Kenney hints at moves to erase backlog

OTTAWA— The federal government is looking at simply erasing the backlog of potential newcomers as it looks to dramatically overhaul an immigration system criticized as plodding and rigid.

That’s one option on the table as Ottawa seeks to make its immigration system more nimble in matching newcomers with jobs, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said in a speech at the Economic Club of Canada Wednesday.

He said the first step in the reform is tackling the backlog of more than one million people waiting for a decision on their immigration file — a line-up that means those at the end could be waiting up to eight years.

He said the government is launching a pilot project to let the provinces and territories go through the backlog and nominate potential immigrants with skills in demand.

But he also cited the example of New Zealand, which legislated an end to its backlog and replaced it with a pool of applicants where prospective immigrants are drawn from. Bruce Campion-smith