In a new list ranking the airports that offer the best travel experiences around the world, Toronto Pearson International Airport tops the list for North America. Rome Fiumicino leads for Europe. And Mumbai Airport leads hubs in Asia-Pacific.
Airports Council International World announced the winners of its annual Airport Service Quality Awards for 2017, honouring airports that offer the best customer service.
Winners are based on passenger surveys which ask respondents to evaluate airports across 34 performance indicators, including airport access, check-in, security screening, restrooms, stores, restaurants, additionally capturing passenger comments of their best and worst experience at the airport.
In the category of large airports (defined as serving 40 million passengers or more), for North America, Toronto Pearson emerged the leader. The win marks a first for Canada’s biggest airport, which is currently redeveloping Terminal 3 to improve its shopping and dining options and improve passenger flow.
In the category of best large airport Europe, Rome Fiumicino takes the top spot, also for the first time. Read more…
Toronto Pearson airport named best large airport in North America for customer service
]]>The idea of the United States as a “shining city upon a hill” is most closely associated with President Ronald Reagan but has been used by politicians since the country’s earliest days.
The founding founders wanted America to be a beacon of freedom and democracy that would light the way for the rest of the world.
But it seems the brightness of that light has faded of late, with a new survey showing a significant and sudden drop in the number of people around the world who see the United States as having a positive influence.
A new Ipsos MORI poll of 18,000 respondents across 25 nations shows that only 40% think the US has a positive influence on the world stage. That’s less than China at 49% and not far ahead of Russia at 35%.
The US ‘approval’ rating has dropped by 24 percentage points since last year’s survey.
Canada is seen as setting the best example with 81% of respondents saying it has a positive influence on world affairs. Australia and Germany complete the top three.
In Europe, amid the turmoil of Brexit, the EU and the United Kingdom are both seen as having a positive influence by 57% of respondents. While that’s the same result as last year for the EU, the UK’s rating has dropped by 10 points.
Israel and Iran are at the bottom of the ranking with only 32% and 21% of people respectively viewing their global influence in a positive light.
Ipsos MORI also asked about international organisations are when they are included in the results, it becomes clear that reputational damage is not confined to nation states.
While the United Nations ranks 4th, it has dropped 9 points since last year.
The World Bank and IMF have both experienced a 7 point drop in approval but still sit ahead of China and the United States. Read more…
These countries have the most positive influence on the world
]]>Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says the government has met its goal of shortening wait times for those hoping to sponsor their spouse from abroad.
Hussen says the backlog of applications now sits at 15,000, down from 75,000 in 2016.
Processing times are 12 months for those who filed an application prior to December 2016, while applications before that date take about 26 months.
The Liberals had made family reunification programs an immigration priority upon coming to office in 2015 and have been gradually increasing the number of newcomers admitted in those programs since.
Canada is shortening wait times to bring spouses from abroad: Immigration minster
]]>When Siobhán Young was told after nine years in Sydney that she had just 28 days to leave Australia, it was, as she calls it, “the worst moment of my life”.
After multiple attempts to secure employer sponsorship, including a lengthy appeals process, Young had to make alternative plans. She had burned thousands of dollars on legal fees in an ultimately fruitless attempt to prove she was worthy of permanent settlement in Australia.
“My whole world was turned upside-down,” the Tipperary woman explains.
A stopover in North America on the way home ended with a trip to Vancouver. The coastal city, tucked into a mild corner of British Columbia sheltered by the 460-kilometre-long Vancouver Island, made an immediate impression.
A few months later, Young was heading back with a a two-year open work permit under the International Experience Canada (IEC) initiative. Within months she had established a business, BC Bia, distributing Irish snacks to bars and shops in the city. Running her own business was a dream she couldn’t fulfil in Australia, under restrictions of her visa. Read more…
Canada opens doors to Irish while other countries close theirs
]]>Canada is the second best country in the world, according to the U.S. News and Report’s Best Country list.
