ETA Canada Travel Pass News

Wages are rising faster in Quebec than elsewhere in the country, with a growth rate of 6.9% in December, compared to about 5% in Canada. The labor shortage is worse here than in other Canadian provinces and even elsewhere in the world,” he says.

According to his estimates, the demographic curve of Quebec will ensure that we will still be talking about a labor shortage in ten years. Today, one in five Quebecers is over 65; in 10 years, it will be one in four. “Quebec is losing contracts, Quebec is losing investments because it lacks workers,” notes Mr. Blackburn. An increase in the unemployment rate, due to a possible recession, would not significantly change the labor shortage, he said.

Follow the example of France for retirement? A reflection of society is also in order in Quebec, according to Karl Blackburn, while the French government is trying to push back the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. “We would be crazy not to address this issue,” he says, even though the retirement age in Quebec is already 65 years old.

Pressure on the labor market and on pensions could be eased by bringing experienced workers back to work, according to Blackburn. This return to work could be encouraged by incentives, he believes. “Until we manage to increase the rate of workers, we will find ourselves in this situation,” says Karl Blackburn.

In the global passport ranking, which measures how many countries one can visit without obtaining a visa in advance, Korea again took second place out of 199 countries in the world this year. Canada is 8th.

‘Henley & Partners’, an international exchange advisory firm based in London, UK, released the result of evaluating each country’s ‘passport power’ based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on the 10th.

It ranks the number of countries that do not require a visa when holding a passport or that can be visited through a relatively simple entry procedure.

Japan (193 countries) ranked highest in the report released on the day.

Korea (192 countries) and Singapore (192 countries) tied for second place. Canada (185 countries) tied for eighth with Australia and Greece.

The Korean passport was once ranked 13th in 2013, but since 2018, it has consistently maintained the top spot, going back and forth between 2nd and 3rd in the world.

Following Japan, Korea and Singapore, Germany and Spain tied for third place with 190 countries.

This was closely followed by Luxembourg, Finland, and Italy (189 countries) then Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and the Netherlands (188 countries).

The U.S. passport is ranked seventh in the world as it allows you to visit 186 countries without a prior visa. Russia ranked 48th with 118 countries, and China ranked 66th with 80 countries.

CNN reported on the 1st (local time) that the Canadian government is banning foreigners from buying houses in Canada starting this year. The new law, which came into effect on the 1st, will make it impossible for foreigners to purchase a home in Canada for investment purposes for the next two years.

This is based on the judgment that foreign investors have triggered the rise in Canadian housing prices. Home purchases by immigrants and permanent residents are not restricted. The surge in house prices in 2020 and 2021 had already reversed last year, before the law went into effect. The median house prices in Canada have fallen by 13 per cent from a peak of C$800,000 in February.

While prices are still up more than 38% from the end of 2019, home sales have fallen to pre-pandemic levels. Accordingly, the Canadian real estate industry is concerned that the effect of this law will freeze the housing market. It could also spark sparks for Canadian retirees looking to buy winter homes in the US and Mexico. Canadians are the largest number of foreigners buying homes in Florida and Arizona.

The Canadian government will increase the working holiday visa quota by 20% in 2023. Applicants can apply from January 9 next year.

Young Koreans are asking about working holidays at the booth of the Canadian Embassy in Korea at the job fair.

The government will expand the 2023 working holiday recruitment quota by 20%. A 20% increase in application volume adds about 15,000 seats.

The Ministry of Immigration announced that it would start the program on January 9 next year.

With this announcement, approximately 90,000 applicants between the ages of 18 and 35 living in more than 30 of Canada’s partner countries will be able to work and travel in Canada for up to two years.

The exact number of recruits in each country has not yet been announced.

As of 2022, there were about 18,000 applicants in Korea, of which about 7,000 were issued invitations and about 4,000 were issued visas.

The government said it “plans to help employers, including those in the tourism industry, find workers by allowing more international young people a working holiday visa.”

Germany’s Volkswagen Automobile Group has signed a contract with the Canadian government to find a site for its first North American battery cell plant in Canada.

The Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Philippe Champagne visited Germany earlier last month and signed the agreement to proceed.

Accordingly, the two sides will cooperate in various fields such as battery value creation, raw material supply chain, and cathode material production.

The actual work is carried out by Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary Powerco SE.

Ontario and Quebec are rich in hydroelectric power, making them suitable for producing batteries that consume large amounts of clean energy on a large scale.

Following Volkswagen, it is highly likely that several battery companies will open factories in Canada. South Korea’s LG Group is already building a plant in Windsor, Onju.

