Clarification from Mr. Douglas

Ms. Colonel,

My apologies. I am now under the understanding that you are located in the Philippines. That may make it difficult for us to connect.

I appreciated your blog post and the fact that you have directly quoted the Minister. We have a concern with the last two paragraphs.

The Immigration Minister has the authority to make changes to the immigration selection system without any advance warning. In this case, he has signaled that an imminent reduction of immigration targets is a real possibility.
If you would like to immigrate to Canada, you should take the Immigration Minister's words seriously. Now is the time to submit your Canadian immigration application. After the Immigration Minister's meeting at the end of March, it may become more difficult for you to qualify or it may take you longer to realize your plans to come live and work in canada.



Minister Kenney consults with all of the Provinces and Territories along with business and labour groups and many other stakeholders when setting the immigration levels for Canada. He has indicated that the Immigration Plan for 2009 will remain at 240,000 - 265,000 persons and that the government does not plan to decrease those numbers. The Minister has indicated that, to be responsible, he must continue to consult and be prepared to react to a changing environment, but, at this time, there are no changes being planned.

I would also point out that there is no meeting currently planned for Provincial/Territorial Minsiters and Minister Kenney.


We would be pleased to provide you with further information or respond to any questions you may have by messaging us at CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca or by phone at 613-952-1650.


I would like to say thank you Mr. Kellam Dougals of cic.gc.ca for that email clarification.

Thanks you Sir.

Immigration News

Canada Immigration New

Cicnews.com is home to the Canada Immigration Newsletter, a monthly electronic publication edited by Canadian Immigration Attorney David Cohen with a reader base of more than 250,000 people. The Canada Immigration Newsletter is a free service provided by CICNews.com and contains a collection of topical articles, current news and discussions as it relates to Canadian Immigration.

The newsletter is distributed electronically and delivered directly to your email inbox every month. It may also be accessed directly on CICNews.com through the archives section.

Canadian Immigration Articles from Current Edition

• Cnada may decrease immigration numbers
  
  If you have been contemplating immigration to Canada, you would be wise to submit your application as soon as possible. Citing economic uncertainty and rising unemployment numbers in the country, Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced that Canada is considering reducing its immigration targets for 2009....

  At the present time, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada (CIMC) plans to maintain its 2009 immigration numbers of between 240,000 to 265,000 new Permanent Residents. This makes it one of the only developed nations that has not contracted its immigration plans in the face of current global economic turmoil.

  However, that may change by the end of March, once Minister Kenney meets with federal, provincial, and territorial officials to review economic data and to determine if modifications to immigration levels are needed.

  “We don’t want people coming to Canada and facing unemployment. We need to be sensitive to the changing labour market, and if we need to make modifications, we will,” stated Minister Kenney.

  Taking a longer-term perspective, he has expressed his preference to maintain current levels, noting that immigrants will be greatly needed to help fuel Canada’s economic growth once the economy turns around.

  “We need to be flexible, prudent and ensure that our response to short-term conditions does not counter out long-term goals, in which immigration will play a significant role,” he said. “We don’t want to turn off the tap of the future growth that is represented by immigration.”

  The Immigration Minister has the authority to make changes to the immigration selection system without any advance warning. In this case, he has signaled that an imminent reduction of immigration targets is a real possibility.

  If you would like to immigrate to Canada, you should take the Immigration Minister’s words seriously. Now is the time to submit your Canadian immigration application. After the Immigration Minister’s meeting at the end of March, it may become more difficult for you to qualify or it may take you longer to realize your plans to come live and work in canada.

• New Development to the popular alberta Immigrant Nominee Program
  
  The Strategic Recruitment Stream of the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has recently been shaken up to reflect the province's changing labour needs. Its popular US H1B Visa Holder category (for which applicants do not need a job offer) has been modified to reflect key occupations that are common among H1B holders. Additionally, two new categories have been created, which focus on foreign engineers and foreign tradespeople with work experience in Alberta....

