Bill C-4, tabled by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty just over two weeks ago, includes changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to implement the government’s proposed Expression of Interest immigration management system. It is the second omnibus bill with measures related to the government’s Economic Action Plan 2013 budget introduced on March 21.
In his budget speech, Minister Flaherty gave notice the government intended to amend the immigration system to attract skilled workers, to retain foreign students after they graduate, to speed up the movement of skilled workers, to attract new businesses, and to help new Canadians integrate quickly and find and keep good employment.
In budget documents tabled the same day, the government confirmed its intention to create a “Expression of Interest” immigration management system that would allow Canadian employers, provinces and territories to select skilled immigrants from a pool of applicants that best meet Canada’s economic needs. The budget paper also contained promises to improve the foreign credential recognition processes, reform the temporary worker program, test new approaches to attract immigrant investors, increase funding to process temporary workers, improve the processing of citizenship applications, and attract more students and foreign researchers.
Bill C-4 makes changes to the immigration act to provide a framework for inviting applications for permanent residence from selected applicants who have submitted an expression of interest in migrating to Canada.
Expression of interest submissions will apply only in respect of economic class immigrants. The expression of interest must be submitted electronically, unless allowed by other means. Applications from persons inadmissible for misrepresentation will not be accepted. Nor can an applicant submit a new expression of interest before a prior submission has expired. To prevent applicants from seeking exemptions from any criteria or obligation under this program on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, the Minister may not examine such requests.
To provide greater flexibility, the rules for carrying out the administration of the program will be established by ministerial instructions, rather than by changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. A detailed list of the type of instructions the minister may enact is set out in the proposed subsection 10.3(1) of the amended act. It includes instructions setting out the economic classes to which the invitation process will apply, eligibility time periods, ranking of applicants, the number of invitations that may be issued within a specified period and the time period for submitting a permanent residence application after an invitation is issued.
All instructions must be published on the Department of Citizenship and Immigration website, with only some of them having to be published in the Canada Gazette. The changes will also authorize the government to release an applicant’s personal information to specified entities to facilitate the applicant’s selection as a temporary resident or economic class member. Which information and the list of entities will be established by ministerial instruction.
In a news release issued last week the immigration department stated it expects the new system to start on Jan. 1, 2015. The proposed legislation includes an enacting clause to allow the government to bring the proposed changes into effect on the dates it chooses.
This active recruitment system will allow Canada to select potential immigrations from a pool of interested persons. There will be no legal obligation to offer anyone an invitation to apply for immigration, thus avoiding the drawback of the current passive economic immigration system which requires the government to consider all applications submitted to it.
The Immigration Department explains that the expression of interest system will work in two steps. First, prospective immigrants will indicate their interest in coming to Canada by providing information electronically about their skills, work experience and other qualifications. The department will place applicants who meet certain eligibility criteria in a ranked pool. Employers that cannot find domestic workers who meet their skill requirements will be allowed access to personal information about prospective applications in the pool to find suitable candidates. The department will offer invitations to the best candidates, including those with in-demand skills or with job offers from prospective employers, to apply for a visa.
Application backlogs are not expected to accumulate and processing times will be kept at a minimum as prospective applications are removed from the pool if they are not chosen after a period of time. Applicants will be assessed on a variety of other factors such as education, work experience and language ability, as the needs of the Canadian labour market change.
When implemented, the new system will allow potential immigrants greater certainty within relatively short time frames to know whether or not they may be accepted as immigrants. Registered employers, who meet specified requirements, may find it as an effective means to recruit qualified people for their long-term needs. The services a prospective applicant may need will not be known until details concerning the requirements the applicant has to provide at the first step in the process are known. Prospective employers will still have to satisfy labour market opinion requirements to access the system. In any event, it will be a significant change for both applicants, employers and service providers.
In his budget speech, Minister Flaherty gave notice the government intended to amend the immigration system to attract skilled workers, to retain foreign students after they graduate, to speed up the movement of skilled workers, to attract new businesses, and to help new Canadians integrate quickly and find and keep good employment.
In budget documents tabled the same day, the government confirmed its intention to create a “Expression of Interest” immigration management system that would allow Canadian employers, provinces and territories to select skilled immigrants from a pool of applicants that best meet Canada’s economic needs. The budget paper also contained promises to improve the foreign credential recognition processes, reform the temporary worker program, test new approaches to attract immigrant investors, increase funding to process temporary workers, improve the processing of citizenship applications, and attract more students and foreign researchers.
Bill C-4 makes changes to the immigration act to provide a framework for inviting applications for permanent residence from selected applicants who have submitted an expression of interest in migrating to Canada.
Expression of interest submissions will apply only in respect of economic class immigrants. The expression of interest must be submitted electronically, unless allowed by other means. Applications from persons inadmissible for misrepresentation will not be accepted. Nor can an applicant submit a new expression of interest before a prior submission has expired. To prevent applicants from seeking exemptions from any criteria or obligation under this program on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, the Minister may not examine such requests.
To provide greater flexibility, the rules for carrying out the administration of the program will be established by ministerial instructions, rather than by changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. A detailed list of the type of instructions the minister may enact is set out in the proposed subsection 10.3(1) of the amended act. It includes instructions setting out the economic classes to which the invitation process will apply, eligibility time periods, ranking of applicants, the number of invitations that may be issued within a specified period and the time period for submitting a permanent residence application after an invitation is issued.
All instructions must be published on the Department of Citizenship and Immigration website, with only some of them having to be published in the Canada Gazette. The changes will also authorize the government to release an applicant’s personal information to specified entities to facilitate the applicant’s selection as a temporary resident or economic class member. Which information and the list of entities will be established by ministerial instruction.
In a news release issued last week the immigration department stated it expects the new system to start on Jan. 1, 2015. The proposed legislation includes an enacting clause to allow the government to bring the proposed changes into effect on the dates it chooses.
This active recruitment system will allow Canada to select potential immigrations from a pool of interested persons. There will be no legal obligation to offer anyone an invitation to apply for immigration, thus avoiding the drawback of the current passive economic immigration system which requires the government to consider all applications submitted to it.
The Immigration Department explains that the expression of interest system will work in two steps. First, prospective immigrants will indicate their interest in coming to Canada by providing information electronically about their skills, work experience and other qualifications. The department will place applicants who meet certain eligibility criteria in a ranked pool. Employers that cannot find domestic workers who meet their skill requirements will be allowed access to personal information about prospective applications in the pool to find suitable candidates. The department will offer invitations to the best candidates, including those with in-demand skills or with job offers from prospective employers, to apply for a visa.
Application backlogs are not expected to accumulate and processing times will be kept at a minimum as prospective applications are removed from the pool if they are not chosen after a period of time. Applicants will be assessed on a variety of other factors such as education, work experience and language ability, as the needs of the Canadian labour market change.
When implemented, the new system will allow potential immigrants greater certainty within relatively short time frames to know whether or not they may be accepted as immigrants. Registered employers, who meet specified requirements, may find it as an effective means to recruit qualified people for their long-term needs. The services a prospective applicant may need will not be known until details concerning the requirements the applicant has to provide at the first step in the process are known. Prospective employers will still have to satisfy labour market opinion requirements to access the system. In any event, it will be a significant change for both applicants, employers and service providers.
William Macintosh started practising as an immigration lawyer in 1984. You can reach him for advice or help on any immigration or citizenship matter at 778-714-8787 or by email at macintoshlaw@gmail.com.
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