34 - North Snere Mews —

Sunday. November 19, 2000

Queens Cross hours to be extended The ins and outs of whe Gali imumigrate to Canata

Annette Martin Contributing Writer

SHIFT workers drop- ping in to the Queens Cross Neighbourhood Pub on Lonsdale after

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work, will no longer be shooed out of the dcor almost as soon as they arrive.

In a unanimous decision at

its Nov. 6 meeting, North Vancouver District council

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approved an extension of the pub’s hours from the current midnight closing to 1 a.m.

“We've never had noise or other complaints.” said pub owner David Crown.

Police have —_ already approved the application.

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_ Heritage ( Oak & Pine

Janice Mucalov, LL.B.

Contributing Writer

WE live in a wonderiul, multi-cultural society in Canada.

Yet, surprisingly, only 200,060 new immigrants are accepted into the country each year, representing less than a one per cent increase in the total Canadian population. Who are these people who become our neighbours, and how does our law decide who can come to Canada? If you have friends or family who want to immigrate to B.C, here’s what you can tell them.

Newcomers generally fall under one of three main cate- gories: members of the family class, skilled workers and busi- ness immigrants. Some also come as refugees.

The family class aims to reunite Canadians with their close relatives overseas. If you're a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you can

" sponsor yuur spouse, fiancee,

parents, dparents, depen- dent children, a child under 19 you intend to adopt, or an unmarried orphaned sibling, nephew or niece under 19. But you must be able to finan- cially support that person any- where from two to LO years. It takes six months to two years to process your application, depending on circumstances, A brother, aunt or some other blood relative who does-

n’t qualify as a family class member may still quality as an “assisted relative” if they rack up sufficient points based on a number of factors (see below).

Skilled workers, the second main group of applicants, may immigrate if they get 70 or

more points out of 100, based on such factors as education, skills, work experience, age, language ability and demand for their occupation.

The business immigration class includes investors, entre- preneurs and the self- employed. The idea here is that they can help foster trade, commerce, scientific and cul- tural activities, and interna- tional understanding. Business immigrants must also score 70 points, but they’re awarded extra bonus points for belong- ing to this class.

An investor immigrating to B.C. must invest $450,000 in an eligible tend for five years and have previous business experience and a significant. - net worth (usually-at least $500,000). It’s usually the fastest way to immigrate.-

Engepreneurs are business

people who don’t qualify as investors, but can still usually invest at least $150,000 in a business that they'll be actively involved in and will create jobs for other Canadians. They tend to have significant assets, but that’s no guarantee. One recent applicant from Hong ° Kong whose net worth was $1.7 million wanted to start a business here exporting poul- try overseas. However, he was denied the visa needed to immigrate because he'd only eamed $5,000 a year from his poultry stall in Hong Kong the previous few years. The visa officer believed he would- n't be able to make a signifi- cant contribution to our econ- omy. |

A self-employed immigrant is someone who has a unique work skill and can contribute significantly to our economic, cultural or artistic life. Examples include athletes, artists, musicians, and special- ists in Chinese medicines or herbs.

Medical and criminal fac- : tors plus the discretion of the immigration officer may aiso affect the person's ability to immigrate to Canada. :

This column bas been write: ten with ike assistance of Daryl °.

Collier of the North Vancouver

law firm of ‘Ratcliff &

. Company, Suite $00, 221 West:

Esplanade, 988-5201, The col-. ann provides information only and must not. be relied. on for legal advice. .

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