IMMIGRATION
IMMIGRATION SCENE ALL CHANGE?
The Liberals swept to power in Canada’s recent general election with a new plan for immigration and economic opportunity. Our update on the latest developments includes explanation and comment from immigration experts.
R
ecognising that Canada’s economic success was largely driven by its ability to attract talent from around
the world, the incoming Liberal government had outlined its priorities for reforming the country’s immigration system within days of October’s general election. In the view of the Canadian Employee
Relocation Council (CERC), positive measures for business in the new government’s immigration agenda included reversing measures in the immigration system that had created unnecessary inconveniences and costs for Canadians and Canadian businesses, a commitment to reviewing the Express Entry programme (used to manage applications for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class), and granting immediate permanent residence to new spouses entering Canada, rather than imposing a two-year conditional status. Said the CERC, “The paper [published by the new government] takes a swipe at the
Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the levels of temporary workers in Canada. This will continue to be a hot issue in the coming months. “Business will need to continue to press
the case for more open access to highly skilled workers through the international mobility programme, intra-company transfers, and trade agreements.” The CERC had been concerned about the
impact that the previous administration’s changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program were having on employers, and the challenges companies were encountering with the Express Entry system for applications for permanent residence. The majority (59 per cent) of respondents
to a survey of CERC members conducted between 1 October and 15 November 2015 and published in December said that many of these changes were having a negative impact on business planning and organisations’ ability to recruit skilled workers internationally. Respondents, who accessed the immigration system frequently and
collectively employed more than 400,000 people, came from a range of sectors, including education, professional, scientific and technical services, financial services, and natural resources. Two-thirds of companies surveyed
pointed to “ambiguous and ongoing changes to immigration rules” as the greatest challenge when transferring employees to Canada. Of those, 16 per cent reported transferring work outside the country because of challenges in the system. The survey also identified shortcomings
in the quality of services provided by the various government departments that administered the programmes. Of the companies surveyed, 77 per cent said they experienced inconsistencies in decisions made by immigration officials. A further 75 per cent said they did
not have access to timely and accurate information about the programmes managed by Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, which oversees several areas of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Stephen Cryne, the CERC’s president and
CANADA’S
30 | Re:locate | Canada Spring 2016
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