Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - June 2008
Prince Edward Island has signed a new immigration deal with the federal government, designed to attract more skilled workers to the Eastern province.
The agreement will allow the province to raise its quota on the Provincial Nominee Program. The PNP is in place in several provinces throughout Canada and allows for provinces to fast-track the applications of the foreign workers whose skills are needed most.
P.E.I. will also work toward improving the system of integration for immigrants. They will work with the federal government toward finding a solution to foreign credential recognition – a problem that has prevented many immigrants from putting their skills to use in Canada. The province will also more aggressively campaign abroad for workers.
“We are very pleased to renew this immigration agreement with the federal government,” said Allan Campbell P.E.I.’s Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Learning. “It gives the province the authority we need to attract new immigrants who will meet gaps in our labour market and help boost our declining population.”
The other three Atlantic Provinces of Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, will no doubt be watching the province closely. An aging population and mass exodus from the region have raised concerns over its shrinking labour force and what that means for the economic future.
If the PNP in Prince Edward Island, combined with raised recruitment abroad as well as the changes geared toward improving immigrant immigration all culminate in an influx of skilled workers to the province, the other provinces may finally see some relief to the ongoing battle against the labour shortage.
Source: Department of Citizenship & Immigration Canada
