According to reports from the Canadian newspaper "World Journal," Canadian Federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney revealed at a luncheon hosted by Chinese and South Asian business communities in the Greater Toronto Area on the 4th that the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration is considering changing the requirements for the Immigrant Investor Program, mandating that investments remain in Canada "permanently and continuously."
Currently, the requirement for the federal Immigrant Investor Program is that investors provide an $800,000 investment to the federal government, which is returned to the investor without interest five years and two months after the funds are received.
At the luncheon, Kenney stated that the Ministry is considering changes to this investment model, requiring that investments remain in Canada "permanently and continuously" to ensure that immigrant investors make a greater contribution to the Canadian economy.
During the luncheon, co-hosted by the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs and the Canada-India Business Council, Kenney informed the Chinese and South Asian business leaders present that the government will seek broad feedback from the business community in the second half of this year regarding these proposed changes to the Immigrant Investor Program. He noted that the government will listen to suggestions regarding reforms to both the investor and entrepreneur immigration categories before making a final decision.
Kenney also introduced the recently launched "transformative reform" of the immigration system to those in attendance. He pointed out that the immigration system is a vital component of the federal government's Economic Action Plan. Kenney described the previous Canadian immigration system as "slow," "rigid," and "passive," while the system envisioned by the Conservative government is "fast," "flexible," and "proactive." He argued that the old system could no longer adapt to changing times; under the old system, applicants not only faced indefinite waiting periods for application processing but were also unable to fully utilize their talents upon arriving in Canada, necessitating a complete overhaul of the system.
Kenney stated that the reformed immigration system will allow skilled immigrants to obtain professional qualification recognition before arriving in Canada, providing them with a clear understanding of their future development prospects. The reformed system will also allow applicants who meet the needs of the Canadian labor market and have secured employment prior to approval to process their immigration applications rapidly—with the fastest cases being completed in just a few months—enabling them to utilize their talents immediately upon arrival in Canada.
Regarding the strong reaction from minority communities to the federal immigration department's recent announcement to return skilled worker applications submitted before February 27, 2008, that had not yet been processed, Kenney maintained his previous stance when responding to media questions about fairness and legality on the 4th, stating that he is not concerned about potential class-action lawsuits from applicants.
