Canada Immigration News and Views

Alberta seeking immigration solution

2007-02-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

Alberta Employment Minister Iris Evans has sought to establish special authority for his province to recruit foreign skilled workers in the light of ongoing labour shortages in that region. Although Alberta was seeking authority to establish an immigration system similar to that of the province of Quebec, its government has been advised that a Provincial Nominee program more similar to Manitoba and British Columbia should be expected.

Although the deal is expected to take time to sort out, the province is looking for a way to attract as many as 100,000 skilled workers in the next decade.

Canada's immigration backlog

2007-01-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

The province of Ontario, together with Toronto legal representatives, are asking Canada's Immigration department to take action to reduce the present backlog of applications. The backlog of approximately 800,000 cases is causing some applications to take over 4 years to be processed.

"It is unfair to have 800,000 people waiting in line for so long," said Mike Colle, Ontario citizenship and immigration minister. "It is frustrating for these people and they're going elsewhere."

Omtario to promote hiring of new immigrants

2007-01-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

Ontario's Minister of Immigration, Mike Colle, has announced plans to invest $1.75milliion in order to promote the hiring of skilled immigrants in that province. Such companies represent 97 per cent of Ontario businesses but may be reluctant to hire immigrants because they don't have the resources or expertise to evaluate their foreign education and job experience.

Immigration department eases foreign worker process

2007-01-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

In the face of increasing shortages of certain skilled workers in regions, Canada's immigration department has announced a simplification of the process for certain foreign worker cases cases.

“Canada's new government has been listening to employers in Alberta and British Columbia, and they are truly having a hard time finding enough workers,” the Minister of Immigration said in a statement recently. “The improvements we are announcing today are making it easier, faster, and less costly for employers to hire temporary foreign workers.”

Improving the recognition of credentials of Canadian immigrants

2006-11-13T16:58:00.000-05:00

A common complaint of new Canadians is that it can be an uphill battle to receive recognition of foreign credentials from Canadian employers and professional organizations. Ontario's government has recently tabled a Bill which would impose fines of as much as CAD$100,000 on regulatory organizations which unfairly dismiss foreign credentials.

"Let's make it possible for these people to work in their fields," Ontario Immigration Minister Mike Colle said, "and then we'll have a gain for the foreign-trained individuals but also for all the communities that need engineers, doctors, nurses."

Canadian immigration targets increase

2006-11-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced that it will increase the 2007 immigration targets by 5.2 percent, the largest increase in the past 15 years.

In tabling its annual report in Parliament on Tuesday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said it plans to admit between 240,000 and 265,000 permanent residents in 2007. The target this year is 225,000 to 255,000, and the government expects the final figure will be in the upper end of that range.

study on Canada's immigration point system discussed

2006-10-24T12:21:00.000-04:00

Queen's University expert and economics professor Charles Beach has reported to a US Senate committee that Canada's immigration system is doing a better job of attracting educated and experienced immigrants.

"It appears that changing Canada's immigration policy to the point system had the desired effect of improving the quality of skill attributes of incoming immigrants," said Dr. Beach.

The point system has gone through many changes since it was introduced in 1967 and will likely change again to attract more skilled building and industrial tradespeople which are in short supply.

Immigration driving Canada's population growth

2006-10-10T12:54:00.000-04:00

Statistics Canada reports that immigration continued to be the driving force behind Canada's growing population over the past 12 months, with the movement of people into Canada from other countries accounting for two-thirds of the growth during that period, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. It was the third straight year of an annual increase in immigration.

“International migration's role in Canada's population growth far exceeds its impact in the United States,” the agency noted. Compared with the United States, Canada's population growth rate was slightly higher than that seen in the United States.

Among the provinces and territories, Alberta had the strongest growth rate, coming in nearly three times higher than the national average. For the year, Alberta's growth rate was 29.4 people per 1,000.

Industry association recommends immigration changes

2006-07-24T14:20:00.000-04:00

The Canadian Construction Association has issued an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying that changes to Canada's immigration system are needed in order to address the chronic shortfall of skilled workers in that field.

"Although aggressive efforts by all industry players must continue in order to recruit Canadians to the construction industry, the fact remains that immigration policy must play a bigger role in meeting future labour demand," said association president Michael Atkinson.

