Law Times

PAGE 10 FOCUS March 5, 2012 • Law TiMes Ontario investor program 'terrible' Lawyer wants province to beef up nominee option BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times Ontario needs a proper investor class if it's to get the most out of its provincial nominee program, according to a leading corporate immigration lawyer. Opportunities Ontario, which runs the program in this province, Reach one of the legal and business markets in has an investor class aimed at multinational companies looking to relocate key executives from abroad as part of an investment in the province. But Henry Chang, a lawyer at Blaney McMurtry LLP and co-chairman of the firm's international trade and business group, says Ontario should be thinking smaller. "The investor program is ter- Canada! Online Print and in With 250,000 page views a month, canadianlawlist.com captures your market The all-new canadianlawlist.com features: — A fresh new look, designed for improved user experience — Effective new ways to reach the legal market — Gold and silver advertising packages For more information contact: Colleen Austin at 416-649-9327 or toll free at 1-800-387-5351 colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com rible. It's not even really an investor stream. We would probably benefit in Ontario by allowing entrepre- neurs with money to start up here. We're not talking multimillionaires but maybe someone who has accu- mulated $400,000 and is willing to create a business that will hire local workers. That's what other prov- inces are doing. We just haven't caught on yet." Chang says provinces like British Columbia and Alberta have crafted rules that encourage investment by business owners who intend to have direct involve- ment in the daily management of the company. "In Ontario, we need to learn a little more and catch up with the other provinces, especially now as immigration appears to be drop- ping in our province. People don't want to come here anymore." The provincial nominee pro- CLL Online ad - 1/4 pg LT.indd 1 CANADIAN LAW LIST 2012 YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Inside you will find: • an up-to-date alphabetical listing of more than 58,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges in Canada; • • contact information for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; legal and government contact information related to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid, and other law- related offices of importance. MORE THAN A PHONE BOOK Hardbound • Published February each year On subscription $149 • L88804-571-26084 One-time purchase $165 • L88804-571 • ISSN 0084-8573 Prices subject to change without notice,to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation CANADIAN LAW LIST www.lawtimesnews.com CLL - 1/4 pg - 3X.indd 1 1/20/12 10:48 AM 2/15/12 1:38 PM gram began in 1998 to give prov- inces a way to react to regional economic needs by expediting candidates with specific skills or in certain sectors. Chang says Ontario has been playing catch-up since launching its own program just five years ago with a pilot that allowed 500 nominees a year. In 2009, the pilot became permanent and the cap increased to 1,000. But that's still only a fraction of the 45,000 immigrants Citizenship and Immigration Canada plans to admit under the program across the country in 2012. "I wish the numbers were higher in Ontario in terms of lim- its," says Chang. In some provinces, such as Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the provincial nominee programs have become the primary source of immigration. Chang says those provinces also have a reputation for the most progressive approaches to the provincial nominee program. "They started it a lot sooner than we did and they are actively seeking immigration. They have made the program very user-friendly and a lot of people have been moving there. You can bring in a broader range of people." The federal government rein- forced its commitment to the pro- vincial nominee program in an evaluation released in January. "Overall, it's working well and is addressing local and regional labour market needs in the prov- inces and territories, attract- ing investment, and contribut- ing to population growth," said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in a speech unveiling the results of the evaluation. The report showed provincial establish nominees themselves economically more quickly than immigrants arriving under other federal economic programs with higher levels of employment and earnings after the first year. It also found that the program has been successful at meeting labour 'We would probably benefit in Ontario by allowing entrepreneurs with money to start up here,' says Henry Chang. shortages and in distributing eco- nomic immigrants more widely outside the traditional destinations of Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. According to the report, 82 per cent of provincial nominees who became permanent residents between 2000 and 2008 were still residing in their nominating prov- ince. However, the results varied with rates as high as 95 per cent in Alberta and British Columbia and as low as 56 per cent in Atlantic Canada. The programs in some prov- inces in Atlantic Canada have had other problems as well. In Prince Edward Island, the pro- gram became an election issue last year amid allegations that officials were taking bribes from prospective immigrants. In New Brunswick, the prov- ince's auditor general criticized the lack of monitoring of success- ful applicants. At the same time, the program saw a steep decline in interest following the imple- mentation of a $75,000 deposit in an effort to stop immigrants from relocating quickly after getting the nomination. The evaluation suggested prov- inces should work with the federal government to establish a mini- mum language ability standard for applicants. It also said there was room for improvement in the way the provinces match their nomina- tions to their economic needs. "Only one province has a formal labour market strategy that directly links labour market shortages to immigration and, ultimately, to their [provincial nominee] pro- gram," the report noted. In his speech, Kenney also iden- tified fraud detection as a key area requiring greater monitoring. "There are always people around the world, and particularly in the industry of bottom-feeding, unscrupulous immigration agents and consultants, who are willing to cut corners in order to make money to get people to Canada fak- ing documents, faking job offers, and the like," he said. "And this is something we need to co -operate with the provinces on more closely to make sure that the people that they are nominat- ing and we are admitting are com- ing here legitimately, have those job offers, and indeed are qualified." LT largest more than

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