嫌诈骗的区域中心。
加拿大国际教育局（Canadian Bureau for International Education，CBIE）2013年关于加拿大国际教育情况的报告指出，加拿大国际留学生数量增长迅速，留学生对加国教育系统及加国社会态度，满意度都很高。
根据CBIE最新报告「一个学习的世界：加拿大2013国际教育的成就与潜力」（A World of Learning： Canada’s Performance and Potential in International Education 2013）指出，2011年，加拿大占全球国际留学生总量的5%，成为最受欢迎的留学目的地第七位。自2001年，国际留学生人数上涨94%，总数在 2012年超过26万5000人。留学生中，约55%在加国接受大学教育。
@doriscindy 2437楼 2013-12-09 23:05:00 您好，我现在国内top5的大学念大四，想去加拿大留学，然后移民。 目标是多大的中小学teaching，考出教师资格证，做老师。 听说加拿大研究生院的教育学硕士毕业，很难找到直接的教职，多做研究，或者行政类事务，看这个项目的官网上写是半研究半实践性质的，不知master of teaching能否顺利找到老师的职位？ 教师还在NOC职业表单上，不知华人在加找到教职的几率？非理工科背景。 安省的PNP项目，硕士毕业...... ----------------------------- 一些国内的留学机构，比如金XX把PEI的那家有点声名狼藉的大学的教育专业推得天花乱坠，什么毕业之后就能做老师，收入就能达到7到8万加元。和他们不同，我并不建议留学生去读这个专业，理由如下; 1.加拿大的公立学校请留学生的机会很少，职位会留给本地的公民或永久居民。加拿大的教师一般会有公会的。私立学校的老师一般都是需要有经验的老师。 2.就算是加拿大人，进到学校做老师都要经历长期的part-time工作才能逐步到full-time。 3.就算是本科毕业的学生，通常会被要求去一家college里再读一个实用性的课程才能到学校任教。 4.有些地区由于学生减少的关系，在杀校。如温歌华东区。 至于说走安省pnp的master stream，正如我以前分析的，因为那边很多好的大学，可能面临1000名额不够用，而且，你要看到上面的一点：Priority assessment will be given to those applicants who can demonstrate the strongest potential to settle successfully and permanently in Ontario.你可以拿到job offer来证明这一点吗？（https://tuoshuiba-image.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/system/tybbs/OI/en/pnp/OI_PNPSTUDENTS_MASTERSAPPLY.html#_qualify）
@season1012 2458楼 2013-12-19 14:18:00 楼主，我想请问一下去加拿大留学读硕士有没有＂学前教育＂的专业，如果没有的话，我应该读什么专业以后可以从事幼儿教育这一方面的工作？谢谢（楼主看过来?^O^） ----------------------------- 有。Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education (MA) 或Master of Education in Early Childhood Education (MED)
Department of State Predicts EB-5 Visa Retrogression for China
Based upon the demand for EB-5 visa numbers and the volume of approved I-526 Petitions, the Department of State has issued a preliminary warning that a cut-off date may need to be established for China. No other countries in the EB-5 category will be impacted. If a cut-off date is established, it will not take effect until sometime after July 2014. This will only affect those born in mainland China and does not apply to those born in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.
Despite this preliminary warning, EB-5 investors should think hard before delaying the filing of an I-526 Petition or taking any other actions directly related to the possibility of EB-5 retrogression in China. In December 2012 the Department of State also predicted the establishment of a cut-off for China, but then reversed itself in February 2013. New EB-5 visas will become available on the first day of the next fiscal year, October 1, 2014, and the extremely slow processing of I-526 Petitions could spread the demand for EB-5 visas into the next fiscal year. It is important to note, the slow I-526 Petition processing times has also impaired the ability of the Department of State to predict whether EB-5 visa retrogression will occur.
