Leveraging the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) program to facilitate talent mobility

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the potential for leveraging the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) Program to facilitate the mobility of Ukrainian Information Technology (IT) professionals from Ukraine into Canada. The paper revisits the situation following Russia’s invasion of Crimea (2014), the redirection of specific talent flows prior and during the pandemic and aims to assess Canada's attractiveness as a talent destination. It focuses on the implications of the war on Canada's attraction and retention of IT skilled workers from Ukraine, and whether the measures implemented by the Government of Canada were effective in providing incentives. Ultimately, this paper considers the CUAET, which was recently extended to continue assisting Ukrainians fleeing the war, as a model to replicate and utilize when responding to displacement crises – thus adding it to Canada’s migration diplomacy and foreign policy toolkit.

RESUME

Cet article examine la possibilité de tirer parti du programme d'autorisation de voyage d'urgence Canada-Ukraine (AVUCU) pour faciliter la mobilité des professionnels ukrainiens des technologies de l'information (TI) de l'Ukraine vers le Canada. L'article réexamine la situation après l'invasion de la Crimée par la Russie (2014) et la réorientation des flux de talents spécifiques avant et pendant la pandémie. Il vise aussi à évaluer l'attractivité du Canada en tant que destination pour les talents. Il se concentre sur les implications de la guerre sur l'attraction et la rétention par le Canada de travailleurs ukrainiens qualifiés dans le domaine des TI, et sur la question de l'efficacité, en termes d'incitations, des mesures mises en œuvre par le gouvernement du Canada. En définitive, cet article considère l'AVUCU, récemment étendu pour poursuivre l'aide aux Ukrainiens fuyant la guerre, comme un modèle à reproduire et à utiliser afin de répondre aux crises des déplacements – l'ajoutant ainsi à la boîte à outils de la diplomatie migratoire et de la politique étrangère du Canada.

KEYWORDS:

• Skilled migration
• information technology (IT)
• talent management
• displacement
• Canada
• Ukraine
• CUAET

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) under [grant number 890-2018-0056]; and Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science under [grant number ER16-12-094].

Notes on contributors

Juanita Molano

Juanita Molano currently works as research coordinator and team co-leader for the Global Mobility of Talent (GMT) Research Group at Carleton University. She holds an MA in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University, where she also pursues her doctoral studies. She has also worked for the Government of Canada in various migration policy delivery positions, focusing on the need for equitable treatment in processing across populations. Juanita has also carried out research on global policy advisory systems for Professor Leslie Pal and Dr Jennifer Spence (Carleton University).

Olivia Dale

Olivia Dale is an independent researcher affiliated with Carleton University. She currently works as a researcher for the Global Mobility of Talent (GMT) Research Group at Carleton University and her research currently focuses on global talent attraction and retention. Olivia is a graduate of Carleton University, and her previous work has focused on the (im)mobility of environmental migrants. Her research interests include the nexus of migration and social vulnerability as well as applications of geographic information systems (GIS) in migration management.

Martin Geiger

Dr. Martin Geiger (PhD, University of Bonn/Germany) is Associate Professor of Politics of Human Migration and Mobility at Carleton University. His work is focused on regional and global migration governance, the role of inter-state and private actors in migration management, and interrelated aspects of political regulation, development (innovation and growth) and population change (mobility, migration and demographic change). Dr. Geiger is the principal investigator and team lead of the Global Mobility of Talent (GMT) Research Group at Carleton University and currently leads two multi-year projects, funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Ontario Government. Both projects focus on the global competition for talent, and innovation clusters worldwide, and their recruitment and retention of skilled migrants.