Bill C-50 likely to cause a stir among skilled workers applications and consultants

10/28/2008

Bill C-50 is the most significant change in Canadian immigration legislation for applicants and immigration practitioners since the introduction of Canada뭩 modern immigration selection system in 1976. (Specific amendments of the Act can be found at: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx DocId=3365116&Language=e&Mode=1&File=119#30)

Reasons for the Bill:

1. Large, unmanageable and growing backlog in the Federal Skilled Worker Class
2. Little control within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the set of laws and regulations governing Canada뭩 immigration policies, to control new application intake
3. Previous selection system for Skilled Workers failing to bring necessary skills to the Canadian economy
4. More flexibility in addressing particular needs of the Canadian labour market
    

Highlights:

1. REMOVES the guarantee that an applicant will receive Permanent Resident status even though they may fully meet the criteria for Economic Class (67 points)
2. Officers authorized to exercise the power of the Minister of Immigration has the ability to perform any of the following:
   • Process an application
   • NOT process an application and return it
   • NOT process an application and retain it
   • NOT process an application and dispose of it in accordance with the instructions of the Minister

However, NOT processing an application, as mentioned above, does not constitute a decision NOT to issue or grant the visa or other document. Because of this, no judicial review can be requested by the applicant and/or representing parties.

Implementation

1. Bill C-50 will be implemented on immigration applications and requests received after February 27th 2008.
2. Canadian Visa Posts around the world are sending C-50 notification letters to applications submitted after February 28th 2008.
3. The Bill does not intend to and will not affect applications of Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) or Arranged Employment (AEO), and affects little the applications from within Canada

Effects on new Federal Skilled Workers applications

1. No certainty of an application ever getting accepted for processing, or of receiving a Permanent Resident Visa
2. For those applications without an AEO job offer, the process effectively becomes a 뱇ottery where the odds of positive selection are unknowable
3. Even employment experience in an occupation listed as high priority may not assure acceptance and processing

Effects on old Federal Skilled Workers applications (before February 27th 2008)

1. No commitment expressed by Bill C-50, the Minister, or CIC that old applications will be cleared in any timeframe, or even at all. No new Class Actions will be effective.
2. Processing times for backlog (old) applications is expected to increase dramatically under the new C-50 regime.
3. Senior officials at CIC expects that in the near future, applicants caught in the backlog will withdraw their original applications and submit a new one for priority processing, and other applicants will withdraw their applications when they realize they have no expectation of their applications being processed within a reasonable timeframe.
4. CIC뭩 statement that applications in the backlog will be referred to PNP programs is too idealistic. CIC does not have enough manpower resources to go through the backlog to search for applicants who would qualify under PNP. This would have to be done manually and case-by-case, because the existing CAIPS database system does not capture occupational information so using software-assisted searching is not an option.