Dateline: 08/16/08
Need for Changes to Canadian Immigration Act
The Canadian federal government has changed the immigration process to attract skilled workers to fill labour shortages in Canada. Because the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act required that all immigration applications had to be processed and that the applications had to be processed in the order they were received, it was making it impossible for the government to quickly bring in skilled workers in areas where there were labour shortages.
The immigration process had also resulted in a huge backlog of immigration applications, and many applicants have been waiting years for their applications to be processed.
Aim of Amendments to Canadian Immigration Act
The Canadian federal government has amended the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in an attempt to
- more closely match the skills of newcomers with Canada’s labour shortages and shorten the time it takes for skilled workers to immigrate to Canada
- ensure that immigration targets are met
- ensure that the current backlog of immigration applications does not grow
- see that people who apply to come to Canada receive a decision more quickly.
Major Changes to Canadian Immigration Act
The major changes made
- remove the obligation of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to process all properly submitted applications. The department will now be able to return applications (and refund the corresponding application fees) without processing them.
- give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration the authority to set priorities through ministerial instructions. Prioritizing certain skills and occupations will allow labour market needs in Canada to be addressed more quickly. It will also limit the number of applications that are processed and keep the backlog from growing any larger.
Status of Amendments to Canadian Immigration Act
The amendments to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act received Royal Assent on June 18, 2008. Throughout the summer of 2008, the federal government is consulting with provincial and territory governments, and business, industry, labour and non-governmental organizations to define the priorities for immigration. The federal government says it still aims to keep "a balance between the economic, family reunification and refugee protection goals of Canada’s immigration system."
Once the ministerial instructions are defined, they will be published in the Canada Gazette and on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site.
Effective Date of Immigration Changes
The changes affect the processing of immigration applications received on or after February 27, 2008. All applications received before that date will continue to be processed under the rules in place before.
