ETA Canada News

Canada relies heavily on the economic contribution of international students, but the federal government has introduced unfavorable measures for international students, from more proof of living expenses to restoring existing off-campus employment hours.

The Federal Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) will increase the Canadian cost-of-living requirement for a study permit to 20,000 per person starting January 1 next year.

The Immigration Department set it at $10,000 in the early 2000s and has maintained it ever since. However, as the cost of living rises due to rising prices, the financial requirements for international students to receive regular classes in Canada have been raised.

The amount set this time was set at 75% of Canada’s low-income cut-off (LICO). This is lower than the minimum amount one person needs to spend in Canada.

The purpose of this is to prevent international students from being vulnerable or being exploited.

At the same time, a proposal was put forward to extend temporary measures to help international students resolve their financial problems in Canada. The temporary relaxation of measures allowing international students to work 20 hours a week off campus until the end of this year will be extended until April 30 next year. This applies to international students who have already applied and applicants who received a study permit before December 7.

Additionally, if you take classes online, they are recognized as educational hours calculated during the Post-Graduation Work Visa (PGWP) period, if they do not exceed 50% of the total classes. The target is international students who begin classes before September 1st of next year. Recognizing distance learning as an educational period was introduced in 2020 when entering Canada was difficult due to COVID-19. Until the end of August last year, 100% online education was recognized, but the scope was later reduced as entry into Canada became easier again.

Due to a shortage of labor force, an 18-month extension is granted to holders of expired post-graduation work visas. This measure is permitted until December 31 of this year and will not be extended until 2024.

Meanwhile, while Canada announced that it would directly grant admission letters for international students, this time it began accepting changes to the study permit application form.

The Federal Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has been accepting applications for a new version of a study permit (IMM1294) since December 1. This form is an application form for those wishing to study abroad.

If you are applying through a secure account with the Department of Immigration and Immigration, you must submit your study permit application using this new version of the application form.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Immigration announced that starting December 1, all post-secondary designated learning institutions (DLIs) approved to host international students must have their letters of acceptance from all applicants confirmed by the Ministry of Immigration.

Canada is not only experiencing a cold wave recently, but also a terrifying health crisis that is quietly escalating – cases of Group A Streptococcus infection are surging, with the number of cases reaching a record high.

This bacterial infection kills approximately 1 in 10 people infected. Our children have become the “hardest hit area” of this crisis. At least 6 children have died in Ontario. Canada is not only experiencing a cold wave recently, but also a terrifying health crisis that is quietly escalating – cases of Group A Streptococcus infection are surging, with the number of cases reaching a record high. This bacterial infection kills approximately 1 in 10 people infected.

Our children have become the “hardest hit area” of this crisis. 6 children have died in Ontario.

The data recently released by the Public Health Agency of Canada are shocking more than 4,600 cases of invasive Group A Streptococcus were recorded in 2023, 40% higher than the record in 2019.

According to the crime safety evaluation ranking recently announced by the Canadian financial platform ‘money.ca’, Lethbridge, Alberta was found to be the most dangerous city in the country with 1,190 crimes per 100,000 residents. On the other hand, Toronto, which was selected as the safest city, had the lowest number of crimes in the country at 286.9 per 100,000 people.

However, Greater Western Ontario was ranked 8th with 779 cases, and Thunder Bay was ranked 9th with 775.2 cases, making it the most dangerous city in Canada. ‘money.ca’ ranked dangerous and safe cities by analyzing the Canadian Crime Index and specific crime rates in cities with a population of 100,000 or more. The most dangerous cities ranked from 1st to 5th are Lethbridge, Alberta (1,190 cases per 100,000 population), Regina, Saskatchewan (1,113.5 cases per 100,000 population), Moncton, New Brunswick (1,085.3 cases), Saskatchewan. Saskatoon (1,043.1 cases) and Winnipeg, Manitoba (1,040.7 cases) each accounted for.

The provinces with the most cities in the list of safest cities were Quebec and Ontario. Six cities in Quebec were included in the top 10, and four cities were in Ontario.

Peel Regional Police have identified the young woman murdered outside a Mississauga nightclub in December as 19-year-old Raneilia Richards.

