NDP also vows to reverse Conservative immigration changes, pledges to develop a credible and accountable immigration system

Running up their bill of election promises, New Democrats (NDP) have also vowed to completely repeal the controversial immigration amendments implemented by Conservative government this year, while pledged to develop a credible and accountable immigration system.

The Conservative-legislation, New Democrats are promising to reverse, was written into the 2008 budget bill C-50 in an attempt to tackle a backlog of nearly one million applications and, consequently, excessively long processing times. Critics have taken aim at the law for the authority it assigns to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to hand-pick immigrants.

New Democrats called these ministerial powers "arbitrary, secretive and restrictive". From the viewpoint of New Democrats, these immigration reforms mean increased exploitation of "guest workers", more delays and restrictions for family reunification, less effective strategic planning for labor market needs, and more secretive and arbitrary decisions by cabinet ministers.

Although defeated but NDP was the only party which not only brought motion in the Parliament to block budget bill to proceed for second reading but also suggested Finance Committee to split the budget bill into two bills by separating the budget reforms and proposed immigration reforms. NDP voted against the immigration reforms and wanted to force an election on this issue.

New Democrats also have a plan for an improved immigration system that will ensure fairness, boost Canada’s productivity and ease family reunification. They have pledged to significantly increase resources and support to deal with immigration backlog, reform visa program, create a more compassionate system for refugees, raise immigration quotas "significantly" and introduce a series of programs to help new Canadians learn one of the country’s official languages and have their professional credentials recognized.

The specific measures of New Democrats’ immigration plan will include:

• Implement "Creating Fair Opportunities" plan to accelerate and streamline the recognition of foreign credentials, overseas degrees and previous employment experience of newcomers with national standards, permanent training, bridging programs and international reciprocity agreements.


• Review current point system to match the labor market needs, including specific provisions for blue-collar workers and tradespeople.


• Increase funding to settlement support services for new Canadians to assist with literacy, community integration and orientation, including bridging, mentorship, English and French as a second language (ESL and FSL) programs and resource centers.


• Increase annual immigration level up to 1 per cent of total population.


• Establish firm targets for on-time completion of family class and spousal sponsorships.


• Implement "Once in a Lifetime" bill that will permit any citizen or landed immigrant to sponsor at least one family member from outside the "family" classification.


• Eliminate landing fees for new immigrants, as well as processing fees for refugees and people fleeing torture or domestic violence.


• Reform the visa program, so overseas family members of Canadian citizens or landed immigrants have proper visitation rights for important family events such as weddings, births and illness, and for the reunification of married couples.


• Abrogate the "Safe Third Country Agreement" with the United States so all refugees claimants are granted a hearing outside of Canada.


• Establish a special program to allow "Iraq War resisters" from the US to remain in Canada.


• Continue to ensure that all new Canadians have access to the "core" immigration system, rather than expand the Liberal-Conservative temporary "guest worker" and "live-in caregiver" programs. These programs deny basic employee rights, do not allow application for immigration, and result in longer delays in the entire system.


• Allow people without status who are living in Canada the opportunity to apply for legal status.


• Eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in admission processes.


• Immediately implement the provision in the Immigration Act for a refugee appeal division to help facilitate a fair refugee hearing and determination process, and ensure that all vacancies on the Immigration and Refugee Board are filled in a fair and transparent manner.


• Properly regulate immigration consultants to stop abuse of immigrants and potential immigrants, and crack down on unscrupulous and illegal activities.

New Democrats believe that a successful immigration plan could be built by increasing Canada’s productivity, improving family reunification, establishing fairness and offering new hope to people fleeing persecution, violence and repression.

Industry coalition wants party leaders to debate acute skilled labor shortage in federal election

A coalition of business groups, unions and colleges has called on federal election candidates to debate solutions for the acute shortage of skilled labor in Canada, which is not only crippling the domestic economy but also reaching the point of a "national crisis" if not dealt with by the political parties aiming to form the next government.

The Investing in Skills coalition was officially launched few days earlier to bring the growing skills deficit to the attention of mainstream political parties’ leadership and demanded to get this issue on their agenda for the election.

