Ottawa, March 23, 2011 — Interest in the consultation on the proposed changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program has been strong, and response has been greater than expected. As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is extending the consultation until March 31.
Organizations or interested individuals who wish to provide input can submit their feedback online. The department has received more than 500 online responses so far, and the response rate is still strong. To date, CIC has also conducted in-person consultation sessions with key stakeholders in five cities across the country.
“Skilled immigration matters and many people have a stake in making sure the program benefits Canada. Given the level of interest we’ve received to date, we’re extending to make sure we allow everyone who wants it the opportunity to provide their feedback,” said Minister Kenney.
The consultations aim to help Canada select immigrants who have the best chance of integrating and making a better contribution to the Canadian economy. The input received will be taken into account in the development of new regulations. The consultations follow the release of an evaluation of the program, which found that skilled workers are faring far better in Canada than their predecessors, thanks to their stronger language skills and arranged employment. The evaluation does show, however, that there is room for improvement.
- requiring federal skilled workers to have a minimum level of language proficiency;
- making the program more accessible to skilled tradespeople, technicians and apprentices;
- placing greater emphasis on younger immigrants who will adapt more easily and be active members of the work force for a longer time frame;
- redirecting points from work experience to other factors that better contribute to success in the Canadian work force; and
- reducing the potential for fraudulent job offers.
The current Federal Skilled Worker Program was introduced in June 2002 with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The program is based on an objective and transparent points system, which considers factors such as language skills, age and education in the selection of immigrants. The system aims to be more effective at selecting those who will succeed economically.
A summary of the results of this process will be published on our website in spring/summer 2011.
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For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
