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| January 25, 2010 |
Vol 7, Issue 1 |
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Greetings! |
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I hope that your new year is off to great start. We wish all of our readers a prosperous 2010. The terrible events in Haiti in the past two weeks have underscored the need for organizations to know where their assignees are at all times. While almost 2,000 Canadians have been located, some 200 are still unaccounted for, the majority of them thought to be in the country on business or performing humanitarian work in the region. This must be a great burden on their families and colleagues. Lets all hope for more miracle stories in the days to come and for a speedy rebuilding of this impoverished country. If you have an interesting story or an article to share in the E-News please contact us.
I look forward to seeing you at a CERC event soon.
Steve
Stephen Cryne President & CEO _______________________________________________________
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Second Round of Canada-EU Economic and Trade Negotiations gets underway
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 The second round of Canada - EU free trade agreement negotiations got under way on January 18 in Brussels. The agreement is expected to include provisions that will provide for improvements in the regulations governing labour mobility. CERC provided input to the Canadian negotiators in December, offering suggestions for areas of discussion. Read the CERC submission |
Ontario Government passes legislation to attract skilled workers
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 The Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009, passed in December 2009, means workers certified in any Canadian province or territory can be employed in Ontario without additional training or testing. This applies to over 80 regulatory authorities and 300 occupations -- including dentists, architects, and mechanics. Six occupations specifically exempt are dental hygienists, drinking water systems operators, public accountants, lawyers, registered practical nurses and social workers. |
Canada's real estate market expected to continue strong gains into the first half of 2010
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 According to Royal Lepage, Canada's residential real estate market is forecast to remain unusually strong through the first half of 2010 as economic conditions across the country improve. As confidence in the recovery builds in early 2010, increases in average house price levels and overall market activity are expected to continue. The gradual erosion of affordability driven by higher house prices and the expected late-year modest upward movement of interest rates, together with an improvement in listings supply as confidence improves, are expected to bring the market back into balance in the second half of the year, when home price increases are expected to moderate.
Read more
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Early Repatriation Study
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 The Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC) and the Ted Rogers School of Business of Ryerson University have teamed up to conduct an in-depth investigation into the underlying reasons for early returns from international assignments. The study will expand on existing information obtained from industry surveys by asking employees who have returned early to provide specific, detailed information about their own experiences. Results of the study will be released in 2010. Read more
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Temporary residents to have easier time applying for work permits
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 Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online. Changes made by Citizenship and Immigration have extended online services to more temporary residents. According to CIC officials, forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process.
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Canadian Government announces 2010 automobile deduction limits and expense benefit rates for business
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 The government of Canada recently announced that automobile expense deduction limits and the prescribed rates for the automobile operating expense benefit that will apply in 201o are unchanged for 2010. The ceiling on the capital cost of passenger vehicles for capital cost allowance (CCA) purposes will remain at $30,000. The maximum allowable interest deduction for amounts borrowed to purchase an automobile will remain at $300 per month. The limit on deductible leasing costs will remain at $800 per month. The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes for 2010 will remain at 52 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 46 cents for each additional kilometre. For Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the tax-exempt allowance will remain at 56 cents for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 50 cents for each additional kilometre. |
UK Advisory Committee endorses immigration routes for highly skilled workers
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 The Independent Migration Advisory Committee has completed its review of Tier 1 of the UK government's points-based system. Recommendations include: applicants should receive points for their age if they are 39 or under; successful applicants should initially be allowed to come to the UK for two years, rather than three as at present, with a three-year extension later if they are in highly skilled employment, and professional qualifications (in law and accountancy, for example) should be considered as equal to a master's degree.
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When your voicemails and emails go unanswered, what should you do?
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 According to this article we all get more emails than we can answer immediately. So we triage. We deal with the crisis and then, when time opens a little - maybe on a plane ride or a weekend break - we catch up with the less urgent ones. An interesting view on how to deal with messages that go unanswered, and the steps to avoid in following up.
Read more
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Thank You to our 2010 Conference Sponsors
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| CERC Careers |
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Employers - post your positions or search resumes from registered prospective employees.
Job Seekers - search positions (simply insert Relocation into the keyword search) and post your resume online at the CERC Career Centre.
Relocation & Mobility Specialist
Best Buy Canada Ltd
Vancouver, BC
Specialist, Global Relocation Programs
Research in Motion Ltd Waterloo, ON
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 E-News Sponsor |
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CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB) is a global health service company with more than 200 years of business experience that serves globally-mobile employees in more than 190 countries. CIEB is committed to being the industry's leading health service company by offering a thorough understanding of all aspects of a person's health, and providing the tools, services, and support for people to improve their physical, emotional, and financial health. CIEB offers a full line of employee benefits programs including global medical, business travel illness and accident coverage, dental, vision, pharmacy, life insurance, accident and disability coverage, emergency evacuation, and employee assistance counselling. CIEB helps the people it serves find an easier path to health, well-being and security and provides its clients with easy access to quality health care around the world.
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Help spread the word about CERC. Forward this E-News to a friend or colleague by clicking on the link above. We hope that you continue to enjoy receiving this electronic update. This monthly compilation of articles from wire services, newspapers, and other sources is intended to keep CERC members and visitors to cerc.ca informed of trends and news in mobility, HR developments and general business news from Canada and around the world. Facts have not been independently verified, and opinions expressed are those of the editor. Readers are invited to clarify, correct, or expand on these items. If you have an idea for a story, or would like to contribute an article, please send an email to info@cerc.ca.
Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC)
180 Dundas Street West, Suite 1010
Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8
Tel: 416-593-9812
Toll Free: 1-866-357-CERC (2372)
Fax: 416-593-1139
Leadership for Workforce Mobility |
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