02 Jul Ontario pauses the application intake in the In-Demand Skills stream
Ontario pauses the application intake in the In-Demand Skills stream
On June 29, 2020, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) released a notice that starting 5 PM June 30, 2020, and until 9 AM July 6, it pauses the application intake in the Employer Job Offer: In-Demand Skills Stream. In this time frame, candidates will not be able to apply for a provincial nomination. In 2019, OINP issued nominations to 19 candidates in this stream.
#Ontario, #OINP, #Employer_Job_Offer, #PNP, #provincial_nominations
Canada continues to explore innovative solutions for refugees
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino attended the virtual Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR), an international forum for governments, the UNHCR, NGOs, international organizations, refugees and other stakeholders to collaborate on refugee resettlement. Mendicino reaffirmed Canada’s ongoing commitment to exploring innovative solutions for refugees. The event was held on June 25. It was the first time it was held virtually. Mendicino confirmed that the government plans to admit up to 500 refugees in the framework of the Economic Mobility Pathways Project in the next 2 years.
#refugees, #asylum_seekers, #resettlement, #IRCC
Canadian workers exempt from Trump’s migration clampdown
Canadians will not suffer from US President Donald Trump’s work visas ban. The announcement that the US is banning the issuance of work visas until the end of 2020 had triggered confusion as to whether Canadian workers would come under its purview. The American Immigration Lawyers Association informed members that it had received assurances from US Customs and Border Protection that Canadians are exempted from this ban. The executive order announced by Trump suspends, at least for the rest of this year, the entry of workers under popular visa categories H, J and L. As per Trump’s executive orders, the visa ban only applies to people currently outside the US who lack a valid visa or travel document. It so happens that most Canadians already have a valid travel document to the US in the form of their passport.
#USA, #Trump
Canada tightens LMIA processing
Canada has made the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process stricter in view of changed circumstances. The unemployment rate has increased in Canada because many businesses have been closed due to COVID-19. The agriculture and agri-food sectors have been given relief in hiring foreign workers, but there is a big hurdle in hiring these workers in non-essential businesses. Service Canada is providing an opportunity by sending letters to Canadian employers who had filed LMIA applications for foreign workers before March 15, 2020, to withdraw their applications after fulfilling all the Labour Market Impact Assessment requirements. Applications that are not withdrawn and do not meet the recruitment conditions as per post-COVID-19 conditions will be rejected. An official from Labour and Skills Development said that under the changed circumstances, it does not make any sense to accept an LMIA for a business that does not require workers.
#LMIA, #ESDC, #COVID_19
Forty percent of foreign workers in Canada came from Mexico
New statistics provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that the top source countries of foreign workers in Canada were Mexico, Jamaica, India, Guatemala, and the Philippines. Between January and April of 2020, Canada issued just over 33,000 work permits under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Mexicans accounted for 41% of all these temporary foreign workers. Some 66% of the 33,000 work permits were issued to agricultural workers. Total TFWP arrivals are down 18% compared with the same period last year. The data capture new work permits issued to TFWs who were eligible to work in Canada under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the International Mobility Program (IMP).
#work_permits, #work_in_Canada, #TFWP, #IMP, #IRCC