Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19 on their families, their livelihoods and their way of life. Together, the governments of Canada and Ontario are working to reduce the impact of the pandemic, ensure health and safety, rebuild businesses, and promote job creation, growth and investment.

Funding provided by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (the Agency) is now available to help the public and Indigenous groups participate in the federal environmental assessment for the proposed Joyce Lake Direct Shipping Iron Ore Project, an open-pit iron ore mine located in Newfoundland and Labrador, northeast of Schefferville, Quebec.

Today, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) announced an update on its Penitentiary Farm Program, which runs at Joyceville and Collins Bay Institutions in Kingston, Ontario. Offenders involved in the program have had the opportunity to learn technical, transferable and soft skills through their involvement in on-the-job and vocational training associated with the farming operations.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting entrepreneurs and businesses across the country through the pandemic, and investing in their success on the road to recovery to generate growth, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class. Investments in the technologies industries are helping to boost innovation, accelerate the commercialization of new technologies, grow and scale operations, and foster technological advancement.

Terry Sheehan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedNor, and Mayor Carman Kidd, City of Temiskaming Shores, today announced the roster of 67 businesses and organizations that will take part in the seventh annual Northern Ontario Mining Showcase (NOMS) at the 2021 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Convention. PDAC 2021 will take place virtually from March 8th to 11th.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of Canadians, with women and girls being especially impacted. The Government of Canada makes sure to take into consideration the pandemic’s disproportionate effects on different groups, including women and girls when designing policy, its development and implementation.

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, will announce investments to organizations in the Eastern Townships region for projects to help ensure food security in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced the four winners of the latest Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenges. These small and medium-sized Canadian companies will each receive up to $150,000 toward developing their solutions to address plastic waste.

Through the Innovative Solutions Canada Challenge Stream, the Government of Canada invites small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to propose innovations that address specific government challenges.

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Member of Parliament for Beauséjour, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development; the Honourable Margaret Johnson, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Carleton-Victoria, on behalf the Honourable Gary Crossman, Minister responsible for the Regional Development Corporation; and his Worship Karl Curtis, Mayor of Florenceville-Bristol, announced funding to expand the Northern Carleton Civic Centre with a new multipurpose facility. Richard Bragdon, Member of Parliament for Tobique—Mactaquac, was also in attendance.

In an effort to process more applications and reunite families faster, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is expanding its Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This includes the addition of new office space and the hiring of 62 new employees.

"Canada is one of the top destinations in the world for immigration and travel, with millions of people from across the globe hoping to come here every year. When submitting their applications, some turn to consultants or other services for assistance – and while most consultants operate honestly, unscrupulous actors sometimes exploit the system and take advantage of people. "

Today, we are announcing that the government will extend the current rate structures for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support from March 14 to June 5, 2021.

Today, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; the Honorable Prabmeet Sarkaria, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton South, on behalf of the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure; Amarjot Sandhu, Member of Provincial Parliament for Brampton West; and His Worship Patrick Brown, Mayor of the City of Brampton, announced funding for the rehabilitation of the South Fletcher’s Sportsplex to create a new Youth Hub in Brampton.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) update to be given by the Prime Minister, Ministers and Government of Canada officials at March 5, 2021 news conference.

On March 8, 2021, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will speak to students from Parkview Public School in Komoka and St. Mary's French Immersion School in Sault Ste. Marie. These schools won this visit from an astronaut through the Junior Astronauts campaign. Jeremy Hansen will share his story, talk about his career as an astronaut, and answer their questions.

Canada is a long-standing partner of Colombia. Together, they are working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in the region.

Canada has announced $29.5 million in development assistance for 6 projects to support high-quality education, peace and economic prosperity in Colombia caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in Venezuela.

Ontario held a new draw on March 3, inviting French-speaking Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) invited 126 candidates through the French-Speaking Skilled Worker (FSSW) stream. Invited candidates needed to have a profile in the Express Entry system with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score between […]

The post Ontario holds second PNP draw in two days first appeared on CIC News.

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today spoke with Dominic Raab, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

Canada offers multiple immigration and work permit programs for highly-skilled tech workers. Tech workers, with their education and experience, do well in many of Canada’s leading broad economic immigration pathways, both at the federal and provincial or territorial levels. These multilayers of government have developed innovative and specific programs to attract and retain tech workers, […]

The post Canadian immigration for tech workers: Express Entry, PNPs, and work permits first appeared on CIC News.

On March 5, 2021, Health Canada officials will hold a technical briefing on the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.

Today, Health Canada authorized the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Janssen Inc. Health Canada received an application from Janssen Inc. for authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine on November 30, 2020. After a thorough, independent review of the evidence, the Department has determined that the vaccine meets Canada’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements.

Members of the media are invited to join the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, as he makes a funding announcement to underscore the Government of Canada’s efforts to combat human trafficking in Moncton and surrounding communities.

On March 3, 2021, Pacific Gateway Holding Inc. was ordered to pay a fine of $163,776 after entering a guilty plea in Vancouver court to two charges under federal wildlife legislation. These charges are related to the illegal importation of significant quantities of meat of the Anguilla anguilla, commonly known as the European eel. The company was charged with importing a CITES-listed species without a permit from the country of export, in contravention of subsection 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.