Ottawa takes aim at immigrant waiting lists a million names long

HEATHER SCOFFIELD

The Canadian Press

Published Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 5:59PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 6:10PM EDT

The lineup of people wanting to immigrate to Canada has grown steadily under the Conservatives' watch, despite government attempts to make the system more efficient.

Officials from the Immigration Department confirm that the waiting list to process immigration applications is now more than a million names long.

The long list means many years of uncertainty for some families here and abroad, and a tarnished reputation for Canada in the global competition for skilled workers.

“Huge problem,” tweeted Immigration Minister Jason Kenney this week.

He has spoken frequently about the need to streamline the immigration system, but the matter has now risen toward the top of his political agenda.

The House of Commons immigration committee has just agreed to hold eight hearings on the matter, beginning next week.

And Mr. Kenney has made curtailing the backlog a priority as he undertakes a major review of the level and mix of immigrants allowed into Canada.

He is in the final stages of that review, although his final assessment is not expected soon.

However, Ottawa has cut back on the overall number of immigrants allowed into Canada this year, critics point out.

Clamping down on the number of acceptances is just lengthening the waiting list, and also taking the federal government further away from its goal of fuelling the Canadian workforce with immigrant labour, says NDP immigration critic Don Davies.

He points out that Mr. Kenney has said any growth in Canada's labour force will need to be completely supplied by immigration within five years.

“How are we going to meet that economic reality? I don't think they're responding to their own projections,” Mr. Davies said in an interview.

Mr. Kenney's officials say immigration is as high in Canada now as it ever was, and 2010 was a sudden spike that skewed the numbers. Still, the minister has also indicated that a huge increase in immigration is not in the cards any time soon.

“While Canada continues to welcome historically high numbers of new immigrants, and maintains the most open and generous immigration system in the world, we have to carefully manage the large number of people who want to be Canadian,” Mr. Kenney's spokeswoman, Candice Malcolm, said in an email.

That leaves finding ways to curtail applications as the only solution to getting rid of the backlog.

Indeed, Immigration Canada has taken steps in the past few years to control the waiting list.

Since 2008, the minister has had the power to limit applications in certain categories. Mr. Kenney has exercised that power for foreign skilled workers and, most recently, the investor program. Canada is not accepting any more applications in the investor program until next summer.

As a result, and also because immigration officials are being pushed to process applications faster, the rate of increase in the backlog has diminished over the years, officials say.

Plus, the wait for some categories of workers — people who have a job lined up, or professionals badly needed in Canada — are usually approved within months.

But others — especially parents and grandparents of permanent residents, and immigrants who applied before the systemic change in 2008 — can spend up to eight years before they receive word about whether they are accepted or rejected.

Now, the challenge is to prevent the list from continuing to grow.

Mr. Davies says that if increasing immigration is not an option, there are two other ways to go about it: boosting government resources to handle the paperwork, or placing stricter limits on accepting applications.

But he says the government won't entertain an increase in resources.

“They're not doing that, leaving only one policy option, which is to shut the door on the number of applications that can be made,” he said. “I think they already have a pre-ordained answer. ... They're going to limit the numbers of applications for the first time in history.”

Hungary still tops for refugee claims in Canada

BY DANIEL PROUSSALIDIS ,PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU

FIRST POSTED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2011 03:24 PM EDT | UPDATED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2011 03:27 PM EDT

OTTAWA - As Canada receives thousands of dubious refugee claims from Hungarian citizens, there's a call for drastic action.

"How much of our money do we want to hemorrhage before setting a visa requirement on Hungarian nationals, just like we did with the Czech Republic?" asked immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

Between January and August of this year 2,045 people claiming to be refugees came to Canada from Hungary That's 13% of all refugee claims made during that time in Canada, keeping

Hungary as this country's top source of refugee claims.

QMI Agency has acquired a 2010 Canada Border Services Agency report that concluded most of the claimants from Hungary are Roma – a stateless ethnic group that considers the name 'Gypsy' derogatory.

Once those claimants arrive, they're set up to receive medical, dental and eye care at no charge, social assistance benefits, and financial help for housing and furniture while their case is sorted out.

But, claims from Hungary are almost never approved and most cases are usually abandoned or withdrawn during the 12 to 18 months it takes to process them.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney spoke out about the problem in the House of Commons in April 2010.

"The allegations are that many of these people were coached to come to Canada, make a false asylum claim and then register for provincial welfare benefits which subsequently flowed to a criminal organization. The asylum system was being abused as a tool to access welfare." said Kenney.  Over the last several years, the Mounties have investigated allegations people have

been trafficked from Hungary to Hamilton, Ont., coached into filing refugee claims and collecting social assistance, enslaved in construction work, and locked in basements while organized crime syndicates took every penny from them.

The Conservatives passed reforms to the refugee system last year to get claims

processed in just two or three months -- not long enough for most claimants to

get approval for provincial welfare benefits.

Budget considerations and the process for approving new regulations have bogged down those reforms, so changes aren't expected until late June 2012.

Federal officials say a new visa requirement for Hungarian nationals is not under consideration.

