Friday, 17 August 2012
Monday, 16 July 2012
Canada-Alberta pilot project expanded to include more occupations
Ottawa, July 16, 2012 — Alberta employers looking to hire highly skilled foreign workers in certain in-demand occupations will benefit thanks to the expansion of a Temporary Foreign Worker pilot project, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Alberta Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education Stephen Khan announced today.
“Alberta is facing some of the most acute labour shortages in the country,” said Minister Kenney. “The expansion of this pilot project will enable more employers in Alberta to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill short-term skills and labour needs when Canadians or permanent residents are unavailable.”
Originally launched June 1, 2011, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Annex to theAgreement for Canada-Alberta Cooperation on Immigration, this pilot project allows eligible foreign nationals to come to Alberta to work temporarily in a specific occupation. This program enables them to be issued a work permit that allows them to move freely between Alberta employers, without requiring authorization from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Service Canada in the form of a Labour Market Opinion, or LMO.
Effective today, the Alberta pilot is expanding beyond the steamfitter/pipefitter occupation to include the following additional occupations:
- Welder
- Heavy duty equipment mechanic
- Ironworker
- Millwright and industrial mechanic
- Carpenter
- Estimator
“Our consultations with Alberta employers and our own labour forecasts show there is a need to expand the pilot to include these high-demand occupations,” said Minister Khan. “We appreciate the cooperation and support of our federal colleagues in working with us to help employers get the workers they need sooner.”
http://ow.ly/cgvEn
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Saturday, 26 May 2012
CBC News: Immigrant Lawsuit fails to preserve backlogged applications
Immigrant lawsuit fails to preserve backlogged applications
Over 800 skilled workers stuck in massive backlog set to be eliminated by budget bill
The Canadian Press
Posted: May 24, 2012 11:18 AM ET
Last Updated: May 24, 2012 11:17 AM ET
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Related Stories
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney wants to change the way the skilled worker category is administered. The budget implementation bill would eliminate all backlogged cases and force would-be immigrants to apply again. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
A federal court judge has quashed the hopes of hundreds of would-be immigrants seeking to force the government to review their files.
Over 800 skilled workers have seen their applications languish in a massive backlog that's set to be eliminated by the federal budget bill.
They are suing the government over the delay in processing their files and had sought an injunction that would force the immigration minister to keep their applications open while the case is before the courts.
That's because the budget bill is likely to pass before the case is over, meaning they would lose their applications.
But in a decision released Wednesday, the judge said he can't force the immigration minister to keep the files open.
He called their request devoid of merit in part because the bill hasn't passed and the courts can only get involved once legislation is enacted, not before.
He also ruled that the law as it stands doesn't give the minister power over the affected files so the courts can't stop the minister from doing something he doesn't have the power to do.
The case is still expected to be heard in court next month.
Second lawsuit pending
The lawsuit is one of two currently pending against the government over its decision to erase the files of 280,000 people and return their application fees. The second case has not been heard yet.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says they were pleased and not surprised by the ruling.
Ana Curic says the government believes the bill will withstand any legal challenges and she called the backlog a roadblock to Canada's ability torespond to labour market needs.
The case at hand involved skilled workers who had applied to come to Canada prior to 2008, when the government made major changes to the immigration program.
As a result, their applications sunk to the bottom of the pile and they allege that's violated a promise to them that their files would be reviewed in a timely fashion.
In his decision, the judge says that there may be an issue with how long it has taken to process the files but he says it's unclear that a contractual obligation was created.
And he says even if there was, there's no legal reason Parliament can't extinguish such a right.
© The Canadian Press, 2012
Thursday, 17 May 2012
HIV, multiple sclerosis or other illness requiring expensive treatment may no longer be a barrier to permanent residence in Canada.
Reviving questions about when and if a would-be immigrant’s health problems should keep him out of Canada, the Federal Court has overturned a government decision to bar a Panamanian man from the country because of the potential financial burden of his HIV infection.
Nestor Ovalle has a job offer from a Toronto accounting firm and qualified for entry under the skilled-worker category. He was denied permanent resident status, however, on the grounds that his need for $18,000 a year in anti-retroviral drugs could unduly strain Canadian health-care resources.
The court quashed that ruling this month and sent the case back for a new hearing, saying the original Immigration Canada officer ignored evidence that a U.S. charity — not Ontario taxpayers — would pay for Mr. Ovalle’s medication. Click on link to read full article in the National Post: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/16/canadian-immigration-rules-blur-when-illness-involved/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Proposed changes to Canada’s Economic Immigration System
Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012 – Proposed changes to Canada’s Economic Immigration System
Economic Action Plan 2012 initiatives include:
- Eliminating the backlog of old applications in the federal skilled worker category. CIC plans to refund fees and close applications from nearly all those applicants who applied before new rules were brought in February 27, 2008. Eliminating the backlog of old applications will allow CIC to focus on applicants with skills and talents that our economy needs today. The goal is to move to a just-in-time system where immigrants with needed skills can be selected from a pre-qualified pool.
- Reforming the federal skilled worker point system used to select immigrants to better reflect the importance of younger immigrants with Canadian work experience and better language skills.
- Creating a new Federal Skilled Trades program, to make it easier for them to immigrate to Canada and fill labour market needs. The goal is to move to a just-in-time system where immigrants with needed skills can be selected from a pre-qualified pool.
- Modifying the Canadian Experience Class to make it easier for highly skilled temporary foreign workers to transition to permanent residence.
- Consulting with industry on a “start-up” visa for innovative entrepreneurs. The aim would be to attract immigrant entrepreneurs and link them with private sector organizations that have experience and expertise working with start-ups.
- Strengthening the overseas verification of education credentials of applicants to the Federal Skilled Workers Program. An independent, third party assessment of their education before they arrive would let applicants know how their education credentials compare to Canadian credentials and how Canadian employers are likely to value their education. It will also help screen out people without proper education levels.
- Consulting on possible reforms to the Immigrant Investor Program with stakeholders and provinces and territories.
- Working with provinces, territories, and employers to create a just-in-time pool of skilled workers who are ready to begin employment in Canada.
- Strengthening the Provincial Nominee Programby establishing minimum language requirements and ensuring an economic focus.
Changes to spousal sponsorship
Cracking Down On Marriages Of Convenience – New and Proposed Measures
The Government of Canada has put in place a bar on sponsorship in an ongoing effort to deter people from using a marriage of convenience to come to Canada. Regulatory changes now in force mean sponsored spouses or partners will have to wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence status in Canada to sponsor a new spouse/partner. Until now, a sponsored spouse/partner arriving in Canada as a permanent resident could leave their sponsor and sponsor another spouse/partner themselves, while their original sponsor was still financially responsible for them for up to three years.
In addition to the sponsorship bar, a new measure is being proposed to further strengthen Canada’s ability to crack down on marriage fraud. Under the new proposal, a spouse/partner being sponsored by a Canadian or permanent resident would be required to live together with their sponsor in a legitimate relationship for two years following receipt of their permanent resident status in Canada. If these steps are not pursued, the sponsored spouse/partner’s status could be revoked, possibly leading to their removal and in some instances, criminal charges could also be laid. For all legitimate relationships, the condition would cease to apply once the conditional period has elapsed.
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