The Canadian government has launched a consultation programme to discuss the appropriate level and mix of immigration for Canada in the coming years.

Both stakeholders and the public are invited to give their views on immigration issue at meetings and online until the end of August 2012.

Since 2006, the government of Canada has welcomed the highest sustained levels of immigration in Canadian history. Now it wants feedback on immigration issues, including the appropriate level of immigration for Canada, and the most suitable mix among economic, family, and refugee and humanitarian classes.

It also wants views on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s transition towards a faster and more flexible immigration system, as well as the growing importance of immigration to Canada’s economic growth and long term prosperity.

A spokesman for CIC said that in planning for the total number of people to admit as permanent residents, CIC must not only balance the government of Canada’s immigration objectives, but also consider broader government commitments, input from provinces and territories, and current and future economic conditions.

The Department must also take into account its operational ability to process applications in a timely manner, as well as the capacity of communities to welcome newcomers.
‘These consultations present an important opportunity to generate greater public understanding of the difficult decisions involved in managing a global immigration system. There are competing visions and diverging goals for the future of the immigration programme, and there are no easy answers. Engaging stakeholders and the broader public is key to CIC’s development of an overall strategy for Canada moving forward,’ he explained.
It is hoped that there will be a wide variety of perspectives, including those of employers, labour, academia, learning institutions, professional organisations, business organisations, regulatory bodies, municipalities, Aboriginal groups, settlement provider organisations and ethnocultural organisations.