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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 7 41 any healthy labour market that can wait that long to fill a position," Zemp says, noting that Service Canada managed to improve times in Ontario and Eastern Canada. "I don't know why the government thinks serious delays in filling a recognized labour shortage is an acceptable state of affairs." Changes to the Citizenship Act are in the works through Bill C-6, which passed second reading in the Senate and was sent to committee. Among other amendments, the Liberals are changing the requirements for how long a person has to live in Canada before becoming eligible for permanent residence to three out of five years — making it easier than the original three out of four, which is what it was until the Conservatives changed it to four out of six, Rix says. Part of the time spent as a temporary resident will also count toward this requirement, she adds. This is another move toward a pro-temporary foreign work- er environment, Bellissimo says, adding that although it was "a controversial and arbitrary rule" best done away with, "optical- ly, it played well to the politics to say either they're immigrants who are staying or they're workers who are moving on." They are also looking at two-week processing times for high-skilled workers, which is "an indication of trying to make Canada more competitive globally in terms of retaining key workers and making their admission smoother," Bellis- simo says. One of the most publicized parts of Trudeau's platform was his pledge to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by February 2016, which was then upped to 50,000 by the end of 2016. Bellissimo says the refugee issue is "becoming a powder keg for the government" and hopes it ensures that, despite political pressure and global trends, Canada continues to process refugees as it has been. "Not becoming susceptible to all the noise will be the most difficult challenge going forward," Bellissimo says. "We're one incident away from that generosity being compromised so it's very delicate." For 2017, a cap on refugee applications for private spon- sorship was implemented. "The fact they had to set one is remarkable," says Zemp of the 1,000 cap. "It shows there was enough demand for private Canadians to sponsor refugees they were afraid it could over- whelm part of the system." Overall, despite some "tough economic realities," Canada has the opportunity to "bring in the very best and brightest we've ever had," he says. Though the United States has been "a powerful magnet," concerns with the current admin- istration may mean more immigrants choose Canada. "When people think, where do I want my children to grow up, I think you compare the executive order out of the States with Trudeau's comments of the shootings in the mosque — it's just so diametrically opposite, the message going out to the world," Zemp says. "We have a long way to go before we're the type of society we want to be, but there's a greater perception that we're trying," he adds. Bellissimo agrees that things are complicated by "the winds from the south" and what he calls a "bit of an anti-immigration feel going on there." He says he's seen more people reaching out for assistance since Donald Trump took office. Also, former minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum, who was "a steady hand, a veteran," left his post on Jan. 10 and was replaced by Ahmed Hussen, who immigrated from Somalia in 1993. "It's an interesting collection of circumstances," Bellissimo says. "I think the way this began, with the mandate letter Trudeau issued, it had a good feel from the beginning. Some people argue it's an impossible wish list and inevitably there's going to be disappointment, but I think they have attempted to make good on their promises, obviously with world events intervening, and now we'll see what the new minister can do and how he moves it forward." I DON'T KNOW WHY THE GOVERNMENT THINKS SERIOUS DELAYS IN FILLING A RECOGNIZED LABOUR SHORTAGE IS AN ACCEPTABLE STATE OF AFFAIRS. KEVIN ZEMP, Zemp Law Group L E G A L R E P O RT \ I M M I G R AT I O N Integrated Legal Marketing Solutions LawyerMarketingCanada.com/solutions Put Your Digital Marketing Tactics into High Gear ntitled-1 1 2017-03-10 9:49 AM

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