Americans looking for job in Canada.

Next month, consultations regarding Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program will be taking place in Calgary. Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has noted that one of the primary goals of these consultations is to make the process more efficient so that Temporary Foreign Workers can be brought to Canada quicker.

This announcement comes amidst reports that Alberta will soon be facing a labour shortage of more than 100,000 workers over the next ten years and will need to rely upon Temporary Foreign Workers to fill gaps in the labour supply. Minister Kenney has suggested that Alberta and Canada should focus on hiring more Americans as unemployment rates in the U.S. continue to rise and more American workers become available. Certain Americans may qualify to work temporarily in Canada through the NAFTA program, however the number of work visas issued in that program are currently about 5,000 a year, a problem which Minister Kenney has acknowledged.

It is not only Americans that the Canadian government would like to recruit. Due to the weakening U.S. economy, many Temporary Foreign Workers in the U.S. on temporary work visas (H-1B visas for example) may find that their visas will not be renewed as U.S. companies lay off more workers. This can be good news for Canadian employers and potential immigrants as Canadian employers have long favoured immigrants with North American work experience and training because they are able to easily integrate into the Canadian workforce.

The typical occupations held by H-1B workers include engineers, I.T. personnel, accountants, doctors, nurses, and business managers, which are all occupations that are in high demand in Canada. Foreign workers with experience in these fields have more opportunities available to them, for both temporary work in Canada or for Canadian Permanent Residency.

These occupations are also highly sought after by Canadian immigration programs such as theFederal Skilled Worker Program and Quebec Skilled Worker Program. Applicants may qualify for either program without having a job offer from a Canadian employer and can apply for Canadian Permanent Residency while they are still living in the U.S.

Canada has also made it easier for Temporary Foreign Workers who have gained Canadian work experience to apply for Canadian Permanent Residency. Immigration programs such as theCanadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Programs offer applicants with as little as one to two years of Canadian work experience a chance for Permanent Residency. This is one reason why many choose to work temporarily in Canada rather than the U.S. as it is very hard to convert an H-1B visa to a U.S. green card (U.S. permanent resident card).

Whether you’re looking for temporary work in Canada or you want to move to Canada permanently, your American work experience can be the key to getting you into Canada.

Source: http://www.cicnews.com/2011/09/canadian-job-american-work-experience-key-091083.html

Are you currently working in the United States on an H-1B visa? Are you an American citizen or Permanent resident looking for jobs abroad? Complete a free Canadian immigration assessment form to find out if you qualify for Canadian permanent residency.

Helping immigrant workers fit in

MARLENE HABIB

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Sep. 29, 2011 5:57PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 6:16AM EDT

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Aileen Raquel knows all too well how tough it can be for an immigrant worker to adjust in Canada and why employers need to take their struggles seriously, especially as the country prepares for a projected influx of immigrant talent over the next 20 years.

Ms. Raquel, a social worker in her homeland of the Philippines, moved to Canada in 2003 because she was told it had the best jobs and benefits. Instead, she found herself working at a factory and in the fast-food business. “I had seven years of social work experience and I sent out countless résumés but did not receive a single response,” recalled Ms. Raquel, 37.

Ms. Raquel, whose success story is highlighted in a travelling photo exhibit by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), and other foreign-born workers have benefited from many groundbreaking programs to help newcomers overcome barriers in the Canadian workplace, such as language and cultural issues.

After three years of living below the poverty line, she turned to a bridging program at Toronto’s Ryerson University for guidance. With the help of a mentor and mock interviews with real employers, her self-confidence grew. In 2006, she landed a permanent job with her current employer, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

Such initiatives will be even more important in the years to come. A recent Statistics Canada report suggests that, by 2031, one in three workers could be foreign-born, up from about one in five in 2006. Such a dramatic change in the labour force will make it even more important for employers to help immigrant workers adapt.

Government efforts such as the Canadian Immigration Integration Program help workers get jobs that recognize their experience and education. But helping them adjust on the job remains a “huge issue,” said Joan Atlin of TRIEC, which works with companies, governments and other organizations to help employers address diversity issues.

“While one challenge is to make the right connections between talent and companies, the other is to integrate them into the workplace quickly, and a lot of employers don’t think about how those differences play into the workplace,” said Ms. Atlin, the not-for-profit group’s director of programs.

One common myth is that immigrants must have Canadian work experience to be effective employees, experts say.

“It’s a misconception that Canadian experience is absolutely required, and we’ve done a good job to show the way we hire people has evolved,” said Matt Petersen, director of diversity strategies at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM-T73.550.941.29%) in Toronto. That involved changing the thought processes of company hiring managers, he said.

Navigating the interview process can trip up newcomers, as Ms. Raquel discovered. That’s why companies such as CIBC and discount brokerage Questrade Inc. conduct “behavioural-based” job interviews, so that cultural differences and the applicants’ lack of Canadian work experience don’t undercut their changes of being hired.

Zuleika Sgro, human resources recruiter at Questrade in Toronto, said the brokerage develops its own programs and also turns to other organizations to help meet foreign-born workers’ needs.

