Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, announced on Friday, November 28th, 2008 that Canada will stay the course on immigration in 2009, welcoming between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents.
">The 2009 plan includes up to 156,600 immigrants in the economic category; 71,000 in the family category; and 37,400 in the humanitarian category.
"Our planned numbers for 2009 are on par with last year and are among the highest for this country over the past 15 years," Minister Kenney said. "The numbers reflect a continued commitment to an immigration program that balances Canada's economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals."
In measures to improve the immigration program's responsiveness to Canada's labour market, Minister Kenney also announced that retroactive to February 27, 2008, the new Action Plan for Faster Immigration will include issuing instructions to process those candidates who:
- are in 38 high-demand occupations such as health, skilled trades, finance and resource extraction; or
- have an offer of arranged employment or have already been living legally in Canada for one year as a temporary foreign worker or international student.
The list of 38 occupations was developed after consultations with the provinces and territories, business, labour and other stakeholders. This, along with funds set aside in the 2008 Budget to improve the immigration system, will stop the backlog from growing and will start to draw it down.
"The eligibility criteria apply only to new federal skilled worker applicants and will not affect Canada's family reunification or refugee protection goals," said Minister Kenney. "Applicants who aren't eligible for the federal skilled worker category may qualify under another category, such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or as temporary foreign workers, which could then put them on a path to permanent residency through the new Canadian Experience Class. There are many ways to immigrate to Canada."
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has expanded its website in an effort to make it easier for people to navigate the range of immigration options open to them. The site now includes a specific section for employers (www.cic.gc.ca/employers) and a new interactive tool (www.cic.gc.ca/cometocanada) that matches information provided by potential applicants with immigration programs that best suit their circumstances.
"We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system," said Minister Kenney.
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