Blue Bird Blog

Minister Miller to reveal strategy to improve Canada’s immigration system today

Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller will announce plans to improve Canada’s immigration system today.
Note: This is a developing story. CIC News will update it following Minister Miller’s announcement at 1:15 PM Eastern Time.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released a media advisory stating the minister will “unveil the Strategic Immigration Review report and the plan to improve Canada’s immigration system” beginning at 1:15 PM Eastern Time today.

Earlier this year, IRCC commissioned a report from former immigration Deputy Minister Neil Yeates to evaluate IRCC’s current structure and if it is effective in helping IRCC achieve its mandate. As a former Deputy Minister, Yeates was at one time the most senior civil servant in the department and knowledgeable about how IRCC is managed.

Yeates’ report contained several recommendations related to reorganizing the department to a business line-based structure, reforming the governance system, introducing a stronger system for planning, and reporting and developing a supportive culture within IRCC.

Current Deputy Minister Christiane Fox was interviewed by journalist Paul Wells about the report and said that starting in June 2023 she began to gradually make changes within the department.

She said IRCC is following some of the recommendations. For example, it is now being organized across lines of business. This means IRCC employees will be divided across the various clients that the department services and in such a way as to be more responsive to world events.

Further, a recent audit from Canada’s Office of the Auditor General (OAG) found that in 2022, IRCC’s backlog of permanent resident applications was not acceptable and made recommendations to process applications more effectively to stay within service standards.

These recommendations included reviewing service standards (the amount of time IRCC says an application should take to process) and adjusting the workload in regional offices.

Immigration Levels Plan to be released by November 1

Today's announcement is ahead of the unveiling of the Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026.

The plan is released on or by November 1st each non-election year and outlines the number of permanent residents that Canada aims to admit over the next three years from across all lines classes and further breaks it down by program.

Minister Miller recently told the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that he believes Canada’s high immigration targets need to be maintained. This means IRCC will likely continue to have a large workload while undergoing structural changes.

Source: cicnews.com

Canada

Canada implements policies to increase affordability of housing and groceries

A new Leger poll conducted for OMNI news, illustrated the effect of an increasing cost of living on newcomers in Canada. According to the study, 83% of the 1522 newcomers surveyed felt that affordability issues were making settling in Canada more difficult.

Simultaneously, a recent study by Statistics Canada found that more than a third of newcomers who recently arrived in the country were in renting situations where they needed to spend more than a third of their pre-tax income on rent.

On February 6th the federal government announced new policies to help increase affordability for Canadians, and those living in Canada. Similar affordability policies were instituted by the government last year.

5 challenges newcomers face in Canada and how to deal with them

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025 aims to welcome over 460,000 new immigrants each year, which is the highest level in Canadian history.
Upon arrival, newcomers must settle into their new homes and may experience some challenges adjusting to Canada and their new lives in the country.

Canada’s top employers in 2024

MediaCorp has released its list of winners for 2024's “100 top employers in Canada” competition.
The annual event (which has been running since the year 2000) continues to not just garner wide-spread attention in Canada, but also shapes the employment searches of Canadians and newcomers alike. The competition aims to recognise employers that lead their industries in “offering exceptional workplaces for their employees”.

Canada invests $86 million to recognize foreign healthcare credentials

On January 15th, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, announced $86 million in funding to 15 organizations across Canada.
The funding will go towards speeding up the accreditation for internationally educated health professionals (IEHP), since long wait times and difficulty finding a family physician are increasingly common issues across the country.

Canada announces Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026

Canada has released its Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026.
Canada's immigration levels will remain unchanged from its current targets. In 2024, the country will target the admission of 485,000 new immigrants. In 2025 and 2026, Canada will look to welcome 500,000 new immigrants in each year.
The targets are the same as those announced under the Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025. The new information released today is the 2026 target, as well as updates to the levels of immigrants that will be admitted under each class and program between 2024-2026.

IRCC expects India visa processing to return to normal by early 2024

A press conference with Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller on October 19th, 2023 has revealed that the ongoing dispute between Canada and India will result in slower processing times for Indian visa applications.
Nonetheless, Miller emphasized that newcomers from India play a vital role in Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will continue to welcome them.