Immigration Reis
A Winnipeg corporate immigration lawyer's perspective on Canadian immigration
Latest Post
Is the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program moving in the right direction?
Late last month, the Manitoba Government announced a number of proposed changes to the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. As I allude to in my CBC op-ed from yesterday, while the direction of these changes is positive, the devil, as they say, is in the details. Provincial Nominee Programs are, first and foremost, economic immigration programs. As a … Continue reading
- Yesterday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced it was closing yet another overseas visa office - this time in Seoul, South Korea. This announcement comes on the heels of stories out of the U.S. that major reforms of the U.S. immigration system may be coming. These reforms, if passed, would make the U.S. more competitive in attracting skilled immigrants. Last year, I argued that the closing of Canadian visa offices overseas was shortsighted. In a world where Canada must compete for the best and the brightest talent, the closing of foreign visa offices literally takes us off the map in these countries. The reason I chose to work in immigration law over other areas of the law is that I believe that the best way to grow Canada is by attracting the best and the brightest from all over the world to participate in our society. I believe Canada needs immigrants to fill jobs that will become vacant by our aging demographic. By attracting the best and the brightest, we can grow the economy to create a better future for our children. By reducing Canada's immigration presence abroad, we allow other countries to fill the gap. As I argued last week, if the U.S. system becomes more welcoming, the chances that Canada can attract the top-tier of immigrants is reduced. Instead of closing overseas offices, we need an aggressive strategy where government and business goes overseas to attract immigrants. While Canada does take part in job fairs aborad, without a sustained presence on the ground to reinforce the message that Canada wants skilled immigrants, any momentum from participation in week long job fairs will not be sustained.
- Yesterday, the Globe & Mail published this article that indicates that bureaucratic red tape cost Canadian companies $31 billion per year. If you work in a business that hire foreign workers, have you made an analysis of how much immigration red tape costs you? In April, it will be two years since the Canadian government introduced regulations affecting businesses that hire temporary foreign workers. These regulations created a new immigration compliance regime that businesses must deal with. In addition to having to navigate around the potential of appearing on an immigration blacklist, these changes brought more paperwork and more risk. Although the federal regulations are now almost 2 years old - and other immigration type legislation and regulations in Manitoba are almost 4 years old - many businesses do not realize the costs to their organizations either in preparing immigration applications and in complying with the law. Has your business made this calculation?
Immigration Reis 