A serious backlog of applications for the Provincial Nominee program has been resolved. Provincial Minister of Education and Training Ian Wishart says there were over 5,000 applications backed up with some going back 40 months. Rather than continue to leave applicants in limbo, Wishart says the department worked hard to deal with the problem and finally finished it.

"The process we put in place now will guarantee that any applications for provincial nominee program will be dealt with in six months or less," he says. "There is now a fee associated with that; not actually a handling fee. It's a $500 fee. We reinvest that in additional training opportunities."

He adds another change is the removal of a negative score if applicants have families in other provinces. Wishart says international students can now be streamlined through the process if they take a course for a job in demand here, along with some practicum with an employer who potentially will hire.

Another change includes the removal of a negative score value for applicants who have families residing in other provinces. Wishart adds they didn't see that as a barrier, and found a great retention rate for immigrants who come to Manitoba to stay. He notes they'll review it in the future if needed, but they currently view that as an interference in the process.