The coalition, at a news conference and in a letter to all party leaders, urged them to respond to the issue that it said will need changes to policies governing immigration and the employment insurance system, and require increased spending on apprenticeship training and post-secondary education.

According to the coalition, the skills crisis affects all sectors of the
Canadian economy and is becoming an accepted part of life for many small and medium-size businesses, leading to companies choosing to operate with fewer employees and ignore growth opportunities.

To support its claim that crisis exists, the coalition cited, among other things:

• In a 2008 survey, the Bank of Canada found that over 40 per cent of firms surveyed were reporting that labor shortages were restricting their ability to meet demands.


• In a recent 2008 survey of 640 CEOs by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, 41 per cent said shortages of skilled workers are an important challenge for their business, while an additional 30 per cent said this issue has become critical and is a constraint on growth.


• The construction sector will need approximately 260,000 new workers over the next eight years.


• The Railway Association of Canada predicts the railway sector will need to hire 11,000 workers in the next four years (33 per cent of its total current workforce) to fill technical positions.
  
• A 2007 Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) survey of its members found that over 300,000 jobs were unfilled for at least four months in 2007.


• A 2006 Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) survey found that because hiring skilled workers was so difficult, 38 per cent of its members had chosen to function with fewer employees and ignore new business opportunities.


• The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) predicts unprecedented labor shortages in the tourism sector with a forecast of 348,000 unfilled jobs by 2025.


• The Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council predicts it will face annual shortages of between 4,290 and 7,380 skilled workers from 2005 to 2009 and between 4,450 and 8,050 skilled workers between 2010 and 2014.


• The Mining Industry Human Resources (MIHR) Council predicts a need for 10,000 people per year or 100,000 people over the next 10 years.


• Growth in manufacturing will require up to 62,000 skilled workers in aircraft maintenance alone by 2016.

The coalition says that while erasing the skills deficit will not happen overnight and will require a number of specific policy responses ranging from immigration to employment insurance to added investments in apprenticeship and post-secondary education, the scope, complexity and urgency of the issue require political will on a national scale.

Policy initiatives that Ottawa needs to address include a complete revamp of the immigration system, which has a backlog of nearly a million people and can take five years (or more) to process an individual's application; and additional investment in skills training and post-secondary education, especially at the community college level that focuses on trades where lengthy waiting lists of 2-4 years are common.

The Investing in Skills coalition includes 17 national organizations: Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC), Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC), Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance), Canadian Construction Association (CCA), Canadian GeoExchange Coalition, Canadian Healthcare Association (CHA), Canadian Labor Congress (CLC), Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Canadian Solar Industries Association (CSIA), Cement Association of Canada (CAC), Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGAAC), Certified Management Accountants (CMA), Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), Railway Association of Canada (RAC), Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).

Study finds 2nd-generation of Asian immigrants most likely to get university degrees

A recent study by Statistics Canada shows that the children of Asian immigrant parents have the highest rate of university completion in Canada, more than double the rate of other ethnicities, Canadian-born or otherwise.

The study, "Group differences in educational attainment among the children of immigrants", found that university completion rates ranged from over 65 per cent for youth of immigrant parents from China and India to 24 per cent among second-generation German and Central and South American youth. As a benchmark, about 28 per cent of the children of Canadian-born parents had completed university by the time they were aged 25 to 34 in 2002. Nearly one-third of youth whose parents were from the Caribbean, Portugal and the Netherlands completed university education.

The higher university completion rates among children of Chinese and Indian immigrants remained when differences among the youth in abilities in the two official languages and parental educational levels were taken into account. These are important factors that influence the likelihood of youth completing university. Living in the cities, where most new immigrants settle, also influences how much importance is placed upon the need for a university education.

Data for this study came from the 2002 Statistics Canada’s Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS). This study focuses on a sub-sample of about 3,300 young adults aged from 25 to 34 who are either Canadian-born children of at least one immigrant parent or who immigrated to Canada at age 12 or younger. This study includes 2,689 children of Canadian-born parents as the comparison group.

