Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - June 2008
This week the Canadian parliament passed new legislation that will see the implementation of controversial new policies with regards to immigration.
The new policies will give the Department of Immigration unprecedented powers over the application process, including the ability to set formal quotas on the number of applications processed each year, as well as the ability to fast-track certain workers whose skills are deemed most desirable to the Canadian labour market.
Since the changes were first proposed in April of this year, there has been considerable public debate over their implications. Members of the opposition parties, including the New Democrat�s MP Olivia Chow, have voiced their dissent, calling the new rules �unfair� and �opaque.�
Immigrant advocates have also spoken out in opposition who believe that there is no longer a transparent, predictable outcome in any immigration application.
The government has defended themselves against these arguments, stating that their intention with the new legislation is to reduce the application backlog � a backlog of 900,000 that has allegedly been discouraging skilled workers who would have to wait years before being able to come to Canada.
However, NDP leader Jack Layton says that the best way to reduce the backlog is to allocate more funding and staff to the processing centres who are facing the largest backlogs.
Despite such heavy opposition within parliament, the bill was expected to be passed because it was paired with the new federal budget. Had the official opposition Liberals voted down the bill, an election would have been triggered.
The bill now moves to the Senate for review and is expected to be endorsed into law shortly.
Source: Vancouver Sun
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/440241
