Friday, August 24, 2007
Following is an Article on BBC News. It seems there is independent confirmation yet again of our views about Canada, and especially Vancouver, being the Best Place:
"Canadians have a lot to toast in terms of liveability, the EIU reckons Vancouver is the world's best place to live, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found.
The EIU ranked 127 cities in terms of personal risk, infrastructure and the availability of goods and services.
All the cities that fell into the top "liveability" bracket were based in Canada, Australia and Western Europe.
The worst places were Algiers in Algeria, and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea because "many aspects of daily life present challenges", the EIU said.
Safe havens?
Canadian cities scored well, as did Austria's Vienna and Switzerland's Geneva, because they are not seen as targets for terror attacks.
TOP TEN
Vancouver
Melbourne
Vienna
Geneva
Perth
Adelaide
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Calgary
Source: EIU
The main uncertainty for people living in those cities was climate-related, the EIU said.
"In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with the lower perceived threat of terrorism," said Jon Copestake, editor of the EIU report.
The survey has produced a mixed picture of the world's cities. London was ranked in the 10th group, on a par with Dublin and Los Angeles, but one place below Manchester, four behind Berlin, five lower than Tokyo, and six off Helsinki, Frankfurt and Stockholm.
Bottom 10 cities
Tehran
Douala
Harare
Abidjan
Phnom Penh
Lagos
Karachi
Dhaka
Algiers
Port Moresby
Source: EIU
In Latin America, "no city manages to present ideal living conditions, neither do any fall into the category where extreme difficulties are faced", the EIU said.
Montevideo in Uruguay, Santiago in Chile and Buenos Aires in Argentina offer the region's best conditions. Bogota in Colombia and Caracas in Venezuela score the least favourably.
In Asia, cities in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan all score well, as do Australia's main hubs.
Africa and the Middle East fare less well, with the EIU citing concerns about terror attacks, and economic and political instability.
Some of the worst performing cities include Harare in Zimbabwe and Lagos in Nigeria. "
Ron Liberman
Best Place Immigration
1500 West Georgia-Suite 1400
Vancouver, BC. V6G 2Z6, Canada
"Canadians have a lot to toast in terms of liveability, the EIU reckons Vancouver is the world's best place to live, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found.
The EIU ranked 127 cities in terms of personal risk, infrastructure and the availability of goods and services.
All the cities that fell into the top "liveability" bracket were based in Canada, Australia and Western Europe.
The worst places were Algiers in Algeria, and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea because "many aspects of daily life present challenges", the EIU said.
Safe havens?
Canadian cities scored well, as did Austria's Vienna and Switzerland's Geneva, because they are not seen as targets for terror attacks.
TOP TEN
Vancouver
Melbourne
Vienna
Geneva
Perth
Adelaide
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Calgary
Source: EIU
The main uncertainty for people living in those cities was climate-related, the EIU said.
"In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with the lower perceived threat of terrorism," said Jon Copestake, editor of the EIU report.
The survey has produced a mixed picture of the world's cities. London was ranked in the 10th group, on a par with Dublin and Los Angeles, but one place below Manchester, four behind Berlin, five lower than Tokyo, and six off Helsinki, Frankfurt and Stockholm.
Bottom 10 cities
Tehran
Douala
Harare
Abidjan
Phnom Penh
Lagos
Karachi
Dhaka
Algiers
Port Moresby
Source: EIU
In Latin America, "no city manages to present ideal living conditions, neither do any fall into the category where extreme difficulties are faced", the EIU said.
Montevideo in Uruguay, Santiago in Chile and Buenos Aires in Argentina offer the region's best conditions. Bogota in Colombia and Caracas in Venezuela score the least favourably.
In Asia, cities in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan all score well, as do Australia's main hubs.
Africa and the Middle East fare less well, with the EIU citing concerns about terror attacks, and economic and political instability.
Some of the worst performing cities include Harare in Zimbabwe and Lagos in Nigeria. "
Ron Liberman
Best Place Immigration
1500 West Georgia-Suite 1400
Vancouver, BC. V6G 2Z6, Canada
There have been several negative comments in the Press recently about the activities of immigration consultants and lawyers.
Below is our response in support of the regulatory process and consumer protection.
To: The Editor of the Toronto Star
Re: Article about Immigration Consultants
The Canadian Socierty of Immigration Consultants has manadatory insurance in place, and a strict Code of Consuct for its members. It is not to blame for the behaviour of ghost consultants, anymore than the Law Societies can be blamed for still having the occasional dishonest member, and this despite the fact that they have had several centuries over which to develop their disciplinary processes.
The real problem where "ghost consultants" in Canada are concerned lies with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, whose own policy manuals interpret the law as allowing anyone, even if unqualified, unscrupulous, and unregulated, to dispense immigration advice and to asist with immigration applications for a fee up until the point where an immigration application has actually been submitted. Until that is changed, and made illegal, "ghost consultants" will continue to profit from a legal business activity that is condoned by Ottawa, and the unfortunate consumer will continue to suffer.
Ron Liberman, Certified Canadian Immigration Consultan
Best Place Immigration
1500 West Georgia-Suite 1400
Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2Z6, Canada
Below is our response in support of the regulatory process and consumer protection.
To: The Editor of the Toronto Star
Re: Article about Immigration Consultants
The Canadian Socierty of Immigration Consultants has manadatory insurance in place, and a strict Code of Consuct for its members. It is not to blame for the behaviour of ghost consultants, anymore than the Law Societies can be blamed for still having the occasional dishonest member, and this despite the fact that they have had several centuries over which to develop their disciplinary processes.
The real problem where "ghost consultants" in Canada are concerned lies with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, whose own policy manuals interpret the law as allowing anyone, even if unqualified, unscrupulous, and unregulated, to dispense immigration advice and to asist with immigration applications for a fee up until the point where an immigration application has actually been submitted. Until that is changed, and made illegal, "ghost consultants" will continue to profit from a legal business activity that is condoned by Ottawa, and the unfortunate consumer will continue to suffer.
Ron Liberman, Certified Canadian Immigration Consultan
Best Place Immigration
1500 West Georgia-Suite 1400
Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2Z6, Canada
Labels: Canadian immigration - article about consultants
