Canada s recent move to offer permanent residency to more foreigners living and working in the country is a short-term solution to the economic problems spurred by a pandemic-related immigration slowdown, analysts say.
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TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada’s recent move to offer permanent residency to more foreigners living and working in the country is a short-term solution to the economic problems spurred by a pandemic-related immigration slowdown, analysts say, while critics argue the strategy excludes too many vulnerable people.
FILE PHOTO: Travelers from an international flight are directed to the COVID-19 testing area as part of Canada s new measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada February 24, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
With travel restrictions in place, visa offices closed and immigration applications stalled, the Canadian government finds itself on the back foot as it attempts to reach its target of attracting a record 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021.
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The Saudi Arabian blogger with links to Canada who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for nearly a decade is under a new investigation for allegedly harming the reputation of the country, according to his international legal team.
Raif Badawi has been in a Saudi prison cell since June 2012 for insulting Islam by promoting liberal views on his blog. As part of his sentence, he was publicly flogged 50 times in front of a mosque in 2015.
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While the drop in immigration to Canada was felt across the country in 2020, early signs suggest that most provinces will see their intakes recover by the end of this year.
The coronavirus pandemic caused immigration to Canada to fall to the lowest level since 1998 last year. As a result, Canada welcomed just over 184,000 new immigrants, well short of the 341,000 newcomers it was seeking to welcome in 2020.
Canada got off to a strong start in 2020 before travel restrictions and other COVID-19 disruptions caused newcomer flows to fall beginning in March.
The decline affected each province and territory. However, immigrant settlement patterns were largely unaffected by the pandemic.
Opinion: How Canada learned what s wrong with its immigration system – by slamming its borders shut theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.