Changes to Saskatchewan immigrant program affecting families

Canada, 31st July: Recent changes announced to Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program are likely to prove bad for several immigrant families.

It is being ascertained that many immigrants having come to stay in Saskatchewan along with their families might be compelled to move from here.

SINP—SINP (Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program) is an immigration route to help families of skilled workers (along with skilled immigrants themselves) come to Saskatchewan. The program allows fast-track immigration of such immigrants.

The only pre-condition for family members to come to Saskatchewan under SINP is that the concerned skilled immigrant must have a minimum stay of one year in Saskatchewan before bringing his or her family. And the family member or members need to have an offer of job for fast-tracking of their Saskatchewan immigration application.

Reforms to SINP caught immigrants unaware--Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program’s reforms have left many immigrants baffled. They say their lives have almost come at a standstill by the recent changes to the provincial nominee program.

Sharing the feelings of immigrants affected by changed Saskatchewan immigration program, Cam Broten, an NDP immigration critic said many have been left high and dry.

Consider, for instance, the example of an immigrant, a mechanical engineer who had come to Canada nearly fourteen years back. And the lure of Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program compelled him to shelve his business in Ontario to move to Saskatchewan.

According to Afzaal Siddiqui, bringing his sister to this Canadian province was what brought him here. But now, things are different.

Reformed norms for Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program mean exit of many immigrant families from Saskatchewan, adds Siddiqui. This means selling their homes, leaving their jobs in Saskatchewan, he maintains.

Changes to SINP—NDP offers a solution--The federal government had asked Saskatchewan provincial government to reform its immigrant nominee program and the latter followed by changing the rules.

Meanwhile, due to wide-spreading impact of these changes on immigrants, the NDP has offered a compromise highlights of which are as follows—

• Elimination of pre-requisite of a high-skill job offer before getting nod for coming to Saskatchewan;

• Making application processing more efficient by increasing staff strength;

• Adding a clause for enabling families staying in Saskatchewan before the changes introduced on 1st May this year for nomination of up to three people within a reasonable span of time;

• Enabling up to two applications for Canadians not qualifying for the above suggested clause;

• Reducing abuse by tougher screening and enforcement.