In response to the increasing immigration flow to Canada's northern territories this, there have been new immigrant settlement service agencies setting up in these Canadian northern territories to help newcomers with the transition into Canadian society and the Canadian workforce. It is part of the Centre for Northern Families and works with immigrants to help them with language training, immigration and citizenship issues, and settlement issues.

Controversial changes to Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) have passed final reading in the House of Commons. If made law, the amendments will give the Immigration Minister more power to decide which applications will be fast-tracked, which will remain in the queue, and which will be refused outright. These changes are needed to reduce processing times so that badly needed skilled workers can get to Canada quickly

On June 20, 2008 Canada celebrated the World Refugee Day by joining many countries around the world in honouring the strength and courage of refugees everywhere. With this year's theme of "Protecting Refugees: Rebuilding Lives in Safety and Dignity," the day was an occasion to celebrate the remarkable determination of refugees who have lived in hardship and who now have a chance to rebuild their lives in security.

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recently announced the details of the Canadian Experience Class, a proposed new avenue for immigration for certain temporary foreign workers and foreign student graduates with Canadian work experience. Unlike other existing programs, the Canadian Experience Class will allow certain temporary foreign workers and certain foreign student graduates with managerial, professional, or technical or trade...

On December 7, 2007 The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Diane Finley announced a $38 million in funding for 15 partner agencies in the Halton and Peel Regions of Greater Toronto Area to deliver settlement and integration services to immigrants in the community. This funding, will help more than 150,000 newcomers access settlement services including help finding a job through employment related services, orientation, translation and interpretation services; help with referrals to community resources; and counselling services.

National headquarters of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is issuing a national Call for Proposals for the following 2 programs:

• programs and services to support the settlement and integration of newcomers into Canadian society
• refugee resettlement and assistance programs.

Proposed activities must meet the criteria identified in one of the following areas: Overseas Activities; Needs Assessments; Resettlement; Service Bridging; Language/Skills Development; and Social Engagement.

Canada's new government has announced support and funding for a project organized by Carrefour d'immigration rurale (CIR) Evangeline in Wellington, P.E.I. (Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island), to assist in attracting immigrants to this rural Francophone community. A funding of $49,150 provided by Canada's New Government through the Official Languages Action Plan, is being used for a number of activities including community and school awareness programs..

Most recent immigrants to Canada are settling in the 5 largest Canadian cities. Approximately 80 per cent of Canadian immigrants have chosen to settle in Canada's five largest urban centres including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. The census metropolitan area of Toronto attracted the largest share of new immigrants, nearly 3 times greater than its share of the total population in Canada.

Diane Finley, The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Ed Stelmach, The Premier of Alberta and Iris Evans, Alberta Minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry, signed a new Agreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration on May 11, 2007. The new agreement means Alberta will be able to nominate more immigrants possessing skills needed in the province, for quicker processing by the federal government.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley recently announced new federal funding to assist in the settlement and integration of new comer immigrants to Canada. the new funding of $121.6 million will be provided over the next three years. This funding is in addition to the $1.3 billion provided in Budget 2006, bringing the total investment to more than $1.4 billion over a five-year period.