Canadian immigration lawyer Raj Sharma KC interviewed in a Punjabi language broadcast for RedFM by News Director Rishi Nagar discussion immigration news and developments -August 8, 2024.

Canadian immigration lawyer Raj Sharma KC interviewed in a Punjabi language broadcast for RedFM by News Director Rishi Nagar discussion immigration news and developments -August 8, 2024.

2024 08 08 RedFM Interview

 

Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · 2024 08 08 RedFM Interview

Summary of August. 08, 2024 REDFM Interview:

• Drastic Changes in Immigration: Significant changes in immigration policies and procedures, especially since COVID-19.
• Work Permits and TRV during Covid-19: Transitioning from temporary resident visas (TRV) to work permits (WP) had seen increased flexibility.
• Work Permit Approvals: Approvals of work permits have doubled since 2019, with a 90% increase by 2023.
• Upcoming Regulations: Randy Boissonnault’s new regulations are to be announced and to impose more restrictions, particularly on low-wage and low-skill jobs.
• LMIA for Work Permits and PR: Labor Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) are required for work permits and eventually for permanent residency (PR).
• Exploitation Risks: The high demand for work permits has led to exploitation of workers.
• Restricted Categories: Future restrictions may target temporary residents, students, and TRVs. Low wage and low skilled occupations are at greater risk. No specifics, but broadly the Canadian population is 7 percent TRV holders, this is going to be brought down to 5 percent.
• Regional Impact: Ontario and BC to face immigration caps on student immigration. Saskatchewan may face less restrictions than other provinces. The potential caps could be about 300,000-350,00 student.
• Historical Context: LMIA processes used to be easier; now, stricter requirements and evaluations are in place. Randy Boissonnault to potentially implement criteria considering how long a business has been open, how many employees and layoffs the business has had.
• Predictions: The impact will be in low skilled areas. Occupations such as light duty cleaner, material handlers in bottle depots and warehouses to be restricted. Transportation industry might be impacted. There are conflicting opinions if whether or not there has been an overcorrection within the trucking industry.
• Regional Restrictions: Refusal to process for certain regions may be implemented, dependent upon region’s unemployment rate. If there is a high unemployment rate in a given city it will be more challenging to bring in foreign national as a worker into that city.
• Immunity: The restrictions are both confusing and surprising. The individuals that have studied and worked in Canada for years, and are taxpayers are being restricted. Instead, status to be given to those that have been undocumented for years and years. “Sucking and blowing same time”. Marc Miller has said he is surprised that the Liberal cabinet isn’t supporting its own initiative.
•  The general consensus is that individuals are fed up with recent immigration policies and this is not entirely a result of racism.
• AINP: Our province can select from Alberta graduates or other TRV holders with certain eligibility to be picked to apply for PR. They would receive a nomination and then apply with the nomination for PR.  This would take several months. It was a good system. Despite there being no issues with this system in February 2024 “reforms” implemented without anyone’s knowledge.

“Reformed” System Failures (AAIP): Individuals with work permits nearing expiration not considered, as new changes brought an unprecedented amount of uncertainty in an already stressful system to navigate.  Online portal would open once a month and could accept a certain number of individuals. The very first time, 30,000 people tried to access at the same time and the server crashed. In general, the changes brought about numerous server crashes and long wait times that would too often result in applicant being “kicked out” of the website. Not all individuals know the tips and tricks when using technology there should be a level playing field for all.

• The direct TR to PR pathway program accepted 10,000 applicants per day.  This program utilized Amazon Web Service (AWS) Amazon Servers and thus the servers never crashed. The Alberta government clearly did not adopt this solution.

• New Expression of Interest: A new system similar to Manitoba’s Expression of Interest program is being introduced, which is expected to be more efficient or at the very least better than the recently “reformed” system.
• Conclusion: Emphasizes that reforms should be made only if necessary and suggests that improvements are needed in the current system.