Alberta introduces plan to better recognize the foreign-earned qualifications of skilled immigrants

The Employment and Immigration Ministry of Alberta has released a new plan to streamline the recognition process of foreign-earned qualifications, trainings and experiences, which will help newcomers put their skills to work in Alberta.

Released on Friday, this Foreign Qualifications Recognition Plan for Alberta (FQR) has been developed in consultation with Alberta employers, educational institutions, professional regulatory organizations and immigrant-serving agencies, and involving several provincial government ministries.

Through this plan, government and stakeholders will not only work together to clarify and shorten the path skilled immigrants take to join the workforce but also incorporate and recognize the critical role of over 50 professional regulatory organizations including over 25 educational institutions, a number of industry councils or non-government organizations, and numerous employers (small, medium and large), which are responsible for assessing foreign-earned qualifications to determine labor market entry of skilled immigrants.

By establishing a $1-million fund to promote innovative and flexible approaches to foreign qualifications assessment, FQR plan will include (a) enhancing information and resources for employers, immigrants and potential newcomers; (b) developing International Educational Guides to provide comprehensive information on educational systems and credentials in other countries and comparisons to standards in Alberta; and (c) developing occupational profiles detailing the licensing, certification or assessment process. In general, the 10 actions in the plan focus on three areas including specialized information, assessment standards and resources, and bridging the gap.

Progress of the actions will be reported based on the performance measures developed in the plan - an interim report on progress of actions will be compiled for May 2009 followed by a progress report containing baseline data in April 2010. This plan is expected to help expand Alberta’s labor market, strengthen economy and provide opportunities for immigrants to make the most of the skills they earned outside of Canada.

This plan is publicized after a government-led series of roundtable discussions in May 2007 on issues and challenges related to foreign qualification recognition with 70 participants representing immigrants/immigrant-serving agencies, employers, professional regulatory organizations and educational institutions. Given the global competition for skilled labor, many stakeholders felt that Alberta is primed to develop and establish a competitive position for the province by "defining the path for immigrants and making it straighter and shorter."

In an Assessment Services related recent study by Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry, skilled immigrants in Alberta reported that they did not have employment related to their previous education (45%); that they were overqualified for their current job (49%) and that their home country education and/or work experience was not recognized (64%).

Another recent statistic by Alberta’s Occupational Demand and Supply Outlook for 2007-2017 warned that Province may experience a labor shortage as high as 111,000 workers in the next 10 years. Although the labor is expected to grow 441,000 while 330,000 workers are expected to join the labor force during this period but it is clear that unless provincial government and industry start finding new ways to attract workers, the statistical prediction of 111,000 worker shortage in the province will become a reality. The province is currently between 30,000 to 40,000 workers short in all fields of employment.

Canada introduces a questionnaire for Indian visitors to probe their political, religious and social ties

Canada has recently implemented a new measure for the visitors from India to probe their political, religious and social ties after the reports about a militant who managed to get visitor visa to come to Canada just a six weeks earlier.

This 3-page document requests Indian visitors for information about their association with political, religious or social organizations, and details of their services in armed forces (police, paramilitary, etc.), if any, as well as details of their previous trips abroad. It also demands visitors to answer some intrusive questions such as whether they, or any of their relatives around the world, have ever had links to militant groups or done fundraising, and about any arrests or criminal charges laid against the applicant or any family members.

The questionnaire is implemented by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) as a result of few weeks earlier incident when a controversial former Sikh high priest, convicted in India for killing a rival religious leader, arrived at Vancouver International Airport with a visa before being sent back to India by the CBSA. In October 2006, the mother of a convicted assassin was also granted a visa to travel to Ontario to accept an honor for her son at the Rexdale temple. The visa was revoked after a report in the Vancouver Sun about the event.

According to the CBSA, this new requirement is in line with Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and immigration applications of concern are vetted on a case-by-case basis by the CBSA to prevent people who have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, or who are members of a terrorist organization from reaching Canada.

Critics termed this measure "intrusive and useless", and said that tens of thousands of Indian visa applicants may not even know how to answer some of the questions. It is important to note that Canada demands some special documents from the nationals of few selected countries where applicants might have been involved in a conflict. But the questionnaires in those cases are given only to people whose cases have raised other red flags.

Indian community in Canada, especially the Sikh-Canadians, has shown their mix concerns over the issue. Abbotsford's Kalgidhar Darbar Sikh Temple president Swarn Singh Gill said there has been a crackdown on visas coming out of Punjab for some time. "We have trouble getting visas for all the jathas (preachers) coming here," he said. He has raised the issue with his local MP.

But Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, president of Vancouver's Ross Street Temple, says he agrees with the tougher regulations. He said Canada has seen violence related to extremists and should make sure anyone with those associations does not come to visit.

Canadian provinces develop a labor mobility pilot project for the recruitment of workers from Mexico

Mexico, Canada and four participating provinces including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec are developing a pilot project for the recruitment of Temporary Foreign Workers from Mexico to Canada within two industry sectors: construction and tourism/hospitality.

