Canada Extends Immigration Agreement With Newfoundland And Labrador

Canada Extends Immigration Agreement With Newfoundland And Labrador.

 In a new move, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced a one-year extension to the federal government’s immigration agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador. The extension will essentially allow time for the province and the federal government to formulate a new agreement while allowing current operations to continue. The announcement was jointly made by Canada’s immigration minister and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, on August 12.

The agreement that was first signed in 2016 outlines the objectives for federal-provincial cooperation on immigration. The agreement is now being extended until July 31, 2022.All provinces of Canada have agreements with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that entail areas related to immigration in their respective regions. These agreements set out the parameters of IRCC’s relationship with each province, and identify the roles and responsibilities of each party.

Gerry Byrne minister of immigration of Newfoundland and Labrador’s has said that extension will give the province time to negotiate a new agreement to help the province settle more newcomers annually. He mentioned that the province is keen on welcoming diverse communities. He also added that that the extension gives them time to negotiate a new agreement that will help accelerate their work with federal partners to achieve this province’s ambitious goal for immigration by welcoming 5,100 newcomers annually by 2026.

The province will meanwhile be continuing to work with the federal government on old terms old conditions to deliver initiatives that have already been started. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador are among the four Atlantic Provinces which have historically had difficulty retaining immigrants. The agreement that is in place currently lays the groundwork for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP). The AIP is a federal immigration program that facilitates the job recruitment process for when Atlantic Canada employers cannot fill vacant positions with local talent. Launched in 2017, the AIP, helped the region to attract and retain talent, according to a media release. As of May 2021, AIP employers have made more than 9,200 job offers in sectors such as manufacturing and health care. About 8,000 newcomers and their families have moved to the region, and about 90 percent of those surveyed were still living in Atlantic Canada after one year.

Newfoundland and Labrador have gained about 275 new employees and 300 family members so far this year through both the AIP and the Provincial Nominee Program(PNP). The province also invited nearly 400 people in the health care sector to apply for permanent residency as part of the Priority Skills Newfoundland pathway. In the coming weeks, Newfoundland will extend invitations to professionals in the tech and aquaculture sectors. The goal of the bilateral agreement with the federal and provincial governments is to ensure that immigration policies cater to meet federal and provincial objectives. While the federal government has the final say on who gets to immigrate to Canada, provinces are more in sync with the economic and population needs of their regions.