Immigration Changing: Provinces Need More Skilled Workers

Earlier this month, discussions were held between federal and provincial authorities regarding improvements to the country’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). These discussions have been part of a larger move away from the current PNP system to one that will more effectively bring immigrants to provinces in need of their specific knowledge and skills.

Many provinces want to increase their annual Provincial Nominee quotas, which are allocated by the Federal government, in order to address widespread labour shortages. Saskatchewan is lobbying to increase its annual quota from 4,000 to 6,000. Ontario wants to raise its quota from 1,000 to 5,000, while British Columbia wants to take in 6,500, up from 3,500 this year.

The PNP System Today

The PNP system was implemented to allow provinces greater authority in choosing the Permanent Residents who arrive and settle within their borders. While provinces nominate individuals for Permanent Residency, the Federal government remains responsible for issuing visas and screening nominees for health and security.

PNPs benefit provinces throughout the country, as they are able to target workers who are most likely to succeed in their labour markets. Most PNP categories place an emphasis on work or study experience in the province, as well as training or skills in an in-demand profession. They may also develop special categories to help bolster targeted industries. British Columbia, for instance, offers an immigration stream exclusively for long- and heavy-haul truck drivers, whereas Albertarecently created a pilot program targeting trades such as ironworking and carpentry.

Despite its success, restrictions to the current PNP system have resulted in some provinces struggling to fill quotas while satisfying Federal government regulations. New Federal rules have also been implemented that require many PNP applicants to show proficiency in one of Canada’s two official languages.

PNPs in Transition

Ontario is one example of the need for PNP reform. The province receives more Permanent Residents per year than any other in Canada. The vast majority of these arrive through the popular Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), while only 1,000 are currently channeled through the Ontario PNP.

The FSWC has been undergoing a number of changes that are part of the government’s goal of creating a faster and more flexible immigration system. These new changes are promising for Canadian provinces, as they will better target immigrants who are well-placed to thrive in Canada’s economy. Unlike most PNP programs, a job offer is not needed to apply to the FSWC, and successful applicants may settle in any province of their choosing, except Quebec. While applications are not currently being accepted for the Skilled Worker category of the FSWC, changes to program regulations are expected to come into force in January 2013.

The FSWC will help attract immigrants with the education and experience needed to excel in Canada. However, provinces such as Ontario wish to complement this program with PNPs that can bring in immigrants whose profiles are particularly sought after in their province. During a recent meeting in Halifax, premiers from across the country urged the Federal government to allow their provinces greater flexibility in achieving their immigration goals.

“We want more space to be able to make our decisions about which immigrants will come to our provinces, where they will be settled and how many we’ll get,” said one premier.

The Federal government has been working with provinces to help them do so in a more efficient manner. One important proposed plan is the creation of an Expression of Interest (EOI) system. This system, which will be modeled on ones already in place in Australia and New Zealand, will create a pool of skilled applicants from which provinces may select candidates. Greater details regarding an EOI system and other changes to PNPs are forthcoming.

Options for Applicants Today

There are a number of options currently available for Permanent Residency applicants. Because every PNP is different, interested applicants may find themselves more suitable for some provinces than others. In addition, they may consider the FSWC and Quebec Skilled Workerprograms as a path to Permanent Residency.

For the FSCW (opening in 2013), applicants must:

• Have at least 1 year of full time work experience in the last 10 years;
• Demonstrate at least an Adequate-Intermediate language proficiency in English or French (Canadian Language Benchmark: 7);
• Obtain at least 67 points on the new point grid (based on language proficiency, age, work experience, education and adaptability etc.);
• Have their foreign education credentials assessed, authenticated and given an equivalent value in Canada

For the Quebec Skilled Worker (currently open and accepting applications), applicants must:

• Obtain at least 49 points on a 57-point grid;
• Have at least a high school degree;
• Have a degree or diploma in one of 110 areas of training/fields of study

“Individuals who are committed to settling in a specific province should pay close attention to any changes being made in upcoming months,” said Attorney David Cohen. “However, they should also be aware of other popular options, such as the FSWC and Quebec Skilled Worker programs. The Quebec Skilled Worker program is currently accepting applications for Permanent Residency, while proactive applicants are already preparing their files in anticipation of the FSWC opening soon.”

