According to the adopted amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), three categories of applicants have been announced from whom applications for the Skilled Worker program will be accepted.
Category 1. Individuals who have work experience in an occupation included in the developed list of 38 priority occupations (for short - list 38). It is sufficient to have at least one year of experience in that occupation within the last 10 years. Applications must be submitted to a single immigration center in the city of Sydney (Nova Scotia, Canada), where their preliminary screening will take place.
Category 2. Individuals who have a job offer from a Canadian employer (arranged according to certain requirements). Applications are submitted to the Canadian embassy in the country of their citizenship or permanent residence.
Category 3. Individuals who have resided in Canada for at least one year on a student or work visa. Applications are accepted at the Canadian embassy in Buffalo, USA.
Discussion about changes in the immigrant selection procedure had been ongoing since mid-March, when the Conservative government submitted a very controversial bill, Bill C-50, for approval. After the government re-election (October 14, 2008), few thought that the changes would be introduced so quickly and that they would be so radical. They were expected only at the end of January 2009, or by mid-spring. After all, the new Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (Jason Kenney) was appointed quite recently - on October 30 of this year. And the end of November is not the best time for innovations.
Few expected that the new rules would differ significantly from those announced in March 2008. Initially, when Bill C-50 was passed, it was said that applications from individuals whose occupation is on the list of priority occupations would be processed immediately. Applications from those whose occupation is not on the list were supposed to be processed second. In the same instructions issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, it is stated that an application will be unconditionally rejected if the applicant does not have at least one year of work experience in a priority occupation. That is, there is a clear change of the original plan towards tightening.
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow has already called the innovations absurd. It is hard to disagree with her. The proposed changes, as well as the list of priority occupations, appear unworkable and meaningless, like most other Conservative immigration initiatives.
I recall that the most significant changes in the immigration case processing procedure were the introduction of the Simplified Application process in September 2006. According to the Conservative government's statements, it was supposed to significantly reduce processing times and the backlog. In reality, the backlogs grew larger and processing times lengthened. Such an outcome was obvious, as adding an extra step leads to more work and less efficient processing. Currently, the Simplified Application process has essentially been abandoned.
Another Conservative initiative was the introduction of a new immigration category, the Canadian Experience Class, which had long been discussed as necessary. However, the requirements proposed by the Conservatives essentially nullified the whole point of the Canadian Experience Class. According to statistics, since the introduction of this category, only 210 applications have been submitted against a quota of 8,000. This category turned out to be not very attractive.
The current initiatives appear even more unworkable, and this gives reason to believe that they will not last long. Firstly, accepting only representatives of certain professions as immigrants is fundamentally wrong. If specialists of a particular profile are needed at the moment, it would be logical to simply simplify the procedure for obtaining work visas for priority occupations. It feels like the Conservatives do not understand the basics: immigrants are not seasonal workers, but people who choose Canada as their home, where they, their children, and grandchildren will live. Therefore, one should select not representatives of certain professions, but simply people with a good education and the ability to adapt to life in the country.
Secondly, the list of priority occupations is puzzling. For example, it includes doctors, which Canada indeed lacks. However, for some reason, no one considered that a foreign doctor cannot work in Canada because they need to obtain a license, which often takes up to five years or more. And it’s not even about having to pass difficult exams - the problem is that there are no residency spots. For this reason, many graduates of Canadian medical schools are forced to leave for the United States. The shortage of doctors in Canada is largely explained not by a lack of specialists, but by insufficient funding, that is, a lack of jobs.
Thirdly, in addition to medical professionals, the list is dominated by specialists from resource industries (here there is a clear focus on the western provinces). This made sense a year or two ago, when raw material exports were a source of revenue for Canada's budget. However, this list came into effect on November 28, 2008, that is, after the outbreak of the crisis and a significant drop in commodity prices. In the context of the global crisis that is just beginning and the recession that Canada is confidently sliding into, it is unlikely that specialists from resource industries will be needed. Especially in the western provinces, where mass layoffs and high unemployment are to be expected.
It is also obvious that the latest initiatives will create a fertile ground for submitting false information and fake documents about work experience. There is no doubt that at least 9 out of 10 submitted applications will “correspond” to the list of priority professions, and candidates will receive referrals to the embassy. There, immigration officials will need to carefully verify the provided information and documents. Moreover, the verification will need to be more thorough than it is now. As a result, embassies will be overloaded with work, processing times will increase, and the backlog will grow. This will primarily affect the most problematic embassies in Delhi, Beijing, Manila, etc., where current processing times are 5-6 years.
The increased workload on immigration authorities will lead to higher costs. Given the budget deficit, when cost-cutting measures are being sought, it is unlikely that additional funds for immigration needs will be allocated.
The political situation in Canada is unfavorable for the Conservatives. Currently, the Liberal Party (LP) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) are negotiating the creation of a political alliance, with the involvement of the Bloc Québécois (BQ). The goal is to dissolve the Conservative government and call new federal elections. In fact, Canada is now in a political crisis. New federal elections could be called as early as spring-summer 2009. And there are very strong doubts that, in the conditions of the economic crisis, Stephen Harper's party will be able to win them. It is unlikely that the Conservatives can again count on the support of ethnic communities, unless they significantly ease the immigration process and expand the list of those who can enter Canada.
If the Conservatives lose power in the country, the new government will likely cancel the “38 list” or significantly expand it.
Elena RYABININA.
“Russian Toronto”