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Sudbury, Ontario MP Glenn Thibeault believes the closure of Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Canada office in Sudbury this spring is making it harder for mining companies to deal with the severe skilled labour shortage.
Thibeault's office has been flooded with requests for help in dealing with immigration issues. While local colleges and universities are currently training workers, it will take time until graduates are ready to fill skilled labour roles.
The federal government centralized Citizenship and Immigration Offices in Ontario as part of the spring 2012 budget. They closed offices in Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Barrie, and Sudbury. While the Sudbury office only operated two days a week, employers argue that it played a vital role in helping bring immigrants to the region.
Additionally, foreign students have been affected by the closures. Laurentian University's Lise Levebvre said they have 670 international students at the school who used to be able to access services at the local CIC office. She said, the decision to close the local office hugely affects them.
"A trip to Toronto simply isn't an option for a lot of them," she said. "They just don't have the funds. A lot of them have very limited understanding of English or French. So imagine trying to discuss a complex problem over the phone in a language that is not your first language with a call centre person."
Thibeault said that his office is dedicating Wednesdays to help deal with immigration issues in an attempt to cover the closure of the CIC office.
If you would like to apply for a Canadian visa WorkPermit.com can help. WorkPermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with over twenty years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.
Thibeault's office has been flooded with requests for help in dealing with immigration issues. While local colleges and universities are currently training workers, it will take time until graduates are ready to fill skilled labour roles.
The federal government centralized Citizenship and Immigration Offices in Ontario as part of the spring 2012 budget. They closed offices in Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Barrie, and Sudbury. While the Sudbury office only operated two days a week, employers argue that it played a vital role in helping bring immigrants to the region.
Additionally, foreign students have been affected by the closures. Laurentian University's Lise Levebvre said they have 670 international students at the school who used to be able to access services at the local CIC office. She said, the decision to close the local office hugely affects them.
"A trip to Toronto simply isn't an option for a lot of them," she said. "They just don't have the funds. A lot of them have very limited understanding of English or French. So imagine trying to discuss a complex problem over the phone in a language that is not your first language with a call centre person."
Thibeault said that his office is dedicating Wednesdays to help deal with immigration issues in an attempt to cover the closure of the CIC office.
If you would like to apply for a Canadian visa WorkPermit.com can help. WorkPermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with over twenty years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.
