CIMM Committee News Release

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

COMMITTEE TABLES REPORT COMPETING FOR IMMIGRANTS

Ottawa, June 11, 2002 – Joe Fontana, MP (London North Center), Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, today tabled the Committee’s fourth report in the House of Commons, Competing for Immigrants.  The study’s recommendations are designed to chart the future course of the immigration program once the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and regulations come into force at the end of June.  The report concentrates on the skilled worker component of the program. 

“We wanted to personally examine immigration processing abroad, so we divided the Committee into three teams,” said Mr. Fontana.  “All told, we covered four missions in Europe, three in the Far East, and New Delhi.  While the posts vary widely, I think we have made some very sensible recommendations, most of which will be applicable everywhere and should enable Canada to benefit from all the hard work that has gone into the new Act and regulations.”

The Committee draws attention to certain key facts to underline the importance of immigration to Canada’s future.  Our slowing growth rate, our low birth rate, and our aging population all contribute to the need for skilled workers. 

“As the boomers retire our skill shortages will worsen,” said Mr. Fontana.  “The Committee wants to ensure that our immigration program can deliver the people that will be essential for our economic future.  What we found abroad was that the pressures of other priorities mean that skilled workers are often the last to be processed.  Yet they are the people we need most.  One of the key recommendations in our report is that second priority must be given to skilled workers.  We also recommend that processing units dedicated exclusively to these immigrants be established.”

The report points out that other countries are also facing the same challenges as Canada, and are turning more and more to skilled immigration.  Australia has just recently increased its immigration levels, largely in the skilled worker component.  The United States has increased its program for temporary skilled workers, who can adjust their status once in the country.  “Our Achilles heel is our long processing times.  Until we can get qualified people to Canada faster, we will lose out,” said Mr. Fontana.

The Committee report makes it clear that it is systems, not people, that are the problem.  “Our staff abroad are fantastic,” said Mr. Fontana.  “There just aren’t enough of them.  So we recommend an increase in resources.  But we also need a number of structural changes in order to utilize those resources to the full.”

Among the structural changes the Committee recommends are:

• Ending the practice of “offshore applications,” whereby a person with no ties to a particular mission may submit an application there.  “Mission shopping” wastes resources and increases overall processing time at the posts that receive such applications.

• Instituting a new system of inventory control based on a set of principles that include fairness and transparency, the promotion of excellence and efficiency.  At the same time, the Committee recommends that the system remain open and that inventory control does not include shutting off the intake of applications.

• Establishing administrative central processing of overseas applications, provided that final decisions continue to be taken abroad where the expertise resides.

• Providing incentives for individuals to obtain a provincial professional or trade assessment prior to applying for permanent residence.

The Committee also recommends marketing Canada to attract skilled workers in demand.  “I’m convinced that marketing and promotion is important.  Perhaps not at those posts with backlogs, but we were told that there is a pool of excellent prospects at other posts.  They just need to be told that Canada needs and welcomes them,” said Mr. Fontana.

Among the report’s other recommendations are that:

• Resources be increased for medical processing and fraud detection, and for to the immigration control function.  The immigration control officers should have more tools to perform their functions and their status within the public service should be upgraded.  

• Three items should be discussed at the federal/provincial/territorial conference of immigration minister in the fall.  These are:  1) the question of “visa schools,” often spurious institutions set up to enable individuals to enter the country as students; 2)  the provincial nominee program, which the Committee strongly supports and wishes to see developed more;  and 3) the recognition of foreign credentials, often an impediment to new immigrants being able to fully utilize their skills.  

• Plans to regulate immigration consultants proceed as expeditiously as possible.

Committee E-Mail Box = CIMM@parl.gc.ca            Fax: (613) 947-0307

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