Nick Noorani Website

NAEEM ” Nick” Noorani has a message for recent and prospective immigrants: Ask Nick.
The North Vancouver resident is set to field questions relative to new and prospective Canadian on his new weekly segment, Ask Nick, a part of The Link, a daily program on Radio Canada International.

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For Immigrants in Canada:
1) How do you develop a good credit rating when you can’t get credit?
2) How do you get a driver’s license?
3) What is Employment Insurance?
For Potential Immigrants to Canada:
1) What is welfare?
2) What kinds of hours will I be expected to work?
3) What’s a SIN card… it sounds bad?

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Building a Nation: Canada’s Immigrant & Diversity Imperative
The Immigrant Access Fund
Celebration Dinner
October 10, 2006
Thank you, Peter, for your kind words. It is an honour to be introduced by Peter Lougheed, who is not only one of Canada’s greatest politicians and statesmen, but an extraordinary individual who has done so much for both Alberta and Canada. Peter is also a past director of RBC and is always available to show his support for our organization, which–Peter–we greatly appreciate.
I couldn’t resist the invitation to visit Calgary, and show my support for the Immigrant Access Fund. I’d like to thank the IAF’s staff, board and volunteers for the warm welcome they have shown me.
IAF provides small loans to internationally trained immigrants, so they can receive Canadian accreditation and training. IAF is helping immigrants help Canada, which is critical to our country’s future growth and prosperity. The only challenge now is finding ways to make programs like IAF’s even more available, and therefore more impactful.
Tonight, I want to talk about why this is so important and how we must significantly increase these efforts, and others, if Canada is going to have the necessary human resources to compete in today’s global economy.
For the last two years or so, I’ve been speaking out about diversity and immigration as key drivers of Canada’s prosperity. I want to be clear about what I mean by this, because many people believe this issue relates to current skilled labour shortages; some think it applies to our need to attract more professionals such as doctors, engineers and scientists; while others focus on the glass ceiling that many existing immigrants and visible minorities experience. I view the diversity and immigration imperative as all of the above.

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Knowing what doctors in Canada go through, I am always surprised when I meet yet another doctor immigrant, fresh with enthusiasm and no clue what awaits them. I wonder if I should be the one to break the dream bubble. I politely ask, “So what made you choose Canada?”
“When I visited the embassy, I was told there was a huge shortage of doctors and shown press clippings that spoke of the shortage. I thought this would be an ideal place to migrate to.”
What the “sales” team of officials representing Canada didn’t tell them was that it would take an eternity for them to practise medicine here, even if they passed the medical exams, because they have to also complete a necessary, but hard-to-get, residency — if they are lucky enough to get it at all!

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