This study includes eight non-Western countries/regions and ten Western countries for a comprehensive analysis of group differences in university completion rates across a large range of immigrant source groups. The non-Western countries/regions include Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, China, the Philippines, India, West Asia/Middle East, and other Asia. The Western countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, other Northern/Western Europe, Eastern Europe, other Europe, and other countries (mostly Oceania).

70 years of historic official records of Canadian immigration now indexed and made available online

In a world first, Canada's leading family history website www.ancestry.ca has launched 70 years of historic official records of Canadian immigration by ship and overland that is now fully indexed and searchable online.

The website has launched Canadian Passenger Lists between 1865 and 1935, which contains more than 7.2 million names, including 5.6 million of those who traveled from around the world to start a new life in Canada. These lists, which are originally held by the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), are the official records of arrival of the majority of people accepted as immigrants in Canada during the key immigration period of 1865-1935.

An estimated 11.6 million Canadians or 37 per cent of its current population have ancestors included in this collection, which also includes records for many vacationers and travelers, business people, crew members and historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities.

The collection includes passenger lists from all the major ports of arrival including Halifax, Saint John, North Sydney, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria and even east coast ports in the US where many arrived before proceeding directly to Canada overland.

The main immigrant nationalities arriving in Canada during this period of rapid growth were British, Irish, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Chinese and Polish (the majority of French immigrants, the second largest Canadian immigrant population, arrived prior to 1865).

Contained in the collection are records for a number of ships which tragically never made it to their final Canadian destinations, including that of RMS The Empress of Ireland, a passenger ship which was rammed in dense fog on the St. Lawrence River near Quebec on the 29th of May 1914 and sank in just 14 minutes. 1,012 passengers and crew drowned - a larger loss of life than when RMS Titanic sank.

Individual records include information such as the passenger's first and last name, estimated birth year, year of arrival, port of arrival and departure, ship name, occupation, final destination in Canada and other family members listed with their relationship indicated.

The collection is fully indexed by name, month, year, ship and port of origin, and arrival of more than 4,000 ships, and includes original images for more than 310,000 pages of historical records. It is the first time that these records have been indexed and made available online.

Digitizing and indexing the collection took approximately 83,000 man hours, or the equivalent of a person working 24 hours a day, seven days a week for almost 10 years.

www.ancestry.ca was launched in January 2006 and has 400 million Canadian names in such collections as the 1851, 1891, 1901, 1906 and 1911 Censuses of Canada, Ontario and British Columbia vital records from as early as 1813, Quebec vital records (The Drouin collection), 1621-1957 and U.S. / Canada Border Crossings from 1895 to 1956.

The website is part of the global network of Ancestry websites (wholly owned by The Generations Network Inc.), which contains seven billion names in 26,000 historical record collections. To date more than 6.5 million family trees have been created and 650 million names and 10 million photographs uploaded. 6.5 million Unique visitors logged on to an Ancestry websites in June 2008.

The Ancestry global network of family history websites: www.ancestry.ca in Canada, www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, www.ancestry.com.au in Australia, www.ancestry.com in the US, www.ancestry.de in Germany, www.ancestry.it in Italy, www.ancestry.fr in France, www.ancestry.se in Sweden, and www.jiapu.cn in China.

Manitoba removes another immigration barrier for skilled workers in regulated professions and trades

Manitoba has announced to make its Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) more accessible to a wider range of internationally skilled workers by removing "occupational licensing requirements list" from the MPNP so that skilled workers from all occupations with a strong connection to Manitoba are eligible to apply now.

The Occupations with Additional Requirements List was introduced in 2004, when Manitoba redesigned its provincial nominee program, to provide potential applicants with the information they needed to know and the steps they needed to take to improve their chances for employment in Manitoba, before they applied to the MPNP.

The purpose of the list was to ensure that potential applicants received the information they needed before coming to Canada concerning licensing requirements which could present barriers to employment for them.

The removal of the list of occupational requirements not only shows Manitoba’s strong commitment to reducing barriers to employment for newcomers and their families but it will also streamline the program to make it more accessible for applicants with strong connections to Manitoba to apply.

