Kenney aims to reshape and rejuvenate workforce through immigration

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has plans to reshape and rejuvenate the Canadian workforce.

Step one comes this week when he announces immigration targets for next year.

The minister tells The Canadian Press that wants a snappy, efficient immigration machine that will help solve Canada's demographic imbalance, while boosting the country's competitiveness.

After that, he wants to grapple with the backlog of applications, which is now about a million names long.

And then he wants to rejig the criteria for skilled workers to come into the country, putting priority on young people, high quality education and language.

Kenney's critics say the minister is frantically trying to make up for his own failed policy decisions of the past, and that he should stop and think before rushing through so many profound changes.