On April 21, 2010, Opportunities Ontario (Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program) announced that International PhD graduates who have graduated from a publicly-funded Ontario university will now be permitted to apply without a job offer. Opportunities Ontario has created the International PhD Graduate Stream for this purpose.

In order to apply to Opportunities Ontario as an international PhD graduate in Ontario, students must:

1. Have graduated from an existing PhD program at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario or have successfully completed all degree requirements for the program (i.e completion of course work and successfully defended their thesis and are awaiting the granting of their degree);
2. Have completed at least two years of their PhD studies at an eligible publicly funded university in Ontario;
3. Apply within two years of the date on which their PhD degree was granted; and
4. Have legal status, if the international PhD graduate applicant is in Canada.

International students subsidized through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) grants or home country scholarship with return obligations will not be eligible for Opportunities Ontario unless such obligations have been fulfilled.

Ontario international PhD students may apply for the program from within Canada or from overseas.

According to the Globe and Mail, Federal officials have occasionally quoted a questionable source in bids to kick foreigners out of Canada – Wikipedia – and immigration judges are not amused. “Wikipedia is an internet Encyclopedia which anyone with Internet access can edit,” wrote one exasperated Federal Court judge, criticizing Ottawa’s filings in a case to remove a family of Turkish asylum seekers. “It is an open-source reference with no editorial control,” scoffed another judge, as he took federal agents to task for consulting Wikipedia before sending an immigrant back to Iran.

As it happens, magistrates often fight the encroachment of dubious encyclopedia entries into courts. After all, many undergrads would be flunked if they quoted Wikipedia in term papers, so why would bureaucrats let such an impeachable source slide into submissions? Officials say that while federal agencies “discourage” use of Wikipedia as a reference resource, they don’t outright prohibit it. That means, in rare cases, the articles end up in court filings.

This is proving controversial, especially in immigration cases. Because hundreds of thousands of foreigners flock to Canada each year, federal agents who hope to pick out the bad apples become quick studies in global affairs. Plenty of credible journals help Ottawa’s officials make sense of the world. But in a pinch there’s always the temptation of instantaneous information, which can be found at www.wikipedia.com.

The Globe and Mail article may be found here.

On April 21, 2010, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced that the Government of Canada would be making special accommodations for foreign nationals whose Canadian immigration status may be at risk because of the recent delays in air travel.

“Temporary residents whose status in Canada expired on or after April 15, but who have been unable to leave because of the interruptions to air travel over the Atlantic, will have their status automatically extended up to 30 days at no charge,” said Minister Kenney.

Temporary residents outside of Canada who were unable to complete their firm travel plans, and whose purpose of travel remains valid, will be able to obtain a temporary replacement document at no charge upon application.

Immigrants who were unable to move to Canada before their permanent resident visa expired will also be given a reprieve upon application, subject to certain conditions. For example, if their medical certificate has expired, a new medical assessment will be required.

In all cases, new extensions will cease to be granted once regular travel resumes on a sustained basis, and all extensions will expire on June 30 at the latest.

The official press release appears here.