BC, Canada enter into new immigration agreement

The Canada-British Columbia (BC) Immigration Agreement was signed by B.C Minister of Advanced Education and Labor Market Development, Moira Stilwell, and Dr. Alice Wong, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honorable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. 

Funding for the new immigrants will be provided by the Canadian government. The new agreement will help in successful integration of newcomers to make sure that they are able to live and work in Canada and make contributions towards Canadian economy, Mr. Kenney asserted. 

Announcing the first temporary foreign worker annexure to the new immigration agreement, Kenney said that it will ease the entry of foreign workers to fill the labor shortages in British Columbia. 

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Diane Finley, stated that the agreement between BC and Canada will help attract overseas skilled workers into Canada to meet the growing needs of the Canadian economy while the country continues to rise from the global economic slowdown.

Moreover, the agreement will significantly increase ability of BC to meet the growing labor market demands not just today but also in the future as well. 

As per the immigration agreement, BC will receive CA$114 million from the Canadian government to be spent on providing services regarding settlement and integration of new immigrants into the Canadian economy. The amount will also be spent on community initiatives by BC concerning welcoming of migrants.

The agreement between BC and Canada gives recognition to the importance of involving local governments, private sector and various service providers in welcoming new immigrants into Canada and providing all help for better integration and settlement in the economy. 

Immigrants arriving in BC contribute towards the local economy in a number of ways. Newcomers in Canada generate innovation, attract new industries and works, and result in increased revenue for the local economy, thus contributing towards the economic growth of the province.