PATTY Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, on Thursday met with industry and business leaders at the Vancouver Economic Commission to talk about the upcoming June 12 launch of the Global Talent Stream.
The Global Talent Stream is a key part of the Global Skills Strategy and the Innovation Agenda, one of the ways in which the federal government says it is positioning Canada at the leading edge of a changing economy. It’s part of the government’s plan to ensure Canadians can have access to good, well-paying jobs. It will provide timely, responsive and predictable service for companies who need to attract top global talent in order to expand their workforces here in Canada, and be competitive on a global scale.
The Global Talent Stream will help Canadian firms fill in-demand occupations where there is a demonstrated gap in the Canadian labour force by making the process to access global talent more responsive to their needs. The new Global Talent Occupations List of eligible high-demand occupations, developed in consultation with labour market experts and industry stakeholders, identifies existing shortages and allows for a faster application process that is reflective of the realities of the Canadian workforce.
Hajdu said: “When companies are able to grow and thrive here in Canada, they create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians; our new Global Talent Stream will give companies a faster and more efficient process to bring in global talent, so they can grow and expand their Canadian workforces. We’re keeping Canada competitive in the global marketplace and helping our industries grow and succeed.”
Ian G. McKay, CEO, Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC), said: “In the 21st century knowledge-based economy, cities attract smart capital, smart talent and smart companies in a highly competitive global race. Through its Capital Attraction Initiative, the Vancouver Economic Commission has been active for years in advocating for significant and transformational changes to Canada’s immigration policy—we are delighted by the upcoming implementation of the Global Talent Stream.”
Quick Facts
* The Global Talent Stream is one of the pillars of the Government of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy, which aims to help innovative Canadian companies grow by ensuring they can access the highly skilled talent they need quickly. Other elements of the strategy that have been previously announced include:
– establishing a two-week standard for processing work permit applications (and temporary resident visas when applicable) for highly skilled talent;
– creating a dedicated service for companies looking to make significant job-creating investments in Canada; and
– dropping the work permit requirement for short-term highly skilled work (for instance, 30 days or less in a 12-month period) and brief academic stays.
* Companies applying for workers through the Global Talent Stream now have access to a new streamlined Labour Market Impact Assessment process that provides eligible employers with:
– priority processing of applications for the Global Talent Stream and a client-focused service for the development of the Labour Market Benefits Plan, with a service standard of 10 business days;
– flexible recruitment requirements; and
– eligibility for workers to have their work permits processed in 10 business days by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
