Latest news with #NCLC
Economic Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Canada revises post-study work permit courses for international students in 2025
Canada has revised the list of educational programs that qualify international students for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), aligning it with the country's labour market needs. The new list, released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on 25 June, adds 119 fields of study to the PGWP eligibility list and removes 178 existing to a report by CIC News, these changes affect international students enrolled in non-degree programs who apply for a study permit on or after 1 November 2024. Students who applied before 25 June 2025 are not affected and will remain eligible under the rules that existed at the time of their application. There are now 920 programs that qualify for PGWP. IRCC removed all transport-related programs and retained only one program under agriculture and agri-food. In contrast, new additions include fields linked to in-demand occupations in healthcare, education, and skilled trades. Among newly eligible programs are veterinary medicine, dentistry, cabinetmaking, and construction project management. Education programs such as biology teacher education and French language teacher education have also been added for the first the STEM category, programs in architecture and landscape design were added, while courses like environmental studies and marine resources management were removed. Trades such as solar energy and drywall installation lost IRCC's rationale, the update said the ineligible programs were removed because 'the occupations they are linked to are no longer experiencing labour shortages.'This change is closely aligned with Canada's Express Entry immigration categories, which were also revised earlier this year. Both systems now reflect a shared focus on addressing current labour market PGWP applicants must still meet language proficiency criteria. Non-university graduates must score CLB/NCLC level 5, while university graduates must meet level 7. Graduates from flight schools remain exempt from field-specific added PGWP-eligible courses comprise of: S. No. Program Name 1 French language/French language arts teacher education 2 Biology teacher education 3 Computer teacher education 4 Chemistry teacher education 5 Drama and dance teacher education 6 Veterinary medicine (DVM) 7 Veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant 8 Dentistry (DDS, DMD) 9 Dental clinical sciences, general (MS, MSc, PhD) 10 Oral biology and oral and maxillofacial pathology (MS, MSc, PhD) 11 Architecture (BArch, BA, BS, BSc, MArch, MA, MS, MSc, DArch, PhD) 12 Advanced architectural design (MArch, MA, MS, MSc, DArch, PhD) 13 Landscape architecture (BS, BSc, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD) 14 Construction management, general 15 Construction project management 16 Diver, professional and instructor 17 Cabinetmaking and millwork 18 Computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinist technology/CNC machinist (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Punit Goenka reloads Zee with Bullet and OTT focus. Can he beat mighty rivals? 3 critical hurdles in India's quest for rare earth independence HDB Financial may be cheaper than Bajaj Fin, but what about returns? INR1,300 crore loans for INR100? Stamp duty notice to ArcelorMittal, banks. Stock Radar: Titan Company breaks out from 3-month consolidation; check target & stop loss for long positions For risk-takers: More than bullish, be selective; 5 mid-cap stocks from different sectors with an upside potential of up to 38% Multibagger or IBC - Part 12: If transition is successful then there is no limit. But there is a big 'IF' These mid-cap stocks with 'Strong Buy' & 'Buy' recos can rally over 25%, according to analysts
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CT land conservancy group award grants. Farms here among top in country at risk of loss: official
In an effort to help farmers adopt practices that enhance sustainability, productivity, and climate resilience, the Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy said it has awarded climate-smart agricultural grants. It is the second round of the Building Resiliency on Northwest Connecticut Farmland Implementation Grant program, according to the land, conservancy. The Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy received $750,000 from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture through the Climate Smart Agriculture & Forestry Grant program in March 2023. The NCLC was one of 12 recipients of the $7 million to be allocated to agricultural and conservation entities. Funding for 18 of the 22 climate-smart agricultural assessments conducted by Berkshire Agricultural Ventures were announced last fall. Now, the Hamlin Preserve and Mary Moore Preserve, both of Sharon, as well as Roxbury's Riverbank Farm and Sandy Hook's Rowledge Pond Aquaculture were named awardees announced by the NCLC of building resiliency grants. 