Minister Kenney harps on hiring of federal skilled workers in 2009.
By Albert Smith | Thu, 03/12/2009 - 23:17
Minster of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney has said that Canada would remain on track regarding immigration in 2009 and would welcome between 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents.
Minister Kenney said that in spite of the fact that many countries such as the UK and Australia are planning to take lesser number of immigrants, the planned numbers for Canada for 2009 are on par with year 2008 and are among the highest Canada accepted in the past fifteen years. He said that the numbers show in them Canada’s continued commitment to an immigration program that balances the economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals of the country.
The plan for the year 2009 comprises of 156,000 immigrants in the economic category, 71,000 immigrants in the family category and 37,400 immigrants in humanitarian category.
As a measure to improve the responsiveness of the immigration program to the labor market needs of Canada, Kenney also announced the Action Plan for Faster Immigration which includes issuing instructions to visa officers analyzing applications for skilled workers. The instruction will be provided to process the applications from candidates who:
1. Possess the skills required in the 38 high-demand occupations such as skilled trades, health care and finance, to name a few.
2. Have an arranged employment offer or those who have already been residing in Canada for a minimum of one year as temporary foreign worker or as international student.
The above stated list of 38 in-demand occupations was finalized after discussions with provinces and territories, business, labor and other stakeholders. Applications under the new federal skilled worker program will not be processed if applicants are unable to pass the eligibility criteria stated above and subsequently, their complete application fee will be refunded.
However, Kenney said that the eligibility criteria will have no impact on the family reunification or refugee protection goals of Canada, and will only be applied for the new federal skilled worker applicants. He said that those applicants who are unable to qualify for the federal skilled worker program should not worry much, as they may qualify under some other category, such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or as temporary foreign workers.
The immigration department has also expanded its website so that people will find it easier to navigate the variety of immigration options which are wide open for them.
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