There are several future changes to the existing immigration policy, all of which aim to resolve the current shortages in Canadian labour market by using the skills and talents of the newcomers. First, in the summer of 2008, a new category of Canadian Immigration will be available to certain temporary foreign workers and international students with Canadian credentials and Canadian work experience (CIC News, Nov 2007). Announced in the 2007 budget, the Canadian Experience Class will aid in addressing the country’s labour needs by better focussing on these candidates for Canadian Permanent Residency (CIC News, Nov 2007). In the six months from July until December 2008, CIC intended to admit between 10,000 and 12,000 under this new Canadian Experience category of immigration. Second, as a part of easing Canada’s labour shortages, CIC will continue to substantially expand Provincial Nominees Programs in which immigration applicants are designated for priority processing by the needs of the province in which they plan to settle (CIC News, 2007, Nov). In addition, the number of people admitted on temporary working visas is expected to grow in response to increasing demands from Canadian employers for temporary workers (Canadian Immigration Consultancy, 2008).

The minority Conservative government suggested a bill on March 14, 2008 that proposed amendments to the current Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (CIC News, 2008 Apr). These changes would allow the immigration minister to fast-track applications from workers who have the skills that are in demand in Canada (CIC News, 2008, Apr). Doctors and health-care professionals were cited as examples (CIC News, 2008, Apr). As a part of such initiatives, CIC would create a high-priority list stemming from consultations with provinces and territories, the Bank of Canada, HRSDC, employers and labour unions, which would significantly speed up the process of their coming to Canada (CIC News, 2008, Apr). Such “favoured status” list could initially include about a dozen different skill sets and would subsequently evolve in order to better correspond to the changing needs of Canadian labour market (CIC News, Apr 2008). One CIC official assured that proposed amendments to IRPA would respect the fundamental principles of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian Human Rights Act (CIC News, 2008, Apr). That means that discrimination on the base of race, religion, language or geographic locations would not be possible (CIC News, 2008, Apr).