Immigration backlog reduced by forty percent

Canada (Photo credit: palindrome6996)

Faster processing times for workers and families

Mississauga, ON, March 26, 2013 — As a result of actions taken by the government since 2008, the backlog of permanent resident applications has been reduced by about forty percent, paving the way for a faster and more effective immigration system in 2013 and beyond, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Backlogs and delays prevent Canada from attracting the best and brightest from around the world and ensuring that our immigration system is contributing to economic growth and long-term prosperity,” said Minister Kenney. “For too long, we accepted far more applications than we could process each year. That led to backlogs increasing every year and processing times of eight to ten years in some cases, which discouraged talented, dynamic people from coming to Canada.”

This has been accomplished, in part, by continuing to process a high number of applications from parents and grandparents in the Family Class while a temporary pause on new applications remains in effect until the end of the year. In addition, a pause was put in place on new Immigrant Investor applications and the oldest Federal Skilled Worker applications were eliminated while we continued to process record high levels of existing applications.

The government will continue to transform Canada’s immigration system to make it fast, flexible and more responsive to the labour market. The massive reduction in the backlog allows us to move toward a just-in-time system that recruits people with the right skills to meet Canada’s labour market needs, fast tracks their applications and gets them working in Canada in a period of months, instead of years. It also means that families will no longer have to wait close to a decade to be reunited with their loved ones.

“We still have work to do, but by taking clear and decisive action to deal with backlogs, we will attain our goal of having a fast and flexible immigration system,” said Minister Kenney. “Newcomers will arrive with skills and talents that are in short supply in Canada and contribute to our economy. The immigration system must work for Canada, which is why we will continue to reduce backlogs and speed up the system, so that people spend less time waiting and more time participating fully in the Canadian economy.”

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Photos of Minister Kenney are available.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Alexis Pavlich
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.

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Immigrating: Making New Friends

English: happy friendship day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Source: http://cnmag.ca/issue-6/675-immigrating-making-new-friends-n00

by Helen Grant

Helen Grant is a freelance writer and journalist, based in Scotland but a frequent visitor to Canada.

It’s never easy, shifting to a new place. You’re leaving behind everything you know, sometimes friends and family. Cities offer lots of challenges and rural locations offer pretty surroundings but the excitement of a new challenge can wear off if friendships don’t appear as quickly as you’d hoped. Friends help make our lives enjoyable and meaningful – something many of us take for granted. Leaving behind the comfort and support of close friendships can be scary. For some, especially those who are single, the loss may mean lack of good company and social activities. Others, even those who are married or in relationships, may feel sad at the loss of close communication and emotional support. These are normal reactions.

For newcomers who have employment, the workplace is one of the best ways of meeting people. Joining in work activities and clubs is a great way to bond with co-workers, many of whom will be potential friends. A lot depends on your own attitude and willingness to invest time and energy in building friendships. Being new to town has its advantages. For starters, it’s a great opening line when introducing yourself to people. If the person turns out to be a potential friend, they’ll no doubt have their own established social circle that you will, hopefully, be introduced to. As money attracts money and opportunity attracts opportunity, friendship attracts friendship.

For families, one of the easiest ways to meet new people is through your children – striking up conversations with other parents at the school gates, getting involved with after-school activities and introducing yourself to other parents in the neighbourhood. Volunteering for school fundraising events, getting involved with soccer schedules and school trips are all good ways to meet people. You could host a backyard barbecue or a party for your kids’ school friends and their parents – another great way to introduce yourself. But don’t get upset if your guests don’t return the offer – most people lead busy lives. Unfortunately, there are people who – faced with an unfamiliar situation like settling into a new location – display signs of unfriendliness by clinging too much to the past. This can send out the wrong signal – that they’re not interested in socializing or participating in activities. Keep in touch with old friends by all means, but remember to save time and energy for making new ones. Establishing friendships takes a lot of effort and if you cling too much to the past, you’ll be less likely to have the energy needed to get out there and socialize.

“I’m an outgoing person and find it easy to talk to people I don’t know,” says Jo, who moved to Toronto from Britain when her husband changed jobs. “In London, I had a close-knit group of friends, people I’d known since school. I had no reason to find new ones. Suddenly, I was in a strange place with only my husband and children for company. For the first few months, I rang my old friends every day. Then it dawned on me that I was clinging to them so much, I was stopping myself making new friends.”

Kerry, a mum of two who left Vancouver for a university course, was full of excitement upon arrival in Toronto. She payed the deposit on an apartment, registered her kids at a local school and was looking forward to making friends at university.