Minister of Innovation of the Federal Republic of Champagne Emphasizes bilateral partnership.
Energy has become even more important to locate and secure since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this situation, the strategic partnership between Korea and Canada is more urgent than ever.
François-Philippe, Federal Minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Champagne, who visited Korea last month to cooperate with the supply chain, informed Dong-A Ilbo of the merits of his visit.
Minister Champagne said, “Canada is paying attention to cooperation with Korea to secure a stable supply chain for key minerals. there is,” he said.
With the US Congress passing the Inflation Reduction Act in August, South Korea is working to reduce its dependence on China for minerals.
Concerns are growing that electric vehicles produced in Korea and exported to the United States will be excluded from subsidies, which will hurt the competitiveness of the Korean electric vehicle and battery industries.
In response, the Korean government plans to secure mineral resources in Canada.
This was also revealed in a meeting held by the Federation of Korean Industries on the 25th of last month with the Minister of Champagne invited.
At the event, Minister Champagne predicted that the security partnership between Canada, a major mineral producer such as nickel and cobalt, and Korea, a high-tech manufacturing country, would be strengthened.
Canada produces more than 60 mineral species and is the world’s No. 1 producer of potash. In addition, it produces various minerals such as aluminum, cobalt, diamond, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten and zinc.
In 2019, the total production of Canadian minerals was $48.2 billion, with three provinces, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia producing $30.2 billion, or 63% of the total production.
In particular, the recent rapid growth of the electric vehicle market is increasing demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite as major raw materials (minerals) for secondary batteries, which are core components. Canada is a major producer of nickel, cobalt, and graphite, and is being evaluated as a promising place for rock-type lithium, attracting attention as an investment destination to secure raw materials for secondary batteries.

The 6th floor ‘Cida Vale Terrace’ is a residential/commercial complex on the 19th floor.
A long-term care home in Toronto’s Forest Hills area that has been operating for 40 years is being transformed into a condominium.
Cedarvale Terrace, a long-term care home located on Walmer Road near Spadina/Cenclair, is being redeveloped by Stafford Homes, which owns the nursing home site, ahead of its operating license expiring (June 2025). I submitted the application,” he said on the 29th.
If the city government approves, the current 6-story building will be turned into 19-story residential/commercial complex housing 87 households.
The Ontario Long-Term Care Department also confirmed that it is currently looking at condo conversion applications.
In this regard, the nursing home insisted that it notified the residents and their families of the condo conversion from last July.
However, residents and their families expressed their anger, saying that only an online public hearing was held, and that they received a unilateral notice with no details disclosed.
In response, Michael Shane, director of the nursing home, explained, “We are working to ensure that the 145 residents are transferred to the nursing home of their choice.”
Meanwhile, licenses for several Ontario nursing homes are set to expire in 2025, and most of them are said to be waiving their extensions.
In response, civic groups and opposition parties are concerned that the plan to expand beds in long-term nursing homes promised by the Ontario government is highly likely to return to empty checks.

Montreal will make public transportation free of charge for seniors aged 65 and older starting next summer.

This policy, which starts in July 2023, is part of the senior welfare policy to be included in the Montreal City budget next year.
The city of Montreal invests $40 million annually to help senior citizens use public transportation.

A city official explained, “The income of the elderly is fixed, but inflation is increasing the burden of various expenses.” “The free public transportation service can be expected to further increase the consumption of the elderly.”
The move is expected to save Montreal seniors an average of $339 annually.

Parking fees at Pearson Airport will rise next year.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) announced that parking fees will increase slightly from January 16 to account for rising inflation.
Express parking rates in Terminal 1 will rise from $55 to $60 per day.
Daily parking rates in Terminals 1 and 3 will increase from $36 to $45, and weekly rates will increase from $199 to $225.
Indoor rates for long-term parking customers (Value Park Garage) will rise by one dollar to a maximum of $30 per day, and outdoor rates (Value Park Lot) will rise from $24 to $25. However, the weekly rates for long-term parking remain the same at $145 and $125, respectively.
The airport explained, “The rates for users who make reservations through the website (torontopearson.com/parking) may be cheaper,” and “the existing rates apply to users who reserve parking in advance after January 16 next year.”
Meanwhile, according to the recently released internal obituary of the management agency, the annual salary of Deborah Flint, CEO of Pearson Airport, is as high as $2 million. This is the highest level among North American airport CEOs.

Health expert “Residents don’t know how serious it is”.

Despite health experts shouting the importance of flu vaccination, the number of Toronto flu patients has exploded.

The Toronto City Department of Health announced that the number of flu patients confirmed between the 6th and 12th of this month was 484, about 54 times the average number of infections (nine) during the same period from 2014 to 19.

Health experts believe that while the number of patients with corona and respiratory diseases continues to occur, the number of flu patients has also increased significantly and has already entered a triple demic.

Experts strongly recommended that flu vaccination be hurried, saying, “Many residents have completed the corona vaccine, but are not properly aware of the dangers of the flu.”

According to experts, 83% of the people across the country have received at least one dose of the corona vaccine.

Influenza vaccines can be inoculated after making a reservation through a clinic run by the City of Toronto or a local pharmacy.

For flu vaccine clinic information, visit the official Toronto website (www.toronto.ca) and enter ‘free flu vaccination’ in the search box at the top.

Meanwhile, around 3,500 people die each year from the flu in the country.