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Lists
More interesting nuggets for everyone involved with recruitment and relocation:

Best Multinational Companies
Source: Great Place to Work

Facts and Figures about Temporary Foreign Workers in 2010
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada

Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians
Source: Consumer Reports

Top 10 Places for Chocolate
Source: National Geographic

Processing Times

Labour Market Opinions applications at Service Canada BC:
10 weeks

Work Permit renewals by mail:
103 days

BC Provincial Nominee applications:
16-18 weeks

Think About it

Extended: IT Workers Program in BC

The IT workers program in BC lives on, this time to December 31, 2011. Everything remains the same, including occupations, salary, and process.

New: Work Permits for Spouses and Dependent Children in BC

Open work permits are now available to the spouses of employees (common-law partners or legally married) and their dependent children (between the ages of 18 and 22) at any occupation level. Dependent children can now get after school or summer jobs. This pilot program runs until February 15, 2013.

Clarified: Recapturing time for Intra-company Transferee work permits

Time that intra-company work permit holders spend outside of Canada can be recaptured. Employees that are facing the five year (specialized knowledge workers) or seven year (executives and managers) caps can examine the days spent outside of Canada and extend their intra-company work permits accordingly.

Updated: Document Checklist

The document checklist for BC PNP nominations in the strategic occupations steam has been updated. It now requests a copy of the labour market opinion (LMO) approval, if applicable.

Back: Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled category

This program originally ran as a pilot program which ended in August 2011. Now it's back as a full-fledged regular program. It applies to certain tourism, hospitality and food processing occupations and long-haul truck drivers.

New site: Prevailing Wages

Anyone looking for prevailing wage information can now go to the Working in Canada site for this information.

The Canadian Immigration Model

This article reports that Swedish immigration policymakers are looking to Canada as a model for immigration. Candian immigrants have higher employment rates and our multicultural diversity are touted as examples of why our system has worked well.

Cross Border Mobility Survey

This survey by the CERC asked companies about their challenges with business travel and intra-company transfers between the U.S. and Canada. Issues included inconsistencies between officers' handling of cases and an outdated occupations on the NAFTA professionals list.

Relocation Policy: Global vs Local

This article suggests that global relocation policies need to consider local issues before ploughing ahead. It provides suggestions for how to avoid conflicts ahead of time.

Learning and Sharing

Thank you to the great group that attended our Immigration Basics workshop in September. It was great learning and sharing with you!

We enjoyed co-presenting and reconnecting with the great HR folks at the HRTG Human Capital Symposium. Happy 20th Anniversary to the HR Tech Group!

Think Ahead

Canadian Payroll Reporting for Relocation Benefits and Inbound Employees/Contractors

It's year-end time so presenters from Deloitte & Touche's Global Employer Services group will review Canada Revenue Agency rules on reporting relocation-related benefits.

Getting more music into your life:

Staccato Music Studios

Tom Lee Music Learning Centre

Think Tank

Never too old to learn

My best friend is a music lover. Preferably music with guitars and usually loud. He was a Guitar Hero and Rock Band star. It was no surprise that he once stated that he'd like to learn to play the guitar one day. It sounded like the makings of a perfect hobby.

Years and years passed and no guitar lessons were scheduled. If asked if he was still interested in learning to play the guitar, he'd say "yes, one day". Then more years and years passed. And if asked if he was still interested in learning how to play the guitar, he said "no", he was "too old". A door closed, or in this case, a guitar case closed.

And then recently, opportunity knocked. A music studio offering private adult lessons to beginners. It was practically an invitation with his name on it. E-mails were exchanged and voila, guitar lessons! And now if you ask about learning to play the guitar, he'd say he is learning slowly and more importantly, he's enjoying it.

Discovering a new joy is pretty wonderful. Learning is an exhilarating feeling. Is there something you've always wanted to try ? Getting started is the hardest part. After that, your joy keeps you going.

Never too old, never too late,

Marlene
Principal, Think Relocation Consulting