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In recent months, several serious abuses of the Temporary Foreign Worker program throughout Canada have come to light and now the government has imposed restrictions on the program, especially for restaurants. Many businesses have had to do without temporary foreign workers.
Some businesses that had used the TFWP now have their eye on a new system introduced by the federal government January 1: Express Entry. Express Entry will be used for four existing immigration streams: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class and the Provincial Nominee Program. Applicants will be able to fill out their information electronically. They’ll then be put into a pool with other applicants, and the government will be able to draw from the pool “at will” to choose which applications to process.
According to stakeholders, the program is “being touted as one of the ways to solve skills shortages and [as] the future of immigration.”
It’s a further refining of Canada’s point system, which gives applicants a higher score for work experience, education and language skills. One of the ways to get more Express Entry points is to have a job offer from a Canadian employer.
The employer must also get a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which shows the need for a foreign worker and that the employer has been unable to find qualified Canadians for the same position. Express Entry is still geared toward skilled professional and trades workers, which in recent years have been a focus of the Canadian government for permanent immigration.