In his letter, Atkinson recommends a number of changes to the provisions governing permanent and temporary admission in order to correct what the industry refers to as a problem.

Canada's Immigration Minister to allocate funds to language training

2006-06-10T12:30:00.000-04:00

While getting praise from the Chinese Canadian National Council for the government's efforts to improve language training for new immigrants, Immigration Minister Monte Solberg came under fire for alleging that Asians may have more difficulty learning English than some other nationalities.

'They're investing more money in language courses, we want to support that. But if the rationale is because this new group of immigrants are arriving from countries that don't use the Latin alphabet and therefore they would have more difficulty that's not true.' says Victor Wong.

Immigration needed to fill labour shortages in Canada

2006-06-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

As the publication The Economist reports that the 2010 Olympics will continue to fuel the shortage of skilled workers in Canada, Toronto's Globe and Mail today reports that Canada's aging population could mean that immigration would prove critical to its ability to avoid increases in debt facing other nations with the same issue.

Aging populations are set to make a mess of the world's public finances in the decades ahead, and could cause government debt to hit speculative grades everywhere except Denmark, Austria and Canada, Standard & Poor's Corp. says.

Right of Permanent Resident Fee reduced

2006-05-08T12:28:00.000-04:00

Effective May 3rd 2006, the Right of Permanent Resident Fee was reduced to CAD$490 from CAD$975. This follows directly from the promises made by the current Canadian government during the campaigning leading up to the elections of January 23rd. Those who had already submitted the higher fee, but who had not become permanent residents as of May 3rd will be eligible for a refund.

CIC allows off-campus work

2006-05-02T08:32:00.000-04:00

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has signed agreements with a number of provinces allowing foreign students to work off-campus. This week, this was extended to all provinces: eligible foreign students will soon be allowed to seek off-campus work throughout Canada.

If you are a foreign student studying in Canada, you must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for a work permit under the Off-Campus Work Permit Program:

you must have a valid study permit;
you must have studied full time at an eligible institution for at least six months out of the 12 months before you apply;
you must maintain satisfactory academic standing (as defined by your academic institution);
you must be enrolled in an academic program of study; and
you must comply with the conditions of your study permit and your work permit, if applicable. If you fail to do so, you will be found to be in non-compliance and will not be able to re-apply for the program.

Off-Campus Work for Ontario Foreign Students

2006-04-25T15:29:00.001-04:00

Citizenship and Immigration Canada today announced that foreign students in the province of Ontario will soon be eligible to seek employment off-campus. Foreign students in this province have ordinarily been able to work on-campus, but availability of positions are quite limited.

To be eligible for the program, international students must complete six months of full-time study at a public post-secondary institution. To remain eligible, they must maintain their full-time student status, sustain satisfactory academic standing and work no more than 20 hours a week during regular classes.

BC Labour shortage reaching crisis

2006-04-11T11:49:00.000-04:00

As Ontario moves to deport tens of thousands of construction workers in that province, the shortage of similar workers in the 2010 Olympic host province British Columba is reaching a crisis level. It is estimated that employers will need 20,000 construction workers during the next three years to add to the 167,000 currently on the job across the province. Increasingly, companies are looking to foreign workers to fill their requirements.

The construction industry has three main ways to deal with the worker shortfall, but they all have their drawbacks:

Find more qualified people within B.C. or in other provinces.

Train more apprentices in British Columbia, which takes at least five years.

Bring in qualified foreign workers on short-term visas, or sponsor them as landed immigrants. Increasingly, employers are going this route, but say they need more help from the relevant government departments to bring workers into B.C. quickly.

Canada's Immigration Minister denies amnsesty proposal

2006-03-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

The government of Ontario has been putting pressure to deport tens of thousands of illegal workers in that province, and has been seeking the support of Canada Minister of Immigration, Monte Solberg. Although the Minister declared that this would not be a priority of the current federal government in a recent speech, he has also refused to grant an immigration amnesty.

The province, like several others in Canada right now is already experiencing a significant labour crunch, with the availability of skilled trades-people at a significant low. The loss of this number of workers will certainly result in even greater demand for Canadians with these skills, and for foreign workers who follow the prescribed process of applying for work permits.

