Immigration Minister Jason Kenney: Federal Government

The Canadian Economy Dept: Ottawa needs to put more focus on people who have the kinds of skills to advance the interest of the Canadian economy, he said. Our industry is saying: Let s look at the gaps, let s understand what the economy needs. , according to Globe and Mail. This fall, the federal government co-hosted a meeting in Calgary with industry executives and union leaders to consult with companies on their need for skilled labour and on ways to streamline the temporary foreign workers program. Ottawa is increasing the number of visas for temporary workers to 57,000 in 2012, from 47,000 this year. There obviously is an increasing gap between what we think we need to deliver these sorts of growth projects and the available work force, Mr. Collyer said in an interview on Thursday. The industry and governments, frankly, need to get ourselves better organized to deal with those issues. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has been working with employer groups and unions to speed the entry of temporary foreign workers, where no Canadian is available to fill the job, and has vowed to make changes to the immigration system that place a premium value on attracting skilled tradespeople. A spokesman for Mr. Kenney declined to comment about the skilled-worker challenge on Thursday. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.