Canadian Employee Relocation Council conducted a special workforce mobility survey in June 2022. Currently, several companies, institutions, and organizations funded by the governments in Canada that are related to immigration are suffering from the impact of IRCC delays.
Around 33 organizations taking help from the (IMP) International Mobility Program gave a response to the survey.
On the whole, the backlog of applications had risen by 12 %., that is, it had grown from 2.4 million to 2.7 million. The backlog is increasing and gradually causing delays in the IRCC’s processing times.
The Temporary Foreign Workers backlog increased by 21 percent. The applicant’s backlog grew from 408,733 to 493,746.
Among the employers who were active participants in the survey, around 97 percent recruited internationally skilled workers via work permit programs, and 53 percent of employers recruited employees through economic immigration.
90 percent of these organizations contribute by hiring over 2000 workers while 31 percent of them recruit 10,000 workers.
The participants even responded positively by agreeing that international talent plays a significant role in business growth.
However, the delays on behalf of IRCC have severely impacted 97 percent of the organizations and their functioning. Several organizations had to postpone or cancel projects because of the delay in the processing times. Many universities in Canada were also participants in the survey and around 29 percent of them had to either cancel or postpone educational programs. They even faced delays in their research projects. Reportedly, 55 percent of the organizations suffered from huge revenue losses.
The Canadian economy might be on the verge of recession if the delays continue. Therefore, the survey has revealed that there is an ardent need to recruit internationally skilled individuals on faster terms to rebuild Canada’s economy. Immigration is an accepted solution for economic growth in the country.
According to Sean Fraser’s mandate letter, he must deal with the delay in processing times by reducing the time and gap. He is expected to work in collaboration with the Employment Minister, Disability Inclusion and Workforce Development to ensure a reliable employer system for the recruitment of temporary foreign workers by Canadian companies.
He must work towards renewing the work permits and confirm GTS’s processing time of two weeks. There must also be an employer’s complaining forum.
Fraser has stated that the processing times will soon return to normal by the latter Calendar year. IRCC has taken the initiative to reduce the waiting time by introducing 500 additional staff members to the already existing number of 11,000 employees. It has also worked toward enhancing the immigration system by modernizing it. A budget of over $827 million has been allocated for the immigration system to become digitalized.
Additionally, a budget of $85 million has been allocated to fasten the processing times for specific business lines, including the renewal of PR cards, work permits, and study permits.
Reportedly, Fraser also stated that all these initiatives have led IRCC to welcome 200,000 new permanent residents leading to an increase in work permits by 250 percent when compared to the data for 2021.
Even though there have been modifications in the existing system, CERC reported that there still needs to be more work done due to the slow progress. He emphasized the need to specifically work on the reduction of delays and forging a reliable employer system.
The survey further revealed that the department needs to rethink the distribution of resources, modernize systems, and use technology to the best of its potential. It also needs to look for faster processes such as a Trusted Employer Program. These measures must be executed urgently.
However, the talks on the Trusted Employer Program have been ongoing for the past few years. Interestingly, the survey even disclosed that around 73 percent of applicants are ready to pay higher fees from 10 to 20 percent for faster processing of applications.
The additional fees will even include government costs.
The participants of the survey were even asked for suggestions to improve the processing times.
The key suggestions included that Canada’s government must provide the employers with better processing time. They even recommended the introduction of programs that are exempt from LMIA to fast-track the process for higher in-demand occupations. Respondents even claimed that the current systems are not updated therefore, there is an urgent need to modernize them and also get more trained staff. Lastly, a Trusted Employer Program should be introduced to meet employer requirements for recruiting international talent.
