CIC Launches National Consultations on Immigration Levels and Mix

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jul 31, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)'s Parliamentary Secretaries Chungsen Leung and Rick Dykstra have launched a series of cross-country consultations on immigration issues, beginning today in Toronto.

The two Parliamentary Secretaries will be meeting with stakeholders and the public to discuss the appropriate level and mix of immigration for Canada in the coming years. Since 2006, the Government of Canada has welcomed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history.

Following the Toronto session today hosted by Parliamentary Secretary Leung, meetings with stakeholders will take place in Windsor, Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa. As of today, online consultations are also open to the public and stakeholders for input.

The purpose of the consultations is to seek feedback on immigration issues, including the appropriate level of immigration for Canada, and the most suitable mix among economic, family, and refugee and humanitarian classes. Discussions with the Parliamentary Secretaries will also touch on CIC's transition towards a faster and more flexible immigration system, as well as the growing importance of immigration to Canada's economic growth and long-term prosperity.

In planning for the total number of people to admit as permanent residents, CIC must not only balance the Government of Canada's immigration objectives, but also consider broader government commitments, input from provinces and territories, and current and future economic conditions. The Department must also take into account its operational ability to process applications in a timely manner, as well as the capacity of communities to welcome newcomers.

These consultations present an important opportunity to generate greater public understanding of the difficult decisions involved in managing a global immigration system. There are competing visions and diverging goals for the future of the immigration program, and there are no easy answers. Engaging stakeholders and the broader public is key to CIC's development of an overall strategy for Canada moving forward.

Invited stakeholders represent a variety of perspectives, including those of employers, labour, academia, learning institutions, professional organizations, business organizations, regulatory bodies, municipalities, Aboriginal groups, settlement provider organizations and ethnocultural organizations.

The online consultations are open for input until August 31, 2012. Interested participants can find more information at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/index.asp .

A summary report of the stakeholder and public consultations will be available on the CIC website once completed.

Backgrounder

        
        --  2013 Levels Planning: Public and Stakeholder Consultations
        
        

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CitImmCanada .

        
        Contacts:
        Citizenship and Immigration Canada
        Minister's Office
        Alexis Pavlich
                    613-954-1064      
        
        Citizenship and Immigration Canada
        Communications Branch
        Media Relations
                    613-952-1650      
        CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
        
        
        

SOURCE: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

        mailto:CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
        

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The Government of Canada Launches Online Consultations on Immigrant Investment

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Jul 31, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Delivering on the Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government of Canada today launched online consultations to engage the public on ways to improve the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP).

"We can no longer be a passive player in the global competition for talent and investment. That is why we need to review our immigration programs to create dynamic opportunities that enable immigrants' investments to directly benefit the Canadian economy," said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

The Economic Action Plan announced that business immigration programs will be reformed to target more active investment for Canadian growth companies. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is now inviting online submissions from stakeholders and the public on how the department can:

        
        --  Increase the economic benefit that immigrant investment capital brings
            to Canada;
        --  Attract experienced, international investors with the skills and
            resources needed to ensure they integrate into Canada's economy; and
        --  Develop efficient and cost-effective ways of delivering an investment
            program.
        
        

"I am open to creative ideas and suggestions from the business community on how to maximize the economic benefits of such programs to Canada," said Minister Kenney.

The goal of these consultations is to determine how best to target high value global investors and to increase the economic benefit that immigrant investment capital brings to Canada. The current IIP offers permanent residency to individuals who meet specific criteria and are able to make an $800,000, five-year, interest-free loan to provincial and territorial governments for economic development activities.

CIC is also consulting Canadians on whether the government should use its new powers under the amended Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to create short-term programs that could have a far greater impact on Canada's economy, for example by possibly favouring active use of investment capital to promote economic growth.

CIC implemented a temporary pause on new IIP applications on July 1, 2012, in order to allow for a thorough review of the program. Nonetheless, in 2012, Canada intends to admit 5,500 to 6,000 newcomers under the Federal Business category, which includes investors.

The online consultations are open for input until September 4, 2012. Interested participants can find more information at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultations/index.asp . CIC is also consulting with provinces and territories on changes to federal immigrant investor programming.

A summary of the highlights from the online consultations will be available on the CIC website once completed.

Backgrounder:

- Improving the Immigrant Investor Program: Public Consultation Discussion Paper

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CitImmCanada .

        
        Contacts:
        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
        
        
        

SOURCE: Citizenship and Immigration Canada