Archives for July 2008

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.

The goal of CIC’s consultations is to identify critical occupational shortages, the role of immigration in responding to them, and how to deal with any barriers to foreign credential recognition for these occupations.  By way of meetings and video conferences, provincial and territorial governments, as well as representatives from business, labour, and academic and non-government organizations are being consulted.  Once completed, a national roundtable will take place on August 15th.

“I believe this inclusive approach will help identify the categories of workers who get priority, and will allow us to prepare instructions that reflect the knowledge and expertise of the provinces, territories and stakeholders,” stated Minister Finley.

According to Olivia Chow, the Immigration Critic of the New Democratic Party (NDP), the type of skilled workers needed across Canada is already well known.  This information must be constantly updated, she says, not determined through one round of consultations.  Ms. Chow is quite concerned that the consultation sessions are not open to media or the general public and that the results will not be made public until CIC delivers its Annual Report to Parliament.

Maurizio Bevilacqua, the Liberal Immigration Critic, has called the process flawed and backwards given that consultations are only being carried out now, while applications received since the end of February remain frozen in the system.

The changes to Canadian immigration legislation, which were passed in June, allow the immigration minister to issue instructions on which categories of applications are to be prioritized, which should be held for future consideration, and which ones should be returned outright.

The legislative amendments do not affect Provincial Nomination applicants or Quebec Skilled Worker applicants, which are being processed as usual.  Also, Federal Skilled Worker applicants who have a job secured in Canada will also have their applications processed as usual.

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.

“There are serious mobility constraints in about 25% of jobs in Canada, so our task is to smooth away those last difficulties to create the most stimulating market,” stated Quebec Premier Jean Charest after the two-day annual Council of the Federation meeting.  Physicians, nurses, and welders are among the regulated occupations in which labour mobility is restricted.

The proposed new Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) between Canadian provinces and territories is especially good news for Canadian immigrants, many of whom have already had to go through a credential recognition process.  Before beginning to work in certain occupations, it is necessary to verify that internationally-obtained education and work experience credentials are compatible with occupational standards in the province/territory where immigrants intend to work.

The catch is that occupational standards and what qualifies as a regulated occupation differ across provinces/territories.  This means that although a person could be cleared to work in one province, if he/she wishes to move to another, it is possible that more training or a different accreditation process would be required.  This applies not only to workers trained abroad but to Canadian-born citizens alike.

The AIT seeks to remove this hurdle to cross-provincial/territorial mobility.

“No matter where a Canadian lives in this great country, they can move to a different province, take their skills with them, their profession, and be able to work within the country of Canada without any barriers,” stated Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach.

The Premiers plan to amend the internal trade agreement by January 1, 2009 in order to have full labour mobility by April 1, 2009.  At that time they will also implement an agreement to accept credentials from other provinces/territories.  Certain professions, however, will be exempted at the discretion of provincial labour ministers.

Labour mobility was one of the top priorities of this year’s Council of the Federation meeting, along with combating climate change.  Immigration issues were also discussed as the Premiers called on the federal government to commit more resources to dealing with the backlog of immigration applicants who are waiting to get into Canada.

“It is unacceptable as it is right now,” Mr. Charest stated, noting that many of those waiting for a visa to come to Canada are workers who are badly needed in labour-tight industries.

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.

>> Read full article on Canadavisa.com

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.

Health care professionals from abroad who wish to work in Saskatchewan have a new information resource through which they can better prepare ahead of time.  The Internationally Educated Health Professional (IEHP) web portal is designed to respond to the current challenges that face internationally-trained health care professionals as they relocate to Saskatchewan – namely the access to clear and accurate information about health-care regulators, the licensing process, credential recognition, and health-care job opportunities.

“Our goal here is to ensure that foreign health professionals have the information they need – an initial step in addressing a broader labour force need and most importantly to help address and ensure that we’re building more dynamic, diverse and cosmopolitan communities across our province,” stated Rob Norris, Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour.  He expects that the site will reduce immigration processing times and will allow internationally-trained health professionals to begin working in a more timely fashion.

The web portal is only in its first phase development. A step-by-step guide to licensing in different fields is currently in the works and will be rolled out in the coming months.

Also making its debut in Saskatchewan is the Foreign Credential Recognition Support for Labour Market Needs pilot project.  Launched in cooperation with Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), the pilot project will permit certain soon-to-be immigrants to have their international credentials recognized before they leave their home country, thus allowing newcomers to transition into the Saskatchewan workforce more quickly upon arrival.

“This project will help new Canadians immigrating to Saskatchewan get their international credentials recognized before arriving in Canada. It will benefit immigrants as well as employers who are struggling with skilled labour shortages, and be good for the Saskatchewan economy,” said Lynne Yelich, Member of Parliament for Blackstrap and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Monte Solberg.

The pilot project has a limited scope for now: the focus is on foreign skilled workers in the mechanical trades originating from the Ukraine, the Philippines, and Vietnam who are heading to Saskatchewan.  The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) will be responsible for establishing a system to verify that internationally-obtained work experience and education credentials are in line with Canadian standards for the chosen mechanical trades – welding, heavy duty equipment, and agricultural machinery.

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.

>> Read full article on Canadavisa.com