Now MPNP would consider applicants in occupations which used to be on now-removed Occupations with Additional Requirements List by assessing on a case-by-case basis and each applicant must demonstrate his/her potential for employability in Manitoba, based on factors such as age, education and training, work experience, language ability, pathways to certification, transferable skills and available settlement supports.

For example nurses living overseas will be assessed based on the strength of their close family ties to the province, documented past education and work experience, together with English skills, allowing them to challenge licensing exams in Manitoba.

However, live-in caregivers must still apply through the specific Government of Canada program created for them and cannot apply under that occupation to the MPNP.

An updated application kit is now available at http://www.immigratemanitoba.com/, a new website to help interested applicants make informed decisions about immigration to Manitoba.

The website includes information and tools to assist newcomers to gauge if they will get jobs and successfully settle in one of the dozens of Manitoba communities that together welcome close to 11,000 immigrants each year. Visitors to the site can explore employment possibilities with the Working in Manitoba Canada Career Research Tool. The tool provides applicants information to help them assess, plan and prepare for employment in Manitoba including job searches.

In addition, Manitoba continues to introduce positive changes for immigrants such as The Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act, Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, and a new Settlement Strategy. All of these changes to the MPNP involve providing safer, fairer, clearer and more efficient information and opportunities to immigrants to encourage better settlement and labor market outcomes for those who choose to build their future in Manitoba.

According to Tom Carter, a Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation at the University of Winnipeg, MPNP is one of the world’s best immigration program. Tom Carter concluded this after a review of MPNP for a recent issue of the Journal of International Migration and Integration.

The Manitoba PNP was established in 1999 and has brought in two thirds of Manitoba’s immigrants since then. It is the most successful PNP in the nation, having attracted 60 per cent of all nominees over the 1999-2006 periods.

Liberals vow to reverse Conservative immigration changes, promise a fairer and faster system worth $800M

Running up their bill of election promises, Liberals have vowed to reverse the controversial immigration amendments implemented by Conservative government this year, and pledged to overhaul country’s immigration system through an $800-million strategy.

The Conservative-legislation, Liberals are promising to repeal, was written into the 2008 budget bill C-50 in an attempt to tackle a backlog of nearly one million applications and, consequently, excessively long processing times. Critics have taken aim at the law for the authority it assigns to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to hand-pick immigrants. Although Liberals called these ministerial powers "unfair, sweeping discretionary" but they were abstained in the House of Commons at time of voting on this legislation perhaps to defeat Conservatives in Parliament that could trigger an election.

The Liberals also pledged to invest a total of $800 million in federal funding to deal with the immigration backlog, bring in a new business and visitors’ visa system, set up a new program for temporary workers and students to apply for permanent residence status, set up a more efficient refugee-determination system, raise immigration quotas "significantly" and introduce a series of programs to help new Canadians learn one of the country’s official languages and have their professional credentials recognized.

A breakdown of this investment, over four years, would be as follows:

• $400 million to modernize the immigration system, process applications more efficiently and support the admission of significantly more permanent residents to Canada.


• $200 million in New Beginnings Canada – an enhanced language training initiative designed to help newcomers master the language necessary to get jobs that match their qualifications.


• $200 million for a Bridge to Work plan – a new initiative that will better prepare newcomers for the workplace through the use of internships, special training and work placement opportunities.

Other measures will include (a) revamping the immigration points system to give greater weight to skilled trades, better aligning immigration policy to the Canadian labour market; (b) creation of an In-Canada Fast Track program that will accelerate the process for temporary workers, international students and live-in caregivers to apply for permanent residence within Canada; (c) direct financial assistance to help foreign professionals obtain recognition of their credentials; (b) introduction of Welcome Canada Pass – a five year renewable, multi-entry visitor’s visa for individuals sponsored by Canadian citizens and landed immigrants; (c) Creation of a so-called Canada Express Pass for frequent business visitors to reduce processing times and promote trade and commerce; and (d) strengthening provincial nominee programs.

Liberal party has declared immigration a "critical component" of its election platform and believed that a successful immigration plan is built on the sound principles of fairness, accountability and opportunity.

