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Canadians Still Waiting for Long Promised Online Passport Renewal

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Canadians Waiting since 2013 for Online Passport Renewal
Canadians Waiting since 2013 for Online Passport Renewal - File Image

In May 2023, Ottawa stated that beginning that autumn, Canadians with easy passport renewals will be able to apply online, pay costs, and upload the relevant paperwork and passport images to a secure government website.

However, the season passed without an announcement or any changes to the passport renewal website, which currently only permits renewal applicants to submit applications in person or by mail.

An Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesman refused to provide a date for when the service will be available.

“Online passport renewals are not available at this time; however, the Government of Canada is committed to offering secure online passport service options for Canadians in the near future,” according to an email sent to journalists on Wednesday.

When Global News requested an update from IRCC in November, a representative responded in an email that the government was “working on” implementing an online passport renewal service “that is secure and protects data privacy.”

“We will communicate proactively when we have more information to share,” a spokeswoman stated at the time.

The department has not given a reason for the delay.

Testing of the Online Passport Renewal System

During the May 2023 announcement, which also included the unveiling of a new Canadian passport design, Karina Gould, then the social development minister and now the government House leader, stated that there had been “internal” pilot tests on the online renewal system, which appeared to be successful.

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Karina Gould said there had been “internal” pilot tests on the online renewal system

“We would never launch this project publicly until there is an assurance that those kinks have been worked through,” the actress stated.

Other countries, like the United Kingdom and Ireland, already provide online passport renewals.

Canada, the United States, and other countries felt pressure to improve their passport systems after the COVID-19 pandemic caused large backlogs and wait times for applications.

Long lines and congested waiting rooms plagued passport offices and Service Canada Centres across the country, but the government was eventually able to minimise the backlog and declared it “virtually eliminated” in January of last year. Service Canada currently claims that it is reaching its service criteria of delivering new passports within 10 to 20 days.

Gould explained that lessons learnt from pandemic-era delays, as well as those caused by a public service strike this spring, led to the development of a digital renewal alternative.

“For people who are just doing a simple renewal of a valid passport, it will be a lot quicker and easier to process as well, because we already have that data in the system,” she stated in a news conference on May 20, 2023.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has announced that its online renewal system is now fully operational, following successful testing in pilot programs this summer.

It will be available to individuals whose passports have expired in the last five years or will expire within the next year, but not for new passport applications, children’s passports, or renewals outside of the United States.

The department predicted that approximately five million Americans would be able to use this service each year.

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Amazon’s $4 Billion Partnership With AI Startup Anthropic Gets UK Competition Clearance

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Amazon

LONDON — Amazon’s relationship with artificial intelligence company Anthropic has been cleared by Britain’s competition authority, which stated on Friday that the $4 billion agreement does not require additional investigation.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s approval comes after it began investigating the acquisition, as part of broader global monitoring of the flow of investment from Big Tech corporations into leading startups working on generative AI technology.

The authority determined that Anthropic’s revenue and combined market share with Amazon in Britain were insufficient to warrant a thorough inquiry under the country’s merger guidelines.

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Amazon’s $4 Billion Partnership With AI Startup Anthropic Gets UK Competition Clearance

“We welcome the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority decision acknowledging its lack of jurisdiction regarding this collaboration,” a statement from Amazon read. “By investing in Anthropic, we’re helping to spur entry and competition in generative AI.”

Anthropic will use Amazon Web Services as its primary cloud provider, as well as Amazon’s proprietary chips, to construct, train, and deploy its AI models.

The British regulator had already approved Microsoft’s collaboration with the French startup Mistral AI, as well as the hire of key personnel from another business, Inflection AI.

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Amazon’s $4 Billion Partnership With AI Startup Anthropic Gets UK Competition Clearance

The watchdog is still investigating Anthropic’s collaboration with Google. Anthropic was formed in 2021 by brothers Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked for ChatGPT developer OpenAI. The corporation has prioritized improving the safety and dependability of AI models.

The AI partnerships are also being scrutinized across the Atlantic, with the Federal Trade Commission investigating whether they are assisting tech behemoths in gaining an unfair advantage in the burgeoning market for AI services.

SOURCE | AP

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Chinese Woman’s Video Goes Viral Over Exploding Indian Population in Canada

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Chinese Woman's Video Goes Viral Over Exploding Indian Population in Canada
In the video on X, she remarks, “This is terrible”

A video of a Chinese woman expressing her dismay at the large number of Indians in Canada has gone viral on social media platform X. In the video the woman states she was shooting from a spot where people take their driving tests. “It’s dreadful she says.

Indians surround me in Canada. I’ll record a video for you to view. I am at this driving licence testing location. She goes on to say that individuals who were uninformed of her whereabouts incorrectly assumed she was in India.