With provinces more than ever seeking to attract newcomers to their cities and towns, it appears that Canada has never been more welcoming.

Source: http://www.cicnews.com/2012/11/immigration-changing-provinces-skilled-workers-112048.html

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Harper wants end of Mexican visa, after Canada fixes immigration law

By Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press  | November 28, 2012

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OTTAWA - The end of a much-maligned visa for Mexican travellers to Canada would be a good thing for both North American countries, Prime Minister Stephen Harper affirmed Wednesday.

Harper offered his government's most conciliatory view to the visa that it imposed in 2009 to stop an influx of bogus refugee claimants. It came after his Parliament Hill meeting with Mexico's president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.

Mexico was stung by the visa requirement, viewing it as heavy-handed and unexpected.

"We would ultimately like to see visa-free travel with Mexico," Harper said at a joint news conference, standing next to the new, young telegenic Mexican leader, who will be sworn in Saturday as president.

But first, the government is working to change its immigration system first so there is not a recurrence of past problems, Harper added.

"We have changed laws. We're in the process of changing our systems," said Harper.

It would be in the interest of both countries to get rid of the visa, he added.

Pena Nieto acknowledged the Canadian rationale for imposing the visa, breaking with the harder line against it taken by his predecessor Felipe Calderon, who is completing the single six-year term that Mexico's constitution allows.

"As Mr. Harper said, this is the result of excessive refugee claims that were perhaps unfounded — citizens of our country who claimed refugee status, which got them access to social security benefits in this country."

Pena Nieto said he asked about the Canadian legislative changes during his meeting with Harper. "I do hope that once the legislation is approved in the near future we will be able to avoid this requirement."

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Centre for International Governance Innovation argued in favour of the visa's removal in a joint paper prior to Pena Nieto's arrival.

Pena Nieto was making the one-day whirlwind visit to Ottawa after travelling to Washington to meet with President Barack Obama, just three days before being sworn in as Mexico's new president.

Obama praised Pena Nieto's ambitious reform agenda and expressed confidence the two countries would strengthen economic and trade ties and increase security along their border.

Pena Nieto was in Canada to reach out to Mexico's other North American trade partner.

Prior to his arrival, the incoming Mexican leader said he wants to encourage Canadian investment in his country's state-run oil company.

But he made clear Thursday that his country has no intention of privatizing the company, Petroleos Mexicanos.

In its joint paper, the chamber and CIGI noted Canada's energy sector has new opportunities in Mexico as Pena Nieto takes power.

"With President-elect Pena Nieto's promise to allow foreign investment in the Mexican petroleum sector, there is, for example, a window of opportunity for Canadian energy firms to look for opportunities in Mexico."

Canada Shows How U.S. States Can Fix Immigration

San Jose, California May Day March (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Republicans seem ready to play ball on immigration, if only to patch up their image with Hispanics. It would be a pity if this political moment -- which comes only once every few decades -- was squandered on minor and temporary fixes. U.S. immigration policy needs a fundamental rethinking.

This isn’t as daunting as it appears. For inspiration, Americans need look no farther thanCanada.

Canada’s provincial-nominee program, while not perfect, avoids the economically meaningless distinctions between skilled and unskilled workers that bedevil the employment-based U.S. immigration laws. It also puts in place incentives to treat foreign workers not as foes but as friends whose labor and skills are vital to the economy.

Most reforms of the U.S. system under consideration won’t put American employers in a position to make competitive bids to ensure the steady supply of foreigners they need.

There is talk about raising the cap on visas for skilled workers -- called H1-Bs -- and scrapping the limit on green cards so that applicants from some countries don’t have to wait longer than others. Right now, no more than 7 percent of the roughly 140,000 employment-based green cards issued every year can go to residents of one country. (That creates a 10- to 15- year wait for immigrants from India and China, the biggest suppliers of graduates from high-demand STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.)

Behind Curve

As for the unskilled, a guest-worker program for Mexican labor that would make it easier for migrants to get temporary visas for seasonal work is gaining traction.

Such changes might address the most egregious defects in immigration policies, yet the discussion shows how behind the curve the U.S. is compared with other countries. Canada andAustralia, for example, skip the temporary work-visa step completely and offer fast-track permanent residencies to highly skilled workers and their spouses before they even arrive in the country. Australia offers almost as many employment-based green cards as the U.S., even though the American population is 14 times bigger.

