Chandigarh, December 3
The economy of British Columbia in Canada has ceased to grow for want of skilled manpower and the province is now looking towards Punjab and Haryana for human resource. Given the projections over one million jobs will be created in the province over the next decade, but on its own the province will be unable to fill more than two-thirds.

Premier of British Columbia (BC) Gordon Campbell who is currently visiting India with a 32-member delegation to explore possibilities of cooperation in education, agriculture, technology, digital media, agri-processing and environment etc as part of his government’s Asia Pacific initiative launched this Spring met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to discuss the issue and areas of mutual interest.

Campbell disclosed that people from India, especially Punjab, could fill the shortage of 3.5 lakh people required for jobs that still remained vacant due to shortage of manpower over the next 10 to 12 years. He disclosed that over the next 15 years the population of people in Canada aged over 65 would double, making the need for younger working people more acute. Since India has the world’s largest population of young people, it could be a great opportunity for hard working people willing to move there.

He disclosed that British Columbia was seeking people under the Provincial Nominee Programme that could facilitate people with specific skills to immigrate to BC in five to six months that was even less than the time required for a spouse moving to Canada after marriage. He said there was a huge backlog of people wanting to immigrate to Canada and his government had taken up the issue of quickly clearing up this backlog with the Federal Government that dealt with the immigration.

In answer to a specific question about genuine visitors being denied visas to travel to Canada, Campbell said he had spoken to the High Commissioner and the Consulate-General on the issue. He said his government was trying to create a direct connection with the people of Punjab and Haryana, which would eventually resolve these issues.

Attorney-General Wally Oppal that his government was very concerned about NRIs deserting Indian brides. “Some people were abusing the system and innocent young women were being exploited by misusing the immigration system. Such people go underground and grossly misuse the immigration system” he said.

Besides meeting Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, Campbell and the accompanying delegation also met journalists at the Chandigarh Press Club.