News
Kenney won't turn off immigration tap
A recent report shows that skilled workers are still in demand in Canada, despite the slowdown in the economy.
In an online article published by The Canadian Press, statistics show that despite the unemployment rate rising to record levels in some provinces, not all job sectors have been adversely affected by the downturn.
The news comes as Jason Kenney, the Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, announced that immigration levels for the next migration year would be kept the same, despite the rising unemployment rate in the country. The current number of visas available to immigrants will therefore be kept at 250,000.
"Canada is facing a long-term labour shortage," Minister Kenney commented. "So the government is not going to turn off the immigration tap, only to have it turned back on later."
The jobs that are being labelled 'recession-proof' are in the public service, healthcare and education sectors. All of these sectors are still actively looking for skilled workers to fill roles.
In addition to the shortage of skilled workers in certain sectors and industries, regionally there are also areas where the shortage of skilled workers is more prevalent than others. For example, British Columbia needs hundreds of thousands of immigrants to fill the roles of its ageing workforce in addition to finding thousands of staff for the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010.
29 July 2009