On December 16, 2021, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau issued mandate letters to the ministers. The new mandate letter to Immigration Minister is outlining the government’s new immigration system priorities.
The main priorities in the mandate were as follows:
reducing application processing times
creating more permanent residence (PR) pathways through Express Entry
introducing online applications for family reunification and a program to provide temporary residence to family members living abroad
creating a new Municipal Nominee Program (MNP)
establishing a Trusted Employer system
building a program to regularize undocumented workers
promoting the national Francophone immigration strategy, and bringing more Afghan refugees
expanding the new immigration stream for human rights defenders and working with civil society groups to provide resettlement opportunities for people under threat
building on the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) to fill labour shortages in high-demand sectors such as health care by working with employers and communities across Canada to welcome 2,000 skilled refugees.
In the mandate letter, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said that he expects the immigration minister to support his colleagues in delivering their commitments by using the expertise of his department and his own experience. He also said that as they build a better future for all Canadians, he expects him to work with his deputy minister to continually assess priorities.