  All three categories of Alberta’s Strategic Recruitment Stream allow candidates to apply directly to the AINP without having to get a job offer from an Alberta employer. It is an important fast-track option for Canadian immigration and a means for Alberta to build up its skilled labour force with workers from abroad.

  This stream was originally created for US visa holders, to make it easier for skilled workers from overseas with American work experience to settle permanently in Alberta as immigrants. To qualify, applicants must have worked for at least one year in the US on an H1B visa* in an occupation that is considered “in-demand” in Alberta. The list of qualifying occupations has recently been amended to focus on key occupations that are common among H1B visa holders in the United States. The list includes various types of engineering occupations, IT professions such as database administrators, web designers, and software engineers, along with medical occupations such as physiotherapists and medical lab technicians.

  In addition to the H1B occupations list, Alberta has also revised its requirements for H1B status. Previously, Alberta required that an applicant’s H1B status be valid only at the time of application; but it could elapse thereafter. Now, H1B status must be maintained until the AINP makes a final decision on the candidate.

  The AINP is currently projecting total processing times of 2 to 6 months.

  The Compulsory Trades Category and the Engineering Occupations Category are the newest additions to Alberta’s Strategic Recruitment Stream.

  Only for these categories (not the H1B category), applicants must be able to prove that they are currently living in Alberta and that they intend to settle permanently in the province. They also must show that they are currently working or have previously worked in Alberta in their field. For engineers, previous work experience at a reputable Alberta engineering company must have been performed within the last 12 months.

  In order to qualify, applicants in the Compulsory Trades Category are required to obtain an invitation from Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) and must possess an Alberta Qualification Certificate in a Compulsory Trades.

  Applicants in the Engineering Occupations Category must have been educated and trained as an engineer, designer, or drafter and have work experience in an engineering occupation on the ANP Engineering Occupations List. They also need to obtain a “Letter of No Objection” from the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA).

  The AINP is continually evolving. Applicants who are qualified at the present time are encouraged to submit their applications now, as qualifying criteria may change without notice.

• Almost the Economic downturn, there are still hot spot for Job in Canada
  
  Though Canada has been less affected by the global economic downturn than the United States and other OECD nations, the national unemployment rate has increased slightly over the past several months. This has prompted Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to review immigration numbers to ensure that there will be enough jobs for newcomers once they arrive. Despite these trends, certain regions in Canada remain hot spots for jobs, where regional employers continue to seek skilled foreign workers to meet chronic labour gaps. Notably, the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba are still experiencing skills shortages and continue to recruit foreign workers to alleviate them....

  The January unemployment rates for Saskatchewan and Alberta came in at 4.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectfully; both under Alberta Employment and Immigration’s ‘balanced labour market’ rate of 5 per cent. Though these provinces have been impacted by current economic events, economists claim that they have been faring much better than other regions - some saying that the job market in Alberta remains among the best in North America.

  Indeed, for many years Alberta has been recruiting foreign workers and Canadians from other regions to try to keep pace with the rapid job creation in the province. The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) has been very effective at welcoming skilled foreign workers, and is constantly evolving to reflect current conditions. Its Strategic Recruitment Stream for H1B holders. (for which candidates do not need a job offer) has recently been reworked to welcome applicants with experience in new occupations, such as industrial designers, database analysts and web developers.

  Alberta’s two major cities, Calgary and Edmonton, recorded very low unemployment rates last month, at 4.1 and 3.8 per cent respectively. The areas of the province with the lowest unemployment rates were the Camrose-Drumheller region at 3.1 per cent and the Medicine Hat-Lethbridge region at 4 per cent.

  Skills shortages also persist in Manitoba, where the provincial Immigration Minister is looking to offer jobs to skilled foreign workers in biotechnology, healthcare, information technology, social services, and geothermal energy. Temporary foreign workers in these industries may eventually be able to qualify for fast-track Canadian Permanent Residency under Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

  For those deciding where to live when immigrating to Canada, the take-home message from this is simple: To maximize your chances for finding work in Canada, keep an open mind and consider choosing a region where unemployment is low and where your particular skills are in high demand.