Canadians head to the polls next month for country’s 3rd national election in 4 years

On September 7, 2008, Canada’s federal government was dissolved the country’s 39th Parliament and October 14 was set as the date of next 40th general election.

The vote on October 14 is announced about a year earlier than the date Conservative’s minority goverment had specified in its electoral legislation after assuming power on January 23, 2006. It will be the third national election for Canada in just over four years.

The current Conservative Party government, like the Liberal one it succeeded, did not control a majority in Parliament. It was captured just 36 per cent of the popular vote in last election but successfully managed the longest uninterrupted minority government in Canadian political history. Conservatives are now chancing an early election to exploit their current strenghts and to face the voters before the negatives, mainly the economy, get worse.

However, critics and opponents retorted that the early vote was exactly the sort of political manipulation the prime minister had promised to eliminate.

Although the key focuses of this election campaign would be the economy and the environment but any formation in government after October 14 would certainly have to deliver a straightforward policy for overhauling the country’s immigration system. The issues of reducing the current backlog, modernizing the immigration system and standardizing the recognition of foreign credentials would be a top agenda for the immigration plan for 2009.

Moreover, the future of recent Conservative-sponsored immigration amendments is also directly related with the results of October 14 elections. Mainstream opposition parties have already pledged that they would repeal these new amendments should the Conservatives fail to win this election.

The Conservative-legislation, opposition is promising to repeal, was written into the 2008 budget bill C-50 in an attempt to tackle a backlog of nearly one million applicaitions and, consequently, excessively long processing times. Critics have taken aim at the law for the authority it assigns to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to hand-pick immigrants. However, it does not seem possible to throw this legislation entirely due to its idea to move away from a first-come first-served system to one that selects immigrants based on labor market requirements. Rather than scrapping it, the new government may improve transparency in it.

Before dissolution the Conservatives held 127 seats, the Liberals 95, the Bloc Quebecois 48, and the New Democrats 30 seats in the Parliament of 308 Members. Four seats were vacant while Independents held another four seats. To win the majority, any one party would be needed 155 seats but most pundits believe it will be difficult for a single party to win the majority and future government would be another coalition.

Opinion polls in the past year have suggested only a slight difference between support for the Liberals and Conservatives.

Canada to start rolling out Canadian Experience Class with a slight amendment in original proposal

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced to start accepting applications under the newly proposed Canadian Experience Class (CEC) starting September 17, 2008.

This new immigration category under Economic Class will allow certain temporary foreign workers and international graduates with Canadian degrees and Canadian work experience to apply for permanent residence from within Canada, which was not possible at federal level previously.

The final implementation of the Canadian Experience Class, however, reflects a minor change which was proposed originally earlier in August.

Under the proposal, CIC had suggested that applicants would be required to have temporary resident status and be present in Canada to be eligible to apply. However, it was determined that this residency restriction is taking away those who have left Canada, but otherwise meet the requirements as workers or graduates. In its final implementation, therefore, the CEC has made eligible to apply those who have left Canada, but otherwise meet the requirements as temporary foreign workers or international graduates, provided they do so within "one year" of leaving their job in Canada.

This change in original proposal also confirming the objectivity of the program that considered an applicant’s experience in Canada a key selection factor.

It has been estimated that if the potential of CEC is properly addressed, this program will not only help address the immediate shortage of workers with specific trade skills but also expand the benefits of immigration to smaller communities across Canada wanting to attract immigrants and take ownership of their settlement and integration.

Canadian Experience Class is part of national strategy on international graduates and temporary foreign works, and key element of government’s long-term immigration plan. Through the Canadian Experience Class, newcomers will be more likely to make the most of their abilities while undergoing a more seamless social and economic transition to Canada. And, in turn, their cultural and economic contributions will enrich Canada.

This initiative, combined with recent changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWP), the establishment of Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO), increased investment in essential settlement services and recent amendments to Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), will not only enhance Canada’s ability to compete with other countries to attract and retain the best individuals with diverse skills from around the world, but also assist employers across the country to capitalize on the skills and experience of these individuals.