PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
BACKLOG OF FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER APPLICATIONS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED
Ottawa, May 12, 2010 -
Canada’s immigration program is struggling under the weight of the inventory backlog of Federal Skilled Worker applications, while the volume of new applicants continues to be at a level higher than can processed in a timely manner, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented to the House of Commons today.
In the fall of 2009, the Office of the Auditor General released a performance audit examining how Citizenship and Immigration Canada plans for and manages programs designed to facilitate the entry of permanent and temporary workers into Canada, as well as the role of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada in supporting the planning and delivery of these programs. The audit found that the inventory of Federal Skilled Worker applications has almost doubled since 2000, while measures taken by Department to limit the number of new applications were implemented without sufficient analysis of their potential effects. The two departments have also not clearly defined their respective roles and responsibilities for systematically verifying the genuineness of job offers for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, placing a particularly vulnerable group of immigrants in a precarious position.
The Public Accounts Committee believes that given Canada’s aging population and evolving labour market demands, Canada must seek out and attract permanent and temporary foreign workers with the skills required to meet the needs of Canadian employers. It is thus very important for the health of Canada’s economy that the two departments work effectively to design and implement programs for accepting foreign workers into Canada.
Of particular concern to the Committee is that Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not appear to have a clear strategy and timeline for eliminating its backlog of older applications, or an overall vision for the immigration program that specifies how the various elements fit together. The Committee will thus be closely monitoring the progress of the two departments to ensure that issues raised in the audit are addressed in a satisfactory manner.
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