Landing fee to decrease

2006-03-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

Following up on the promises of his party during the recent election campaign, Canada's Immigration Minister has announced that the Landing (Right of Permanent Residence) fee will be cut in half. Other issues discussed during the campaign, such as the recognition of foreign credentials and speeding up the immigration process, will have to follow according the Monte Solberg's first speech as the new Minister of Immigration.

Another priority will be family reunification, with focus being placed on bestowing citizenship to children adopted by Canadian parents abroad. Addressing the issue of illegal immigration in Ontario will not be a priority, although that province's Minister is seeking support in that area.

BC construction industry recruits overseas

2006-03-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

With an increase of 11.4% in skilled trade work in the province of British Columbia in the past year, a substantial shortage of workers in this province is now being addressed. The province of Alberta has been dealing with similar shortages for some time, and employers in BC are now faced with the prospect of looking to regions such as India and the Middle East to locate foreign workers to fill these positions.

Meanwhile, there is a sentiment that Canada may need to rethink its immigration strategy in the face of increasing international competition for the same skilled workers.

Canada and India hold immigration talks

2006-03-19T12:09:00.000-05:00

Indian news site IRIS reports that Canada and India have held talks related to international immigration issues.

The talks focused on areas of mutual cooperation between India and Canada on issues relating to international migration and related developments. The two sides discussed cooperation between the two countries with a view to making international migration a more orderly process with mutual advantage and co-operation to both the countries.

Province launches immigration website

2006-03-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

The province of Ontario has launched a website for Canadian immigrants which is intended to provide new arrivals and prospects with information about life in the province and its individual cities and regions.

Topics covered include steps for before and after arrival, as well as information about living, working, studying, doing business, and language education. This can be a helpful resource to anyone considering immigrating to Canada, regardless of which province they have as their destination.

Credentials are a priority for new Prime Minister

2006-02-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

Consistent with promises made during the election campaigning, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has identified the recognition of foreign credentials as a primary goal of his new government.

"Ensuring new Canadians can use their training overseas to help them gain employment in their field of expertise is key for Ontario if it wants to attract the brightest and most educated immigrants", said Premier Dalton McGuinty speaking to reporters.

The government anticipates that there will be an increase in competition among nations for skilled worker immigrants.

Canada's immigration mix

2006-02-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

Canada's new Immigration Minister has stated that the new Conservative government has no plans to reduce annual immigration targets or to otherwise restrict family reunification. However, he suggests that the mix may need to be changed in order to address the issue of labour shortages.

The Globe and Mail reports: "I don't think it's the overall number that's the issue," he said in an interview yesterday. "I think partly maybe it's the mix. But it's also using some of the other tools that we have to address some of the problems we have -- like the work visas."

Previously discussed increases to the numbers of immigrants admitted do not seem to be on the immediate agenda.

Demograhper says immigration levels should remain

2006-02-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

For some time, Canadian economists have been suggesting that it is necessary to raise Canada's immigration levels to sustain population growth and the economy. A common proposal is that the number of immigrants should be 1% of the population annually.

Based on demographics, however, David Foot (author of Boom, Bust & Echo) recommends maintaining the existing level of immigration to Canada until 2015, "a time when fewer people will be in their 20s. That opinion runs contrary to new policies announced last fall by both the federal and provincial governments."

New Minister of Immigration

2006-02-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

As Canada's new government was sworn in today, a new Minister of Immigration has also been appointed.

Wikipedia offers the following: Monte Solberg PC (born September 17, 1958 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Medicine Hat in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is the current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He has also served as Critic for Foreign Affairs, National Revenue, and Human Resources Development.

Solberg also keeps a blog. In 2005, he blogged from the floor of the House of Commons immediately upon the passage of Bill C-38, which provided legal recognition of same-sex marriage, which he had opposed.

BC to fast track certain skilled workers

2006-02-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

B.C. construction industry leaders plan to fast-track skilled trades workers from Europe through Canada's immigration process to help solve the province's skilled labour shortage.

Based on the province's nominee program, eligible workers can obtain a work permit and be in Canada within several months. Although this is not the only means for a skilled individual to immigrate to this province, in some cases in can greatly ease the process and expedite arrival into Canada. Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association, says "the provincial nominee program will help immigrant workers settle in B.C. more easily because they arrive legally with guaranteed jobs. Cultural groups can also help them adapt to their new way of life."