OTTAWA – The federal immigration minister says some of the temporary measures that have helped the government meet its goals this year could be here to stay even after the pandemic subsides.
During the pandemic, as it became increasingly difficult to bring people to Canada from abroad, the government turned to people already in the country to meet its immigration goals.
While some of the new permanent residents this year have been immigrants and refugees who came to Canada through traditional means, the federal government focused on allowing temporary residents to make the country their permanent home.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the measures were specifically designed to address issues related to the pandemic, but could be useful after the pandemic passes.
He pointed to the “guardian angels” show as an example. This program granted permanent residence to asylum seekers working in the health sector.
Fraser was ordered to continue the approach as part of his mandate letter from the prime minister.
“I think we have learned some things during this pandemic that we can adopt in the future,” Fraser said.
What people are reading
On Thursday, Fraser announced that the government exceeded its ambitious immigration target of 401,000 new permanent residents by 2021, the most newcomers in a year in Canadian history.
The target increases in 2022. The government expects to welcome 411,000 new permanent residents by the end of next year.
While bringing new immigrants to Canada is an important pillar of the government’s plan to address the country’s labor shortage, Fraser said the economic case for keeping temporary residents is just as strong.
#COVID has given immigration applicants already in Canada an advantage. #cdnpoli #immigration
When temporary visas expire, employers must find new candidates to train and fill the position the person just left, he said.
“People who are new to the country are adding a little extra fuel to the economy. People who are here now and who are becoming permanent residents are certainly preventing the problem from getting worse,” he said.
Results from programs that impact employment have been generally positive, Fraser said, but the government has a bit more analysis to do before committing to a particular pathway.
Fraser also said the government has not abandoned more traditional immigration streams, which he hopes will pick up once the pandemic improves and restrictions at international borders are eased.
The other enduring immigration legacy of the pandemic is the huge backlog of 1.8 million applications waiting to be processed.
The government has been criticized by opposition parties for allowing the backlog to grow to such a size. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s December economic update allocated $ 85 million in the next fiscal year to address backlog.
Fraser called the funding a bridge to help officials process more applications faster as the department finishes the job of digitizing its archaic system.
The current paper-based system means that if someone wants to check the status of their application, they have to call their Member of Parliament, who calls the minister’s office, who calls an immigration worker, who pulls a file from a drawer.
Fraser said it envisions a system in which spouse applicants will be able to check their status online.
“We are in the midst of the most significant modernization of Canada’s immigration system since its inception,” he said.
Work to digitize records has already begun, but it could take a few years before the system is fully operational.
Still, Fraser hopes that bridge funding and the increasingly digital system will allow Canada to maintain its high number of newcomers for the remainder of the pandemic.
“If the government has the desire to grow further from there, I anticipate that we will have the ability to do much more even than we are today at an all-time record rate,” he said.
This Canadian Press report was first published on December 23, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com