Temporary-to-Permanent Residency Program Still Has 14,000 Spots Left Unfilled
A new program created this year to streamline permanent residency for temporary residents working in the healthcare sector may soon be expanded to include refugee claimants. The news was recently confirmed by then Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino, in an interview with Reuters.
The goal of this temporary-to-permanent residency program is to help Canada reach its target of bringing in 401,000 new permanent residents this year. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, around 70% of the 222,275 people granted permanent residency by August 31, 2021, began their stay in Canada as temporary residents.
However, the program, which was announced back in April, still has more than 14,000 of the 20,000 spots unfilled as the November 5th application deadline approaches. Mendicino has not yet ruled out extending the deadline in order to gain more applicants, stating: “I think we should keep an open mind as to whether or not we should extend [the deadline].”
While refugees are not currently included in this program, Mendicino said there are talks of allowing refugee claimants who obtain work permits while awaiting a decision on their refugee claims to apply to future versions of the program.
“I am always going to keep an open mind about searching for whatever policy promotes the greatest outcomes for our refugees, our immigrants, and our country and its economy” he said.
Mendicino added that while he feels it is important to offer newcomers more “transitional opportunities,” it is also “imperative” that workers’ rights be protected, regardless of their immigration status.
“I firmly believe immigration status should not be used to exploit any individual…The ability to transition from temporary to permanent status can be one of the factors that strengthens the relationship between the employer and the employee by creating more of a balance.”
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.