The pilot is expected to be launched late fall with the first workers arriving early in the New Year. The unique feature of this particular pilot project is that Mexico’s national employment service will play a role in identifying the eligible candidates for employers, who would then make the final decision regarding potential workers.

In the first year, the objective is for 2,000 workers to be identified through this initiative and split evenly among the four provinces. Each province can expect to receive approximately 500 workers divided between the two sectors. Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba have confirmed the following occupations for Mexico’s recruitment: within the hotel and lodging industry: front desk clerks and housekeeping attendants; within the food and restaurant industry: cooks, kitchen helpers, food counter attendants and food and beverage servers (Manitoba only).

The pilot project will allow for workers to receive up to a two-year work permit, consistent with the Labor Market Opinion (LMO). Employers will still be required to seek a positive LMO from HRSDC/Service Canada, and workers will still need to apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for a work permit. Employers in Alberta and British Columbia will be asked to absorb the costs of English testing, medical assessments and work permits in exchange for their participation in the pilot.

Alberta and Manitoba officials would like to limit participation to a few employers with foreign worker recruitment experience who are willing to apply for groups of employees in the designated occupations in order to help ensure the pilot is successful.

Provincial Tourism Sector Council organizations – go2 in British Columbia and MTEC in Manitoba – have agreed to coordinate the pilot project on behalf of the Tourism and Hospitality industries in British Columbia and Manitoba. They are currently developing application processes for employers.

Alberta government officials want to move quickly and are hoping to meet with Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) and small group of interested employers in the coming weeks to discuss next steps in the process. Manitoba officials will be setting up a similar meeting shortly.

Quebec unveils a comprehensive strategy for integrating immigrants and promoting common values

Effective January 2009, the Quebec government is making mandatory for new immigrants to the province in the economic and family reunification categories to sign a declaration affirming their commitment to learn French and respect the "common values of Quebec society" before they are allowed to settle in the province.

In addition to pronouncing French as the province's official language, and the primary language of public institutions, commerce and social life, the declaration characterizes Quebec as a free, democratic and socially pluralistic society that maintains a separation of church and state and respects the rule of law, including laws that uphold gender equality and equal freedoms for all individuals.

Since the implementation of this policy, Immigration department plans to add a section on Quebec values to immigration forms filled out overseas along with an explanatory pamphlet and a DVD on shared values. Immigrants will also be directed to a new website whose name translates as "shared values of Quebec." Information sessions on shared values will be offered to immigrants after they arrive.

The government's purpose for this new declaration on common values might be to facilitate integration by providing immigrants with some guidance as to what will be expected of them as citizens in their new society.

The proposal was immediately denounced by critics who correctly identified it as a pre-election issue to undermine the opposition Parti Quebecois (PQ) and the Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ) by Liberal Premier Jean Charest. This pre-election strategy is also expected to appease those insecure elements of Quebec society who are worried that new immigrants will change Quebec in undesirable ways. Mr. Charest first raised the notion of forcing immigrants to sign a declaration last May when the Bouchard-Taylor commission released its report on reasonable accommodation. The issue of integrating cultural and religious minorities had been an emotional topic in Quebec since late 2006.

Under the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration, Quebec establishes its own immigration requirements and selects immigrants who will adapt well to living in Quebec. Each year, Québec welcomes an average of some 45,000 immigrants from over 100 countries who actively participate in its economic, social and cultural development.

Conservative’s ethnic-outreach specialist promoted as the new Minister for Citizenship and Immigration

The Honorable Jason Kenney has been appointed new Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism by the Prime Minister Stephen Harper after a sweeping cabinet shuffle on Thursday.

Former Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Jason Kenney’s duties since January of 2007, when he took on the Secretary of State position, have been to connect new Canadians, and the various communities they populate, with the government of Canada and unofficially advocate as a Conservative ambassador to these groups on behalf of the party.

As a junior minister for multiculturalism for nearly two years, Mr. Kenney was well-known for his endless strings of dinners and gatherings with minority communities across Canada, making ceremonial declarations, a few formal apologies for Ottawa's past misdeeds and also wooing Conservative votes among groups that traditionally favored the Liberals.

Boosting ethnic-outreach specialist Jason Kenney to Immigration is a huge step up. He has been promoted as immigration minister at a time when new legislation gives his job unprecedented powers to decide what kind of worker gets into Canada first. Now the government is hoping that, as the new immigration minister, the young MP for Calgary Southeast will be able to use his strong ethnic ties to roll out the controversial immigration reforms rammed through by his predecessor, Diane Finley. Those reforms were contained in a budget bill passed during the final days of the last Parliament to further restrict immigrant selections.

Mr. Kenney, however, is pledging to align immigration policy to the economy's labor needs, rather than for political gain.

Mr. Kenney's appointment to the cabinet post also came with hopes by advocacy groups and the ethnic communities. They hope he will address their concerns over what they see as a dramatic shift in immigration policies that increasingly view newcomers as an economic unit, wanted for nothing more than their job skills.

Jason Kenney was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997 and re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2006, and most recently in 2008 with 76 per cent of the vote. In January 2007, Mr. Kenney was appointed Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity). He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Mr. Kenney was Chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and a member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Prior to seeking election, Mr. Kenney served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Mr. Kenney was born in Ontario and raised in Saskatchewan, where he graduated from Notre Dame College. He did undergraduate studies in philosophy at the St. Ignatius Institute of the University of San Francisco.

