Law Times

Law Times • march 7, 2011 FOCUS Points system under review T BY DARYL-LYNN CARLSON For Law Times he federal govern- ment has launched a bid to make changes to the skilled-worker pro- gram in order to improve the selection process based on the country's labour market demands. In announcing the chang- es, Immigration Minister Ja- son Kenney said the country has to make sure the skilled immigrants who are selected and approved are the ones the country needs. As well, the government is looking at increasing the number of younger immi- grants, as well as those who are profi cient in a particular trade that's in demand and those who have the ability to speak one of the country's offi cial languages. Citizenship and Immigra- tion Canada will be consult- ing with various industries on their needs to determine which changes it should make in or- der to be more eff ective at se- lecting those who will succeed economically. But the eff orts have some lawyers wondering what the federal government is doing and why it's doing it. "Th ey are acknowledging there is a need for skilled workers but at the same time, they have been reducing the numbers," says Betsy Kane of CapelleKane Immigration Lawyers Profes- sional Corp. in Ottawa. She notes that as an applica- tion under the skilled-worker category takes 12 to 18 months to process, many employers don't even bother to seek employees through that route. Alternatively, employers can look to hire peo- ple under the temporary foreign worker program if they have an urgent need to increase their staff based on work demands or projects. Applications under that program face faster processing times, Kane says. "If you are a solar-panel installer and you have a project, you can bring in someone from Texas under the temporary foreign worker pro- gram [and] then stream him in to the permanent-resident sta- tus after two years. "So there are options for employers, and the door has not been shut." As a result, many immigra- tion lawyers work with em- ployers to advise them on how they can get faster results. "I have a client who is in the steel industry and is going through the provincial nomination pro- gram to fi nd skilled workers for a project," Kane says. "I would say many lawyers are working with employers to help them meet their market needs and bring in skilled workers mostly under the temporary foreign worker program." Nevertheless, Kane expects the federal consultations could be benefi cial in determining LT0228 www.lawtimesnews.com good jobs but whose lan- guage ability isn't very good. So the proposed change to increase language require- ments will only increase the criteria and could lead to re- jections." Proposals to seek younger skilled workers — whom the government expects would be more able to assimilate — are also a bad idea, he adds. "People are living longer and working longer, so to decrease the potential value that these people have beyond the age of 35 I think is wrong." In his view, younger im- migrants should receive more points under the sys- tem instead of vetting those who are older to possibly dis- qualify them. Th e government also in- 'I would say the language requirement is onerous,' says Warren Creates. the specifi c needs for skilled workers in each province so employers will know how their particular industry stands in terms of the availability of pro- spective employees. Warren Creates, an immi- gration practitioner at Perley- Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP in Ottawa who leads the fi rm's immigration law group, says he agrees with some of the proposed changes the govern- ment is looking to implement. But he doesn't think others will be benefi cial in terms of increasing the availability of skilled workers. "I would say the language re- quirement is onerous," he says. "We see clients who have been here for years and have very tends to increase the num- ber of points awarded for applicants' education along with their work experience, a move Creates believes will be helpful for attracting the best workers. "It's all aimed at mak- ing refi nements to the existing federal skilled-worker program, although I would say change not the criteria but the points that are awarded," he says. In addition, the federal im- migration department will be consulting on the issue of redirecting points from work experience to other factors that contribute to success in the Canadian workforce. It will also look at means to reduce the potential for fraudulent job off ers. After consultations take place this spring, the gov- ernment will release the results this summer. It's what's inside that counts! 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• Cover
• Crown Uproar
• Dollars and Cents
• Focus On Immigration Law