Labour Market Shortages: Federal Immigration

Immigration Minister Dept: "We re at a preliminary point of examining ways that we could do a better job of accessing unemployed American labour," Jason Kenney told a business audience in Calgary a city all-too familiar with worker shortages, especially in the oil and gas sector, according to The Chronicle Herald. The U.S. unemployment rate was just over nine per cent in August, whereas in Alberta where a renewal in oilsands development may soon lead to another bout of labour tightness the unemployment rate was only 5.6 per cent and cALGARY CP Ottawa is mulling ways to tap into the U.S. labour force as worker shortages loom on our side of the border, the federal immigration minister said Friday. "There are a number of policy things that we re considering. I don t want to go into too much detail . . .We think, particularly in the energy industry, that may be a significant solution to some of the emerging labour market shortages." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.