On the flip side, if U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) speeds up I-526 processing the possibility of EB-5 visa retrogression will increase. As we have noted before, whether or not EB-5 visa retrogression takes place will have no effect on the processing of I-526 Petitions by USCIS. If the EB-5 visa does retrogress, it will likely delay individuals with approved I-526 Petitions from entering the U.S. and obtaining conditional permanent residency. This also may affect the way jobs are allocated to those EB-5 investors in the regional center context. Furthermore, once an I-526 Petition is approved, a child who is a derivative beneficiary of that I-526 Petition does not receive protection under the Child Status Protection Act. This could result in some children of EB-5 investors “aging out” if an I-526 Petition is approved but there are no EB-5 visas available.
In the regional center context, EB-5 visa retrogression may affect EB-5 investors from other countries. Some regional center projects involve loans which cannot be paid off until each EB-5 investor in that project has had their respective I-829 Petition adjudicated. Similarly, many new commercial enterprises in the regional center context have clauses in their operating agreements which prevent distributions from occurring until every EB-5 investor in that new commercial enterprise has had their respective I-829 Petition adjudicated.
A rare look inside the ‘black box’ of Canada immigration
McMaster University’s Vic Satzewich got access to Canada’s overseas visa posts to study how officials decide who deserves to come here.
It is always a mystery how immigration officials come to the conclusion if a marriage is genuine or fake, but now a new study has shed light on the inner thinking of the decision-makers.
McMaster University professor Vic Satzewich was given rare access by Citizenship and Immigration Canada inside Canada’s overseas visa posts to examine how visa officers used their discretionary power to decide who deserved to join their spouses here.
Satzewich is believed to be only the second Canadian researcher in 50 years being granted such access to what he calls the immigration department’s “black box,” after the late University of Toronto professor Freda Hawkins did her field research at the visa posts in Europe in 1964 to study immigration’s frontline operations.
Photos View photos Vic Satzewich got a chance to examine the documents, and hence the thinking, of Canadian officials overseas who assess marriages for visa purposes. zoom
Between 2010 and 2012, Satzewich was granted site visits at 11 visa offices — in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia — to observe how individual immigration applications were processed. He interviewed 128 frontline officers and managers on how they reached their decisions.
Satzewich identified a number of “flags” and “indicators” that visa officers rely on in their assessments:
? Applicants who come from poor countries, need a visa to visit Canada and are from cities or regions of countries where fraud is common;
? Couples who don’t have a common language of communication, have not met before marriage, do not know details in each others’ personal histories and current lives, and are deemed not compatible in age, physical appearance and values;
In one application that Satzewich observed, an officer in India flagged the case because “there is a seven-year difference in age between the couple and the sponsor is a divorcee and only five days elapsed between when the couple first met and the marriage.”
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In another, at a South American visa post, officials approved an application because “this is positive. She does not have a history of trying to get out of Colombia.”
However, sponsored spouses who had previously lived in Canada always draw suspicions. An applicant facing deportation suddenly getting married often raises concerns, said one officer from a Caribbean visa post.
And in what seems like a unique investigative technique, Canadian officials scrutinize photographic evidence — who and how many people attended the ceremony, the demeanor and if the guests smiled — to help assess credibility.
In the Caribbean, a small wedding of 30 attendees was defined as normal, said Satzewich, but in Punjab, the norm is 300, 400 guests.
“Nobody in the photos is smiling,” a visa officer told Satzewich. “It’s a Sikh temple, so it’s a serious occasion, but nobody is smiling. Nobody seems happy. This is a concern,” the officer added before referring the applicant to a further in-person interview.
And an excessive confession of love in a couple’s correspondence can backfire.
“The love letters are out of this world. They know that we are reading them, so they write them for us,” said one official deployed in a Caribbean visa post.
“You can’t talk about love all the time. You have to talk about something else,” joked another.
Satzewich’s analysis is based on 220 hours of field work inside visa offices appears in the February edition of the Canadian Review of Sociology Journal published Saturday.
“Credibility is central to a Canadian visa officer’s decision about spousal admissibility,” Satzewich said in his article, titled Canadian Visa Officers and the Social Construction of ‘Real’ Spousal Relationships.
