Canada Immigration Visas

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has announced that changes to the Canadian immigration system have been made that will enable Canada to welcome migrants with much-needed skills by cutting the existing backlog of applications.

Minister Finley declared: “Our government believes in immigration,” said Minister Finley. “With these changes, we now have the tools in place to strengthen our system so that people with the skills for the jobs available can be brought to Canada more quickly.

“This is good for Canada and good for newcomers, who could have more opportunities to find work sooner, to provide a better life for themselves and their families and to benefit more from life in Canada.”

Changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) were recorded in Bill C-50, The Budget Implementation Act 2008, which now states that the government is set to begin prioritising certain areas of business or trade expertise that will help the country to overcome its current labour crisis. However it is yet to be announced which areas of trade and industry will benefit immediately.

Another change to the migration process is that Canada no longer has the obligation to process every application through to a final decision. This will affect all applications made on or later than 27 February 2008.

The new bill brings Canada in line with other countries such as Australia and New Zealand which are currently thriving due to a well-structured migration system. There are currently 925,000 people waiting for their applications for Canadian visas to be processed, and it is estimated that, were it not for these changes, this number would increase to 1.5 million by 1012. Furthermore, experts believe that, without these changes, waiting times for visa applications could be up to 10 years by the same time.

Minister Finley also commented on what would be the next step in implementing changes to the Canadian migration process:

“Our next step is to launch consultations with provinces, territories and other experts to ensure we accurately define the priorities for immigration,” she said. “Once we’ve determined Canada’s immigration needs, we can develop a set of instructions to guide the processing decisions of immigration officers, including whether applications are prioritized, retained or returned with a refund.”
According to research, the demand for skilled migrant workers in Canada is growing rapidly. It is estimated that by 2012, immigration is set to account for 100 per cent of labour growth throughout the country, with two thirds of jobs requiring post-secondary education.