Syed Khan November 11, 2021
Ontario Immigration, in its recent proposal, is seeking to double the skilled immigrants that settle in the province while bettering working conditions for them. This move is seen as a desperate move in order to fill the gaping labor shortage and boost the skilled workforce. According to the data published by Statistics Canada, the healthcare industry is facing the biggest labor shortage with over 38,000 jobs being vacant.
The Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton was quoted saying, “the province is facing a significant labor shortage which was intensified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Immigration is one of the key economic drivers of Ontario’s growth, one that can be used strategically to fill critical gaps in labor supply and ultimately create more jobs in our communities.”
The Ontario government is also looking to amend some rules set by the law governing regulatory bodies. It is proposing to remove requirements like Canadian work experience, extensive language tests, etc in order to ease the process of getting licensed in non-health-related occupations.
If this proposal is passed, Ontario would write history as being the first province in Canada that eliminates the requirement for Canadian work experience in regulated occupations and for introducing revolutionary policies like the right-to-disconnect policy. It is also proposing to ban non-compete agreements.
Currently, Ontario Immigration is allowed to accept 9,000 immigrants under its Immigrant Nominee Program, and doubling the immigrants settling down in the province will help increase employment rates.
According to Statistics Canada: Job vacancies in Ontario went from 234,000 in October 2020 to 316,000 in October 2021.
In comparison to 2020’s figures, the rate of vacancies is 35% more this year, a worrying statistic for Ontario Immigration. Factors like travel restrictions, border closure, and other restrictions significantly affected the numbers of new immigrants to Ontario this year.
The province of Ontario has one of the highest rates in all provinces and territories of bringing in economic immigrants. Ontario Immigration also offers candidates faster processing options like the Global Talent Stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program which processes applications in under 2 weeks. The Skilled Worker Program has significantly increased the number of immigrants as more than 3,555 migrants became permanent residents under it till now in 2021.
If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit or Migrate to Canada, talk to I Can Help Immigration Services, Canada’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company to get the best help you need