N.B. lacks monitoring of immigrants: AG

Auditor General Kim MacPherson is raising concerns over the program that recruits immigrants to settle in the province, saying the government is not monitoring whether people are actually staying in New Brunswick.

The Provincial Nominee Program, which is operated out of the Department of Post-Secondary, Education, Training and Labour,has been running in the province since 1999 and it is credited with bringing 5,509 immigrants to Canada.

However, Auditor General Kim MacPherson said in her report released on Tuesday that the New Brunswick government does not know how many immigrants actually settled in the province.

"Without measuring the number of nominees that settle and stay in New Brunswick, the [Provincial Nominee Program] is unable to determine whether it is achieving its objective and having an economic benefit on the province of New Brunswick," the auditor general's report said.

The auditor general's report states the provincial government does not have "adequate processes and controls for delivering the program," it does not measure the program's performance and it is unable to publicly report on how effective the program is.

MacPherson's report says the lack of government oversight could also create the opportunity for abuse, "as immigrants use the program as a gateway to Canada because of its shorter processing time."

The lack of monitoring of nominees, the report said, is in violation of the agreement the New Brunswick government has with Ottawa on the immigration program. The provincial government is supposed to monitor nominees for three years under the terms of the federal-provincial agreement.

The report said the provincial government does not follow up with nominees after they arrive in Canada. Further, the provincial government does not check in with the nominees to find out if they actually came to New Brunswick.

"While the nominee has a requirement to report to the PNP in New Brunswick within 30 days of landing in Canada, this is not always done; and when it is done, there is no consistent approach to documenting it," the report said.