This month Statistics Canada published the results of the 2006 national census, detailing the demographic shifts in the nation over the past five years. The tale told by the figures is one where immigration is key to Canada’s future growth.

One of the most common questions in the Canadian immigration application process is, “How long will it take for my Permanent Resident Visa to be issued?” The answers provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) are widely variable and based on historic information.

Election campaigns provide an excellent opportunity for issues affecting immigrants to receive attention by public officials and the media. With a provincial election arriving in Quebec on the 26th of March and a federal election likely looming, the coming months should provide an open forum to discuss the issues and interests of immigrants in Canada.

News out today that the Conservative led minority government in Ottawa won’t be establishing a federal agency to review and recognize the work and educational credentials of newly-arriving immigrants, after all. Notwithstanding their pre-election promise to help newcomers become accredited in Canada, the party now in power has instead decided to refer immigrants to provincial bodies for the assessment of their credentials. Talk about passing the buck.

The number of options is on the rise for Canadian immigration applicants who do not want to wait out the lengthy application processing times associated with a Federal Skilled Worker Application. Applicants who have relatives or can become part of a community group in Canada may be able to benefit from provincially-sponsored programs, aimed at increasing province-specific immigration.

Consider these facts:

- For the fourth consecutive year, the Canadian economy is strong and vibrant.

- In many regions of Canada there are more jobs that pay well than there are people to work at them.

They say that “a rising tide carries all the ships” but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. The reality is that Canada has well-paying jobs that go begging and eager economic immigrants, whose skills are being underutilized. Statistics show that it’s taking longer for new economic immigrants to share in Canada’s prosperity than it did for economic immigrants, who came to Canada 30 or 40 years ago.

Why should that be?