'Connecticut's farms are in the top three for most at risk of loss in the country. NCLC's Building Resiliency grant program provides direct investments to help our state's farmers and farms adapt and thrive in a changing climate,' Catherine Rawson, NCLC executive director said, in a statement. 'NCLC is proud to work alongside our farming community to strengthen food security and ecological resilience for generations to come.' The NCLC service area includes Litchfield County and the towns of Brookfield, Newtown, and Sherman in Fairfield County. 'Connecticut's agricultural producers are committed to being part of the climate change solution through on-farm energy, soil health, and carbon sequestration projects to further increase their sustainability and resiliency,' Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said, also in the statement. 'Through the support of the Lamont Administration, CT DoAg has been proud to partner with organizations such as NCLC to make strategic investments in farm operations to support climate smart farming practices and long-term resiliency projects which will have a long-term positive impact.' The program provides funding in an effort to reduce emissions, sequester carbon and implement climate-smart practices, according to officials. In addition to 10 implementation grant awardees chosen last fall, the NCLC recently chose 15 more implementation grantees that were selected from beef, dairy, poultry, fish, forestry, vegetable, fruit and flower farms across Litchfield and northern Fairfield Counties. Why a CT farm draws visitors from across the state. 'A place to engage, connect, and grow,' its leader says. Those selections include Adamah, Inc. in Falls Village ($16,000); Canaan View Dairy, LLC in East Canaan ($24,000); Carlwood Farm, LLC in Canaan ($10,000); Sarah Lang – Conundrum Farm in Kent ($30,000); Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston ($15,000); Chandravir and Roberta Ahuja – Great Ring Farm in Sandy Hook ($3,000); Hathor Hill Farm, LLC in Lakeside ($20,000); Howling Flats Farm, LLC in Canaan ($8,000); Kalenauskas Farm, LLC in Watertown ($21,000); Michael Crotta – Lakeside Farm in Lakeside ($12,000); Rowledge Pond Aquaculture, LLC in Sandy Hook ($23,000); Steep Rock Association, Inc. in New Preston ($12,000); The Stead Farm, LLC in Barkhamsted ($9,000); Town of New Milford – Sullivan Farm in New Milford ($6,000), and Wright Farm, LLC in Goshen ($3,000). 'It is imperative we reverse the loss and degradation of our farmlands, particularly given the increasing challenges of extreme and unpredictable weather patterns,' Hathor Hill Farm co-owner Joe McCartin said in the statement. 'Climate-smart agriculture funding will help more farms adopt practices that can mitigate the effects of severe weather conditions. The more we shift to climate-smart practices like no-till planting to minimize erosion and rotational grazing to restore soil organic matter, the better we will be at ensuring that food production is more stable and resilient.' How a CT 'matchmaker' service helped a rehabilitated farm create new life for a new generation Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy is a non-profit conservation organization founded in 1965 that protects 13,400 acres and includes 22 public hiking preserves, 49 working farms, 57 miles of rivers and streams, and more than 3,000 acres of habitat for rare and endangered species, according to the NCLC website.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Experts disagree over the impact of CFPB's downfall. Here's how it affects you
Experts debate the impact of a diminished CFPB, with some saying the responsibility of consumer financial protection could shift to state governments. Some consumer credit protections, such as medical debt reporting and buy now, pay later (BNPL) safety nets, may be scaled back or eliminated with new CFPB leadership. When a federal agency expressly named to protect the finances of consumers is shut down, even if temporarily, it's natural to sound the alarm. The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) did exactly that. 'The gravity of the attack cannot be overstated, endangering the entire economy…' read a Feb. 10 mass email from NCLC Executive Director Rich Dubois. Yes, it's hard to argue: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), established in the rubble of the Great Recession, is under attack. Elon Musk, who recently held court in the Oval Office alongside President Trump, called to 'delete' the agency, ominously posting 'CFPB RIP' on X. And on Feb. 10, acting CFPB Director Russell Vought told employees to halt all 'work tasks.' Whether the agency's in-limbo status is worth ringing alarms is, perhaps surprisingly, up for debate. 'While the actions do seem drastic, it was based on the leadership of the agency trying to drive the prior [administration's] agenda,' says Kristen E. Larson, a veteran consumer financial attorney who advises banks. 