Welcome to the Winter edition of Thinkr.

Contents:
Relocation and Immigration news
Upcoming events
Editorial
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More interesting nuggets for everyone involved with recruitment and relocation:

Best Companies to Work for in BC
Source: BC Business

Vital Signs 2010
Source: Community Foundations of Canada

If the U.S. states were countries
Source: The Economist

Processing Times

Labour Market Opinions applications at Service Canada BC:
3-5 weeks

Work Permit renewals by mail:
108 days

BC Provincial Nominee applications:
16-18 weeks

Think About it

Updated: Salary ranges for IT workers program

Effective February 1, 2011, work permit applications for the occupations within the IT workers program must fall within these new salary ranges.

Expanded: Post Graduation work permits now include designated private post-secondary schools

Certain private post-secondary schools in BC, including Trinity Western University and the Vancouver Film School, are now included in the post-graduation work permit program. This pilot program runs for two years and will allow employers to employ new grads from more schools. The program of study must be 8 months or longer in duration.

New: Citizens of Taiwan are visa-exempt

Citizens of Taiwan are no longer required to obtain temporary resident visas to travel to Canada. This also means that these visa-exempt Taiwanese citizens are also eligible to apply for work permits upon entry to Canada.

H1B Cap Reached

As of January 26, 2011, the 65,000 cap for new H1B visas in the U.S. was reached.

Canada's population - the latest numbers

As of October 1, 2010, we're estimated to be a population of 34,238,000. This is a slight increase from the last estimate, mostly due to immigration.

Buying a home: Information for Newcomers to Canada

Buying a home is confusing for residents, much less newcomers to Canada. This site explains the buying process, the terminology used, and much more.

Managing Policy Exceptions with International Assignments

Exceptions to the policy are inevitable, especially with international assignments. Each perso and each assignment are unique and this article provides suggestions for how to have some control over this inevitable situation.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Immigration Roundtable in October. We enjoyed sharing experiences and great reading suggestions!

Think Ahead

Seminar: Taxation and T4 reporting requirements of relocation benefits

This seminar will cover the regulations and guidelines on reporting those moving expenses, relocation benefits and related allowances.

Conference: Complexity made Simple

BC HRMA's annual conference brings together HR Professionals and industry experts to learn, network, and build community.

Doing Business in the USA

This full-day seminar introduces companies to the selling and delivering of products and services to the U.S. market. It includes immigration, customs, logistics, and marketing as topics.

Happy 2011 from Think Relocation
Consulting. We wish you all a year full of wonder and wonderful!

Think Tank

Same but different

Ever sat in an interview wrap-up meeting and realized that your colleagues learned something different from the candidate than you did? Or ever sat around the dinner table with family reiminscing about a past holiday event and realized they remember it happening differently? We're all unique individuals so it's no surprise that we all see the world through different lenses, even when experiencing the exact same event. We each have our own way of looking at things because of who we are, our past experiences and our own inherent biases. It's fascinating to learn how each of us perceives the same experience.

And what if you took the same event but experienced it in different times in your life? The perspective of time can make the same event a completely different one. As we each change (and age), we see the world and the things that happen in it differently. We are the same person but we are wearing a different lens. Christmas may seem similar from year to year but quite different from decade to decade. Disneyland is a different experience when you're seven than when you're thirty-seven. Events, places, experiences that are routine or are familiar can still be quite unique as we change (age). The next time you think "been there, done that", stop yourself and think "what will it be like this time?". You're not the same person as you were then; perhaps it'll be a different experience this time around.

Marlene
Principal, Think Relocation Consulting