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Federal Skilled Worker program

More Bad News for Skilled Workers

By Guidy Mamann: I already wrote about the inherent unfairness in our immigration minister’s plan to restructure our Federal Skilled Worker program. Unfortunately, there’s more.

I explained that those who applied after February 28, 2008 would be given priority in terms of processing over those who filed before that date. Strange perhaps, but true.

In order to qualify for this preferential treatment, applicants would have to have arranged employment confirmed by HRSDC, one year of lawful residence in Canada as a foreign student or worker, or at least one year of experience in one of 38 designated occupations.

An obvious question arises. What happens to a person who meets all of these qualifications but who applied before February 28th….perhaps years before?

Logic suggests that his application would be processed ahead of those who applied later with the same qualifications. However, as remarkable as it may seem, the word from some of my colleagues is that this may not be the case at all. It seems that a strict reading of the minister’s instructions of November 28th exclude these cases for the sole reason that they were received prior to February 28th.

It may be too early to tell if CIC will actually interpret the instructions in this manner. However, if it does, we will have a system that treats people who applied first in an inferior way to those with the same qualities who applied later. That would mean that those who have been waiting for years, but who incidentally have the very qualities we are now seeking, will have to submit a second application just so that it post-dates February 28th. Of course, a second processing fee will be expected.

We have come to expect a certain amount of inefficiency and unfairness in our immigration system. However, now we may need to learn to deal with sheer wackiness.

On another note, the minister has now, for the first time ever, placed the Federal Skilled Worker program beyond the reach of the humanitarian and compassionate provisions of Canada’s immigration legislation. These provisions have long applied to all categories of immigration to this country.

If a person wished to live here permanently but could not, for whatever reason, comply with one of our many requirements, he/she could ask the minister for an exemption from that provision provided that sufficient humanitarian and compassionates grounds exist.

The skilled worker category is now the first immigration category, and possibly not the last, that will have no such flexibility whatsoever regardless of how compelling the humanitarian considerations may be.

Not such a great start for our new immigration minister, Jason Kenney.

Guidy Mamann practices law in Toronto at Mamann & Associates and is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist. Reach him confidentially at 416-862-0000 or at .

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