The newly appointed Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser recently accepted a joint interview with Bloomberg and Toronto Star. This is Sean’s first large-scale interview with the media since he took office. He revealed a lot of key information about the current immigration case trial, as well as his outlook for Canadian immigration in 2022 next year.
Increased immigration in 2022.
The Minister of Immigration stated that it is possible to further increase the immigration quota on the basis of the original 410,000 people; the original words of the Minister were “very much open to”. More immigration quotas can help solve the problem of labor shortage in some regions and industries. For example, Ontario strongly demands more provincial nomination quotas and the introduction of more blue-collar and engineering technicians. By February 10 next year at the latest, we will see the Immigration Bureau announce the immigration plan for 2022-2024.
46,000 people logged in in October hit a record high
In the past October, Canada has introduced a total of 46,000 new immigrants, once again hitting a new high for the year. For the full year of 2021 so far, the number of immigrant landings has reached about 314,000. However, the vast majority of them are temporary residents in Canada, and only a small number come from overseas. Calculated from the figures, Canada must land 43,000 people in November and December respectively in order to successfully complete the immigration plan for the whole year. However, the Minister of Immigration did not disclose the reopening time of the fast-track overseas skilled immigration FSW category. It is predicted that there will be no FSW invitations this year .
Accelerate processing speed and reduce case backlog
Regarding the current case backlog of the Immigration Bureau, it is reported that the Immigration Bureau currently has a backlog of nearly 1.8 million cases. Sean said that the Immigration Bureau is currently facing many challenges, and these challenges have gradually formed over the years, and it is difficult to solve them in the short term. But he will try his best to speed up the case review speed of the Immigration Bureau, simplify the trial process, and adjust the trial methods of some application categories, so as to speed up and slow down the backlog of cases.
Dealing with Afghan refugees is a top priority
Finally, regarding the Afghan refugees, the Minister of Immigration has paid great attention. The Canadian Federation has promised to accept a total of 40,000 Afghan refugees, but only 3,500 have successfully landed in Canada to obtain their status. The Immigration Service will continue to treat Afghan refugees as the most urgent and critical task.
Generally speaking, 2021 is a major challenge for the Immigration Bureau that has been rare in decades. Not only have there been two amnesties, but also many policy introductions and changes; and the upcoming 2022 is also destined to be an extraordinary year.