Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are some little pieces that we get, that some of the agencies get from the provincial government, but certainly not from the federal government.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We do, but only with funding that we receive from the provincial government. We're told very strictly that we're not allowed to provide services--

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. As I said in my comments, they're here, they're working in the economy, they have kids in school, they're playing here. We need to provide some services, because if we don't, then it would be....We also want them to stay. We want them to change that route and go into permanent resident status.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. And the signing of the agreement to have no cap on the provincial nominee program has been good, because the growth is coming through the provincial nominee program. The temporary foreign workers are beginning to see that as the stream to become permanent residents.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Of temporary foreign workers?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The temporary foreign worker stock that's in Nova Scotia right now, I believe, is around 1,300, which is actually lower than it was probably five or six years ago. There was a lot of offshore work then, when there were a lot of people here. In the Atlantic, I think it's around 4,000 or 4,500 people.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. They have a goal of 5,000 within the next two or three years.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm not sure they have a goal for temporary foreign workers.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Temporary foreign workers are certainly not very much on the radar screen of the provincial government or even the employers right now, when there's such a small number coming into Nova Scotia.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Our business is immigrants, so yes, we're always concerned about immigrants, but right now my comments were very much around temporary foreign workers.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  What happens with us is that we're settlement agencies, and for the most part people don't understand the differences between temporary foreign worker, permanent resident, Canadian citizen. When we get to the funding of services, that's when it becomes important. So people will walk through our doors and be a temporary foreign worker because they see “immigrant” and they see “English as a second language”.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I agree with all you're saying. I think if we're bringing in, in Alberta, for instance, more temporary foreign workers than we're bringing in permanent residents, then there's something wrong. There's a disconnect there that we need to truly look at. I think with the low-skilled, high-skilled....

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Exactly. We need people in Canada. We need to increase our population base. Right now, it's almost impossible to get in if you don't have a degree, if you don't speak English or French. We know that and you know that. It's really difficult. We need a system whereby people can get in, instead of through the back door, which is what's happening right now through the temporary foreign worker route.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good morning. My name is Gerry Mills. I'm the president of ARAISA, the Atlantic Region Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies. Established in 1994, ARAISA is a volunteer umbrella group of 12 settlement agencies in Atlantic Canada whose mandate is to deliver settlement services to newcomers.