The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. on December 31 at the Jungle event venue on Eglinton Avenue. Police said they believe Richards and a group of others were standing outside the building and were not the intended targets of the shooting.

Police said in an update on Tuesday that Raneilia was just hanging out with friends that night and meant to enjoy the night, but her life was tragically taken.

Police said she was not targeted by the suspects and was an innocent victim. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.

As many of you may already know, Amazon Prime Video has announced that starting February 5, 2024, it will include “limited” advertising in movies and shows for Canadian residents.

LifeVancouver staff also frequently use Amazon Prime Video, and the other day, on January 2nd, we received an email with the following content.

As mentioned above, it has been decided that limited ads will be displayed from February 5th, but you can turn off ads by paying an additional $2.99 per month. It’s currently unclear how “limited” it will be, so even if you don’t want to see ads, it might be a good idea to wait until February 5th.

Prime Video users in the US are scheduled to start seeing ads from January 29, 2024, a little earlier than in Canada, and the UK and Germany are also eligible for ads.

(Toronto) Galleria Supermarket and Korea Food Trading (KFT) held the ‘2024 New Year Ceremony’ on Tuesday the 2nd. About 70 people, including CEO Kim Moon-jae and executives and employees from each business division, attended the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony on this day, an awards ceremony was held for 43 excellent employees and 64 employees with long-term service of 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years. Galleria Supermarket presented solid gold badges as a ‘Hall of Fame’ award to two employees who have received the Outstanding Employee Award four times so far.

Meanwhile, five employees who have been with Galleria Supermarket for 20 years since its founding also appeared, making the event even more meaningful.

In his New Year’s address, President Kim Moon-jae ordered that for continued growth, “we must further increase the expertise of the roles and functions of all divisions of the company” and “we must further improve sales and profitability to strengthen competitiveness.”

President Kim continued, “The sense of crisis is increasing as customer consumption is further reduced due to high inflation and rising interest rates.” He added, “Do not forget that the essence of the crisis is customer turning away, so prepare the products that customers want and open stores that customers want to visit.” “Let’s make it,” he urged.

Lastly, President Kim Moon-jae said that to survive in a rapidly changing distribution environment, “you must understand and adapt to changes,” and “if you work with passion and honesty to provide products and services for customers, you can become a company that is always loved by customers.” “There is,” he encouraged the employees.

Aa the year-end holidays approach, many people have arranged to go abroad for vacation, but unexpected surprises always happen when going out, which catches people off guard.

Just recently, a Canadian person was traveling abroad Suffered a heart attack, spent $100,000 and still waiting for a bed.

On November 1, Michael Smil, a man who lives in Calgary, took his wife on a romantic and leisure cruise, with the destination being the Panama Canal, lasting 20 days. The trip started smoothly. The two of them had a lot of fun on the cruise, eating, drinking, and looking at the sea view every day.

On the fifth day, November 5, Smil suddenly had a serious heart attack, and his wife immediately came to the boat of medical staff. The next day, the cruise ship made an emergency stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Smil was rushed to Surgery was performed at a local hospital.

Unfortunately, Smil suffered two more heart attacks during the surgery. With the doctors’ desperate efforts, the operation was finally successful; on November 8, Smil was discharged from the intensive care unit. If this doesn’t work, Smil’s wife plans to take him home and end the journey early.

On November 16, Smil finally applied for a special medical flight to fly back to Canada. It is not a trivial matter for an elderly person to have a heart attack, especially if they have just undergone surgery and they still need to be hospitalized for examination and rest even after they return. Smil is insured with World Travel Protection.

They were notified but could not find any empty hospital beds in Alberta. Kim Cameron, Smeal’s daughter, said: “The insurance company works with a bed-finding company that’s in contact with all the hospitals, but they haven’t heard back.

We’re trying to go to Edmonton, even Red Deer, wherever there are beds. The problem is there aren’t.” To save his father, Cameron even flew to Mexico as soon as possible to stay with him. However, the Mexican hospital did not link up with the Canadian insurance company and required full payment before discharge. “The hospital will never deal with the insurance company. They only deal with the patient and only accept payment from the patient on the spot.” Smil is expected to fly back to Calgary.