Former Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Jason Kenney would retain his duties in Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity but bring these under the umbrella of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

Although, the broad cabinet overhaul enlarged Prime Minister’s second-term cabinet by ten per cent but it is expected that it will give the Conservatives' hard-edge image a younger feel with dramatically improved gender balance and decent ministers from almost every region of the country. The cabinet is now super-sized at 38 members, up four from its last version.

New study suggests at least 40 per cent increase in annual immigration intake by 2025

A new independent study urged Canadian government to boost its immigration levels at least forty per cent, or by 110,000 spots, annually over the next seventeen years to help Canadian economy grow at a steady rate.

The study "Renewing Immigration: Towards a Convergence and Consolidation of Canada's Immigration Policies and Systems" by Conference Board of Canada (CBC) says that Ottawa will have to increase its number of immigrants from the existing 250,000 to 360,000 annually by 2025 to meet long-term domestic labor market needs and to remain competitive in the global search for talent.

The study basically examines the convergence of Canada's "temporary" and "permanent" systems and outlines a number of measures that should be taken to ensure a healthy long-term domestic labor market.

Although, the study recognizes the convergence of Canada’s permanent and temporary immigration systems as positive steps but points out that rapid expansion in temporary foreign worker stream in recent years does not meet long-term objectives of Canadian economy. The study seems the growing shortage in the labor market will grow even more if dependent on foreign workers.

In 2006, for the first time, Canada's temporary foreign workers outnumbered the permanent residents admitted through the "skilled immigrant" and "economic" classifications. Last year, Canada admitted 475,965 migrants, but more than half of them were temporary workers and international students.

But CBC’s study found that the convergence of Canada’s permanent and temporary immigration systems is providing a more flexible and adaptive approach to immigration, which would better address the needs of business, provinces and migrants themselves. Major improvements to Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, as well as the increasing use of mechanisms driven by employer-and regional-demand for skilled workers, particularly the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP); the newly created Canadian Experience Class; and improvements to the International Student Program, the Off-Campus Work Permit Program, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program demonstrate the convergence between the temporary and permanent systems.

The study also provides a number of recommendations that should be done to meet the country’s economic needs through immigration, including more options for temporary foreign workers to become permanent residents. It also suggests addressing the growing importance of skills-based migration to meet labor market needs and increasing refugee intakes to maintain a well-balanced immigration system. The study further emphasizes an increase in settlement and integration services, especially in urban areas, and linking immigration programs and practices to other major government policies and strategies.

In addition, the study says that Canada needs to address the issue of transparency in its immigration system in terms of selection criteria, wages, and the availability of social benefits and healthcare to immigrants.

Manitoba sees a 2.3 per cent strong increase in real wage rates in 2007

An annual economic analysis of 2007 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba (ICAM) has ranked the province the runaway leader in real wage growth, which was more than twice the growth seen nationally.

According to ICAM, a 2.3 per cent increase in Manitoba’s real wage growth in 2007 came from a combination of solid pay increases, which averaged 4.4 per cent, and low provincial inflation.

Manitoba has historically had low real wages compared to the rest of Canada and still has the lowest real average hourly wages among the provinces, which were $20.67 in 2007. However, the trend over the past five years is narrowing the wage-gap between Manitoba and the national average.

The national average was 10.5 per cent higher than Manitoba’s real average hourly wage in 2002 and 7.8 per cent higher in 2007.

In 2007, industries such as mining, agriculture, and professional, scientific and technical services industries witnessed wage increases ranging from 10 per cent to 16 per cent while many sectors with large numbers of workers such as healthcare, education, retail/wholesale trade and construction saw more modest increases ranging from 3.1 per cent to 4.0 per cent. At the construction sector, Manitoba is paying significantly less and wage increases are lagging far behind the western provinces.

The Work section of ICAM’s annual economic analysis for 2007 also shows that Manitoba continued to lead the pack in pay equality (0.881) and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 per cent last year but remains well below the national average of 6.0 per cent. The province added 9,500 jobs to its economy but this was not enough growth to deal with the shortage of skilled labor.

In its recent economic outlook for 2008, the Conference Board of Canada has also expected a positive growth in Manitoba’s economy in 2008 at a steady rate of 3.6 per cent. This growth is explained by diversified manufacturing sector, large multi-year capital investment projects, an effervescent housing market, and strong commodity prices.

The growing economy of Manitoba has increased the demand for skilled workers. In recent years, the province has seen significant increase in its international in-migration numbers while the population loss due to inter-provincial migration is improving.

Manitoba's inter-provincial population loss last year (1,390 persons) set a ten year low. However, the decline was due to workers with post-secondary diplomas and certificates (the educational group that includes trades workers) leaving the province in 2007 as well as the entry of 3,800 workers into the labor force with no post-secondary certifications at all. Despite the loss of 1,390 people to other provinces, international in-migration to Manitoba hit a 10 year high and net migration to the province was just over 9,000 new residents last year.