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Canadian Government Addresses Skills Shortages

A total of 251,649 people immigrated to Canada in 2006, 54.9% were in the Economic class and 28% in the Family class. The parents and grandparents category and the provincial nominee category saw the highest increase.

The importance of immigration to Canada's future is highlighted by ongoing skills shortages facing businesses across Canada. With growing businesses in Canada seeking employees at a variety of skill levels, immigration is an important source of Canada's competitive advantage.

Driven by this demand, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) raised the target for new permanent residents to Canada by 15,000 for 2007, reaching 265,000 at the upper end of the range. The target for the Economic Class has been increased by 15,000 compared to the 2006 Immigration Plan. For the Family Class, the targets of the Spouses, Partners and Children category has been increased by 5,000 and the Parents and Grandparents category by 1,000.

The dominant trend of 2006 was a shift towards tailoring immigration to the labour market needs of different provinces. One aspect of this is in expansions of the Provincial Nomination Program (PNP), which began in 2002. The program allows provinces to nominate individuals to immigrate who will contribute to the province's economic development, allowing these immigrants to move to Canada more easily.

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program is the Canadian government's primary means of helping employers address immediate skill and labour shortages. The 2007 Canadian federal budget allocated $50.5 million over two years to the TFW Program, aiming to more efficiently respond to regional labour and skill shortages and reduce processing times for applications. Online application systems will be improved and lists of occupations with known labour shortages will be maintained. Additionally, to protect temporary worker rights, a system will be developed to ensure employer compliance with the TFW.

The Agreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration was signed in May 2007 aimed at streamlining immigration to Alberta and making it easier and faster for foreign workers to settle in the province. With a booming economy, the province needs to attract more skilled workers, and more importantly, it needs to retain them. The agreement recognizes that community and integration services are an important part of keeping the newcomers in Alberta to build up the workforce. Under the new deal there will no longer be a limit on the number of immigrants that Alberta can nominate for Canadian Permanent Residency (under the Provincial Nomination Program), allowing the province to select and retain newcomers with skills that are in demand. The agreement will also develop mechanisms to make it easier and quicker to get the foreign workers needed to meet growing labour force demands. Another part of the agreement is to launch a pilot project aimed at fast-tracking the entry of foreign health care professionals.

Editorial by Suzanne Carter, Editor – Migration News

Source:  Citizenship and Immigration Canada

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