“I thought it’d be that easy,” she says. “Educational establishments are full of like-minded souls, aren’t they? Well, I was in for a rude awakening. Most of the people on my course were twenty years younger. There were two other mature students – one wasn’t my type and the other commuted from over 60 miles away.
To say I was disappointed is an understatement.”

A strong support network of friends can make all the difference to how quickly you settle in a new city. But how do you go about hooking up with a new crew? Most people, unless they’re super-confident, find the idea of approaching strangers scary.

“When I was dating, I waited for people to approach me, so why should making friends be any different?” asks Jo. “When we’re growing up we’re told not to talk to strangers and yet, as adults, it’s the only way to avoid a lonely existence.”

If you are new to a city and on your own, it makes sense to go to social events alone – otherwise you’ll never get any further than the TV screen or moping on the phone to friends left behind. Introducing yourself as a newcomer is a great way to start conversations and you are likely to be made to feel welcome – Canadians are friendly folk! The Yellow Pages is a ready source of organizations that host dinners and parties for single people. Friendship agencies, many of which now have websites, are also worth a call.

The Internet has made it possible for busy folk to search for friendship online without leaving the comfort of their home. There are numerous web sites catering for people seeking friendship. Search engines like Google and cdnbusiness.com are good places to start.

If the thought of walking into a bar or club on your own makes you feel uncomfortable, then don’t. It might help if you approach the organizers of an event beforehand. Tell them you are nervous about arriving alone and, more often than not, you’ll receive a warm welcome and an introduction to a few people to help you along.

It’s all too easy for couples without dependent children to fall into the trap of relying on each other for company and miss out on opportunities to meet people. Joining clubs and activity groups is a good way to meet like-minded couples that could become friends.

Finally, CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) has a host program designed to help newcomers adjust to their new life – providing support and friendship in the form of a Canadian volunteer. Your host will help you practise English or French, register your children at a local school, shop for groceries or use public transit. Whether you need help understanding the telephone or utilities systems, finding out about social or recreational activities or just want someone to talk to, having a friendly person on hand can make your first months in Canada easier – and who knows? Perhaps they’ll turn out to be a really good friend!

Start Making Friends Now

• Force yourself to say hello to people at work, in shops and at the school gates. Smile. Remember – your oldest friends were strangers once. You won’t meet anyone sitting at home moping. Get out there, even if it’s just a walk in the park or a trip to the cinema.
• If you’re sports mad, join a team. If you like helping others, try volunteering. Night school is also a good way to meet people (and learn new skills).
• Keep up your interests. That way, when you meet people, you’ll have lots to talk about.
• When meeting someone for the first time, relax and smile, introduce yourself early in the conversation, listen to their answers and build on them with more questions. Ask open-ended questions that allow the conversation to flow.
• If you hit it off with someone, offer your phone number or email address. If they give you theirs, use it! Invite them for a coffee. But don’t rush into giving anyone your home address.

Useful Contacts

For info on the CIC host program,
call 1-888-242-2100 or visit
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomer/host%2Dfs1.html

Immigration Reforms in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013

Immigration (Photo credit: lcars)

Economic Action Plan 2013 confirms the Government’s intention to:

• Improve the foreign credential recognition process for additional target occupations under the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.
• Create a new “Expression of Interest” immigration management system which will allow for Canadian employers, provinces and territories to select skilled immigrants from a pool of applicants who best meet Canada’s economic needs.
• Reopen the Federal Skilled Worker Program with an updated points system that gives more weight to factors that are directly related to economic success, such as language proficiency and youth.
• Reform the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to ensure Canadians are given the first chance at available jobs:

1. Work with employers to ensure that temporary foreign workers are relied upon only when Canadians genuinely cannot fill those jobs.
2. Increase the recruitment efforts that employers must make to hire Canadians before they will be eligible to apply for temporary foreign workers, including increasing the length and reach of advertising.
3. Assist employers who legitimately rely on temporary foreign workers, due to a lack of qualified Canadian applicants, find ways to ensure that they have a plan to transition to a Canadian workforce over time.
4. Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to restrict the identification of non-official languages as job requirements when hiring through the Temporary Foreign Worker process.
5. Propose to introduce user fees for employers applying for temporary foreign workers through the labour market opinion process so that these costs are no longer absorbed by taxpayers.

