Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino is seen offering fresh insights on the prospects of the country’s immigration system, as first reported by CICnews.
Mr. Mendicino spoke on a broad range of immigration topics including Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023; Municipal Nominee Program; Canadian citizenship as he explained to viewers how the federal government aims to cope with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.
The minister is said to have expressed his opinions recently on a Canadian television show, The Agenda.
Speaking on the Immigration Levels Plan for 2021-2023, Mendicino reaffirmed that instead of pausing or reducing immigration following the outbreak of the pandemic, his government chose to welcome immigrants during and after the pandemic to support its prosperity.
Canada has set a target to welcome over 400,000 immigrants over the coming years. Over 60% of the target is said to be met by the country’s economic-class immigration programs that would benefit foreign skilled workers, recent international graduates, business entrepreneurs.
The minister said, “This is necessary since immigrants are key to job creation in Canada and also help fill vital labor market needs including in essential services.”
Further, the minister confirmed that the targets were achievable since Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had been innovating even during the pandemic, say by conducting alternative program-specific Express Entry and thus issuing the highest-ever nominations for Canada PR in a single year.
Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had provided the immigration minister with a mandate letter. One of the goals of his government was the launch a Municipal Nominee Program to further help encourage immigrants to settle in Canada’s smaller cities.
Pointing to initiatives such as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the minister hinted that IRCC is in the process of consulting with various stakeholders on the program design and the decision regarding the same will be taken soon.
Watch the full interview here:
Video link <https://youtu.be/beZSHaIvPu0>
The major takeaway from this 20-minute long interview was that Canada’s extravagant immigration targets are real. IRCC has a certain plan to achieve the targets, by inviting existing immigration candidates with Canadian experience and continuing to select immigrants from abroad to apply for permanent residence.
Mendicino also said that he is enthusiastic about reducing barriers for newcomers and will have more to say on this issue in the future.
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