CIMM – Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot – November 29, 2022

Issue:

Economic mobility pathways pilot (EMPP)

Proposed Response:

• Under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), Canada is enabling skilled refugees and their families safely move to Canada through our regular economic immigration programs.
• Canada is growing the EMPP. We are committed to scaling up and expanding the pilot to 2000 skilled refugees, helping employers fill labour shortages, including in in high-demand sectors, such as health.
• Recent innovations to the program include deepening partnership arrangements to streamline processes and to make it easier for skilled refugees to apply for the facilitation measures the pilot offers.
• These ongoing improvements to the EMPP show Canada’s commitment to welcome more refugees through new channels that complement our resettlement programs.
• This effort is changing the narrative on refugees from one focused on their vulnerability, to one that recognizes their skills and assets, while helping to meet labour needs in communities.

Contact:
Philip Somogyvari
Director General, Permanent Economic Immigration Branch
Tel. No.: 613-437-7454
Cell.No.:

Approved By:
Marian Campbell Jarvis
Assistant Debuty Ministerm Strategic Policy and Planning
Tel. No.: 613-437-6752

Background

• The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been promoting the pursuit of new pathways to find durable solutions and strengthen self-reliance for refugees.
• Admissions through the EMPP are intended to be complementary to Canada’s existing humanitarian resettlement programs, and will not impact Canada’s humanitarian commitments to resettle refugees.
• In the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees, UN Member States, including Canada, expressed their intention to expand the number and range of legal pathways available for refugees to access durable solutions.
• Phase 1 of the EMPP proved that with some facilitation measures to overcome the challenges there are skilled refugees who can immigrate to Canada through existing economic pathways. Based on this “proof of concept,” in June 2020, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that Canada will admit 500 skilled refugees and their families through the EMPP. This is Phase 2 of the pilot, which is scaling up refugee labour mobility by bringing in skilled refugees to fill in-demand labour market needs. Building on this success, Canada committed to working with employers and communities across Canada to continue to grow the pilot to welcome even greater numbers of skilled refugees to fill labour shortages in high-demand sectors such as health care.
• With the EMPP, Canada has become a global leader in this space, being a catalyst for other states and stakeholders to develop and grow labour mobility initiatives for refugees.
• As such, Canada was asked to be the first chair of the Global Task Force for Refugee Labour Mobility, a new multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder initiative whose mission is to increase refugee access to labour complementary pathways. The Global Task Force officially launched on April 6, 2022, allowing interested stakeholders to share lessons learned, best practices and to contribute to building global capacity for this innovative immigration initiative.

EMPP Objectives:

The EMPP has two key objectives.

1. Tap into a new source of skilled labour to fill in-demand labour market needs across Canada.
2. Provide a durable solution to skilled refugees that meet the labour market needs of Canadian employers.

• This will give employers a new source of talent from which to obtain skilled workers to meet their needs, and in doing so change the narrative on refugees, highlighting the skills and qualifications found in this population, not just their vulnerability.
• To achieve this, the EMPP seeks to level the playing field so that skilled refugees are not disadvantaged as a result of their displacement when applying to economic immigration programs. A suite of facilitation measures and a public policy, aiming to resolve some of the challenges identified under Phase 1, were approved in summer 2021. These facilitative measures include expedited processing, waiving of application and biometric fees, coverage of costs related to the immigration medical exam, providing access to loans for immigration related-costs, such as travel and initial set-up, accepting alternative travel documentation, allowing for loans as proof of settlement funds, accepting alternative proof of work experience and allowing for a more flexible time period for work experience to be accumulated.
• The Department works with nine interested provinces and territories to identify local labour market needs and employers interested in hiring skilled refugees. IRCC and the UNHCR-Canada work with non-government organization (NGO) partners who identify skilled refugee candidates abroad and match them to available job opportunities in Canada. IRCC and employers offer processing facilitations and settlement supports to help candidates and their families arrive and settle in Canada as economic class permanent residents.
• An amended public policy, approved in November 2022, makes the pilot easier for candidates and Canadian employers who wish to use it to fill their labour needs. Authorized partners, beginning with three existing EMPP non-government organization (NGO) partners, will assess candidate eligibility for the EMPP, and will formally support those who meet Canada’s refugee definitions, streamlining the process and enabling more candidates to apply for the facilitation measures the pilot offers.