Government Stratgies to Attract Canadian Immigrants

Along with the regulatory changes in Bil C-50, intended to help reduce current immigration backlogs, Canada's government has enacted new means to help attract new immigrants to the country. Recent efforts to retained skilled workers has included the announcement of programs which will facilitate the immigration process for those who are already within Canada.

Developing new settlement services for immigrants is another important way that the Minister of Immigration is seeking to ease the process. The government has begun to invest CAD$1.4 billion into the provinces and territories over a 5 year period since 2006. Examples of services which are being offered in various communities as a result of such funding includes language training, job search services, and provision of other essential services.

Immigration in the Canadian Experience Class

Following proposals included in the 2003 implementation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Canada's Minister of Immigration has publish proposal regarding the Canadian Experience Class. This class of immigration, complementing the Skilled Worker class and Provincial Nominee Programs, will permit certain foreign graduates and foreign workers to apply for fast-tracked immigration within Canada.

Under the proposed changes, graduates of certain Canadian post-secondary academic institutions with Canadian work experience would need to meet the following minimum requirements:

• graduation from a minimum of a two-year program at a public of private post-secondary institution, accredited and legislatively authorized to grant degrees;
• valid temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application;
• at least one year of skilled, professional or technical work experience (National Occupation Classification code 0, A, or B); and
• moderate or basic language skills, depending on occupational skill level.

Similarly, a foreign worker can qualify by meeting the following minimum requirements:

• valid temporary resident status in Canada at the time of their application;
• at least two years of skilled, professional or technical work experience (National Occupation Classification code 0, A, or B);
• moderate or basic language skills, depending on occupational skill level.

The proposed amendments to the legislation are presently under discussion. Final changes to the legislation will following the discussion period.

Canadian Immigration Consultations Begin

As part of its efforts to reduce backlogs in the processing of Canadian immigration applications, changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act have been approved. These changes allow direction from the Minister of Immigration in order to determine which cases - most consistent with Canada's economic needs - can be fast-tracked through the application process.

Canada's Minister of Immigration has announced that consultations will begin on July 7th in order to focus on identifying critical occupational shortages, the role of immigration in responding to them, and any barriers to foreign credential accreditation. These consultations will be held with Canada's provinces and territories as well as invited representatives from business, labour, academic, and non-government organizations. They will be the basis for the instructions which will be formulated to identify cases for priority processing.