The New Liberal Government’s Immigration Reforms

How changes impact foreign workers and prospective immigrants?

”We will make it easier for immigrants to build successful lives in Canada, and contribute to the economic success of all Canadians.”

“Immigration has always been an important part of Canada’s economic growth, but over the past decade, Stephen Harper has turned his back on welcoming those who want to contribute to our country’s success.”

1. Refugees: “We will renew and expand our commitment to helping resettle more refugees, and deliver a refugee program that is safe, secure, and humane.”
   • Settle 25,000 Syrian refugees by Jan 1
     • Well underway
   • Invest $250 million ($100 million this year) to increase refugee processing, sponsorship and settlement
   • Restoration of Interim Federal Health Program
     • Provided limited and temporary health benefits to refugee claimants
   • Appoint individuals with appropriate subject-matter expertise to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board.
   • Establish an expert human rights panel to determine designated countries of origin, and provide a right to appeal refugee decisions for citizens from these countries
2. Removed Visa Requirements from Mexican Citizens
   • Phasing out visa requirements for other countries
3. Emphasis on Family Reunification: “We will take immediate steps to reopen Canada’s doors, and will make reuniting families a top priority. “
   • We will also nearly double the budget for processing family class sponsorship.
     • Reducing wait times for spousal sponsorship and Parental sponsorship
   • Double parent and grandparent entry applications to 10,000 a year
     • Currently taking 8-10 years to process
     • Remove conditional PR (currently 2 years live together)
   • Increase age of dependency from 19 to 22
     • Many children between 19 -22 are in school and still depend upon parents
   • Citizenship:
     • Repeal Controversial provisions in the Citizenship Act to strip citizenship from dual nationals
     • Bill C-24 – created second class citizens and more difficult to become citizens
     • Crediting individuals for residency time prior to PR as it did before
   • Express Entry:
     • will provide more opportunities for applicants who have Canadian siblings by giving additional points under the Express Entry system
     • We will make changes to the Canadian Experience Class to reduce the barriers to immigration that have been imposed on international students.
   • Temporary Foreign Worker Program:
     • Removal of $1000 LMIA fee for caregivers of physically or mentally disabled family members
     • Better regulate caregiver agencies
       • “We will also work with the provinces and territories to develop a system of regulated companies to hire caregivers on behalf of families. This will make it simpler for families to hire caregivers, and protect caregivers by allowing them to change employers in the case of bad relations or abuse.”

Listener Questions:

Question 1

From: Hasanova

Subject: Immigration to Canada

Message Body:

I live in Azerbaijan with my family and I am expressing a deep interest in migrating to Canada for a better life for my family.

Question 2

From: sagun

Subject: express entry and work permit

Message Body:

Hi,

I would like to inquiry that if I have Job offer letter supported by LMIA by a company in supervisor post. Can I apply for Work Permit as well as FSW Express entry program together? Please reply me.

Sincerely yours

sagun

Question 3

From: aruna

Subject: canada immigration

Message Body:

Is experience in banking consider as skilled work experience? 

Report on Express Entry Pilot Course – Canadian Immigration Institute

• Express Entry Pilot Course on submitting your profile was completed yesterday November 21st.

• Fantastic group of people involved. It was a lot of fun.

• Gained great insight into the areas that give people the most trouble.

• I will use this wonderful insight in creating the full Express Entry course

• Now that Phase 1 is done, I will be sending out an invitation to participate in Phase 2 of my pilot which will cover all aspects of filing your PR application after you receive an ITA.

• Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

Questions for our Next Podcast

If you have an immigration question you would like to leva with me, there is a number of ways to do it.

• You can leave it in the comments section under this podcast,
• connect with me on Facebook at the Canadian Immigration Podcast facebook page.
• I can also be reached through LinkedIn and Twitter,
• and even on my law firm website: Holthe Tilleman LLP.

Because of the high number of questions I get, I am not always able to answer each person individually. I am really sorry for this. However, I will try to select the best questions that I get most frequently and podcast the answer as I have done in this episode. So please don’t hesitate to send your immigration related questions my way.

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Links to Resources:

Real Change: A New Plan for Canadian Immigration and Economic Opportunity: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/09/A-new-plan-for-Canadian-immigration-and-economic-opportunity.pdf

Liberal Party Platform: What does Real Change Mean to you? https://www.liberal.ca/realchange/

Express Entry – The secret to finding your correct NOC!: http://www.canadianimmigrationpodcast.com/express-entry-the-secret-to-finding-your-correct-noc/