• Test new approaches to attracting immigrant investors through the new Start-Up Visa for immigrant entrepreneurs.
• $42 million over two years to meet growing demand under the Temporary Resident Program.
• $44 million over two years to support improved capacity and client service in the Citizenship Program.
• $ 23 million over two years for Canada’s International Education Strategy to strengthen Canada’s position as a country of choice to study and conduct research.

Source: Government of Canada

Best employers for new Canadians for 2013

DSC_0120 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

AltaGas Ltd., Calgary. Natural gas distribution. 530 employees. Participates in Immigrant Services Calgary’s Integrated Women’s Mentorship Program and pairs work placement students with employees who offer support and guidance.

Assiniboine Credit Union Ltd., Winnipeg. Credit unions. 457 employees. Participates in the Immigration Integration program. Created in 2004, the program includes four weeks of paid pre-training on credit union practices, work culture and communication, followed by a 12-week paid work experience at one of the credit unions. Participants who successfully complete the program are offered permanent employment.

BC Hydro, Vancouver. Hydroelectric power generation. 5,735 employees. Maintains an in-house multicultural society. Encourages managers to hire skilled newcomers at junior-level positions and provide them with a defined career advancement plan.

Bell Aliant Inc., Halifax. Wired telecommunication carriers. 7,000 employees. Partners with Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services to help newcomers expand their knowledge of Canadian hiring practices, provides training on résumé writing and interview skills.

Business Development Bank of Canada,Montreal. Banking. 1,958 employees. Offices work with local community agencies across Canada, such as ACCES Employment in Toronto and the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council, connecting new Canadians to vacancies in their communities.

Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc.,Kitchener, Ont. Audio and video equipment manufacturing. 688 employees. Recognizes foreign credentials and hires newcomers based on relevant industry experiences. Also covers the costs of having credentials formally recognized in Canada.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce,Toronto. Commercial banking. 33,965 employees. Participated in a pilot program organized by Algonquin College to help internationally trained professionals bridge their finance credentials. The bank played host to students for the internship portion of the program.

COM DEV Ltd., Cambridge, Ont. Search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical and nautical system and instrument manufacturing. 960 employees. Participates in mentoring programs offered by the Local Immigration Partnership Council and YMCA to help newcomers understand Canadian culture.

Dalhousie University, Halifax. Colleges, universities and professional schools. 3,328 employees. Provides training to managers on hiring new Canadians. Offers practice interviews for new Canadian job seekers on campus and also conducts informational interviews to match applicants with prospective employment opportunities.

Deloitte & Touche LLP, Toronto. Certified public accountants. 8,992 employees. Has participated in the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council’s Mentoring Partnership program since 2005 with hundreds of employees serving as mentors to new Canadian job seekers. Employees act as mentors for a four-month period.

Ernst & Young LLP, Toronto. Certified public accountants. 4,427 employees. Supports York University’s Internationally Educated Professional bridging program. Offers an in-house Chartered Accountant Reciprocity Exam program to assist employees with foreign credential recognition.

Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, Toronto. Lawyers. 1,437 employees. Sponsors the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Internationally-Trained Lawyers program, which supports foreign-trained lawyers during the Canadian certification process and provides them with resources such as placement opportunities, employment counselling and language referrals.

Health Canada, Ottawa. Administration of public health programs. 10,615 employees. Participates in the federal Internship for Newcomers program, organized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. CIC works with a variety of local community organizations such as ACCES and MicroSkills to screen new Canadian job seekers for employment, after which eligible candidates apply for positions based on the needs of participating departments. In 2011, Health Canada hired eight interns as a result of the program and matched each with a mentor.

Home Depot Canada, Toronto. Hardware stores. 13,580 employees. Stores partner with local community organization such as COSTI, the New Canadians Centre, Employment Projects of Winnipeg, Employment Solutions of Immigrant Youth, Saskatchewan Open Door Society and Immigration Works to support the employment efforts of new Canadians.

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning,Toronto. Colleges, universities and professional schools. 1,355 employees. Is a member of the Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-Trained Persons, a group of community-based agencies and colleges that provide employment and training services to internationally trained job seekers.

KPMG LLP, Toronto. Certified public accountants. 5,778 employees. Is working to further partner with the Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-Trained Professionals to match new Canadians with opportunities within the firm’s client administration group. Has also built additional partnerships with Skills for Change, ACCES, MicroSkills & Social Capital Partners.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Brampton, Ont. Supermarkets. 29,725 employees. In partnership with the University of Toronto, offers international pharmacy students internships for a period of four months while they complete their course. Once students are fully licensed, they are offered permanent positions.

Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg. Hydroelectric power generation. 5,980 employees. Participates in the University of Manitoba’s Internationally Educated Engineers Qualifications Program, which helps internally educated engineers become accredited in Manitoba. Manitoba Hydro provides funding for the program, bursaries for students and has hired students from the program.

Medtronic of Canada Ltd., Brampton, Ont. Electromedical and electrotherapeutic apparatus manufacturing. 437 employees. Works with community organizations including ACCES Employment, the Newcomer Centre of Peel and the Dufferin-Peel Adult Learning Centre to connect with new Canadians.

Mississauga, City of, Mississauga, Ont. Legislative bodies. 3,983 employees. In association with the Dufferin Peel Adult Learning Centre, hires new Canadians for an unpaid eight-week term and has offered some participants permanent positions within the city.

Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto. General medical and surgical hospitals. 2,302 employees. Supports the Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses (CARE4Nurses) project, a program to help nurses bridge international education and experience and prepare them for practise within Ontario.

National Bank Financial Group, Montreal. Commercial banking. 15,009 employees. In partnership with ALLIES Montreal, participated in a pilot mentoring program with employees acting as mentors to help the integration of new Canadian employees.

New Flyer Industries Ltd., Winnipeg. Heavy duty truck manufacturing. 1,238 employees. Provides work placement opportunities for students enrolled in the Employment Solutions for Immigrant Youth program. The government agency has placed 140 students within the company and 90 of them have been hired into term and permanent positions.

Nordion Inc., Kanata, Ont. 485 employees. Electromedical and electrotherapeutic apparatus manufacturing. 485 employees. Is part of the Ottawa and Vancouver Multicultural Achievement Program for Learning Employers, an organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities for newcomers. Nordion participates in their 12-week internship program that includes cross-cultural training, mentorship and on-the-job training.

NTT Data Canada Inc., Halifax. Computer systems design services. 620 employees. Forwards vacancies to Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services and utilizes resources offered by the organization such as free English-as-a-second-language training.

Ontario Public Service, Toronto. General government support. 62,441 employees. Launched the Ontario Public Service Program for Internationally-Trained Engineers, which provides work placements of 12 to 15 months to help internationally trained engineers meet Canadian licensing requirements.

Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver. Medical and surgical hospitals. 7,320 employees. Partners with Skills Connect to help new Canadian job seekers access employment opportunities.

Pythian Group Inc., Ottawa. Computer systems design services. 136 employees. Is a member of Hire Immigrant Ottawa’s working group and has organized and played host to coaching and networking events for internationally trained professionals in the IT industry.

Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto. Commercial banking. 52,815 employees. In partnership with Career Bridge, offers newcomers paid internship opportunities to help them gain work experience. Maintains an employee resource group for visible minorities and new Canadian employees called MOSAIC.

Saskatoon Regional Health Authority, Saskatoon. Medical and surgical hospitals. 6,379 employees. In collaboration with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health and Health Canada, developed a five-year strategy to promote the retention of current and future Internationally Educated Health Care Professionals.

SaskPower, Regina. Hydroelectric power generation. 2,769 employees. Works with the Saskatchewan and Regina Open Door Society to provide work placement opportunities to help newcomers gain Canadian experience.

Shaw Communications Inc., Calgary. Cable and other program distribution. 12,666 employees. Works with community organizations to support the employment efforts of new Canadian job seekers including YWCA, Women in Film and Television and Calgary Immigrant Services.

St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. Medical and surgical hospitals. 3,469 employees. Manages a dedicated website for the recruitment of Internationally Educated Professionals and forwards vacancies to a variety of multicultural media outlets.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Toronto. Commercial banking. 43,850 employees. Recently participated in a conference for internationally educated professionals and also forwards vacancies to Equitek, which connects the bank to a variety of diversity agencies and schools including Career Bridge, Microskills, Costi and Skills for Change.

TELUS Corp., Vancouver. Wired telecommunications carriers. 24,443 employees. Has worked with community organizations such as Skills for Change, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, ISS BC, ACCES Employment and Prospect Calgary, which has resulted in participation at a number of events including speed networking sessions, career fairs, webinars and lunch-and-learn sessions to support the employment efforts of new Canadian job seekers.

TransCanada Corp., Calgary. Natural gas distribution. 2,605 employees. Participated in the Calgary Region Immigrant Council’s mentoring collaborative program, with employees acting as mentors for newcomers.