The question now is whether he will be forced to go home even if he arrives, there may not be a bed available for him to stay. “He must be accompanied by a medical nurse, have his blood oxygen saturation checked and have oxygen facilities set up at home.”

As of today, the insurance company has not been able to find an available hospital bed. I went out for fun, and something like this happened. Not only did I not know if I could be hospitalized when I returned home, but I also had to pay for the medical expenses in Mexico out of my own pocket. It was really a hassle.

Even with travel insurance, Smil’s family still had to pay more than $100,000 in medical and travel expenses.

In this regard, Canadian travel expert Onata Forbes reminds everyone that home government and provincial or territorial insurance generally do not cover medical expenses incurred abroad. Before booking a vacation, it’s always a good idea to fully understand the specific terms and conditions of your travel insurance.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT)The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced the identity of the victims as Derek Chen (46 years old) and his son (13 years old).

The son’s name has not been released because he is a minor. Derek and his son were found dead in their home at 10:30 p.m. on the 30th. Police say the two were not marked, but they believe the incident was a premeditated crime and are investigating the motive.

At the same time, the incident is not seen as having anything to do with gang warfare or illegal drug dealing. The person left in the video footage is also being investigated as a suspect. The individual left the victim’s home around 8:40pm on the day of the incident and was wearing a dark coat, white hat, light blue jeans, and a balaclava-style face mask.

The suspect is believed to have headed straight for the Lison Fields area from the scene of the incident, and police are appealing for information from anyone who was in the area.

The Greater Toronto housing market has contracted in the aftermath of high interest rates, and while the number of transactions has decreased, the number of properties on the market has been found to be increasing. According to the ‘November Greater Toronto Housing Market Trend Report’ the number of new listings last year steadily increased compared to the previous year. In relation to this, Jason Mercer, senior market analyst at TRREB, said, “Hopeful buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach in anticipation of an interest rate cut next year. In addition to the aftermath of high interest rates, the number of transactions has decreased compared to the previous year due to the quiet season.”

He pointed out, “With the economy in a state of uncertainty, loan costs are high, so prospective buyers are hesitant to make a decision,” and “They are weighing the timing of their purchase.” According to this report, the average house price in the Greater Toronto Area in November was $182,000, up 0.3% compared to a year ago, and in Toronto, the average was $15,000, below the Greater Toronto Area average.

The total number of transactions was 4,236, down 6% compared to the same period last year, but new listings increased by 16.5%. “New listings increased significantly compared to a year ago, but were lower than the previous year’s average,” Mercer said. By housing type, townhouse transactions were sluggish, with the total number of transactions last year decreasing by 8.7% compared to the previous month. The number of townhouse transactions in Toronto was 20% lower than last November, and single-family homes were down 14.5%. Condominium prices in the outskirts of Toronto rose 6.4%, and Mercer analysts said, “Given the current high interest rates and increased loan costs, prospective buyers are flocking to the condo market.”

It was pointed out that Ontario’s driver’s license test regulations were changed without considering traffic safety.

On the 6th, the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out in its annual report, “The beginner driver’s license ‘G grade’ test regulations were changed without safety evaluation and government cabinet approval.” The report said that some regulations, including three-point turns and parallel parking, were abolished and were done without consulting traffic safety experts. It has been reported that the Ontario government has changed the regulations to resolve the accumulation of people waiting for the driver’s license test due to the coronavirus outbreak. This change, which was intended to be applied temporarily at the time, became permanent in June 2022.

At the time, Transport Minister Carolyn Mulrooney said, “We will simplify the process for the G-class driving test,” and explained, “However, it will not apply to the G2-class test.” The report pointed out that “approximately 54,000 international license holders will be exempt from the G2 level test,” and that “the abolished rule is very important in confirming safe driving ability.” According to the Ministry of Transportation, 84 new examiners were appointed in 2020 to resolve the long waiting period for the test, and it was revealed that at that time, the number of people waiting for the road driving test reached about 50,000.

After abolishing some regulations, the Ministry of Transportation conducted a safety-related analysis, including the accident rate of novice drivers, and concluded that the decision to abolish them did not have any significant impact on safety accidents.