Canada and Yukon Sign Agreement on Temporary Foreign Workers

Image via WikipediaWHITEHORSE, YUKON--(Marketwire - Feb. 23, 2011) - The Governments of Canada and Yukon have signed an agreement that gives Yukon a role in managing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program within the Territory.
Senator Daniel Lang made the announcement today with Patrick Rouble, Yukon Minister of Education and Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. Senator Lang spoke on behalf of Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.
"The Government of Yukon has a role to play in protecting temporary foreign workers from exploitation and in identifying how immigration can help address gaps in its labour market," said Senator Lang. "This agreement formally recognizes these roles."
The agreement will improve the responsiveness of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program by providing Yukon with a greater role in helping these workers come to Canada. The Government of Yukon will be able to recommend the entry of some temporary foreign workers without requiring a Service Canada assessment of whether there are Canadians or permanent residents available to fill the vacant positions. Such exemptions will be determined according to criteria to be set by the territorial government, in line with its economic plans and priorities.
"This agreement provides one more tool for Yukon's labour market stakeholders to address Yukon's labour market opportunities, both now and into the future," said Minister Rouble. "Our first priority is to work with underrepresented groups in Yukon to meet labour force demands and turn to temporary foreign workers when the need arises."
"Today marks an important step in making the Temporary Foreign Worker Program more responsive to Yukon's particular labour needs. Meeting those needs translates into more opportunities for all Yukon residents," the Senator added.
The agreement provides a framework for closer cooperation between the two levels of government to better educate employers and potential workers about their rights and responsibilities.
A number of innovative pilot initiatives are also planned as part of the agreement. These initiatives are designed to respond to region-specific issues concerning temporary foreign workers, and are aligned with the economic and social development priorities of Yukon.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is driven by employer demand and aimed at filling identified labour shortages where no suitable Canadian workers or permanent residents are available.

Related articles

• Yukon can fast-track some foreign workers (cbc.ca)

Youth, tradespeople take focus in new immigration proposal

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JOE FRIESEN — DEMOGRAPHICS REPORTER

Canada’s immigration system will be overhauled to place more emphasis on youth, language ability and skilled trades under a new proposal from the Conservative government.

But experts warn the government should be careful not to diminish Canada’s record of attracting highly educated, adaptable newcomers.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will immediately begin one month of public consultations on changes to the points system, which is used to assess skilled worker applications from overseas.

“There’s no shortage of people who want to come to Canada, and we should frankly do all we can to attract the best and brightest,” Mr. Kenney said. “There are certain traits which seem to be more heavily correlated with higher income and better employment, such as younger immigrants and higher levels of language proficiency.”

At the moment, the system is based on a 100-point scale, and 67 points are required to be accepted. About a quarter of the assessment is based on English and French proficiency, a quarter on education, 20 per cent on years of work experience and 10 per cent each on age, adaptability and having arranged employment in Canada.

The current setup tends to favour applicants with advanced degrees. Tradespeople do less well because their qualifications aren’t highly rewarded and they’re judged on language skills that may not be required in their field. Mr. Kenney hopes to address those issues.

And although language is likely to be important in the new system, Mr. Kenney said he wants some leeway built in.

“A welder from Poland doesn’t need to have university-level French, but somebody expecting to work as a medical doctor does. Perhaps the points system should be more intelligent and flexible to correspond,” Mr. Kenney said.

Naomi Alboim, an immigration expert at Queen’s University, said the Canadian labour market discounts foreign work experience, so re-jigging the system to reflect that reality is useful. It’s also wise, in her view, to place a premium on youth, which is a good predictor of successful integration.

But while she recognizes a need to tweak the system to attract tradespeople, Prof. Alboim is strongly opposed to anything that would water down educational requirements.

“I think that high levels of education are really important given the types of new jobs that are being created as we move toward a knowledge economy,” she said.

“All the research shows the more education you have, the better you do, the more adaptable you are for changing labour markets and the more effective it is [as policy].”

NDP Immigration critic Olivia Chow said the review should also reward applicants with strong family ties to Canada, such as brothers and sisters in the country.

A little more than 85,000 people arrived under the federal skilled worker program in 2010, not including their spouses and children. The target range for 2011 is much lower, at about 47,000, according to figures supplied by the ministry. Mr. Kenney said in an ideal world the numbers wouldn’t be reduced, but the government is simultaneously expanding the provincial nominee program, which has grown to about 37,000 admissions from 8,000 in five years.

Provincial nominees tend to have lower levels of education but almost always have a pre-arranged job. The growth of the nominee program has also contributed to a greater dispersal of immigrants, as the share going to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver has dropped to 75 per cent from about 90 per cent, according to Mr. Kenney, with the balance going to the Prairies and Atlantic Canada.

“In the short term, we see provincial nominees actually doing better than foreign skilled workers,” Mr. Kenney said. “They typically don’t go through the survival job struggle of skilled workers with university degrees as they wait for credential recognition.”

Related articles

• Youth, tradespeople take focus in new immigration proposal (theglobeandmail.com)
• Immigration levels holding steady: Kenney (cbc.ca)
• Visas for skilled workers set to drop (cbc.ca)
• Tories propose new immigration point system (ctv.ca)