The video has since received more than 2.7 million views, 2,400 comments, and 4,700 reshares on X.

Frank Deschushin, an X user, stated, “If the current rate of Indian immigration to Canada continues, Canada will become India West in relatively short order.” Indians outnumber all other populations entering Canada in total, and it’s not even close.”

He also posted a Forbes study on X, which indicated that in 2022, with 118,095 Indian immigrants, India would outnumber the next largest source countries for permanent residents.

Another person said, “I said it ten years ago: Canada will be Indianized by 2050. “Well on track, if not even ahead of that.”

“The administration wants Indians. “More than it wants Chinese,” another user stated.

Canada’s Explosion of India Immigrants

According to Forbes, since 2013, the number of Indians entering to Canada has more than doubled thanks to Justin Trudeau’s open immigration policy.

According to a new survey, many Indian students have chosen to attend Canadian institutions over American universities since Canada’s social policies are superior to those in the United States.

According to the National Foundation for American Policy, the number of Indian immigrants to Canada increased by 326% between 2013 and 2023, from 32,828 to 139,715 individuals.

In the last two decades, Indian enrollment at Canadian universities has increased by more than 5,800%, from 2,181 in 2000 to 128,928 in 2021, an increase of 126,747 students.

Between 2016 and 2019, Indian overseas students enrolled in US institutions decreased by 13% while increasing by 182% in Canadian universities. Diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have impacted Indian student visa approvals in the near term.

According to the NFAP data, international student enrollment at Canadian institutions increased by 544% between 2000 and 2021, from 62,223 to 400,521.

Although Canada recently imposed a two-year limit on new international student permits, the government exempted students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees. The Canadian government is extending the validity of several post-graduate work permits for graduate school programs.

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Inflation Continues to Decline, Surpassing Projections.

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Inflation

(VOR News) – A study published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday shows that although on an annual basis the measure of inflation regularly tracked by the Federal Reserve dropped more than expected, in August it showed a minor increase.

The report’s presentation of this data was Direct results of this event were people’s expectations on the Federal Reserve’s desire to drastically lower interest rates grew.

Beginning the month, the price index for personal consumption expenditures rose 0.1% then by 2.2% annually from the start of the month. Although this is less than the projected 2.3%, it is also less than the 2.5% rate noted in July.

Apart from the cost of food and energy, the core index gained 0.1% month-on-month. Conversely, the average annual rate showed a notable rise from 2.6% the month before to 2.7%.

August electricity price inflation dropped 0.8%, indicating an improvement.

Though it is not as well-known as the consumer price index, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is a big proponent of the PCE. The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by fifty basis points and declared that it was certain that inflation was under control. A little over a week has passed since the Fed made those announcements before this report.

“Friday’s weaker-than-expected PCE data increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at both the November and December meetings,” states Bellwether Wealth President and Chief Investment Officer Clark Bellin.

As the chief investment officer of Bellwether Wealth put it, this is just one more piece of evidence showing that interest rates don’t have to be that much higher than the rate of inflation.

The Federal Reserve made the right move last week when it decided to lower interest rates by a more significant 50 basis points than was initially projected, based on data from the Consumer Price Index that was announced on Friday.

This is due to the possibility that the economy may suffer if interest rates are kept at an unreasonably high level for an extended length of time.

A day after the government presented its final estimate of second-quarter GDP growth, the report was made public. Concurrently, the government increased the rate of economic growth for the 2021–2023 era.

Inflation occurred as the country recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country’s savings rate and income growth were both higher than previously estimated, according to the revisions, indicating that consumers may still have the wherewithal to make purchases.

According to Inflation Cetera Investment Management’s chief investment officer, Gene Goldman, data has been coming in stronger than anticipated since July.

Vice President Kamala Harris might benefit from the economy, which has done better than expected, as she strives to succeed President Joe Biden in the White House. In the event that Harris defeats former President Donald Trump in November, she stressed on Wednesday that she will handle the economy in a “pragmatic” manner.

She proposed a plan that included raising the tax deduction cap for business owners, giving first-time homebuyers financial incentives, and supporting initiatives aimed at advancing manufacturing and sustainable energy.

Harris is still having trouble with inflation because a lot of Americans believe that the Biden administration is to blame for the price increases that have occurred over the last three years.

Prices are still rising for most goods compared to before the pandemic, even though they are not rising as quickly as they did in 2022, when consumer inflation was rising at a rate of 9% annually.

According to a comment from Allianz Trade’s chief economist for North America, Dan North, “inflation continues to accumulate over time.” It started in 2021, and prices went up after that.

SOURCE: US

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