Winnipeg settlement lawyer is concerned about the impact of federal immigration restrictions in Manitoba

A Winnipeg immigration lawyer says he’s concerned about what federal cuts to the number of new permanent residents will mean for Manitoba.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Thursday that the country will reduce the expected number of new permanent residents from 485,000 this year to 395,000 in 2024, with further cuts in 2026 and 2027.

Under the new plan, national immigration targets for the provincial candidate program – which allows provinces and territories to nominate individuals interested in settling in their respective jurisdictions – will be reduced by about half, from 110,000 this year to an annual target of 55,000 in the next three years. year.

Winnipeg immigration lawyer Reis Pagtakhan said while it’s unknown how many provincial nominees Manitoba will ultimately get, the prospects “look pretty bleak” given the size of the cuts.

“It will definitely have an impact on Manitoba,” he said Information Radio host Marcy Markusa during an interview Friday.

Manitoba currently has 9,500 provincial nominees, Pagtakhan said.

While he understands this is an effort to alleviate some of the pressure that population growth has on the housing and health care system, the situation in Manitoba is “arguably different,” he said.

“The question is … whether we are addressing the issue as it pertains to Manitoba appropriately, or whether there is a national solution that addresses a crisis in other cities and other provinces,” Pagtakhan said.

“Even though we’re looking at cuts to solve an immediate problem, the bottom line is we still need more people in this province, in this country. And that’s where the challenge lies.”

Province pleads

Prime Minister Wab Kinew told reporters Friday that his government will continue to advocate for immigration policies that support currently available jobs and housing stock while the economy is still growing.

“We have argued that if you give Manitoba more spots, we will fill more,” he said, adding that the government is on track to fill all of its provincially nominated allocations for this year.

Minister Miller – who was in Winnipeg last week – said during an interview with Information Radio Last Friday, the federal government announced it was working with provinces that need more immigrants, such as Manitoba.

“For provinces that are willing to work with us and are willing to be responsible in their duty to ensure that immigrants are well supported when they arrive here and contribute to the economy – we are willing to work with provinces who take on that responsibility,” Molenaar said.

His provincial counterpart, Malaya Marcelino, said in a statement Thursday that Manitoba needs a skilled workforce and the provincial nominee program is important to growing the province’s economy.

“We will continue to advocate for the federal government to meet Manitoba’s labor needs,” she said.

In a statement, an organization that supports and helps newcomers settle in Manitoba said the federal plan “undermines Canada’s long-standing commitment to humanitarian immigration.”

Canada must expand its existing programs and invest in “capacity to better respond to global crises, while maintaining its responsibility to support both current residents and newcomers,” Seid Oumer Ahmed wrote on behalf of the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations, or MANSO.

The organization is “particularly concerned” by the low targets set for the humanitarian component of the plan, including refugees, he wrote.

The number of government-assisted refugees “remains largely unchanged from previous years” but is “minimal compared to the staggering global displacement crisis,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, refugee demand has grown significantly, with millions of people driven from their homes due to global conflicts and human rights abuses, he said.

“Canada has the resources and capacity to do more,” but the levels in the new immigration plan do not “adequately reflect” this reality, he wrote.

He added that Canada has a “long-standing record” of refugee resettlement, pointing to its response in helping Syrians, Yazidis and Afghans, along with Ukrainians, nearly 300,000 of whom are among the Canada-Ukraine emergency travel authorization program, which “raised hopes that Canada could continue to replicate such ambitious initiatives for other vulnerable populations,” Ahmed wrote.

“However, the recent shift in immigration policy reflects a departure from this compassionate approach.”