University of Ottawa, Ottawa. Colleges, universities and professional schools. 3,008 employees. In 2008 launched “Access UOttawa” in partnership with Hire Immigrants Ottawa. The initiative provides new Canadian job seekers and other equity group applicants with temporary administrative roles until suitable full-time positions become available.

Vancouver, City of, Vancouver. Legislative bodies. 6,898 employees. In 2010, embarked on the creation of a pilot mentorship project with the Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia, SUCCESS, MOSAIC and ISSofBC.

Xerox Canada Ltd., Toronto. Computer peripheral equipment manufacturing. 3,588 employees. Participates in Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council’s mentoring partnership program and provides job seekers who are new to Canada with one-on-one time with a Xerox employee.

York, Regional Municipality of, Newmarket, Ont. Legislative bodies. 2,759 employees. Created York Region Immigration Portal, a website to provide resources, such as settlement and employment information, to newcomers.

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Policy change affects immigration numbers

English: Flag of Manitoba Français : Drapeau du Manitoba Русский: Флаг Манитоба (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 In recent years, Canada's immigration system has undergone radical change. Have these changes resulted in the 16 per cent drop in new arrivals, or are there specific Manitoba problems that have caused this decrease?

Until recently, the majority of immigrants to Canada could qualify to immigrate without having a job offer from a Canadian employer. Today, priority is given to foreign nationals already working in Canada, who have been recruited to fill vacant jobs, or who have studied in Canada. In essence, Canada's immigration system has gone to one where employers choose immigrants from one where immigrants choose Canada.

From 2007 to 2011, less than one-third of Manitoba's immigrant nominees came in categories for which a job and job offer were required. During this period, almost 70 per cent of nominees did not require jobs or job offers. To this extent, Manitoba is out of step with the rest of Canada.

The move to an employer-driven immigration system has many positives. It ensures foreign nationals coming to Canada not only have jobs waiting for them, but they fill positions for which Canadian employers face shortages. While some have criticized employer-driven immigration, charging that this causes Canada to focus on fixing short-term work shortages as opposed to bringing in future Canadians who can generate a long-term economic benefits, the fact is the old system often brought in individuals who arrived unemployed and struggled to make ends meet.

An employer-driven system allows businesses to fill jobs to better meet the demands of their customers. With the increase in globalization, it is important that Canadian companies are able to compete on the world stage. The ability to access talent from anywhere is key to allowing Canadian companies to compete globally.

While there are advantages to employer-driven immigration, what is being sacrificed is family reunification -- a key to Manitoba's immigration program. While Canadians and permanent residents can still sponsor spouses and children, it is getting tougher to assist one's siblings, cousins, parents and other relatives unless they have jobs or job offers. For those who do qualify without job offers, the number of available spots has been reduced.

On a provincial level, family reunification used to be a large component of provincial nominee programs. As late as last year, four provinces had immigration streams that allowed for overseas relatives to come to Canada without job offers. Since May 2012, three of those provinces, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, changed or eliminated their family programs. While family members can still immigrate to those Canadian provinces, a job connection or business investment is necessary.

Manitoba is the only province with a viable program that still allows family members and friends to immigrate to Canada without a job offer, previous work in Canada, or previous study here. This allows Manitoba to strike a balance between employer-driven immigration and family reunification.

Manitoba, however, is redesigning its program to make it more restrictive. When the final details are announced in April, Manitoba may be criticized by those wanting to see more family reunification. When compared with what is happening in the federal system and in other provinces, however, Manitoba should be congratulated for keeping the immigration program open to a form of family reunification.

With Manitoba offering a form of family reunification, there is a potential that other Canadians will move here for the purpose of assisting their relatives to immigrate. Before changes were made to family immigration in Saskatchewan, it was reported some Canadians moved there to take advantage of its program. After their relatives arrived in Canada, they returned to their original province. Manitoba must guard against this to maintain program credibility.

While the current federal system does not provide for a great deal of family reunification, there is still some hope. Ottawa is scheduled to roll out its new skilled-worker stream in May and is also scheduled to lift the freeze on the ability of Canadians and permanent residents to sponsor parents and grandparents in the fall.

The final rollout will go a long way to determine the openness of the federal government to family reunification.

R. Reis Pagtakhan is a

Winnipeg immigration lawyer.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 21, 2013 A15

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Manitoba's immigration dips in 2012: report

English: Manitoba Province within Canada. Español: Provincia de Manitoba en Canadá. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The number of immigrants coming to Manitoba has fallen for the first time in 10 years, according to a government report.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada released its preliminary report for 2012 at the end of February.

