Ontario is set to begin fast-tracking the immigration applications of foreign workers whose abilities are in high demand in the province, such as skilled tradespeople.
The one-year pilot program will effectively allow the province to hand-pick immigrants, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.
Ontario Immigration Minister Mike Colle is expected to announce the details of the Provincial Nominee Program Thursday morning.
The program has long been promised as the solution to the discrepancy between those applicants Ottawa allows in and the types of workers Ontario needs.
Rick Byun, a spokesperson for Colle, told The Star the program is designed to target immigrants whose skillsets can be used in Ontario, for settlement in the province.
He said it will deal with both professionals and tradespeople.
The program will allow employers to nominate suitable candidates who meet their employment needs.
The province would then screen the nominees, and forward the suitable candidates to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which would then perform security and health checks before issuing approval.
Under the pilot program candidates could have full approval within a few months, as compared to three or four years under the normal process.
The federal immigration system uses a points system, whereby applicants are awarded a rating based on education, language skills, training and experience.
One of the shortcomings of the system is that it easily approves educated professionals but rejects skilled tradespeople. As a result, professionals often end up doing unskilled labour while industries that rely on labourers, such as the construction industry, complain of a shortage.
Other provinces already have nominee programs, which help address the shortcomings in the federal system.
About 140,000 immigrants settle in Ontario each year.
