Désolée mais le communiqué est en anglais uniquement (et oui BC oblige). si je trouve une version française, je la rajouterai:

Mais en résumé: Désormais les conjoints/enfants de travailleurs étrangers peuvent obtenir un permis de travail ouvert. Auparavant, uniquement les conjoints de travailleurs qualifiés pouvaient y prétendre. Désormais en BC (et pour le moment uniquement en BC), c'est ouvert à tous quelque soit la qualification du travailleur qualifié.

Attention: quelques exceptions notées en bas de texte, notamment les permis IEC (PVT et JP notamment)

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Pilot project to attract more working families to B.C.

VICTORIA — Family members of most temporary foreign workers in British Columbia will be able to work for any employer in the province, thanks to a pilot project launched today.

The announcement was made by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Pat Bell.

“Since I became Minister, I have heard from workers, employers, labour advocates and others who have asked me to make Canada more welcoming for working families coming to Canada as temporary residents,” said Minister Kenney. “With this pilot project, we will examine the benefits of allowing family members of temporary foreign workers to work while they are here with a principal applicant who has been hired because of his or her skills.”

In general, temporary foreign workers come to Canada to meet the needs of a specific employer who has been unable to find citizens or permanent residents for the available jobs. An open work permit, however, allows the holder to accept any job with any employer.

Previously, only spouses and common-law partners of temporary foreign workers employed in a managerial, professional or skilled trades job have been eligible to obtain an open work permit in British Columbia. Starting Aug. 15, spouses, common-law partners and working-age dependants of most temporary foreign workers will be eligible, including many workers in occupations that require lower levels of formal training.

“More than a million jobs will open up in B.C. by 2020, and we will need foreign workers to help meet the skills shortages our businesses are already beginning to face,” said Bell. “Giving more spouses and working-aged children of temporary foreign workers the chance to take jobs will support local businesses, while contributing to local, regional and provincial economic growth.”

Up to 1,800 open work permits will be available under the pilot project, which will end on Feb. 15, 2013.

“Nearly 32,000 temporary foreign workers made the transition to permanent status in 2010, and of those, almost 2,300 chose to immigrate permanently to B.C.,” Minister Kenney noted. “We understand the important role that foreign workers have in every region of the country and we will continue to look at ways to attract workers who have the skills we need now and into the future.”

British Columbia’s shared role in immigration was cemented in April 2010 with the signing of theCanada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement.

Follow Citizenship and Immigration Canada on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CitImmCanada


Pilot project for families of temporary foreign workers

This pilot project allows spouses, common-law partners and dependent children of most temporary foreign workers to receive open work permits that would authorize them to accept any job with any employer in British Columbia. Currently, only spouses of higher-skilled temporary foreign workers are accorded this privilege.

This pilot is the first of its kind in Canada and will be reviewed both during and after the 18 months in which it is in effect. The reviews will consider the impact of the pilot on the B.C. labour market and employers, and whether it has assisted employers in the recruitment of temporary foreign workers to B.C.

To be eligible to participate in the pilot, applicants must:
  • Be a spouse, common-law partner or a working-age dependent child (18 to 22 years of age) of certain temporary foreign workers who have been issued a valid job-specific work permit of at least six months’ duration with a British Columbia work location.
· Meet all admissibility criteria to come to Canada as a temporary resident.

Categories of temporary foreign workers whose family members are ineligible for this pilot project include:

  • Live-in caregivers.
  • Seasonal agricultural worker program participants.
  • Seasonal agricultural workers employed through the pilot project for occupations requiring lower levels of formal training.
  • International Experience Canada participants.