Canadian Federal & Provincial Ministers Congregate, Talk about Prospects of Immigration

In a rather important development, the immigration ministers from throughout Canada reportedly congregated in Winnipeg recently even as they talked about the different matters concerning the Canadian immigration. On the list of items were the growth and extension of the Provincial Nominee Programmes (PNPs) and the Immigrant settlement assistance, refugee programmes.

At the meeting, John McCallum--the in-office Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship for Canada--declared that by November 1 this year the federal administration would make public the goal for new refugee intake levels for the period 2017 to 2018.

Winnipeg Meeting--Key Points

The minister reportedly met with his provincial equivalents to talk about the management of the nation’s refugee intake. From November 15, 2015 to October 2, 2016, the Maple Leaf Country gave a red carpet welcome to over 31,919 refugees from Syria even while the administration is carrying on processing over 20,000 petitions.

At the meeting the provincial ministers, from across the nation, urged for the expansion of the levels of the PNP intake. For instance, Ian Wishart--the incumbent Minister of Education and Training for Manitoba, who manages immigration and visa process in the province--urged for an end to the upper limit on the figure of petitions that could be sent under the Manitoba PNP.

The various ministers also reportedly discussed improving the existing settlement schemes, to help immigrants upon landing in the nation. These ministers particularly discussed the value of recognizing overseas qualifications.

They also had the same opinion on the issue of boosting information and statistics sharing on successful integration attempts, with a view to study and make settlement plans for the new entrants better.