'This was the only way to stop it.' The CFPB is unlikely to completely shutter, considering the Supreme Court upheld its funding source last May. Also, the Trump Administration said in a Feb. 24 court filing that it aimed to 'streamline,' not close the agency. It even thrust Director-nominee Jonathan McKernan before a key Senate committee on Feb. 27. Despite the agency's record — including fining Wells Fargo $3.7 billion and banning infamous Navient from federal student loan servicing — not everyone sees its potential disappearing act as draconian. Larson and other financial services attorneys at Ballard Spahr — which run a blog and podcast, in part, covering the CFPB — are among the less concerned. No, they don't think we'll re-enter a pre-Dodd-Frank Act world of financial institutions policing themselves. Instead, they say, the responsibility would largely shift to state governments. Senior counselor Alan S. Kaplinsky, a colleague of Larson's, says he expects 'blue states' — those with Democratic governors and attorneys general — to be more active in consumer protection than 'red states.' Twenty-three states, not all of them reliably 'blue,' already filed suit in late February challenging the CFPB's work stoppage. Kaplinsky adds, 'What consumers need is the same thing industry needs, [the CFPB] being independent of politics yet being subject to oversight by Congress so that we won't have these radical shifts every time we have a new person in [the White House].' Some state consumer protection laws go beyond the breadth of federal statutes. Not all states protect their residents as well as others. Other agencies — namely the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve — remain in place as less politicized bodies that can carry the mantle for the CFPB. The CFPB was designed as the one, truly independent watchdog (since it doesn't receive funding directly from Congress). Financial institutions operating nationally often create products adhering to the consumer protection laws of the most strict states. That may leave the door open for predatory lenders to operate locally or regionally in states with weaker consumer protection. Longer-term what-ifs aside, the NCLC, among others, are concerned about what a diluted and denuded CFPB would mean for the average consumer in any state. It 'now appears poised to roll over and play dead in pending lawsuits by big banks and credit bureaus, letting them overturn new [CFPB-issued] rules returning $5 billion in excessive overdraft fees to struggling families and removing medical debt from credit reports,' said Lauren Saunders, the NCLC's associate director in prepared remarks. On Feb. 21, for example, the CFPB sought to dismiss its own case against peer-to-peer lender SoLo Funds. Under the former administration, the agency sued, in part, over the SoLo's one-time 'tipping' structure that confused the real cost of loans. Expert insight 'The CPFB was created after excessive risk-taking by financial companies, many of whom were not supervised by a federal regulator, crashed our economy. Millions of people lost their homes, work, savings, and businesses. It was created to protect people, not empower Elon Musk. If this administration chooses to cover its eyes from the facts, people will be put in harm's way. This is a free pass for financial institutions to take advantage of consumers.' – Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America in a press release The CFPB finalized a rule in early January to bar creditors and credit reporting agencies from evaluating consumers' medical debt. If it proceeds, an estimated 15 million Americans would see $49 billion in medical bills fall off their credit reports — their credit scores would jump by an average of 20 points. What happens now: The rule has faced court challenges and is in the midst of a 90-day pause, delaying its potential effective date to June 15. It's seemingly unlikely that the new CFPB leadership will defend the rule in court — and even if it does, the Congressional Review Act allows lawmakers to sink it. Learn more: What the CFPB rules would entail The CFPB is prohibited by law from regulating interest rates, but President Trump may find other means of fulfilling his campaign promise to put a 10 percent ceiling on credit card APRs. The current average eclipses 20 percent, according to Bankrate. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill on Feb. 4 that would see Congress pave the way. What happens now: The courts previously foiled the CFPB's 2024 efforts at capping credit card late fees. This time around, it may be the influence of the banking industry that stands in the way of advancing widely popular credit card protection. Larson and colleagues represent banks' view that capping rates would disincentivize issuers from offering robust rewards programs to well-qualified borrowers — and from offering credit to less creditworthy applicants. Learn more: Can Trump limit credit card rates? Last May, the CFPB issued an interpretative rule likening BNPL to credit cards in the Truth in Lending Act. Specifically, it allows consumers to file (and have resolved) disputes, be eligible for refunds and receive recurring billing statements. What happens now: The rule could be perceived as an overreach by the new CFPB leadership and simply be voided, as Politico reported. Learn more: 3 worrisome trends of buy now, pay later
