Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - July 2008
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has announced the details of their provincial consultations on the nation’s “immigration priorities."
The consultations are the first step in implementing the new immigration legislation that will allow the government to process certain applications in priority.
Despite criticisms that the new policies are arbitrary and opaque, the government insists that they will reduce the backlog that has caused delays in some centres of up to 6 years.
"The changes to Canada's immigration law allow us to bring to Canada more quickly those immigrants with the skills that match Canada's labour market needs," said Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finlay.
In order to determine what, exactly, the priorities are, the government will hold face-to-face and videoconference meetings starting July 7 with each province and territory. They will also invite the participation of various professionals including representatives in business, academic, and non-government organizations.
The public is also invited to provide their input and may do so by visiting the website for CIC.
"We committed to consulting across the country and we are delivering on that commitment," said Minister Finlay upon announcing the consultations. "I believe that this inclusive approach will help identify the categories of workers who get priority, and will allow us to prepare instructions that reflect the knowledge and expertise of the provinces, territories and stakeholders."
Canada's international visa centres will continue as prior in processing applications received before the new legislation was passed on February 27, 2008. Only those applications filed after that date are affected by the new legislation. The new laws also will not affect immigration agreements under provincial jurisdiction, such as the Provincial Nominee Program and Quebec Skilled Workers.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2008/2008-07-03.asp