It’s only surpassed by Switzerland in the report, which takes into account rankings in categories like Adventure, Cultural Influence, Open to Business and others.
READ MORE: Which are the happiest countries in the world? Norway 1st, Canada 7th
It’s the third year in a row Canada received second place.
“Canadians pride themselves in encouraging all of their citizens to honor their own cultures,” the company’s description of Canada reads on its website.
“Canada’s expansive wilderness to the north plays a large role in Canadian identity, as does the country’s reputation of welcoming immigrants.”
But it also lists challenges like the concerns of Indigenous people and French-speakers.
The United States fell one spot to No. 8 – and officials say that’s fueled by the “the world’s perceptions of the country becoming less progressive and trustworthy, more politically unstable and a president who after just a year in office is far more unpopular than any other head of state or company CEO.”
“For the third year in a row, Canada is seen as offering the best quality of life, driven by high ratings for education, health care and public safety,” assistant managing editor Kevin Drew said in a release.
The company also surveyed global citizens on their view on world leadership – and found it lacking.
Around 82 per cent of respondents said there was a “leadership crisis” and most respondents (61 per cent) trusted private companies over the government. Read more…
Canada ranks No. 2 in Best Countries
]]>“Living as a refugee means you have no rights. There was no life, no future because you cannot attend school, you cannot get a good job because you have no documents,” he said.
Ibrahim was one of 42 people from 20 countries around the world who were sworn-in as Canada’s newest citizens at a ceremony in Dartmouth on Wednesday.
“At least I feel I have a country now. At least I feel like when people ask me I say, ‘Yes, I’m from Canada,’” Ibrahim said.
It wasn’t just former refugees who gained their citizenship.
American-born families were also on hand to complete their final step in becoming Canadian. Read more…
‘I have a country now’: Canada’s newest citizens get sworn-in during Dartmouth ceremony
]]>Canada added 79,000 jobs last month, blowing past expectations and pushing the jobless rate to its lowest level since 1976.
The jobless rate was pushed down two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
That’s the lowest on record since comparable data became available 42 years ago.
Economists polled by Bloomberg were expecting a flat showing, with about 2,000 jobs added. Every province added jobs during the month, but more than half of the new jobs came in Alberta and Quebec, with each adding more than 26,000 jobs.
“Quebec was probably the most compelling story throughout the year, with job growth running strong and the unemployment rate plunging to a record low [of 4.9 per cent],” Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic noted in a report to clients. Read more…
Canada adds 79,000 jobs in December, pushing jobless rate to lowest level since 1976
]]>The Nova Scotia government says 2017 was a banner year for attracting immigrants to the province, with nearly 4,000 newcomers calling Canada’s Ocean Playground home.
By late October, 3,845 immigrants had settled here, said Immigration Minister Lena Diab. She expects that number to pass 4,000 when the full 2017 numbers are in. The top three countries of origin were China, India and the Philippines.
“The more the merrier, as far Nova Scotia is concerned,” she told CBC News.
The number of newcomers is down from 2016, when 5,483 immigrants came, including 1,500 Syrian refugees.
Immigrant-started businesses flourishing
“Immigrants do well in Nova Scotia and they do much better in Nova Scotia than other parts of the [country],” said Diab, who is the daughter of immigrants. Read more….
4,000 new immigrants called Nova Scotia home in 2017
]]>
Justin Trudeau is pretty sure you won’t move to Canada | 2016ish #1
]]>The top 10 occupations in Canada last year for men and women, according to the 2016 census:
WOMEN
- Retail salespersons
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses
- Cashiers
- Elementary school and kindergarten teachers
- Administrative assistants
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
- Administrative officers
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
- General office support workers
- Early childhood educators and assistants
MEN
- Transport truck drivers
- Retail salespersons
- Retail and wholesale trade managers
- Janitors, caretakers and building superintendents
- Construction trades helpers and labourers
- Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers
- Material handlers
- Carpenters
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
- Cooks
Read more…