Burnaby, August 22, 2006 — The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and the Honourable Colin Hansen, Economic Development Minister, British Columbia, announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will help speed up the process for immigrant entrepreneurs to get to British Columbia.
“It is a pleasure to announce this new memorandum of understanding between Canada’s government and the Province of British Columbia,” said Minister Solberg. “This pilot project will help British Columbia get the entrepreneurs it needs faster, and is another important step toward our goal of making immigration work for Canadians.”
The pilot project outlined in the MOU will allow B.C. and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to identify people who have applied to come to Canada as entrepreneurs. CIC will then contact applicants who have indicated an intention to settle in B.C. and steer them toward the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). This step will speed up the application process significantly since PNP processing can fast track applicants with specific skills that could benefit the province’s economic development.
“As B.C.'s economy keeps gaining strength, we need to attract more skilled workers and business people,” said Minister Hansen. “Since creating the business skills category in 2002, business immigrants have invested over $351 million in our province, creating more than 1,300 new jobs.Today’s agreement will help us to attract more applicants who are looking to invest in our province, create new jobs and contribute to economic growth.”
B.C. business owners are equally supportive of the new MOU. Allen Born, Chairman of Tekion, a North American fuel cell company, stated: “ British Columbia is considered to be the fuel cell capital of the world. The B.C. PNP played an instrumental role in our decision to start a company here. As a result, we have created Tekion, a micro fuel cell company now employing 75 people.”
Since 2001, more than 2,000 skilled and business immigrants and their dependants have made British Columbia their home through the B.C. PNP. Last year, through the PNP, over 800 skilled workers and entrepreneurs moved to B.C. from around the world.
To learn more about immigration to Canada, visit the CIC Web site at www.cic.gc.ca.
For more information on B.C. government services, visit the province’s Web site at www.gov.bc.ca.
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For more information (media only)
Lesley Harmer
Director of Communications
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Rena Kendall-Craden
Communications Director
B.C. Ministry of Economic Development
250-952-0152
Lois Reimer
Director, Communications and Executive Services
B.C./Yukon Regional Communications
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
604-666-8185
