Nick Noorani Website

‘They are literally modern-day slaves in the system and that’s the worst part of this.’– Yessy Byl, advocate
What a shame! Having lived in the Middle East, I am very familiar with the lack of human rights for temporary workers. This article is not the first one has heard about this abuse. IS SOMEONE LISTENING?

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As banks turn their attention to retail, it’s clear that newcomers will be key to grabbing market share
As customers approach the bustling Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch snuggled within the Albion Mall on the outskirts of Toronto, one of the first things they see is a sign that reads: “Welcome to CIBC, Services are available in the following languages” and lists Hindi and Punjabi.
The bank installed the large plaques in a number of branches this summer, one of the little indicators that a major shift is under way in Canadian banking.
It begins with the renewed focus on retail, or consumer, banking as a large number of new entrants to the game ramp up competition at a time when the perils of investment banking are becoming increasingly clear.
But the age-old problem for Canada’s big banks is that it’s difficult to wrestle significant gains in market share from one another.
Undercut the competition on mortgage pricing one quarter, or raise interest rates on savings accounts, and you might steal a few customers. But, by and large, Canadians have been fairly lazy when it comes to switching banks.
That’s part of the reason why the profound demographic shift occurring in Canada right now creates such an opportunity for the banks – and such a challenge.
TARA PERKINS
From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail
November 20, 2007 at 6:17 AM EST

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David Lam is busy counting days. Days until his trading company in Toronto will move to make way for a 250,000-square-foot, three-storey shopping mall geared specifically for the city’s growing South Asian community.
“When built in two years’ time, it will be North America’s largest South Asian mall,” said Lam, whose Canadian fisheries trading company Tai Foong International Ltd., at McNicoll Avenue and Markham Road in Scarborough, will soon be demolished to accommodate the new mall.
Named the Sitara (the Star), the mall will house 500 retail shops, a huge banquet and convention centre, and a two-storey-high atrium for pop concerts, along with several patios and a 1,000-car park facility.
Lam isn’t the only one in Canada eyeing the growing and potentially lucrative market of South Asians — categorized as those coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Companies are starting to factor the community into their marketing plans as its numbers grow.
An architectural drawing of what The Sitara shopping centre in Scarborough, Ont., will look like once it is built. The 250,000-square-foot, three-storey mall designed specifically to cater to the city’s growing South Asian community will house 500 retail shops, a banquet and convention centre, and a two-storey-high atrium for concerts.

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Even as South Asians become more visible in mainstream ads, marketers still rarely take the effort to reach beyond the cliches.
Thousands of South Asians riding Toronto’s subway saw a rare reflection of themselves in a recent advertisement in a free daily newspaper.
And no, it wasn’t an ad for a Bollywood movie, just a plain South Asian family seated on a couch, announcing a bundle of services by Rogers.
“We wanted to portray the South Asian family as a mainstream family, and show that these images are just as acceptable as those of a typical white family shown in mainstream advertisements,” says Bobby Sahni, manager of multicultural marketing at Rogers Cable communications Inc.
“Ride the subway or TTC and you will find that the consumer is not only white. In fact, we don’t market only to a multicultural market but our (entire) market is multicultural,” adds Sahni.

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By Chris Powell
Some national advertisers are ignoring ethnic media and missing out on high-potential immigrant markets because they won’t spend $19
Census data and research studies confirm it: A “new Canada” is emerging. We no longer embody the global stereotype of a nation of hockey loving, poutine-eating, lumberjacket-wearing hosers. We’re younger. Better educated. And we like basketball.
The reason for Canada’s changing makeup, say researchers, is a steady influx of immigrants-about one million every four years. According to the 2006 Census, two-thirds of Canada’s population growth from 2001 to 2006 was attributable to “higher levels of immigration.” By comparison, U.S. population growth in the same time frame was primarily due to “natural increase.”

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I came to Canada in 1998. Canada is the fourth country I am living in – some call me a serial immigrant, but this time its final! Born in Bombay – now called Mumbai we moved to the oil rich Gulf countries and lived there in relative luxury for ten years. Even today, people in Canada ask me ‘Nick, why on earth would you leave a tax free environment like Dubai?’ My answer – ‘for 10 years I didn’t pay taxes, felt guilty and came to Canada to do my penance’. The fact is that for me – I would take Canada’s wealth any day over Dubai’s!
When I came to Canada, I was confused by the media. Mainstream media ignored me as an immigrant or called me a gangster along with most other people from my country! So called ethnic media spoke to an immigrant twenty years ago! I was confused – I saw magazines on every conceivable topic from gardening to damaged furniture yet even though we call ourselves a nation of immigrants, there was no magazine for immigrants!

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