the CanadaVisa Team - 27 September, 2011
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney told media that although the Canadian economy has emerged from the recession relatively unharmed, immigration is still the key to further economic growth.
"For a couple of generations Canadians have been deciding to have fewer kids than we need to grow or maintain our population, which means ultimately fewer workers and fewer taxpayers to pay for benefits, health care and pensions for our growing number of retired folk...This is where immigration comes in," said Minister Kenny.
He also emphasized the role of Temporary Foreign Workers in helping to fill gaps in the labour market and explained why the program was limited over recent years.
"In 2009 when we had the recession, because unemployment was going up and a significant number of Canadians were being laid off, the Government wanted to be sure that we weren't extending foreign workers into an economy where Canadians were going to need those jobs.
"That's why they tightened up to the one-year Labour Market Option (LMO). Now that things are moving and unemployment is going down and the labour market is getting tighter, we recognise that there's a need to relax these rules," he added.
Consultations regarding the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will be held over the next month.
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