The report revealed Manitoba had 2,572 fewer people immigrate to the province in 2012 than in 2011.

In 2012, 13,391 people immigrated to Manitoba, while in 2011, 15,963 immigrated to the province.

Rabeya Sultan immigrated to Manitoba from Bangladesh to complete her degree.

'It is going to be drastic in terms of economic growth and impact.'—Fatima Soares, executive director of Manitoba Start

In 2010, she graduated, and two years later she became a permanent resident.

“I’m grateful I am here, that I had the education, that I was able to become independent,” said Sultan.

“I am very grateful to Canada.”

Sultan, like many other immigrants, used the Provincial Nominee Program to get into the province.

Nominee program changed

Manitoba has previously had a strong track record of attracting large numbers of immigrants, but provincial officials warned those numbers could wane with recent changes made by the federal government.

'We would really like to see Ottawa give us more ability to bring people in regardless of family size'—Manitoba immigration minister Christine Melnick

The Conservative government announced changes to immigration services in their 2012 budget, cancelling its shared settlement services agreement with the province. Those changes take effect April 1.

Manitoba's immigration minister Christine Melnick said Wednesday the drop is the result of the federal government putting a cap on the number of new applications at 5,000 annually for the provincial nominee program.

“Ottawa has imposed a cap of 5,000 applicants per year. We have no problem reaching that 5,000 applicant number,” said Melnick. "We would really like to see Ottawa lift that cap."

Successful nominees are able to bring immediate family members with them. Melnick said recently successful nominess have smaller families than in the past, which is leading to the lower numbers.

Where Manitoba used to bring large families from Germany to settle in southern Manitoba, the federal government is now accepting more single people and international students.

“We would really like to see Ottawa give us more ability to bring more people in regardless of family size and that would be the best way to increase numbers here in Manitoba," said Melnick.

'We’re seeing a broad variety of professionals, a broader variety of skill sets coming in.'—Manitoba immigration minister Christine Melnick

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party said the blame for the low numbers didn’t have to do with the federal government but sat on the back of the provincial NDP party.

Tory officials released a statement Wednesday hinting high taxes could be keeping immigrants away.

Provincial officials said since the nominee program began in 1999, more than 100,000 people have immigrated to Manitoba.

Economic impact

Fatima Soares is executive director of Manitoba Start, an organization that helps immigrants in Winnipeg become permanent residents.

She said the impact from fewer immigrants will be felt province-wide.

“It is going to be drastic in terms of economic growth and impact,” said Soares.

Soares said the province needs immigrants to support its workforce.

“This is the first year where there is a higher number of retirees than new entrants [into the worforce]. So that in itself is going to impact economic growth,” said Soares.

Melnick said immigrants represent a key component of Manitoba’s workforce.

“We’re seeing a broad variety of professionals, a broader variety of skill sets coming in and smaller family sizes,” she said.

Melnick said the province is hoping to attract at least 75,000 skilled workers to Manitoba in the next seven years.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/03/20/mb-immigration-numbers-down-manitoba.html

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Immigration Canada launches ad campaign against marriage fraud

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is launching an ad campaign Wednesday warning Canadians to protect themselves against marriage fraud.

A seven-minute video will be posted on the department website, featuring the real-life stories of three Canadians, in silhouettes, whose foreign spouses left them hung out to dry after coming to Canada.

They include an anglophone woman, who met a Cuban man in 2002 while vacationing on the island. The couple married in 2005 and the husband left her on March 24, 2007, shortly after he arrived in Canada with his permanent resident card.

“There are so many people across Canada that are suffering nowadays for the exact same thing that happened to me,” she said.

“After marriage, everything changed. After she arrived in Canada, I was nothing to her,” chimed in another victim, a man wearing a turban.

A francophone woman met a guy online and received a marriage proposal after three weeks. He came to Canada and vanished.

“My self-esteem took a big blow. I became severely depressed and had suicidal thoughts,” said the woman, who also ended up owing the government $30,000 that her sponsored spouse received in welfare.

The video, along with three “Marriage Fraud: Don’t be a victim” television commercials, is the focus of the department’s fraud prevention month. Last year, the theme was about the risks of hiring fly-by-night unlicensed immigration consultants.

“I have heard stories from victims across the country that have been left emotionally and financially devastated because of immigration fraud,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said. “The best way to protect oneself is to become informed.”

Under a new law passed last year, sponsored spouses must remain in a marriage for two years before they can acquire permanent resident status or face deportation. They are also banned from sponsoring a new spouse for five years.

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