The B.C. government is building a new task force to help make emigration easier in order to fill the more than one million jobs expected to open in the province over the next decade.
Premier Christy Clark said the force will review key immigration programs to assess their effectiveness and make recommendations for improvement. The goal is to attract foreign investors, entrepreneurs and skilled workers.
"We've laid out an ambitious plan to create jobs in the B.C. Jobs Plan and we will need skilled immigrants," Clark said in a release Thursday.
Richmond–Steveston MLA John Yap will head the B.C. Immigration Task Force and said the government wants to do everything it can to welcome newcomers to B.C.
"We know that people from all over the world with diverse skill sets and talents want to come to our province, and we want to do everything we can to bring them here," Yap said in a statement. "The immigration task force is the first step in realizing our goal."
There are nine other confirmed members from business and education backgrounds including former federal cabinet minister Stockwell Day, Asia Pacific Foundation CEO Yuen Pau Woo, immigration lawyer Narindarpal Singh Kang and assistant UBC Dean Grace Wong.
Of particular focus will be the provincial nominee program and the federal skilled worker and immigrant investor programs.
The immigration task force has already begun its review and a final report is due to be submitted by the end of next March.
