Ontario is looking for Quebec-like control in selecting immigrants who can move into the province.
The proposed Ontario Immigration Act could see the province having a larger role in the selection of immigrants in Ontario.
“What the Ontario government is proposing is they would like powers over immigration similar to Quebec,” says Valerie Preston, a professor in geography.
Preston notes Quebec largely selects its own immigrants, while meeting security and health requirements from the federal government.
The proposed changes would build upon the Ontario government’s immigration strategy, and would maximize certain qualifications that the province is looking for in terms of new migrants.
Preston suggests Ontario is concerned about how other provinces have been using the Provincial Nominee Program, and how Ontario’s use of the program has slowly declined.
“There are forecasts that provincial nominees will be close to half of all the economic immigrants admitted to Canada,” says Preston. “But because Ontario didn’t expand its provincial nominee program as other provinces did, it actually has a very small share of provincial nominees.”
Preston says the province wants to select more skilled immigrants with this new legislation.
It’s also intended to prevent fraud, by introducing penalties for applicants and consultants who misrepresent themselves or their clients.
Preston claims for students whose parents are immigrants, or are immigrants themselves, this legislation could impact them. She states their chances of having other people from their country of origin immigrate to Canada could be affected.
“People from places like Bulgaria and Romania who are highly skilled, particularly in IT, and who often speak one of the two official languages in Canada, those communities might benefit from Ontario’s efforts to encourage more skilled workers to immigrate to Ontario,” says Preston.
Amit Praharaj is studying environmental studies at York, and is originally from India. He is the chair of the Council of Canadians at York, a social justice group that works towards promoting social, economic, and environmental justice internationally.
Praharaj believe this approach to immigration in Ontario would benefit employers, and foreign workers.
“Most employers would be more comfortable hiring foreign workers because now they know there is more of a quota,” says Praharaj.
Praharaj also believes with Ontario having more control over immigration, it will result in safer workplaces and increased for foreign workers who are employed in Canada.
“It’s going to open up a lot of opportunities,” he says.
Michael Burton
Executive Editor (Online)