Canada’s provincial-nominee program is the best model for the U.S. Under this system, 13 provincial entities sponsor a total of 75,000 worker-based permanent residencies a year, and the federal government in Ottawa offers 55,000. Each province can pick whomever it wants for whatever reason -- in effect, to use its quota, which is based on population, to write its own immigration policy.

Provinces may pick applicants left over from the federal program. They can also solicit their own applicants from anywhere in the world. In a direct attempt to poach talent from the U.S., some provinces are sponsoring H1-B holders stuck in the American labyrinth.

The government in Ottawa can’t question either the provinces’ criteria or their methods of recruitment. Its role is limited to conducting a security, criminal and health check on foreigners picked by the provinces, which has cut processing time for permanent residency to one or two years -- compared with a decade or more in the U.S.

Richard Kurland, a lawyer who is considered Canada’s top immigration expert, notes that provinces use the program for diverse goals such as enhancing existing cultural or ethnic ties with other countries. Not surprisingly, the most popular reason is economic: to augment the local labor market.

The program gives British Columbia the same flexibility to sponsor, say, bricklayers as it gives Ontario to sponsor computer programmers. It doesn’t treat the entire Canadian economy as monolithic and pretend that distant federal bureaucrats can effectively cater to local job markets. (Canada’s federal program is a different story altogether.)

Provinces Choose

There is no built-in bias against the labor needs of any province. By contrast, thanks to the high skill-low skill distinction in the U.S., California’s economy is able to import foreign workers more easily than, say, Florida’s agrarian one. Although some Canadian provinces, such as Saskatchewan, struggle with retention rates, by and large this hasn’t been a huge problem as immigrants’ skills are matched to the availability of local jobs. All of this has made the program popular with provinces. Some of them are lobbying to have their quotas expanded or even eliminated.

Above all, the program is far more in tune with the spirit of true federalism than U.S. immigration policies are. Provinces have a natural interest in their economies and the federal government in national security. Canada divides the federal and provincial roles in accordance with their primary interests, ensuring a balancing of both.

Such an arrangement might seem untenable in the U.S., given that the Constitution gives the federal government the authority to set immigration policy whereas Canada’s explicitly makes it a joint federal-provincial responsibility.

Nothing, however, prevents the U.S. government from giving states greater latitude in setting their own immigration policies. Last year, for example, the conservative Utah Legislature passed a compact asking Congress for a waiver to carry out a more compassionate and employer-friendly program, including a path to legalization for unauthorized immigrants.

Under such a system, states such as Arizona, where restrictionist fervor runs high, would certainly be free to spurn foreigners. Yet they would have to face the economic and political consequences as businesses relocate to where workers are plentiful.

Odds are, just as in Canada, most states would become friends rather than foes of immigrants.

States Decide

This route would go some way toward facing the illegal issue -- which is wholly the result of the lack of legal avenues for low-skilled foreigners to work and gain permanent residency in the U.S. When these avenues were available under the bracero program, a guest-worker arrangement with Mexico that the U.S. scrapped in 1964 because of union opposition, there was no such problem.

States that need low-skilled workers would be able to obtain visas and permanent residencies on their behalf just like states that want high-skilled workers. Initially, the states could give these visas to current illegal residents, as Utah would most certainly do, although they wouldn’t have to.

The bigger issue would be deciding how many immigrants each state can admit. Ideally, employers would alert state authorities to their needs. States would weigh those requests against their ability to provide public services and tell the federal government how many background checks they should need in a given year. Canada placed caps on each province, Kurland explained, because the federal government in Ottawa was unable to quickly process applicants and avoid backlogs.

Given that the U.S. already has a large immigration bureaucracy dedicated to performing labor certifications and other tasks that would be redundant under such a system, it should be able to handle all state requests expeditiously. At any rate, working toward a system that is able to respond quickly and efficiently to state needs would be the final goal.

Canada’s provincial-nominee program is humane, efficient and economically rational -- everything that U.S. immigration policy should be but isn’t. If the U.S. doesn’t reverse course, it might lose out in the global competition for skilled labor and never solve its problem with low-skilled undocumented workers.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-28/canada-shows-how-u-s-states-can-fix-immigration.html