New ways of immigration, dangerous vaccines, disadvantages of remote work and other news of the week

The most important news from 12.04 to 18.04.

This time we would like to start with the good news: Canada is recognized as the best country in the world! And it also became a leader in quality of life and social goals. First place, by the way, went to Canada for the first time.

Immigration

This past week has been rich in immigration news. There were four selections in Canada:

Province of Ontario invited 528 IT professionals;
British Columbia selected 441 candidates;
in the Express Entry selection, luck smiled on 266 provincial program participants;
Prince Edward Island sent 156 invitations.

Canada continues to strive to meet its 2021 plan to welcome 401,000 immigrants. The Department of Immigration has announced the launch of new streams that will allow 90,000 people to obtain permanent residency. Acceptance of applications begins as early as May. A special focus has been put on nannies and caregivers who work for Canadian families: The department has set a goal of processing 6,000 applications for immigration by the end of the year.

The province of Ontario has simplified the entrepreneurial immigration process, and it will now go much faster. Also, one of Ontario's sparsely populated municipalities that participates in the rural and northern immigration program has been selected for federal investment. The government will be investing, among other things, in attracting immigrants to this city.

In other important news, there have been changes to the Canadian immigration application process. Previously, if an applicant did not send in all the required documents, the deadline was automatically extended. Now, this will not be the case, as restrictions related to the pandemic are gradually being lifted, and offices of Immigration Canada are opening around the world.

Do you know what is the surest way to immigrate during lockdowns and closed borders? If not, be sure to watch video about it. And don't forget about learning English — it will come in handy for immigration. Canada's top language school, ILAC, has just launched a new loyalty program to make learning even more rewarding.

Pandemic

We want to believe in the best, but the news is not the brightest yet. There are some positive developments, too, though. For example, clinical trials have begun on the COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed in Canada. It is hoped that it will be on the list of approved vaccines, and Canada will finally stop depending on imported drugs.

Now for the sad part. In Canada, the first case of a rare thrombosis caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine has been reported. Canadian confidence in the drug is dwindling, but authorities still say the benefits outweigh the possible risks. An alarming situation has also developed around another vaccine — Johnson & Johnson. Again, thrombosis in those vaccinated. Several cases have been reported in the US. Canada was placing a pre-order for 10 million doses of the drug, shipments have not yet been made. Health Canada is not ready to refuse Johnson & Johnson vaccine yet.

New strains of the virus are causing increasing concern. The province of Ontario has been forced to impose new restrictions, including even closing provincial borders.

But COVID-19, as it turns out, is not just a health hazard. Because of the pandemic, many workers, including government workers, are working remotely. A Canadian MP had a confusion because of this: the video feed started at the most inopportune moment, and the House of Commons participants saw him in a very indecent way.