Crackdown planned for foreign worker program
Star investigations
Fears of visa, work permit fraud prompting Ottawa to tighten up on its landed immigrant system
Nicholas Keung
IMMIGRATION REPORTER
Comments on this story [] (17)
May 24, 2009 04:30 AM
Ottawa is planning to restrict job offers to foreign workers in an attempt to discourage fraud and clamp down on those who try to bypass the rigorous immigrant selection system introduced last year, the Star has learned.
The federal government specifically wants to target small and medium-sized employers, who allegedly are more likely to make fraudulent job offers which can help foreign nationals enter Canada on work permits or immigrant visas in return for kickbacks.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has refused to reveal details of the plan, but two sources familiar with the proposed changes told the Star they could hurt legitimate employers and eliminate the advantages of having a job lined up for prospective migrants.
These changes, sources say, could also hurt prospective landed immigrants with needed labour and trades backgrounds who, under the strict point system, may need the extra points of a job offer to make up for a shortfall in education.
Applicants in the skilled immigrant category receive 15 extra points toward the passing mark of 67 if they can secure job offers from genuine employers, who often use the lure of permanent residence to attract such workers from abroad.
Such applications are processed even if an applicant doesn't qualify under the 38 government-stipulated occupations introduced last year.
Currently, a candidate's immigration application can proceed only after Service Canada has assessed a Canadian employer to verify its labour needs. An employer with even one employee may qualify.
The sources said Ottawa wants to limit the program to employers that have at least five employees and $2.5 million in annual revenues and have been five years in business.
Immigration and Service Canada officials “are working to improve the program, including the establishment of monitoring and compliance measures to increase protections for workers and help ensure employers meet their obligations under the program,” said Immigration spokesperson Danielle Norris.
Phil Mooney, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, said the government's move is prompted by concerns that people could enter Canada via fraudulent job offers.
Under the current system, there's little follow-up to ensure an offered job materializes upon an individual's arrival, Mooney said. It's believed a larger company would provide more checks and balances to ensure a job offer is legitimate, he said.
Toronto immigration lawyer Shoshana Green said there's “just no other way” to get some immigrants into Canada unless they get job offers.
Both the Conference Board of Canada and Toronto Board of Trade refused to comment because no formal announcement has been made about the changes.
Government statistics show more than 3,900 job offers to prospective immigrants were assessed last year. Eighty per cent of them approved, up from 2,038 offers and a 56 per cent approval rating the year before.
In the first quarter of this year alone, 1,117 applications were processed and 75 per cent of them were approved. It is not known how many came from small employers.
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Comments :
Lower the unemployment rate first…
…before rushing off to give jobs away to people who aren't residents of this country. There are plenty of skilled workers in Canada – both immigrant and non – that there should be little need to go outside the country for skilled workers. We have highly educated college/university grads that can't get jobs, so there should be little need to recruit from outside Canada. For tradespeople we have plenty of people who were working in auto plants (and are out of work) that could easily be retrained to work in the trades. Let's put Canada to work before we start giving our jobs away.
Submitted by Savant at 9:49 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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Re: system needs fixing
Canada needs to inform immigrants before they apply for Canada, that they them that they need a Canadian level of education or “higher” BEFORE they can work as an equal in their profession. Without knowing what they are lacking in education from their homeland, how do you set up streamlined system to get them up to speed so they can save your life?
Submitted by Robot at 9:44 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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Scrap the whole thing…
I know people who are unemployed who would be willing to take any job. So don't give me this canard that their are jobs which Canadians don't want to do. What many greedy employers want are servants who are willing to be abused for two years until they get their citizenship. Regarding professionals working in menial jobs they should get their Canadian credentials. Or even better how about we train more Canadians to do these jobs. Is it fair for a Canadian to be denied entry into medical school because it is cheaper to bring in a foreigner? Let's put more money into facilities so we can train more Canadians. Mabe we are not smart enough.We should all be writing letters to our MPs to end the foreign worker program now.
Submitted by ChangeAgent at 9:44 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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I agree –
Canada needs to get the foreign trained professionals working in their field. HOWEVER they must first pass the exams of Canadian standards. Under NO condition should the standards be lowered. Public safety MUST always trump political correctness.
Submitted by WJM at 9:34 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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Find a way.
The Lawyers will find a way around it. They always do. Still glad to see an effort to keep our jobs here and not lower our wage potential for the same jobs due to unfair competition from offshore.
Submitted by Robot at 9:33 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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FOREIGNERS
Foreigners are doing all the jobs that Canadians who can get welfare are “too good” for. If we restrict them we will have to make welfare VERY much harder to get and VERY much less generous to get the Canadians to climb off their high horse and do these types of work.
Submitted by WJM at 9:31 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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crackdown
were is canadian industry going to get cheap labour. do they think the unemployed are going to work for minimm wage and the intimidation that goes with that type of industry . i dont think so
Submitted by stoneydog at 9:24 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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Finally a solution that actually benfits the people who live here.
Who cares about hurt feelings from people who don't live here. Once again people assume it's a right to live here, not a priviledge.
Submitted by opinion_guy at 9:16 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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MUT
Don't comment out and of ignorance. Thanks to the Liberal Immigration “vote getting” priorities there is a backlog of a QUARTER-MILLION Permanent Resident Applications, and 44,000 Refugee claims alone. Both numbers have multiplied by a factor of TEN in just the past five years. The Canadian Consulate in Islamabad Pakistan gets 600 applications EVERY DAY for visitor visas to Canada. By law EVERY one of these applications has to be processed, fully, even the ridiculous ones. The system is clogged and getting worse. The problem is NOT at the receiving end. It is in the worldwide reputation of Canada in the 2nd, and 3rd worlds that Canada is the “easiest mark” for escape, and free government paid luxury.
Submitted by sendergreen at 8:57 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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system needs fixing
We got immigrants here who are doctors, engineers and other professions; skills that Canada is in need of. many of them are working as taxi drivers and other unrelated jobs. Instead of all these crap about changing how employers here should hire foreign workers, Ottawa should focus on getting these professionals to work in their proper field of expertise – so as not to waste our resources.
Submitted by Oscar Lei at 8:56 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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crackdown
about time
Submitted by jerry jordan at 8:45 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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Will this work?
This is great for those who go through legal channels. The rest will claim refugee status.
Submitted by safety716 at 8:42 AM Sunday, May 24 2009
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