GIVEN the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the impact of such on its citizens, a comprehensive and inclusive strategy is deemed crucial to guide Canada’s actions.
To this end, the North American country is investing in fostering ties between Canadians and the region as part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Rechie Valdez, a member of Parliament for Mississauga, Streetsville recently announced on behalf of Minister of Immigration for Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser the opening of a new application processing center in Manila. This initiative supports Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and helps boost immigration application processing within Canada’s centralized network, as well as abroad.
The new hub is located within Canada’s Embassy in Manila and will be supported by 37 new employees. The added capacity is part of its ongoing efforts to accommodate the high volume of visa applications from around the world, and will aid ongoing efforts to also improve client service while helping achieve Canada’s planned increases to immigration levels in the years to come.
By expanding its presence overseas, Canada is making strategic investments, with the goal of welcoming more people: whether to visit, study, work or immigrate permanently.
“[Our] Indo-Pacific Strategy is crucial in addressing the impact of the region on Canadians, including the Filipino community,” Valdez imparted. “The opening of the new application processing center in Manila is a strategic investment that will benefit Filipinos by providing more efficient processing of visas and supporting Canada’s planned increases to immigration levels.”
“Canada is set to welcome a record number of newcomers in the years ahead to fuel our economic growth,” Fraser said. “This will give us an advantage in the global race for talent, and support key sectors and industries. [It is another example of my country’s work in boosting immigration processing, as we continue to promote greater diversity among those looking to visit, study, work and live there].”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly shared: “This operations center will help facilitate travel, attract highly skilled workers…and meet the needs of our economy today and in the future.”
Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan has set targets of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has visa offices in more than 50 locations in Canadian embassies, high commissions, and consulates around the world.
As part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy, the government of Canada, according to its embassy, is investing $74.6 million over five years, and $15.7 million ongoing, to boost the department’s application-processing capacity both domestically and in the region.
It also said that ever-increasing people-to-people ties between Canada and the Philippines contribute to the growth of both societies. According to the 2021 census, 960,000 Filipinos live in Canada, with a growing number visiting family and friends there, studying at Canadian colleges and universities, or staying there for good.
Image credits: Sebastiaan Stam/Unsplash
