As you may have heard, a few weeks ago Canada decided to move forward on reducing the permanent residence processing time for skilled workers to obtain a work visa in two weeks. The Canadian government’s decision was precisely just for the country’s tech industry since there has been a shortage of global talent in the country itself. This will be improving Canada’s competitive advancement to tech companies by making it easier to recruit top skilled foreign talent on Canadian visas.

This process used to take a few months to obtain a work visa but now depending on the skill level of the immigrant, it could take a mere two weeks to obtain a visa and work permit. Bill Morneau, Canada’s finance minister, announced this new policy as the beginning of an economic update. The new policy which is aimed to grow businesses at a higher rate, will also be featuring a temporary work permit. This temporary work permit will enable immigrant workers to work in Canada for 30 days a year.

Most recently, Canada has considered to expand their original plan of just accelerating the work visas for foreign tech workers, to accelerating work visas for skilled workers in different occupations. The government wants to keep a new fast-track work visa process to enable a higher-volume of top talent to new companies. Navdeep Bains, who is the Minister of Innovation, said on an interview with Bloomberg TV Canada that the Canadian companies need a more diverse power. More specifically he said that they need to “improve the representation of women and minorities in positions of power”. He also said “The issue of merit is not the problem here, I think it’s a cultural issue. I think there is clear discrimination”. Ever since Bains has brought this to Canada’s attention the push to open immigration work visas faster has been debated.

Changes to Canada’s Work Visa Plan

Creating the new policy to reduce the processing time for a Canadian work visa there will be a few changes in the Canadian economy. Recruiting foreign talent using Canadian work visas will lead to benefits such as investments from global corporations to Canadian companies. The Canadian government has recently seen the tech industry as a  way to attract foreign investors and create jobs that will boost their economy. Although they have just realized this economic opportunity, J. Paul Haynes, the CEO of a cyber-security company has known this for awhile. Haynes said “This has been a conversation for 10 years and we’re just so happy the government is acting.  The changes make Canada one of the most accommodating countries in the world for foreign tech talent“.

With the growing technological world we live in,we most recently have ran into a high number of tech jobs going unfilled. The new policy for skilled foreign workers will be able to help fill this number. Haynes said that his company has been working with Canadian universities and other higher educational facilities to recruit native Canadian talent but it’s not enough, they need foreign skill.

Alexandra Clark, Director of Policy and Government Affairs of Shopify, said “This is not about Canadians missing out on opportunities. This is actually bringing opportunities for Canadians in the workforce and especially in tech companies here in Canada”. Clark addressed the concern of taking jobs from Canadians by opening up an easier and faster track for foreign workers on a work visa. She defended the new policy by assuring its not taking Canadians jobs but opening up the opportunity for company and employee growth and knowledge.

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