'Fast tracked' hopefully doesn't mean 'quality check compromised'....
Text of the article. It gives some necessary context. Looks like they’re basically looking to stabilize Labour in key sectors in small labour markets they could face disproportionate disruption from TFW changes.
“More than 30,000 temporary foreign workers who live in small, remote and rural communities will be able to apply for a fast track to permanent residency, under an initiative announced Monday by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will accelerate permanent residency, or PR, for up to 33,000 temporary foreign workers in “in-demand sectors” such as agriculture and natural resources, trades and transportation, and health and caregiving.
IRCC said it has already granted 3,600 foreign workers permanent residency in January and February under the program, before the formal launch.
Toronto immigration lawyer Ravi Jain questioned how the department had granted permanent residency to people under the program even before it was announced. “I’ve never seen this before in my career. Usually you make an announcement and then you get the criteria and then you advise clients if they qualify or not.”
He said the program as a whole was disappointing as the government is drawing candidates from existing permanent residency programs.
“This is a total nothing-burger,” Mr. Jain said.
Last year’s budget flagged that the government was planning a one-time initiative to swiftly approve permanent residency for 33,000 work permit holders in 2026 and 2027.
On Monday, IRCC said the program supports its efforts to reduce the share of temporary residents to less than 5 per cent of the population by the end of 2027.
In its immigration levels plan announced in the budget last year, the government said that it would aim to admit 385,000 temporary residents in 2026 – about 43 per cent fewer than its 2025 target – and 370,000 in 2027 and in 2028.
The program, called the In-Canada Workers Initiative, will accelerate applications from existing inventories of work-permit holders who have already applied for permanent residency and live in rural areas and communities with labour gaps. Foreign workers who have lived in smaller communities for two years or more in certain in-demand sectors will be eligible to apply
The fast-track to permanent residency will be available to people who have already applied to settle in Canada through provincial nominee programs, which allow provinces to select foreigners to settle. Caregivers who applied for permanent residency through a pilot would also qualify to be fast-tracked.
Foreigners who have applied to settle here through a pathway for skilled foreign workers and international student graduates who live in the four Atlantic provinces would also be eligible to have their applications accelerated.
The program would allow foreign nationals who applied under community immigration pilots. They would have to live and work in 18 select communities, including rural and francophone ones, to have their PR applications fast-tracked.
Also eligible to have their applications accelerated are those who applied to remain in Canada through IRCC’s agri-food pilot program for experienced, non-seasonal workers, in certain food and agriculture jobs such as farm supervision, meat processing, and greenhouse production.
The immigration department said in a statement that the program is designed to “address labour shortages” in smaller and rural communities.
“By transitioning temporary residents who are already living and contributing to their communities to permanent residence, we’re providing the certainty and the stability needed to maintain and grow vibrant local economies,” Ms. Metlege Diab said in a statement.
IRCC plans to transition at least 20,000 workers to permanent residence under the program in 2026, and the remainder in 2027.”
