News of the week: gloomy past, removal of restrictions and new taxes

The news from May 31 to June 6 will especially please IT professionals and those learning English. But there are downsides as well.

Immigration news

The week once again delighted with several immigration selections:

Quebec invited 90 candidates in the stream for qualified professionals;
in the Express Entry drawing chose 5,956 people with a reduced passing score;
The province of Ontario has sent 986 invitations to working professionals;
BC delighted 68 applicants from the stream for IT professionals;
Manitoba selected 404 candidates among foreign professionals.

The great news is that BC's popular Tech Pilot, which allows IT professionals to immigrate, has become a permanent program. The province will continue to prioritize these selections.

New Brunswick is also on the lookout for IT people: the province invites data scientists and data engineers with one year of experience and a resume. They will then have the opportunity to immigrate through one of the provincial programs.

By the way, did you know that the Canadian passport is one of the strongest in the world and yet it's not that difficult to obtain compared to other countries' passports? Check out the new video about the world passport rankings and how to get Canadian citizenship.

English Language

It is possible to immigrate to Canada without higher education, without a job offer, but hardly without language skills. Canada's top ILAC school has once again delighted with a generous gift: students who are studying can reuse the much-loved promotion and get free weeks of classes.

Pandemic

The COVID-19 situation continues to improve. Canada is ahead of many countries in vaccinating its population and is now among the leaders. However, there are downsides to vaccination — side effects are rare but can be extremely severe. The Canadian government has launched a compensation program for those who experience serious complications from vaccination.

This past week, Quebec announced relaxation of restrictions and unveiled a plan to further open the province. Moreover, in September, students will be able to return to schools without masks or distance.

And Alberta officials have been caught in a scandalous situation: they were spotted having dinner on the palace balcony — a contravention of the province's current health measures. Among the offenders were the provincial premier and health minister.

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The federal group that is drafting recommendations on COVID-19-related restrictions called on the government to cancel hotel quarantine for a number of reasons, including unproven effectiveness. But authorities, on the contrary, increased fines for those who do not go to a hotel on arrival. Non-compliance will now cost $5,000 CAD.

Finance

In Canada, the stress test for getting a mortgage has risen. Interest rates remain the same, but borrowers will now have to show more income to get approved, or look for a cheaper property. How much do you need to earn to take out a mortgage in major Canadian cities, experts at one real estate agency have calculated.

Canadians can also expect higher prices on some goods in 2021 as the government plans to impose new taxes. But fortunately, it's not just prices that are going up. B.C.'s minimum wage has gone up, and it's now one of the highest in the country.

The gloomy past

The entire country was shocked by the findings at a former Canadian Indian boarding school. More than 40 years after the school closed, a burial site for 215 children was discovered on its grounds. Boarding schools operated in Canada until the late 20th century, forcing Native American children into them. Their deaths were concealed, and Canada must now examine other orphanages for graves and find a way to reconcile with indigenous peoples.