Canadian Industry Seeking more Immigration

Industry officials in numerous sectors in Canada are facing crippling labour shortages. Those officials in provinces such as British Columbia, where shortages of as many as 20,000 skilled workers exist, are looking for ways to expedite the immigration process so as to be able to recruit from overseas and meet project requirements. Monte Solberg, Canada's Minister of Human Resources and Social Development states that he is looking for ways to expedite the process of immigration.

Although backlogs can be lengthy in some cases, Canada is still seen as having lenient visa processing rules compared to other Western nations. Faced with continued shortages in its labour force in the USA, for example, software giant Microsoft has set up a division of its company in Canada for the purpose of software development. The company hopes to be able to attract talent from among Canadians and those immigrating to Canada.