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In a recent trade visit to India, Canada’s federal industry minister Tony Clement had this to say

“Canada and India are, in many ways, two peas in a pod. We are both trading nations, we both not only survive but thrive because we wish to trade with the world,” said Clement. “The time is right now to have that conversation, not when things are booming. When things are tougher we can find ways to succeed together, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“The message was the same: that Canada is open for business, that we have withstood the economic turmoil relatively well, as compared to other G7 and OECD countries, our bank system is one of the few bank systems that hasn’t needed a bailout, for instance, and that we are positioned to get out of the contraction as quickly as possible and then start to grow again,” said Clement.

The industry minister said he told those he met with that Canada’s corporate tax structure and changes being made to the Investment Canada Act, the legislation that regulates investments made by non-Canadians in businesses in Canada, should make Canada an attractive location for Indian companies to grow.

Clement said Canada is signalling “our steps away from the protectionist ill-winds that are blowing.” He and his counterparts did discuss efforts by the United States Congress to include protectionist-type measures in that country’s economic stimulus package, Clement said, and they “came to the conclusion that Canada and India are on the same side” and that “protectionism had to be resisted.”

Canada and India conduct about $4 billion worth of trade every year and Clement said there is no reason that figure should not increase, especially given there are one million Canadians of Indian origin and that the two countries have positive relations.

The current global economic conditions mean Canada and India should pursue even tighter business ties, Clement said.

Retroactive to February 27, 2008, the date specified by the Federal Budget, the Action Plan for Faster Immigration includes issuing instructions to visa officers reviewing new federal skilled worker applications to process those from candidates who:

• are in 38 high-demand occupations such as health, skilled trades, finance and resource extraction; or
• have an offer of arranged employment or have already been living legally in Canada for one year as a temporary foreign worker or international student.

The list of 38 occupations was developed after consultations with the provinces and territories, business, labour and other stakeholders. New federal skilled worker applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined above will not be processed, and the application fee will be fully refunded. This, along with funds set aside in the 2008 Budget to improve the immigration system, will stop the backlog from growing and will start to draw it down.

“Applicants who aren’t eligible for the federal skilled worker category may qualify under another category, such as the Provincial Nominee Program, or as temporary foreign workers, which could then put them on a path to permanent residency through the new Canadian Experience Class. There are many ways to immigrate to Canada.” – Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

Processing times, which have been one of the major challenges for Canadian immigration applicants, got the following clarifications from the Minister.

“We expect new federal skilled worker applicants, including those with arranged employment, to receive a decision within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system,” said Minister Kenney. “All other economic class applications—including applicants chosen by Quebec, provincial nominees, the Canadian Experience Class, and live-in caregivers—will continue to be given priority.”

These improvements, coupled with a number of recent initiatives that include the introduction of the Canadian Experience Class, bring Canada in line with two of its main competitors for highly skilled labour: Australia and New Zealand. Both of these countries have eliminated their backlogs and have systems that deliver final decisions for economic applicants within a year.

“While countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are talking about taking fewer immigrants, our planned numbers for 2009 are on par with last year and are among the highest for this country over the past 15 years,” Minister Kenney said. “The numbers reflect a continued commitment to an immigration program that balances Canada’s economic, humanitarian and family reunification goals.”

The 2009 plan includes up to 156,600 immigrants in the economic category; 71,000 in the family category; and 37,400 in the humanitarian category.

You will find regular updates here with information on what the position of each party is about immigration.

Your comments and opinions are invited. (Please keep your comments relevant and civil. This is a moderated blog and inapprorpriate comments will be deleted).

Stephen Harper - Present Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader

Liberal Party Leader - Stephane Dion

NDP leader - Jack Layton

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