By Gerald Paul

“As part of our government’s focus on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity, it is critical for Canada to attract the best entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world. This new stream will partner Canada’s world class business incubators with immigrant entrepreneurs, driving economic growth and placing Canada ahead of its competitions in the global economy of the 21^st century,” Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Alexander revealed last Monday at the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, CABI, meeting in Toronto.

The launch of the Business Incubator stream under the Start-up Visa (SUV) Programme to recruit dynamic foreign entrepreneurs will compliment existing venture capital and angel investor streams. It will attract early-stage and high growth businesses, and entrepreneurs who can contribute to a culture of innovation and commercialization in Canada.

Business incubators provide promising entrepreneurs with valuable mentorship, and help them to attract investors and grow their start-ups into sustainable businesses that can create jobs in Canada.

Meanwhile, a new economic study reveals an increasing number of companies are looking outside of the country when hiring and the federal government should implement an annual cap on the number of temporary workers entering Canada.

Last year, 213,573 temporary foreign workers were admitted to Canada- almost two and a half times as many as in 1995.

In response to the public backlash, Ottawa overhauled the much-criticized Temporary Foreign Workers Programme, TFWP, in an attempt to keep Canadian companies from abusing the plan.

“The growth in the number of temporary foreign workers is the cause for concern,” said Carleton University economics professor Christopher Worswick, author of the report for the Institute for Research on Public Policy.