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Canada's immigration minister is scheduled to hold a special event discussing the previously announced pathways to permanent residence for essential workers, students, and French speakers.

Marco Mendicino will address the public on May 5 at 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. After the minister's remarks, media will be invited to ask questions, and there will be a roundtable discussion with special guests from the healthcare sector.

The event comes the day before the scheduled launch of that are set to welcome about 90,000 new immigrants to Canada. There are two streams for essential workers in healthcare and other occupations, one stream for international student graduates, and three for French speaking essential workers and graduates. The majority of the spots, 50,000, are allotted for essential workers. A total of 40,000 are up for grabs for international student graduates. There is no limit on the number of candidates allowed through the streams for French speakers.

Applications are scheduled to open from May 6 until November 5, or until the intake caps for each of the programs are reached. All candidates must be in Canada and employed in order to apply.

Mendicino had originally announced the streams on April 14. So far, (IRCC) has not released the official application guide for any of the new pathways. The guide will contain official details on applying for permanent residence through the new programs.

The initiative is part of a strategy to meet of 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Since travel restrictions and other public health measures make it difficult for overseas applicants to come to Canada, the government is focusing on admitting candidates who are already living in the country.

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