“There is so much paperwork – all these policies and procedures, payroll, all these government offices – the challenges can be as simple as getting a SIN [social insurance number] card,” noted Ms. Sgro, whose company also has offices in Montreal, Vancouver and Armenia.

She said Questrade has used several TRIEC programs, including workshops on the “unwritten rules of Canadian workplace culture,” such as how to behave in a business meeting, as well as a mentoring partnership that links skilled immigrants with established Canadian professionals.

Questrade’s own programs include team-building activities for new employees and managers to learn from each other; a buddy system where managers are linked with workers to provide guidance on a range of issues in their work and personal lives; and language skills development.

At CIBC, recruiting and retaining skilled foreign-born workers has been a priority because “the landscape of our country is changing rapidly,” Mr. Petersen said, noting that growth at CIBC branches in cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto is often fuelled by immigrants. “We need to ensure we have employees who understand the experience of our customers.”

As well as being involved in immigrant mentoring or sponsorship programs, CIBC has developed a “diversity toolkit” that educates managers on how to meet the needs of a diverse workplace. The toolkit covers everything from the hiring process, to meeting special dietary restrictions and requirements at work, and holiday observances.

“The focus is on creating an environment where people feel they can bring their whole self to work,” Mr. Petersen said.

As for Ms. Raquel, her advice to employers is simple: “Open your doors to internationally trained professionals. We know your clients’ culture and speak their language. That's our advantage.”

______

BEYOND ‘TAXI DRIVER SYNDROME’

Professor Jeffrey Reitz, director of ethnic and immigration studies at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, says concerns surrounding foreign-born workers are slowly moving from whether they are underemployed – what he calls “the taxi driver syndrome” – to how they can adapt in the workplace.

It’s an issue that affects, or will affect, nearly every Canadian employer, he says, given that immigrants from areas such as Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico are in demand in a wide range of industries.

“Canada is kind of an exceptional country when it comes to immigrants – it is taking more immigrants in than other industrial countries per capita,” Prof. Reitz notes. Canada admits about 250,000 immigrants a year, in large part to offset the falling birth rate and the retirement of baby boomers.

Special to The Globe and Mail

WORKING IN CANADA, WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE?

Posted by Guest Writer on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

1

A recent poll indicated that Canada is second only to the USA as the country most people in the world would like to live in, if they could. Opportunity was listed as the main reason for the draw.  Interestingly more and more Americans are now looking to come to Canada as the American economy worsens and unemployment continues to rise south of the border. In fact, after Filipinos, Americans are the second largest group of temporary workers in Canada.

As Immigration Canada has tightened up many of their residency programs, the option of coming to Canada on a skilled work permit is the option that many would-be immigrants are considering.

In order to get a temporary skilled work permit the applicant usually must have a job offer first. This job offer needs to go through the process of being issued with a Labour Market Opinion (LMO), whereby the employer needs to demonstrate to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) that they have attempted to recruit a Canadian for the position but have been unable to do so. After all, Canadians looking for work need to be given priority over foreigners. Americans may also have the possibility of coming in under NAFTA, but must still have a job offer and meet eligibility requirements.

Rather than just filling in a form, the employer needs to explain and prove what recruitment efforts have been done to justify bringing in a foreign worker. If it is a union position then the union must also provide approval. If licensing is required then the foreign worker may need to get their Canadian licence before being able to proceed, which can hinder and delay the process. The employer also needs to demonstrate that the foreign worker will be paid according to current labour market requirements for the area in question. On top of all of this, new regulationsstipulate that if an employer is paying someone to help with the preparation and submission of LMO then that person must be an authorised lawyer, paralegal or regulated immigration consultant.

If HRSDC are satisfied that an employer has truly been unable to find a Canadian for the position then a positive LMO is issued and the foreign worker can apply for an employer-specific work permit at the relevant Canadian visa office, or even at the Port of Entry, depending on their circumstances.

The good news is that “Canada’s labour market has more than fully recovered from the loss experienced in the downturn,” said Ian Wright, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada. “As of August, Canada had 164,000 more people employed than during the pre-recession peak and so far this year, employment gains have been concentrated in full-time jobs.”

There is talk now of relaxing the LMO requirements as the demand for foreign workers in Canada starts to grow again. The current maximum of a one year LMO will hopefully also be extended, making it less stressful for both the employer and the employee. The employee will usually aim to submit a permanent residency application after their arrival and will usually need about 18 months for this to be finalised. Applications for permanent residency will usually be submitted in the Federal Skilled Worker category, or upon nomination from the province. Canadian Experience Class is also an option when the worker has been working in Canada in a skilled occupation for two years.

So where should the foreign worker focus their job search?

Every particular occupation has a different set of supply and demand factors. However,to look at the overall labour market, Saskatchewan leads the way in terms of economic growth, with Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador following closely behind. Manitoba is projected to improve its economic standing, while Ontario, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island fall slightly below the national average. Quebec continues to show mixed results and is positioned with the remaining Atlantic provinces at the back of the pack.

Source: http://www.muchmormagazine.com/2011/09/working-in-canada-outlook-for-the-future/