• Ontario welders in PNP More people can qualify for fast track Canadian Immigration
  
  What started as Ontario’s Pilot Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in May 2007 has now come into its own as the full-fledged Opportunities Ontario Provincial Nominee Program. The Ontario PNP will now be welcoming a greater number of newcomers from a larger array of skilled occupations. The expansion of the program is great news for soon-to-be Canadian immigrants, many of whom plan to live in Ontario, as it offers a quicker and more efficient route to Canadian Permanent Residency.
• Better safe than sorry
  
  On most days, I truly love what I do. Many lawyers spend their working lives locked in adversarial battles, where one side wins and the other loses. Not much fun, if you ask me. In my job I get to work in an environment, where most of the time there are no loses. Our clients nearly always get what they want... Canada gets what it needs... and I get to make a decent living from it all
  

Action Plan for Faster Immigration

News Release

Minister Kenney announces immigration levels for 2009; Issues instructions on processing federal skilled workers

Ottawa, November 28, 2008 — Canada will stay the course on immigration in 2009, welcoming between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents, Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, announced today.

“While countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are talking about taking fewer immigrants, our planned numbers for 2009 are on par with last year and are among the highest for this country over the past 15 years,” Minister Kenney said. “The numbers reflect a continued commitment to an immigration program that balances Canada’s economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals.”

The 2009 plan includes up to 156,600 immigrants in the economic category; 71,000 in the family category; and 37,400 in the humanitarian category.

Minister Kenney also announced another step in measures to improve the immigration program’s responsiveness to Canada’s labour market. Retroactive to February 27, 2008, the date specified by the Federal Budget, the Action Plan for Faster Immigration includes issuing instructions to visa officers reviewing new federal skilled worker applications to process those from candidates who:

• are in 38 high-demand occupations such as health, skilled trades, finance and resource extraction; or
• have an offer of arranged employment or have already been living legally in Canada for one year as a temporary foreign worker or international student.

The list of 38 occupations was developed after consultations with the provinces and territories, business, labour and other stakeholders. New federal skilled worker applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined above will not be processed, and the application fee will be fully refunded. This, along with funds set aside in the 2008 Budget to improve the immigration system, will stop the backlog from growing and will start to draw it down.

“The eligibility criteria apply only to new federal skilled worker applicants and will not affect Canada’s family reunification or refugee protection goals,” said Minister Kenney. “Applicants who aren’t eligible for the federal skilled worker category may qualify under another category, such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or as temporary foreign workers, which could then put them on a path to permanent residency through the new Canadian Experience Class. There are many ways to immigrate to Canada.”

The Department has expanded its website in an effort to make it easier for people to navigate the range of immigration options open to them. The site now includes a specific section for employers (www.cic.gc.ca/employers) and a new interactive tool (www.cic.gc.ca/cometocanada) that matches information provided by potential applicants with immigration programs that best suit their circumstances.

“We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system,” said Minister Kenney. “All other economic class applications—including applicants chosen by Quebec, provincial nominees, the Canadian Experience Class, and live-in caregivers—will continue to be given priority.”

These improvements, coupled with a number of recent initiatives that include the introduction of the Canadian Experience Class, bring Canada in line with two of its main competitors for highly skilled labour: Australia and New Zealand. Both of these countries have eliminated their backlogs and have systems that deliver final decisions for economic applicants within a year.

“The recent steps this Government has taken to improve our immigration system will help ensure that Canada remains competitive internationally and responsive to labour market needs domestically,” said Minister Kenney.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Alykhan Velshi
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064

Media Relations Unit
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650

Backgrounders

• Action Plan for Faster Immigration: Ministerial Instructions
• Ministerial Instructions
• Improvements made to Canada’s Immigration System