ARCHIVED – Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, 2011

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Message from the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism

I am pleased to present the 2011 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration.

Canada is a country that was built by immigrants. Since Confederation, we have opened our arms to millions of newcomers from all over the world. Their skills, entrepreneurial talents and culture have made our country the true north, strong and free. Since 2006, the Government of Canada has welcomed the highest sustained level of immigration in nearly a century.

Most of this increase consisted of skilled economic immigrants and their families. These individuals were selected for the skills and talents they possess that match Canada’s labour market demands. For immigration to continue to support our economy’s development, it is crucial that we maintain an immigration system that responds to Canada’s economic needs in a timely manner.

The Action Plan for Faster Immigration, launched in 2008, includes a flexible mechanism that enables us to respond to Canada’s labour market needs more quickly. This has also contributed significantly to the reduction of the backlog of federal skilled workers. The year 2011 marks a significant milestone when we cut the backlog of old applications in half two years ahead of schedule. In 2010, we also capped the number of new applications we accept in the federal skilled worker category. This approach has enabled us to better match the supply of applications with our processing capacity and economic needs.

In 2012, the overall admissions range of 240,000 to 265,000 is maintained for the sixth consecutive year to support our commitments to economic immigration, family reunification, and humanitarian obligations.

Another key focus of the Department this past year was to reduce fraud and protect the integrity of our immigration system. Bill C-35—legislation to crack down on crooked consultants—came into force in June 2011. This legislation strengthens rules governing those who provide immigration advice or representation for a fee and will enhance the government’s oversight of immigration consultants. CIC also intends to bring into force regulatory changes that will strengthen our ability to refuse cases of suspected marriage fraud.

We are also implementing long-awaited reforms to Canada’s asylum system, which were passed into law in June 2010. The Balanced Refugee Reform Act will streamline our country’s asylum system to ensure we can quickly provide protection to those who need it and remove those who do not. In addition, CIC has begun work to usher in the 20 percent increase in the number of resettled government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees announced as part of these reforms.

The recognition of foreign credentials is essential to the integration of internationally trained individuals into the Canadian labour market. We want to ensure newcomers can put their skills to work in their trained profession as soon as possible. The year 2010 marked the first anniversary of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications—a landmark agreement between the federal, provincial and territorial governments to speed up foreign credential recognition for newcomers to Canada. A system is now in place to assess the credentials of foreign workers in eight occupations within a year. Work is underway to add six more occupations in 2012.

Canadian citizenship represents a significant milestone in the integration of newcomers into Canadian society. CIC continued in 2010 to implement its Citizenship Action Plan, which aims to strengthen the value and meaning of Canadian citizenship by promoting civic participation and increased civic literacy. Discover Canada, the citizenship study guide, was updated to strengthen its content on common Canadian values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Improvements were also made to the citizenship test to assess an applicant’s knowledge on a broader range of Canada’s history and characteristics, as well as the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. In addition, CIC improved screening tools to ensure applicants demonstrate adequate knowledge of English or French—an important requirement for citizenship.

To further reinforce the value of Canadian citizenship and protect the integrity of the Citizenship Program, CIC took additional measures to combat residence fraud committed by individuals who misrepresent their residence in Canada to acquire citizenship. In 2011 the Government of Canada began the process to revoke the citizenship of individuals who obtain it fraudulently.

CIC’s achievements would not be possible without the diligent efforts of our employees. I want to thank everyone for their ongoing dedication to improving our immigration system.

The Honourable Jason Kenney, PC, MP
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism

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