Ministers Discuss Increasing Permanent Residence Admissions, Fast-Tracking Processing Times
On July 28, Immigration Minister, Marco Mendicino, had a virtual meeting with the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration to develop a plan to fast-track immigration processing times and increase the number of new permanent residents post-pandemic.
“Today, we had productive discussions with the provinces and territories on how to better and more evenly spread the benefits of immigration across the country,” said Mendicino. “Our ongoing collaboration, further strengthened today, has contributed to valuable initiatives that will help support population growth and a modern immigration system.”
According to Canada Immigration News, the forum discussed how to ensure the success of Provincial Nominee Programs and how to strengthen Francophone immigration outside of Quebec. Other topics discussed included economic immigration, settlement services for permanent and temporary residents, and regional distribution of immigration.
The forum also reviewed the measures undertaken this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures include virtual services and adjusting programming for provincial nominees and international students.
In July 2020, the Strategic Plan for Immigration was approved. The ministers discussed the progress that was made on the plan’s policy priorities, including:
- Immigration levels planning
- Strengthening regional economic immigration programs
- Supporting communities
- Meeting labour market needs
“Immigration has never been more critical as we navigate the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic and work towards economic recovery and prosperity in all regions of Canada,” said Arlene Dunn, New Brunswick’s minister of immigration and co-chair of the Forum of Ministers responsible for Immigration.
“Today, we recommitted to meaningful partnership and collaboration between provinces, territories and the federal government to achieve flexible and responsive immigration programming that supports our diverse and evolving labour market and population growth needs and priorities.”
The Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration is a decision-making body that works towards the goal of building a flexible, timely, and effective Canadian immigration system. It is compiled of Canada’s provincial and territorial immigration ministers.
In 2020, the forum created its official mission and vision for Canada’s immigration system, which is “to advance joint immigration priorities and enhance Canada’s immigration policies and programs.”
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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.