RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News –   June 2015 RHYME & REASON   The controversial Bill C-24, or the "Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act", was introduced last year and became law on 19 June 2014.   However, most of the new provisions which will substantially affect the qualifications of Canadian citizenship applicants have just entered into force this month, on 11 June 2015.   Among other changes which already took effect last year, the Canadian citizenship processing fee had been increased to $530 per adult and $100 per child plus a right of citizenship fee of $100, which adds up to a whopping $630 fee per adult application.   This is more than triple the previous cost of citizenship applications which was only $200 per applicant.   With the rest of the Bill C-24 provisions taking effect this month, among the significant changes include stricter residency requirements.   Under the former Citizenship Act, an applicant for Canadian citizenship only ...

Filipiniana News – May 2015 RHYME & REASON "The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother."                                                                                     - St. Therese of Lisieux This simple yet profound quote from a popular Catholic saint and Doctor of the Church, published in our parish church bulletin on mother's day weekend,   brought back touching   images of how this was manifested in my life, as well as in the lives of so many migrants everywhere. Personally, I feel very blessed to have a mother...

Filipiniana News –   April 2015 RHYME & REASON On 10 April 2015, CIC issued a news release welcoming the first three people who were granted permanent residence under the Express Entry, only three months after its launch and two months after the first round of invitations.   One of the newest permanent residents is from Ireland who qualified under the Federal Skilled Worker class, and is now working as an application scientist in Ontario.   The two others are former international students from China who qualified under the Canadian Experience Class and who are likewise already working for Canadian employers.    After submitting my article on the Express Entry system last month, three additional draws of applications have been conducted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to prospective permanent residence applicants.   Since its launch on 1 January 2015 therefore, CIC has conducted a total of six draws and invited a total of 6,851 ...

Filipiniana News –  March  2015 RHYME & REASON Although the Express Entry system was launched almost three months ago (on 1 January 2015 to be exact), the program is still largely misunderstood and is causing a lot of confusion, frustration and apprehension among many prospective immigrants.   Please allow me therefore, to clarify a few issues and provide some relevant updates in this month's column.   First, it must be noted that the Express Entry system is not creating another immigration or permanent residence category.  It is simply a new framework or an entry door to the existing immigration programs (Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades, Canadian Experience Class and selected Provincial Nominee Programs).   The Express Entry system is meant to create a pool of prospective immigration applicants who will be invited to apply and/or from which Canadian employers can choose potential employees who will be invited to ap...

Filipiniana News –  February 2015 RHYME & REASON Pope Francis is widely admired, even by non-Catholics and non-believers, due to his courageous stance on contentious social issues, humility and sincere concern for the poor and other marginalized members of society.  Although he has not fundamentally altered basic Catholic church doctrine, he has dramatically changed the tone and the manner by which the Church's teachings are proclaimed.  By practicing what he preaches, and in reaching out to the most vulnerable, Pope Francis has been propagating the Christian faith  much more effectively than previous church leaders in modern times.   For those of us who are part of the Philippine diaspora (now estimated at around 10 million Filipinos in various parts of the world), particularly those who are forced to endure prolonged separation from their families,  it is hugely comforting to know that the highly admired Pope Francis had on many occasions...