Rules for fast tracking skilled immigrants expected soon

Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008

OTTAWA - Immigration officials can expect their new set of instructions on which categories of applications to fast track in the early fall, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley said Thursday.

The minister, who was given new power to issue the instructions as part of a reform to the immigration system contained in the last federal budget, is wrapping up a series of cross-country consultations in Ottawa on Friday with a national roundtable and will then start to finalize what categories of occupations will be pushed to the top of the list of applicants.

"We haven't identified specific occupations yet, that's what we're consulting with all of these stakeholders about," Finley said in an interview. Following Friday's meetings, Finley has one more set of talks with the provinces in early September.

The priority list will be published on the website for Citizenship and Immigration Canada and in the department's annual report.

Once the House of Commons resumes in mid-September, Finley will present her recommendations to cabinet for its approval and she expects to issue the instructions "early in the fall, no question."

The priority list will be published on the website for Citizenship and Immigration Canada and in the department's annual report. "They will be very transparent," Finley promised.

Since the budget was passed in June, Finley and officials from her department have met with more than 100 groups across the country to gather input. The groups have included representatives from the provinces, industry, labour and ethnic organizations. Finley said the consultations went beyond what was originally promised and she's pleased with their progress.

"These consultations have been pursued very aggressively since the bill was passed at the end of June and it's almost unheard of that we would have made this much progress before September," she said.

Key to the consultations was determining Canada's short, medium and long-term labour shortages in order to decide what applications should be given priority, the minister said. The consultations thus far have shown that different kinds of workers are needed in different parts of the country and from among those shortages, the government will devise a national priority list.

"In some places they are crying for engineers, in others for chefs and hotel staff. Other places are desperate for veterinarians. Everywhere, we've heard this for quite some time, there's a shortage of skilled tradespeople, and also medical professionals," said Finley.

In her talks with the provinces on what workers they want to be given priority, Finley said she has sought assurance that those workers will have their credentials recognized in a timely fashion. Credential recognition is mostly regulated by provincial bodies and it can often be a barrier to getting newcomers in the workforce quickly. The immigration minister said progress has been made in speeding up the process but there are still some challenges.

The immigration reform giving the minister her new authority to issue instructions drew heavy criticism when it was introduced as part of the federal budget, Bill C-50. Some opponents said the minister's power would be too vague and allow her to cherry-pick certain kinds of potential immigrants.

"The minister does not have the power to make the decisions alone, they have to be approved by cabinet, and we are only dealing with categories of occupations, not with individuals," Finley said Thursday in response to those allegations. "There are too many people out there who are deliberately misrepresenting this fact so as to scare vulnerable newcomers and I think that's reprehensible," she added.

Creation of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

Canadian Professional, as well as other active members of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC), received the following announcement from Heidi Smith, the Director of Permanent Resident Policy and Programs Development at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

This announcement was about the creation of a new immigration class called Canadian Experience Class (CEC):

Last Winter Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) consulted stakeholders on the design of the new Canadian Experience Class (CEC) ­ a new class of immigration designed to facilitate the transition to permanent residence for temporary foreign workers and Canadian-educated foreign graduates. Many valuable comments were received through this process that ultimately influenced the design of this initiative.

As a result, I wish to inform you that the proposed regulations on the CEC were pre-published in the Canada Gazette on Saturday August 9, 2008. They can be found at: http://gazetteducanada.gc.ca/partI/2008/20080809/html/regle1-e.html

The public consultation period for these proposed regulations will be 15 days. CIC welcomes any further comments you may have during that period. Following the pre-publication period, CIC will make any necessary adjustments based on the comments received. We will notify you when the regulations go to final publication and inform you of the implementation date at that time, which will likely be in this Fall.