Travel between Canada and the United States has been restricted since March 21, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreements have since been renewed on a monthly basis.
Those who are travelling to Canada and are exempt still have to demonstrate that the purpose of their trip is for an essential reason and related to critical infrastructure support, trade, work, study or family reunification. Essential travel is defined as travel which is non-optional and non-discretionary.
With few exceptions, those who enter Canada from abroad must undergo 14 days of self-isolation. Furthermore, they must demonstrate that they have an adequate quarantine plan.
Those who wish to travel to Canada for other non-essential reasons, such as cross-border shopping, to go to their cottage or to visit friends, unfortunately, cannot do so at this time.
Last Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that immediate family members will be able to enter Canada as of June 8, 2020 so long as they meet certain conditions such as coming to Canada for at least 15 days. Since this exemption was announced, the federal government has issued more guidelines to help immediate family enter Canada.
Working in Canada
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Canada has put in place several policies to allow workers and students to come to Canada despite border closures.
Most notably, Canada has implemented measures that help employers address labour shortages and facilitate the hiring process of foreign workers. As a result, those who wish to work in Canada may use an accelerated work permit authorization process. Priority processing has also been put in place for some essential occupations.
Canadian employers looking to hire foreign workers in the fields of Information Technology and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) can also do so through the Global Talent Stream. This popular stream allows work permits to be processed in as little as two weeks for those individuals who have eligible job offers in Canada’s tech industry.
Normally, online courses do not count toward the study requirement for a PGWP application. However, given coronavirus-related travel interruptions around the world, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has relaxed the rules and is now allowing international students to study online while overseas and still be eligible to apply for the work permit after graduation.
IRCC is also exempting overseas biometrics requirements for some foreign workers and has indicated it will aim to process as many study permits as possible in time for the start of the fall 2020 academic semester.
Canada has over 80 economic class immigration pathways
With the H1-B visa program in the United States in jeopardy and the tens of thousands of foreign workers who have placed their hopes in this program worried about their future, the prospect of moving from the United States to Canada may become an increasingly appealing option.
Unlike the U.S where immigration has been temporarily banned, the Canadian government remains committed to welcoming immigrants and the immigration minister Marco Mendicino has made several remarks that immigration will continue to be key to Canada’s economic success and post-coronavirus recovery.
Both the federal government and provinces have the authority to operate immigration programs. Collectively, they run over 80 pathways available to skilled workers under Canada’s economic class.
The most common way to seek permanent residence in Canada is through the Express Entry system. Throughout the pandemic, Canada has continued to hold bi-monthly rounds of invitations through the Express Entry system, with most recent draw having taken place on June 11.
The second most common way to obtain permanent residence is through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Most Canadian provinces and territories have their own PNP with each one specifically designed to target immigrants who match specific labour market and economic needs in their respective regions.
PNPs have been active over the past few weeks, with invitation rounds taking place in most Canadian provinces. In fact, more than 2,000 invitations to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence have been issued in May and already over 1,000 in June.
Why applicants from the U.S. have a competitive advantage
Immigration applicants from the U.S. are well-placed to gain Canadian permanent residence due to their English-language fluency, professional work experience, and high levels of education. It is for these reasons that U.S. residents are among the top 3 sources of successful candidates under Express Entry.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
