The immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, recently announced that Canada and Ukraine have set up a new Mobility Working Group.
This new partnership aims to expand mobility opportunities for the nationals of Ukraine, who are willing to immigrate to Canada. However, the federal department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will ensure that the visa framework and migration rules stay unviolated in the process.
This new agreement will be in force once the travel restrictions revoked, which were implemented due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Canada-Ukraine Mobility Working Group will also ask the governments of both nations to share the best practices to expand and manage immigration. Furthermore, this new deal will enable the Canadian government to promote economic-class immigration programs among the residents of Ukraine.
The Minister said during the announcement that generations of Ukrainians had made Canada their home, and the Ukrainian-Canadian community has been making a significant contribution to the economic growth of Canada. He further mentioned that this new partnership would help both the countries to strengthen deep-rooted, people-to-people ties.
On the date of the announcement, both these countries labeled the 29th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relationships between themselves. In August 1991, Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, and just after a few months, that is, since 1992, Canada and Ukraine have been enjoying strong ties.
As per current statistics, more than 1.3 million Canadians have migrated from Ukraine. Moreover, in 2017, the two countries introduced the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement that omitted tariffs on 86 percent of the exports from Canada to Ukraine.
Also, since 2014, Canada has also pledged north of $800 million to fund Ukraine, including financial, humanitarian, non-lethal military, security, and development support.
Canada-Ukraine Youth Mobility Agreement: An expected outcome of this new deal
With the new Canada-Ukraine Mobility Working Group in effect, both countries will be working to come up with a new youth mobility agreement. This agreement will facilitate travel and working opportunities for both Canadian and Ukrainian youth. This new agreement will be in effect once the travel restrictions revoked, which were implemented due to the pandemic.
The youth mobility agreements enable youth between 18 and 35 years of age to easily access the labor market, as they are allowed to work abroad for 12 months. Moreover, candidates can participate in these agreements twice, which means they can work abroad for up to 24 months.
Canada has been into similar agreements with many other nations as well. In recent times, Canada and Italy have signed a new mobility youth agreement. Most importantly, citizens of these countries willing to stay and work in Canada can apply for immigration under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program.
Canada expecting higher immigration levels post-coronavirus
Canada values global talent and understands the importance of bringing more newcomers to the country to support economic recovery and foster growth. The former statement is also demonstrated in the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan of Canada, released on October 30, 2020.
Furthermore, the level plans show that the country’s immigration targets have increased significantly compared to previous years. Canada is looking forward to welcoming over 400,000 new immigrants annually between 2021 and 2023.
