Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - October 2007
A new immigration agreement was signed in September 2007 between the Federal and Nova Scotia governments in an effort to attract the required labour to meet ongoing market requirements in the province. The agreement focuses on improving Nova Scotia's Provincial Nominee Program enabling it to better compete with other provinces including B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan which have successfully implemented similar programs.
The Provincial Nominee Program is designed to facilitate the provinces in obtaining the skilled workers needed to fill labour shortages. A temporary foreign worker is nominated by the province for consideration by the Canadian immigration authorities. This expedites the immigration process for skilled workers; however, there is an annual quota imposed on the number of nominations a province can make each year.
In a public statement, Nova Scotia's Immigration Minister, Carolyn Bolivar Getson, highlighted two improved elements of the new agreement in particular. "[The agreement] builds on an existing positive relationship with federal immigration authorities," said Getson "[through changes such as] the removal of the restrictions on the number of individuals we're able to nominate and making it easier and faster for temporary foreign workers to enter Nova Scotia."
Other highlights of the agreement include increased promotion of the province abroad, more cooperation between governments at the federal and provincial level, as well as an improved system to recognize foreign credentials and qualifications within the province. Focus will also be placed upon improvements to resettlement and integration assistance for new and recent arrivals.
