CRS points removed from Express Entry

Well the Minister of Immigration, even though now replaced, has gotten his wish for the removal of points which the approval of an LMIA allowed candidates to gain an advantage of 50 points in a normal NOC and 200 points in a Senior NOC (00).

This is disspointing to those who spent months waiting on the LMIA approval and the reasoning is quite odd in my opinion. "Prevention of fraud"

I am still not sure how fraud is going to be prevented by this. I would have thought that at the start of the LMIA application this would open the window for the ESDC officer to spot the red flags. And failing this, ESDC officers have the authority to visit the employer and interview the worker on site.

But lets look at the process.

When an employer applies for the LMIA, they are required to present proof of establishment, These documents we assume are scrutinised for fraud right?

And ability to pay the candidate. Bank statements, CRA T2's etc. The word of the CPA doing the company books or a lawyer attestation was withdrawn - a pretty strong action which tainted two Canadian regulated professions in one sweep.. to be replaced by a bank account manager attestation.

Most banks have a heart attack at this expectation and some even stoop so low as to charge money for these letters.

They are also required to prove the genuineness of the job offer and the evidence that the advertising was done in good faith and that there were no suitable local workers that applied.

Since when do we start at the point of fraud and paint the entire industry of LMIA with the same brush and punish all candidates? Employers are the most burnt in this.

The sad truth is that employers do struggle to find local workers who will not up and leave the moment that they find greener pastures. A temporary foreign worker however, is almost guaranteed to remain working in the position for the duration of their work permit as it binds them to the employer.

There are disadvantages to this binding of course. It opens the door to employer abuse because the TFW has limited recourse. One recourse is to apply for a vulnerable worker permit which allows for an open work permit for one year.

The workers are provided with instructions to report the employer. If the worker is depending on the employer to support their pathway to PR, then this nixes that opportunity. If the job opportunity is way that allows the TFW to send money home to their family or to put food on the table or to help them toward a pathway to PR.. why would they report their employer? There simply is no protection for the worker who whistleblowers.

If the employer and the immigration practioner have worked together in a scam, if the worker reports this, that they came to Canada under false pretences having bribed their way to a job offer, they are implicated of course. Did they not know that they were willing participants in the fraud? What incentive do they have to come forward? What is the end result going to be for them?

Crooks aside, I think that we can all agree that they are the minority.

Back to the LMIA an honest employers. Employers often hire workers from their days of students through to their Post Graduate Work Permits and then, apply for the LMIA in order to keep their now experienced worker in the position. Yet, they still have to advertise and interview local workers.

Common sense if it is aquired would say "rather the devil we know and trained" than a person with an amazing resume and interview pizzazz to start training from scratch. An example of common sense that left the building. Here is an example:

An employer stated that the applicant was over qualified. The ESDC officer was unhappy that they did not interview the person. In this case, the applicant held a degree in finance. The position was for an entry level finance position. The employer tried to explain that a degree would raise the salary expectations but the officer was determined that the choice should have been offered to the applicant.

Imagine a surgeon requires a personal assistant and a local doctor applies. The doctor is obviously well qualified for the job, but chances are will not be excited at the demotion of status and earning $35/hour, simply will use this opportunity as a stepping stone and certainly will not be in this position for long. So what was the point of hiring this person who was overqualified to being with?