From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   So much for 'highly skilled workers' being given priority for entry into   
   Canada.   
      
   Immigration lawyer:  "You could be a food-service supervisor with an   
   LMIA-supported job offer and you would rank higher than the rocket scientist   
   from abroad."   
   _______________________   
   CBC News Posted: Sep 28, 2015   
      
   Temporary foreign workers get first dibs under express entry   
      
   Businesses and prospective immigrants say the new system is not living up to   
   its promise   
      
   A new immigration system designed to attract highly skilled workers from   
   around the world to meet Canada's labour needs isn't living up to its promise,   
   say businesses and prospective immigrants nearly 10 months after it was   
   implemented.   
      
   The Conservatives launched a new system known as express entry on Jan. 1,   
   comparing it to a dating site, with Ottawa acting as chief matchmaker between   
   "the best and brightest" immigrants and Canadian employers looking to fill   
   open jobs.   
      
   Jason Kenney, who was responsible for the Harper government's transformation   
   of Canada's immigration system during his time as immigration minister, on   
   Friday touted express entry as "a system that's fast, that connects people to   
   the labour market so    
   they can realize their dreams and fulfil their potential upon arrival in   
   Canada."   
      
   "New economic immigrants are arriving in Canada in months rather than years,"   
   Kenney said during a news conference in Vancouver.   
      
   "A growing percentage have jobs lined up before they get to Canada rather than   
   being stuck in survival jobs for years following their arrival."   
      
   Majority already in Canada   
      
   While that may be the goal, express entry has opened the door to very few new   
   economic immigrants. To date, it has favoured a large number of temporary   
   foreign workers and other foreign nationals already in the country.   
      
   Over 85 per cent of the foreign nationals who were selected for admission   
   under express entry in the first six months of the year -- 11,047 out of   
   12,304 -- were already in Canada, according to a report published by the   
   Department of Citizenship and    
   Immigration in July.   
      
   The report shows that three per cent were living in India, followed by two per   
   cent in the U.S. and one per cent in the Philippines. Even smaller percentages   
   resided in other countries.   
   [- - -]   
   'Unusable' for businesses   
      
   Businesses say the system's biggest flaw is a new requirement borrowed from   
   the newly reformed temporary foreign worker program, which Kenney and Chris   
   Alexander announced last year following a series of stories published by CBC's   
   Go Public team alleging    
   abuse of the program.   
      
   Under express entry, it isn't enough that economic immigrants have to line up   
   a job before applying to come to Canada -- that offer must also be backed by a   
   positive labour market impact assessment. That assessment, or LMIA, is a   
   document all employers    
   now need to hire a foreign worker over a Canadian one.   
      
   Nearly all the candidates selected in the first two months of the year had job   
   offers supported by LMIAs. But by mid-March, the government was choosing   
   foreign nationals with less than 500 points -- "candidates without job offers   
   or provincial    
   nominations," the report said.   
      
   Two weeks ago, that score dropped to 450 points out of a possible 1,200.   
      
   "Repeatedly, people are expressing their frustration with the points system,"   
   said Mark Holthe, an immigration lawyer and partner at the law firm of Holthe   
   Tilleman based in Alberta, where labour market conditions have deteriorated   
   due to a downturn in    
   the energy sector.   
      
   "You could be a food-service supervisor with an LMIA-supported job offer and   
   you would rank higher than the rocket scientist from abroad."   
      
   While the candidates with the most points are chosen, there's no minimum   
   points level required to qualify, which means there is no "magic" number to   
   get into Canada and that has left prospective immigrants feeling upset and   
   confused.   
   {- - -}   
   https://bcblue.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/kim-jong-kenney-cartoon.jpg   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)