Being A Smart Canadian
The Canadian government has launched an online consultation process to redesign the country’s Parent and Grandparent Immigration Programme (PGP). In-person consultations are soon to follow in a number of cities. The new consultations appear to have two key aims – to cut the long wait times for PGP applicants and to avoid too much of [...]
Canada is changing rules related to financial institutions like banks releasing funds for deposited chques. Under new guidelines, if a cheque has a value of less than $ 1,500.00, the hold on it for personal and small businesses will be reduced to a maximum of four business days, starting from the day after it was [...]
SOURCE: THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR Pubs bursting at the seams are a reminder of the old saying that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s a little bit Irish. But statistics show that immigration to Canada has become a lot more Irish. By the end of 2011, there were more than 5,200 temporary foreign workers from Ireland in [...]
SOURCE: THE STAR My 78-year-old mother is incredibly organized, particularly when it comes to her finances. She keeps all of her income tax receipts in one folder, along with information about her investments, property taxes, and her medical expenses. That’s a huge help when it comes to income tax time. If you’re caring for an [...]
The Canadian government is bringing in new regulations requiring credit companies to stop sending unsolicited convenience cheques to customers. These cheques usually offer low interest rates, some times as low as 1.99%, for a specific period, like six months, after which the regular interest rate will kick-in. They can be used for purchases, balance transfer [...]
SOURCE: THE GLOBE AND MAIL Canada’s Western premiers are seeking to wrest control over immigration away from Ottawa to help the West manage its growing skills shortage. “We are well-positioned but we need to have a national discussion about what further tools provinces need to grow the national economy,” said B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who [...]
The Canadian government has made public its intention to launch a new, so-called Conditional Permanent Residence Permit for some foreigners migrating to the country through the spousal sponsorship stream. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the ‘conditional PR’ will be valid for two years, and will be issued for those who have been in [...]
If you are thinking about pre-paying your mortgage but are reluctant because of prepayment penalty and the complexity of the issue, help is on your way. The Canadian government has issued a new code for banks to be more transparent about the penalties for prepayment and help clients understand how they are arrived at. Under [...]
SOURCE: THE STAR You can save a lot of money by cutting out an accountant and using tax preparation software to do your own taxes this year. After years of using an accountant at a cost of anywhere between $100 and $300, I decided to file my own taxes last year using Turbo Tax. I [...]
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