Canada announces immigration reform
The Associated Press
Published: November 28, 2008

TORONTO: Canada's Conservative government said Friday that it plans to fast-track the immigration process for skilled workers in high-demand occupations, drawing criticism from the country's opposition leaders that the new rules are unfair.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said applications for immigrants in occupations such as health, skilled trades, finance, and resource extraction will be processed within six to 12 months compared with up to six years under the old system. Geochemists, speech language pathologists, university professors, plumbers and chefs would also be fast-tracked.

The minister also said that Canada will maintain its immigration levels, while countries like the United Kingdom and Australia are cutting back.

"The recent steps this government has taken to improve our immigration system will help ensure that Canada remains competitive internationally and responsive to labor market needs domestically," Kenney said.

Opposition leaders argued the changes would create two classes of immigrants, leaving less-skilled workers stuck at the back of the line.

New Democrat immigration critic Olivia Chow called the government's classification of high-demand jobs absurd.

"One on the list is financial services. Didn't I just notice that there's a huge number of people being laid off in the financial services?," Chow said.

Chow also criticized the government's plan to double the number of temporary foreign workers in five years, saying such a move would drive down wages.

"It's bad for the Canadian economy and it's bad for (the workers), because they cannot bring in their families and often are open to exploitation and abuse," said Chow.

The Liberals drew parallels between the current reforms and an effort by the Conservative government of the 1950s to favor skilled workers — a move that created a rift between the government and some ethnic communities. The government of the time eventually backed away from those reforms.

Friday's announcement came on the same day Canada's opposition parties also criticized the Conservative government for failing to do enough to rescue the economy from the impacts of the global economic crisis. The parties are grappling with the idea of toppling the Conservative government and forming a coalition government.

The Liberals said they are considering introducing a motion on Monday declaring no confidence in the minority Conservative government and proposing a governing coalition.

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