Canada to Welcome Record Number of Immigrants Under Provincial Nominee Program

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 19, 2011) - Provinces and territories are on track this year to welcome a record number of immigrants selected under their own nominee programs.

In a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, discussed the rapid growth in provincial nominee programs in recent years.

"Our government recognizes the importance of nominee programs in spreading out the benefits of immigration around the country," said Minister Kenney. "That is why we plan to admit about 40,000 immigrants in the provincial nominee category in 2011, five times more than the 8,000 welcomed in 2005. The previous high was 36,428 provincial nominees in 2010."

Traditionally, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have attracted a disproportionate share of skilled immigrants coming to Canada. However, the top three provinces for provincial nominees are Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Thanks in large part to the provincial/territorial nominee programs, 26% of economic immigrants accepted as permanent residents of Canada are now destined for provinces or territories other than Ontario, British Columbia or Quebec, compared to just 11% in 1997.

"We understand the desire of provinces and territories to identify their own economic immigrants and that is why we have continued to increase our projected admissions for nominees each year," noted Minister Kenney. "At the same time, we are committed to working with our provincial and territorial counterparts to continue to improve the program design, integrity, selection standards and management of the nominee programs."

The provincial nominee program is also a good way to get workers in quickly. Applications are processed within 12 months on average, as are federal skilled worker applications under recent ministerial instructions.

Provincial nominee programs are being discussed as part of this month's cross-Canada consultations on immigration levels and mix. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of the provincial nominee programs is underway. With the knowledge gained through each of these processes, CIC will be able to work with provincial and territorial partners on a longer-term approach to levels planning.

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Ottawa urged to boost immigration, ease labour crunch

BY SHEILA PRATT, POSTMEDIA NEWS JULY 18, 2011

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With another boom just around the corner, it's time to shift away from reliance on temporary foreign workers and concentrate on immigration, says Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta's minister of immigration and employment.

Photograph by: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

With another boom just around the corner, it's time to shift away from reliance on temporary foreign workers and concentrate on immigration, says Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta's minister of immigration and employment.

Lukaszuk is ready to push the federal government to allow more immigrants from among the 30,000 temporary workers now in the province, offering them a chance to settle with their families.

Employers facing labour shortages would also be happy because they could keep workers they spent the past few years training, he said.

Lukaszuk's first priority is to make sure Canadians in under-employed groups, such as First Nations and the disabled, are "fully engaged" in the workforce.

"But at the end of the day, even if we naively think we will get 100 per cent employment in those groups, we will still be short of workers," he said.

Last year, Lukaszuk ordered a review of the temporary working program by parliamentary assistant Teresa Woo Paw. Her report, assessing the effectiveness of the program, will be released in a month.

Lukaszuk hopes to garner support on the issue from his provincial counterparts in preparation for a ministers' meeting this fall.

"The federal government took in 280,000 new immigrants this year, the highest number ever, and that's great. But that record intake didn't make a dent in the 360,000 temporary workers in the country."

Since that number has been steady in recent years, it's clear the demand for workers isn't just short-term, he said.

At the height of the boom in 2006, Alberta had more than 60,000 temporary foreign workers - the highest per capita of any province. Many worked on oilsands projects but a lot of them left when the economic downturn hit in December 2008.

Recent federal government legislation has made the temporary foreign worker program less attractive Lukaszuk said.

Under the new rules, temporary foreign workers can spend a maximum of four years in Canada, and then must leave for four years before re-applying for another four-year term. Previously, a permit issued for two years was renewable several times if the employer could prove the worker was needed.

The new four-year rule means well-trained workers will leave Alberta to go to other industrialized countries, not back home to the Philippines or Ukraine, Lukaszuk said.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Read more:http://www.vancouversun.com/Ottawa+urged+boost+immigration+ease+labour+crunch/5120551/story.html#ixzz1SVdqsGu1

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