Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Diane Finley has begun her cross-Canada tour through which CIC will develop the framework for the new amendments to Canadian immigration legislation. Critics are asking why these consultations were not held months ago, before the Conservative government issued the changes to be applied to all applications received on or after February 27, 2008. In the meantime, these applications have been piling up at visa offices and will remain untouched until Minister Finley issues her instructions.

Presently, licensing requirements for many occupations differ across provinces and territories, making inter-provincial labour mobility challenging for some Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents. With the goal of creating a stronger and more united national work force, the Premiers of Canada’s provinces and territories have proposed a new labour mobility accord that will make it easier for workers to seek job opportunities outside of their home province/territory.

Canada’s International Youth Program encourages young Canadians to travel and work abroad; to acquire the skills, training, and cultural experiences that are so valuable in Canada and in the global marketplace. Canada has coordinated reciprocal work permit arrangements with close to 40 countries in which qualifying Canadians and international youth can visit each others’ countries to experience a new culture and different work environment.

The government of Saskatchewan has been focusing on better preparing soon-to-be immigrants for the reality of the labour market, with the goal of facilitating their integration into the workforce upon arrival. Several new initiatives have recently been launched, including a web portal for internationally-trained health professionals and a pilot project for the overseas recognition of foreign credentials.

The United States is fortunate. It attracts a seemingly endless supply of the best and brightest people from all parts of the globe as foreign guest workers. Most of these individuals enter on H-1B visas and all of them have a high-skilled job set aside for their arrival. These temporary workers include IT professionals, physical and social scientists, and engineers, to name but a few. They are the kind of human capital that most societies wish for.