“Credibility is ‘worked up,’ or constructed, by visa officers who rely on a variety of typifications of what normal cases look like. These typifications serve as bases for defining some applicants as undeserving, while at the same time defining other applicants as deserving.”
With marriage of convenience being Ottawa’s catchphrase on the abuse of the immigration system in recent years, Canada has tightened sponsorship rules by making permanent residence conditional upon a couple living together for two years and banning the sponsored spouse from sponsoring another partner within five years.
Screening a relationship before a foreign spouse arrives in Canada is at the forefront of the control mechanism to detect frauds, said Satzewich.
Visa officers deem some as “genuine” applicants who tell the truth, are in real relationships and follow the rules and the “fake” who use marriage as a tool to acquire immigrant status, said Satzewich, who wondered if racial biases played any role in officers’ decision making.
“The system allows racial biases to creep in the selection process. They could use their authority to put it bluntly and crudely, to keep Canada white,” Satzewich noted.
While rejection rates are undoubtedly higher in some visa offices than others, Satzewich said it should not be interpreted that visa officers racially discriminate against applicants or treat those from some countries more harshly than others to keep them out of Canada.
“For an individual visa officer, a high rejection rate means they have to work harder and process proportionately more applications in a year to find enough ‘deserving’ cases,” said Satzewich, referring to the annual government acceptance quotas they have to meet.
Satzewich said he was taken back by how few face-to-face interviews with immigration applicants are being conducted as the government gradually shifted to a paper-screening selection process that is based on objective documentations such as official language test results.
“But in the end, I came away with a lot more confidence into our immigration system and a better appreciation of the complexity of what our visa officers do,” he said.
Tories’ new budget to close program giving investors path to citizenship
The program, founded in 1986, has been primarily used by Chinese immigrants – from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. Key drivers included upheaval after the crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the 1999 handover of Hong Kong to Beijing, and the growth of the millionaire class in mainland China.
The Conservatives, who undertook major immigration reforms to attract skilled immigrants, and made no secret of their distaste for “Canadians of convenience” who seek citizenship but live abroad, consider the investor program a relic of a different era.
The program grants permanent residency to newcomers who make an interest-free loan to a provincial or territorial government, money that is supposed to be used for economic development.
Sources say the government believes the immigrant investor class pays significantly less in taxes over the decades than other economic immigrants, have less proficiency in English or French and are less likely actually to reside in Canada.
A source said the government is acting based on data that show that, 20 years after arriving in Canada, an immigrant investor has paid about $200,000 less in taxes than a newcomer who came in under the federal skilled worker program, and almost $100,000 less than one who was a live-in caregiver.
In the past 28 years, more than 130,000 people have come to Canada under the investor program, including applicants and their families.
The Conservatives feel newer economic-immigrant programs are doing a better job of attracting newcomers who will integrate well into Canadian society and build the economic base.
These include the Canadian Experience Class, which fast-tracks residency for temporary foreign workers already in Canada and non-Canadians who have graduated from universities and colleges here.
In recent years, Canada has admitted about 3,000 immigrant investors a year through the federal program – 11,000 when spouses and dependents are included. Largely from China, Taiwan and South Korea, these newcomers’ primary destinations are Ontario and British Columbia.
Federal and provincial immigration department data obtained by Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland revealed this week that about 45,000 wealthy Chinese alone are on the immigrant investor program’s waiting list and want to move to British Columbia.
Those on the waiting list after the federal investor immigrant program is scrapped will have to apply through other programs.
Sources say that scrapping this category will allow in more newcomers through other economic immigrant categories, including the new Startup Visa program, which offers permanent residency to immigrant entrepreneurs who can secure funding from Canadian investors.
When he was immigration minister, Jason Kenney complained in 2012 that the cash brought in by immigrant investors frequently sits idle on provincial government balance sheets rather than stimulating the economy.
“Right now, all Canada gets from the investor immigrant program is five years of use of about $750,000,” Mr. Kenney said in 2012. “That’s the $800,000 contribution minus commissions and fees. … It basically means that provincial governments that are getting that money are offsetting their debt service costs.”
